News aggregators—Web sites such as Google News that compile headlines and other content from news Web sites—are one of the latest challenges the Internet poses for traditional media outlets. Some organizations that generate revenue through news gathering have moved to block news aggregators from what they see as unfairly profiting from the labor of content producers. In pursuit of this goal, they have employed the “hot news” misappropriation tort, which not long ago was considered moribund by many courts and commentators.
A new decision from the Southern District of New York applies the misappropriation tort in the context of the financial industry. In Barclays Capital Inc. v. Theflyonthewall.com, 2010 WL 1005160 (SDNY March 18, 2010), Judge Denise Cote ruled that a Web site that aggregated research analysts’ stock recommendations without permission was liable to several financial services firms for “hot news” misappropriation.
