Skip to content
Legal Hotline

AP settles lawsuit against Web site that repackaged "hot news"

Post categories

  1. Content restrictions
The Associated Press settled its lawsuit against All Headline News over AP stories that were rewritten and posted online without…
Posted on

The Associated Press settled its lawsuit against All Headline News over AP stories that were rewritten and posted online without credit, the wire service announced Wednesday.

The AP based its claim on the little-used "hot news" doctrine, under which breaking news is considered "quasi property." The concept originated in the 1918 Supreme Court case International News Service v. Associated Press, another case in which the AP was suing a rival.

AHN admitted "many instances" of improperly using the AP’s content and acknowledged the continued viability of the hot news doctrine, according to a joint press release. AHN agreed to pay an undisclosed amount in damages to the AP.

Stay informed by signing up for our monthly newsletter

Keep up with the Reporters Committee by subscribing to our monthly newsletter! We'll send you updates about our work defending the rights of journalists, the latest news on press freedom, original analyses on First Amendment issues, and more.