Intellectual property
We are committed to providing comprehensive, original, authoritative news from around the world.
Our reporters are at the scene whenever major stories are breaking—sometimes at great risk to themselves.
Our audience also counts on them to cover news at the local level. For example, we have a reporter in every statehouse in the U.S.
This level of journalism is expensive. AP, which is a not-for-profit cooperative, invests hundreds of millions of dollars every year in newsgathering and distribution. Revenue from licensing this content, across formats (including digital), is our main source of funding.
When a user licenses content from AP, it obtains permission to use that content in a specific way. Thousands of organizations across the world license AP content for legitimate use in their businesses, understanding the value inherent in this content and the investment that went into its production.
When our content is used without authorization, it undermines our ability to support our news operations.
Like any other content creator, we must protect our intellectual property rights against unauthorized exploitation. Protecting our journalists’ work from misuse and illegal use is of primary importance to the organization, and we are working to develop new ways to safeguard our rights.
Copyright infringement
In a victory for AP, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in AP's favor in a copyright infringement suit against Meltwater News. The British Supreme Court has decided partially in favor of news-clipping service Meltwater in its long-running dispute with UK newspaper publishers. Read more about the case here.
Protecting original newsgathering
Since its founding in 1846, The Associated Press has been at the forefront of the news industry on issues like freedom of the press, the public’s right to know, intellectual property rights and journalistic ethics and practices.
Submit an intellectual property claim
Report the unlawful use of AP content or file a copyright infringement notification with AP regarding the content contained on this site. We want to hear from you.