The Associated Press’ pay-for-quoting scheme is the most amazing profiteering I’ve seen in quite a while. Their system requests that you pay for quotes as short as five words, and their terms include a statement that AP “reserves the right to terminate this Agreement at any time if Publisher or its agents finds Your use of the licensed Content to be offensive and/or damaging to Publisher’s reputation.”

Sorry, guys, that doesn’t work.

From section 107 of Title 17, US Code (sheet 5 of the link) “the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright”

That sounds pretty clear to me. AP is bullying people for money.

Hat tips to BoingBoing and MakingLight