Fast Company takes a look at the legal row between news agency AFP and photographer Daniel Morel – and where Twitter fits in. In summary, AFP is currently embroiled in a rights row with Morel after using photographs of Haiti that had been uploaded on Twitpic. Morel reportedly sent cease-and-desist letters to which AFP responded with threat of a law suit.
Fast Company writes:
AFP, like a lot of more established organizations, seems unable to change their perspectives on Twitter to address what the service actually is. That Morel posted some of the most important photos of the decade on Twitter before any other publication shows the power and flexibility of Twitter as a legitimate news service. AFP’s argument, that Twitter is in some way nothing more than a digital bulletin board with no accompanying rights, is worrisome – it’s a different kind of news outlet than AFP, but that doesn’t mean its value in news can simply be ignored.