"Expanding copyright law to bar online access to copyrighted materials without the copyright holder's consent, or to bar linking to or paraphrasing copyrighted materials without the copyright holder's consent, might be necessary to keep free riding on content financed by online newspapers from so impairing the incentive to create costly news-gathering operations that news services like Reuters and the Associated Press would become the only professional, nongovernmental sources of news and opinion."
His idea is certainly controversial, breaking all the fundamental principles that makes the internet what it is. It would overturn long-established rules of fair use, which, among others things, allow for the reproduction of short excerpts of copyrighted material for the purposes of commentary, parody and the like – precisely what bloggers and aggregators do all the time.
Fortunately, Posner's proposal would need to be enacted in the form of an amendment to the copyright law. However, this idea is gaining momentum and support as traditional newspapers battle for readers ratings.
However, Congress has also been known to act enthusiastically on copyright issues when corporate interests are at heart. With the additional success rate of newspapers ability to highlight their plight, the motion becomes more serious.
More on this article here at Guardian Online.
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