Court Reviews Fair Use Protection for Publishers Embedding Social Media Posts
On the one hand, the social media ecosystem generates a great deal of "newsworthy" content, which is a factor in determining whether use is permissible. On the other, the fact that content creators may retain an expected commercial interest in their posts may trigger enhanced Copyright protection. A recent case in the Southern District of New York analyzed those issues under the "fair use" doctrine.
January 13, 2023 at 10:00 AM
12 minute read
The early internet was created to facilitate the robust sharing of information among the research institutions and military facilities that were its first nodes. As the network grew, it retained that character and became the foundation for new ways to access and share information—including what we now know as the Web and various social media services. Almost all these services were designed around an ethos of making content as widely and easily accessible as possible, and in the social media world, an entire sharing economy arose, with its own "currency"—engagement (itself based on sharing and reposting).
Perhaps predictably, as these services have grown in scope and became more integral to everyday life, their character has transformed as well. While social media is still used to keep up with friends and family or explore personal interests, it has also become a primary source of news, commercial announcements, brand-building, and advertising for companies and individual "influencers" alike.
That change in character, from purely social communication to a mixture of the social and commercial, has had knock-on effects for courts applying traditional legal principles. Notably, the application of the Copyright Law has had to evolve in recent years to reflect the changes in the way social media is used. The increase in commercial use has caused some courts, including those in New York, to recognize a need to protect content owners even as the services themselves encourage sharing. On the one hand, the social media ecosystem generates a great deal of "newsworthy" content which, as discussed below, is a factor in determining whether use is permissible. On the other, the fact that content creators may retain an expected commercial interest in their posts may trigger enhanced Copyright protection. A recent case in the Southern District of New York analyzed those issues under the "fair use" doctrine. Whiddon v. Buzzfeed, 2022 WL 1655584 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 31, 2022).
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFatal Shooting of CEO Sets Off Scramble to Reassess Executive Security
5 minute readDeluge of Trump-Leery Government Lawyers Join Job Market, Setting Up Free-for-All for Law Firm, In-House Openings
4 minute readAre New York City Housing Providers Ready for the Fair Chance for Housing Act?
10 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250