[Smedley]

If an article is on-line, and you provide a link to it - the link per se is not infringement. I would also argue that a limited excerpt is fair use under copyright law as you are reporting on the article or website. FYI, I am an IP attorney

[texas booster]

With a few different changes in the law back in the 30’s, television stations would be paying us when they broadcast their content.

For written words, a devious lawyer might craft a law that requires the author to pay anyone that spreads the original art, much like a micropayment for a click. A new twist on G**gle Analytics that the troll industry could use?

Music has been ruled that the author (or owner of the material) should be paid for fair commercial and private use. One cannot just rip a song of the web and use it as though they had paid for the material.

Getty Images spends a ton of money to protect its copyrights. Would this create a situation where media companies would be beholden to pay these image libraries for every click or reposting?

Or the general public? Nuts.