Dissolving Innovation in Meltwater: An Attack on Online Search

• In Event: Search, Use, and Compliance in Online Environments

Abstract

With the exponential increases in online information, internet search engines have helped fill a substantial and growing need for the capacity to sort through and manage data. These search engines depend on leeway under copyright law to be able to provide these services; in the U.S., that has primarily been accommodated under the doctrine of fair use. A 2013 decision, Associated Press v. Meltwater, effectively limits this breathing room. Of particular concern, the court artificially constrains which services qualify as search engines, and the ruling provides undue protection for works with thin claims of expressive creativity. This paper offers a detailed critique of the Meltwater court’s fair use analysis and a discussion of the ruling’s broader context and significance.

Author

• Bill D. Herman, Hunter College