• Forbes, Friday, May 1, 2009 10:45 AM

The Associated Press and Google have been debating content and compensation issues for months. Tom Curley, CEO of the AP, warns that if Google doesn't strike the right deal soon, "They will not get our copy going forward."

The AP plans to create landing pages and Web-based "news maps" directing users to original AP stories and away from secondary sources that post material "borrowed" from the AP. But it needs Google's cooperation to pull it off. A 2006 licensing deal requires Google to pay the AP to carry AP content on the Google News site, but in general searches AP content gets no payment or special priority.

Curley is demanding that Google "protect AP content from unauthorized use and pay us for the longtail." By "longtail," he means the thousands of small sites that collectively drive vast herds of traffic using AP material. Then again, talking tough might be part of the process. The 2006 agreement with Google was reached only after the AP threatened to sue Google for infringement, says Curley.

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