AP is now threatening to sue people who embed AP's YouTube videos that, of course, have their own embed code that AP declined to turn off

This is perhaps a bit wonky to those of you who don't understand how YouTube works. To those who do understand how YouTube works, this is not just bizarre, it's moronic.

In a nutshell, AP, like millions of people all over the world, created their own account on YouTube. What YouTube does is, it lets you upload any video you want, for free, and then people from all over the globe can come to YouTube and watch your video for free. That's not just the way YouTube works, it's its central purpose. To let you show your videos for free to other people.

Now, there's a second component to YouTube. In addition to someone visiting my YouTube page and looking, for free, at the videos I've posted there, you, the visitor, can also publish those videos, for free, on your own Web site. Again, it's the reason YouTube exists, to permit people to grab your video and show it on their sites for free. For anyone who doesn't want their videos being shown on other Web sites, but who would rather people come to their own YouTube page in order to see their videos, you can simply turn this feature off. Once you turn it off, no one can take any of your videos and show them on their Web pages.

Well. AP has refused to turn off the feature that permits you to take their YouTube videos and embed them on your own Web site. But at the same time, AP is now threatening to sue anyone who uses that feature that AP expressly decided to enable on its own YouTube videos.

Again, if you don't know YouTube, this might be a bit confusing. If you do know YouTube, what AP is alleging is absolutely idiotic. I'm trying to find a comparison, and I'm flummoxed. AP is publishing their videos on a Web site whose sole purpose is to show those videos for free, and then AP is enabling a feature that permits - nay, a feature whose only purpose is to have you post their videos on your own Web site - and then AP is threatening to sue anyone who does what AP has affirmatively invited you to do.

Of course, AP is now threatening to sue anyone who hyperlinks to an AP story, so this kind of hyper-litigious goofiness is starting to become par for the course.