6:00 PM -- This morning, Attributor announced a deal with the Associated Press to handle the media giant's copyright protection.

According to its Website, Attributor pairs the "DNA" of a file with information about its usage rights. The company monitors "over 11 billion" Websites, and when it finds DNA it knows, it can validate its use. Automated responses -- from licensing requests to full-on removal notices -- follow the discovery of unauthorized use. Yahoo reports the deal will at first cover a few hundred text files, but will eventually protect content in other formats, including video.

Attributor goes out of its way to distinguish its service from "copyright police" and DRM, and it's right to do so -- tracking content tracks use, so the content protection comes with market research.

— A.L. Friedman, Editor at Large, Light Reading