• Forbes, Friday, May 1, 2009 1:15 PM

Associated Press CEO Tom Curley made comments this week that suggest the talks between the AP and Google about content and compensation issues can't be going too well, says Forbes' Dirk Smillie. In an interview, Curley warns that if the two sides don't strike a deal soon, "[Google] will not get our copy going forward."

Last month, the AP announced a content protection initiative in which it threatened legal and legislative action against news aggregators, but it didn't mention Google News. That's because the AP needs Google's help directing users to original AP news stories and away from secondary sources who borrow content. Currently, the AP and Google are partners, with Google paying the AP undisclosed fees to feature AP content on Google News.

The partnership does not extend to Google searches, however. Curley argues that Google searches encourage misappropriation by other sites. He wants the search giant to "protect content from unauthorized use and pay us for the longtail," or the thousands of small sites that drive traffic by using AP content.

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