International News Service v. Associated Press
248 U.S. 215 · Supreme Court of the United States · 1919
Facts
The Associated Press (AP) and International News Service (INS) are competing news-gathering and distribution organizations, supplying news to newspapers across the United States. AP operates as a cooperative, requiring its members to use its news exclusively and to contribute local news. INS sells news to its clients. AP filed a complaint alleging that INS was pirating its news by bribing employees of AP members, inducing AP members to violate by-laws, and systematically copying news from AP bulletin boards and early editions of AP newspapers, then selling this news to its own customers, often for publication simultaneously with or even before AP's own distribution in certain areas. This practice allowed INS to profit from AP's efforts without incurring the cost of gathering the news.
Procedural history
The complainant, Associated Press, filed a bill in the District Court seeking to restrain the defendant, International News Service, from pirating its news. The District Court granted a preliminary injunction against bribing employees and inducing by-law violations but refused to restrain the systematic copying of news from bulletins and early editions, considering it unfair trade but a novel legal question. Both parties appealed, and the Circuit Court of Appeals sustained the injunction, modifying it to also enjoin the bodily taking of news until its commercial value had passed. The Supreme Court then granted a writ of certiorari.
Issue
Can a news-gathering organization lawfully be restrained from commercially appropriating news taken from a competitor's bulletins or newspapers after publication, for the purpose of selling it to its own clients, even if the news is uncopyrighted?
Holding
Yes, a competing news agency can be restrained from appropriating news taken from a rival's bulletins or newspapers for commercial use until its commercial value as news has passed away, as such conduct constitutes unfair competition.
Rule
As between competitors in the business of gathering and distributing news, news collected at substantial cost is considered "quasi property" even after its initial publication to the public. The right to acquire property by honest labor and conduct a lawful business is entitled to protection. A competitor who misappropriates this news for its own profit, thereby "reaping where it has not sown," engages in unfair competition. Publication of news for limited purposes (to readers) does not constitute abandonment of the news for all commercial purposes, especially not for commercial appropriation by a competitor. The equitable relief granted only postpones a competitor's participation in the distribution of news it has not gathered, to prevent it from profiting from another's efforts.
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