Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1918-12-24

I
court of appeals the question whether
the International News Service should
be restrained from appropriating AS
sociated Press news from bulletin
boards and early editions of Associ-
ated Press papers. The circuit court
not only upheld the lower courts
opinion, but also granted injunctions
to that effect as well
Associate Justice Pitney, delivering
the opinion, began with a review of
the case.
As between the public and news
gathering organizations. Justice Pit
ney expressed doubt whether there
could be any property in uncopy-
righted news. AS between rival news
gathering organizations, he said there
was a quasi property interest.
Referring to contentious of the In
ternational News Service that the AS
sociated Press was guilty of the same
practices charged against the de-
PENDANTS. Justice Pitney said that
there is nothing in the proceedings
that puts the Associated Press in the
position of having "unclean hands"
The transaction speaks for itself
and a court of equity ought not to
hesitate long in characterizing it as
tice Pitney said, discussing the taxi
ing of Associated Press news matter
by the International News Service
The court declared the process used
by the International News Service in
| taking Associated Press news amount
ed to an unauthorized interference
with the normal operation. of COM
| plainants Legitimate business"
Justice Holmes. in an associate
opinion, said he partially agreed
with the majority. but dissented from
the principle that there was property
| in news.
The International News Service
contention that the Associated Press
| relinquishes its property rights to
news matter when it is published,
the court held lis untenable."
| Justice Holmes, who was joined in
| his associate opinion by Justice Nc
/ I{enna, said the Associated Press was
| justified in having an injunction
against news piracy for a certain
| number of hours unless competitors
| publishing news in the interim credit
| ed it to the Associated Press.
| Restraining orders preventing the
| International News Service from in
| Quoting persons to communicate to its
! Associated Press News in advance OF
| publication or persuading members OF
| the Associated Press to violate that
| ORGANIZATIONS bylaws, were upheld
| The supreme court affirmed DEGREES
| of the circuit court of appeals enjoin-
| ing the defendant from taking for the
! purpose Of selling TO its own custom
| ers news appearing on bulletin boards
! or in early additions of Associated
! Press papers,
| Justice Brandeis delivered a dis.
| senting opinion, disagreeing both with
! the majority and the views of justices
| Holmes and McKenna
| Justice Brandeis said he could find
no mispresen alton by the Internation-
| al News Service in obtaining Associat-
| ed Press news from public bulletins
| and published newspapers, although
he said that some injustice in getting
unearned matter from competitor
| was obvious.
Justice Brandeis said he regarded
majority opinion as laying down a
dangerous" principle which might re-
suit in a denial to a great number OF
people news that onl-' the Associated
| Press secures and publishes
Dsgest of Opinion.
A digest of the majority opinion fol-
lows:
"In considering the general ques-
ton of property in news matter, 1t Is
necessary to distinguish between the
substance of the information and the
particular form or collation. of words
in which the writer has communicated
it, IS =
1T seems to us the case must turn
upon the question of unfair competi-
ton in business And this does not
depend upon any general right of
property analogous to the common
law right of the proprietor of an UNI
publihsed work to prevent its publica-
ton without his consent. The
peculiar value of news is in the
spreading of it while it is fresh; and
il is evident that valuable property
interest in the news, as news, cannot
be maintained by keeping it secret.
Besides, except for matters improp-
erly disclosed, or published in breach
of trust or in violation of law
the news of current events may be re-
garded as common property"
Regarding the taking of Associated
Press news from bulletin boards and
early editions of Associated Press
newspapers and selling to its own CHI
ents, the court said:
1.-THE right of the purchaser of a
single newspaper to spread knowledge
of its contents grauitously for any le-
ultimate purpose not unreasonably in
terfering with compliments right to
make merchandise Of it. may be adj
mitted: but to transmit that news for
commercial use in competition with
omplaint--which is what defendant
has done and seeks to justify--is
very different matter. Stripped
of all DISCUSSES, the process amounts
to an unauthorized interference with
the normal operation of complainant
legitimate business precisely at the
point where the profit is to be