Open AccessDissolving Innovation in Meltwater: Copyright and Online Search
Author(s) -
Bill D. Herman
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of information policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.377
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 2381-5892
pISSN - 2158-3897
DOI - 10.5325/jinfopoli.5.2015.204
Subject(s) - meltwater , context (archaeology) , transformative learning , the internet , fair use , fair trial , limiting , interpretation (philosophy) , law and economics , political science , business , law , economics , public relations , sociology , computer science , world wide web , engineering , history , glacial period , mechanical engineering , pedagogy , archaeology , human rights , programming language , geomorphology , geology
Internet search engines serve an ever-more-pressing need. They rely heavily on leeway under copyright law; in the United States, that primarily means fair use. A 2013 decision, Associated Press v. Meltwater, advances an unsupported, highly limiting interpretation of fair use as it applies to search. Of particular concern, the court artificially constrains which services meet the legally favorable standard of having a transformative purpose. The ruling also provides too much protection for highly factual works. This article offers a detailed critique of the court's analysis and a discussion of the ruling's broader context and significance for news producers and search firms.