The Associated Press has said that it will team up with websites and other partners to pursue legal action against publishers that use digital content without a license.
The internet has been rampant for years with content aggregators that source material from different sites and publish them in one location.
AP and its 1400 US newspaper members, which are struggling with revenue declines, have also announced reductions to annual members’ rates, some of which include portals such as Google and Yahoo.
These prominent members pay the members’ rates but several do not, and it is these aggregators that the AP will be pursuing and considering legal action against.
Tom Brettingen, AP senior vice president and chief revenue officer, told the Wall Street Journal that it is only beginning to explore ways to be compensated for content published by non-members.
“This is a step in a process,” he said.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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