Evening star., 1933-02-26
SUIT TESTS RADIO
USE OF A.P. NEWS
Writ Is Sought to Prevent
Unauthorized Broadcasts.
Huge Expense Cited.
BY the Associated Press.

0y tuc hSSOCldleu fTeSS.
SIOUX FALLS, S. D., February rs.
"A test of whether it can prohibit
use by radio broadcasting companies
of the news which it and its members
have gathered at cost CT millions Of
the Associated Press.
4 suit in equity filed in Federal
District Court here by the press associ-
alton asked that the Sioux Falls
Broadcasting Association. operator of
Radio Station KSOO, be perpetually
enjoined frcm unauthorized broadcast
ing of news gathered by the Associated
Press.
Shortly afterward Judge James d.
Elliott signed temporary order restrain
ing the broadcasting company from cir
culating Associated Press Dispatches
and made it returnable March 6,
when a hearing will be held to deter
mine whether an injunction should be
issued. The restraining order was
served on representative of the radio
station late today.
The temporary order reStrains KSOO
from "pirating, appropriating, using or
disseminating to the general public
news gathered and obtained through
the labor and expenditure of the COM
.plainant corporation, during such
period as such news retains and has
commercial value as news to complain
ant and members of complainant cor
poration. said period to be not less
than "a hours after the first publica-
tlon OF said news in newspaper which
Is member of complainant corpora
ton"
Suit First of Kind.
The suit is the first of its kind on
record.
Declaring the expense of gathering
and transmitting news to its members
amounts to millions of dollars each
year, the bill Of complaint charged the
unauthorized use of this news by the
radio station greatly impairs" the
value Of the dispatches "and works a
direct and irreparable injury" to the
Associated Press and its members.
Future continuance of said practice
on the part of the defendant" the bill
OF complaint continued, will increas-
ingly cause the aforesaid irreparable
injury and damage to the complainant,
in that complainant's efforts and ex-
penditures to gather and obtain news
will be rendered largely without reward
or value so far as concerns said terri
tory served by said radio station"
Called Unfair Competition.
The Associated Press, the complaint
set forth, is a cooperative organization
OF newspapers formed for the purpose
of obtaining and interchanging news.
It further stated that the defendant
company does not maintain any organ
tzation for procuring news itself but
regularly and continuously" uses As
sociated Press dispatches to popularize
the radio station and make advertising
time more valuable and that the prac-
tice 'is and constitutes unfair compe-
tition.'
Holton Davenport Of Davenport &
Davenport, attorney for the Associated
Press, said "the suit is in no sense an
attack on KSOO or any other radio
station. The Associated Press, of
course, has no objection to KSOO or
any other radio station broadcasting
news. but does object to appropriation
for that purpose of news which the As
ISOLATED Press gathers at tremendous
expense ."
Tom Kirby, attorney for Joseph
Henken, who operates KSOO. said to-
night Mr.. Henken had no statement to
make at this tine.