Charging for Links to Your Site?

[Renegade]

Looks like some news papers are charging for links to their sites:

http://drudgegae.iavian.net/r?hop=http://www.france24.com/en/20130104-irish-newspapers-defence-over-sharing-links

http://www.france24.com/en/20130104-irish-newspapers-defence-over-sharing-links

The first link there is just linking from one news site to another, so I thought it would be ironically appropriate.

The body representing Ireland's leading newspapers was forced to defend the way it enforces copyright law on Friday after revelations that it charges websites that link to its articles.

National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI), which represents 16 of the most popular national papers, said it believed "that the display and transmission of links does constitute an infringement of copyright" under current Irish law.

However, it insisted that "there is a distinction between the sending and receipt of links for personal use on the one hand and the sending and receipt of links for commercial purposes on the other".

"NNI and its newspaper members never have had any difficulty with people displaying links for personal use," it said in a statement.

The row was sparked by the revelation that Women's Aid, a charity combatting domestic violence, had been told by an NNI subsidiary that it must pay 300 euros ($400) to display up to five links to newspaper articles on its website.

The fees relate to hypertext links to the original article on a newspaper's website, not a reproduction of the text -- either totally or partially.

The case was highlighted by Dublin-based solicitor for Women's Aid, Simon McGarr, in a blog entry on Sunday entitled, "2012: The year Irish newspapers tried to destroy the web."

He said NNI sub-company Newspaper Licensing Ireland Limited (NLI) told Women's Aid that the rates increased to 1,350 euros for displaying 26 to 50 links, while the cost for 50 or more was "negotiable".

If anyone is interested, if you want to link to any of my sites, I promise not to charge you for it. In fact, I'll thank you!

[SeraphimLabs]

What a hassle. Now I have to go find about 3000 website owners who have linked to my site and charge them a modest fee for it.

(Maybe I should have done this sooner.)

No. Just no. This is what happens when business people try to understand how the internet works. They are guaranteed to mess it up and ruin it for everyone.

[Renegade]

No. Just no. This is what happens when business people try to understand how the internet works. They are guaranteed to mess it up and ruin it for everyone.

+1

I'd chalk it up to greed. I don't know how else to characterize it.

But, it only takes 1 MBA to destroy a company/idea/principle.

It would be interesting if MBAs needed to take a course on Immanuel Kant in order to graduate.

[Stoic Joker]

Well if they want to go prancing around the bend, then they should (be forced to) finish the full turn instead of parking at the apex. The newspaper (and/or media in general) should be forced to pay the subject of the article for using the content that they (the subject) actually created by making a spectacle of themselves. Because the news media doesn't actually create content...the subjects of their articles actually create the content by engaging is some form of interesting antics. The news media simply makes written or video taped observation about the story/content that some poor sods fate has actually created.

[Renegade]

Well if they want to go prancing around the bend, then they should (be forced to) finish the full turn instead of parking at the apex. The newspaper (and/or media in general) should be forced to pay the subject of the article for using the content that they (the subject) actually created by making a spectacle of themselves. Because the news media doesn't actually create content...the subjects of their articles actually create the content by engaging is some form of interesting antics. The news media simply makes written or video taped observation about the story/content that some poor sods fate has actually created.

+1

Well said. I've often wondered about that. It's amazing how often in these kinds of situations you very quickly hear, "Oh, but that's different..."

They do pay for stories sometimes, but those tend to be tabloid stuff, like nude pictures of celebs and whatnot. Hey, that could be helpful for Lindsay Lohan's financial troubles...

[f0dder]

What a convoluted way for them to commit suicide :-)

[mouser]

What a convoluted way for them to commit suicide :-)

well said   

[app103]

So how much are they charging Google?