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International News Service v. Associated Press Case Brief
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Case Brief Summary & Legal Analysis
tl;dr: A news agency sued a competitor for copying its uncopyrighted news from early editions and selling it as its own. The Court created a common law tort of “hot news” misappropriation, finding it to be unfair competition.
Legal Significance: Established the “hot news” misappropriation tort, creating a common law “quasi-property” right in time-sensitive, uncopyrighted factual information against direct competitors, distinct from statutory copyright protection.
International News Service v. Associated Press Law School Study Guide
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Case Facts & Court Holding
Key Facts & Case Background
Associated Press (AP), a cooperative news-gathering organization, incurred substantial expense to collect and distribute current news to its member newspapers. International News Service (INS), a direct competitor, systematically appropriated AP’s news for its own commercial benefit. INS’s methods included bribing AP members’ employees and, most significantly, copying news from AP’s publicly posted bulletins and early edition newspapers on the East Coast. INS would then telegraph this news to its own clients, particularly on the West Coast, allowing them to publish AP’s gathered information simultaneously with, or even before, AP’s own West Coast members. AP’s news was not copyrighted, as the content was factual and the process of copyrighting each dispatch was impractical. AP sought an injunction to stop INS’s practice, arguing it constituted unfair competition. INS countered that once AP published the news, it entered the public domain and was free for anyone to use.
Court Holding & Legal Precedent
Issue: Does a news-gathering agency have a protectable interest in its uncopyrighted news against a competitor who systematically appropriates that news for commercial use after its initial publication?
Yes. The Court affirmed the injunction against INS, holding that its systematic Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequa
IRAC Legal Analysis
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Legal Issue
Does a news-gathering agency have a protectable interest in its uncopyrighted news against a competitor who systematically appropriates that news for commercial use after its initial publication?
Conclusion
This landmark decision established the "hot news" misappropriation tort, creating a narrow, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore mag
Legal Rule
While there is no absolute property right in uncopyrighted news as against Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea co
Legal Analysis
The Court's analysis centered on the doctrine of unfair competition rather than Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint
Flash-to-Full Case Opinions
Flash Summary
- A news agency’s systematic appropriation of a competitor’s “hot news” constitutes