Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-12-24
A. P. DECISION
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Continued from Page One)
ceedlngs in this case last January,
charging that after being expelled from
England, Canada and France, the In
| ternational News Service had been pit
fering and selling to its customers the
news gathered by the Associated Press
at great expense for its members. The
injunctions as granted technically are
temporary, but they remain in effect un-
less and until dissolved. If the inter-
national News Service desires TO pro-
coed further it may go into the district
court with u motion to dissolve and ask
that the case be heard on its merits. As
virtually all essential faciH We're admit
, ted in the preliminary proceedings thers
would be little for the colrt to hear if
further proceedings were undertaken.
Tie majority opinion says in part:
THE parties arc competitors in the
gathering and distribution OF news
and its publication for profit in
newspapers throughout the United
States. The Associated Press. which
was complainant in the district court.
is a cooperative organization incor-
porations law Of the state Of New
ork. its members being individuals
who are either proprietors or repre-
sentatives of about $50 daily neWspa-
pers published in all parts of the
United States. Complainant gathe' $
in all parts of the world, by means Of
various instrumentalitics of its own,
by exchange with its members ana
by other appropriate means. news
and intelligence of current. ana re
cent events of interest to newSpant4
readers and distributes if daily %
its me mbers for publication i'll Their
newspapers. The cost of the SERVES
, amounting approximately to $500
600 per annum, is assessed upon the
members and becomes part Of their
costs Of operation, to be recouped,
presumably, with profit through tile
publica ton of their several newspa-
pers.
Under compliments bylaws
each member agrees, upon assuming
membership, that news received
through compliments service is re-
ceived exclusively for publication N
a particular newspaper language and
place specified in the certificate #
| membership. that no other use of it
shall be permitted and that no men,
bers shall furnish or permit any orc
in his employ or connected with his
new spaper to furnish any of COM
plainaEt's news in advance of pub
lication to any person not a member.
And each member is required TO gath
Ell the local news of his district and
| supply it TO The Associated Press
and to 10 one else.
Defendant is corporation organ
lied under the laws of the state Of
New Jersey whose business is che
gathering and selling of news to its
customers and clients. consisting Of
! newspapers published throughout the
United States, under contracts BY
which they pay certain amounts al
stated times for defendants service.
1t has wide spread news gathering
agencies; the cost of its operations
amounts. it is sai1, = more than s.
900. 900 pcr annum; and it serves
| about 400 newspapers located in tne
various cities of the United States
and abroad, a few of which are rep
resented also in the membership Ct
! The Associated Press.
THE parties are in the leenest COM
petition between themselves in the dis
tribution of Jews throughout the Unit
! ed States and SO as rule are the news
papers that they serve in their several
! districts.
1.-The bill was filed to restrain the pi-
rating of compla inant's news by defend
ant in three ways: First. by bribing
employees of newspapers published by
compliments members . furnish A.
sociated Press news to defendant be-
fore publication for transmission by tel
egraph and telephone to defendant ,
clients for publication by them, second.
by inducing Associated Press members
to violate it's bylaws and permit de-
PENDANT to obtain news before publica
ton; and third, by copying news from.
bulletin boards and from earlier edi-
tons Of compliments newspapers and
selling these, either bodily or after re-
writing 1t, to defendants customers.
THE district court upon considera ton
of the bill and answer, with voluminous
! aftldavits on both sides. granted a pra-
liminary in Injunction under the first and
second heads but refused at that stage
to restrain the systematic practice all
mittediy pursued by defendant of taking
news bodily from the bulletin boards
aud early editions of omplainant's
newspapers and selling 4 as its own
The court expressed itself as satisfied
that this practice amounted to unfair
trade, but as the legal question was ons
! of first impression il considered that the