News giants: limit free riders from rewriting "our" facts

Just a day after Google and Twitter called the legal concept of "hot news" obsolete, the major news heavyweights have collectively thrown their hat into the ring in support of the nebulous restriction.

The Associated Press, New York Times, Time, Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, Advance Publications, and others submitted their own amicus brief in the ongoing legal case between theflyonthewall.com and Barclays Capital. They aren't taking a side in the dispute, but they do want the ability to tell others not to re-report "their" facts. According to the brief, the news orgs believe the hot news doctrine provides "limited but vital protection" for those who put elbow grease into publishing the news. They argue that they're the ones spending time and money doing the research on a piece of news, and that they should get full control over who can republish the facts while the news is still considered timely. (Facts generally are not protected by copyright.)