The AP is apparently looking to become as popular as other industry consortiums like the RIAA and MPAA. I guess they’re hoping that by wrapping their stories in DRM that they’ll be able to leverage the DMCA against anyone who uses the content of their members in court.
I think they’ll find the written word is much harder to protect than a digital song or movie. And while the DMCA might prove a valuable weapon, the laws regarding the use of written words are more defined than their newer kin. I think that all they’re doing is proving that groups such as these are anachronisms, waiting for their inevitable deaths at the hands of a public tired of being nickel-and-dimed.