Embedding Photos and Videos From Social Media and Copyright Infringement

Description

Embedding photos or images from social media into another website was initially thought to be within a safe harbor from a copyright infringement claim. Generally, many social and digital media companies have permitted users to embed content on third-party websites. However, over the last few years, there has been more copyright infringement litigation involving the issue of embedding.

Further, recent decisions have added more complexity to the issue of embedding, suggesting infringement may exist even if the copyright owner has granted permission to the social media site to permit others to embed photos. In Sinclair v. Ziff Davis (S.D.N.Y. 2020), a professional photographer sued Mashable Inc. and its parent company Ziff Davis, alleging Mashable embedded a photograph that she created and published on her Instagram account. The photo was embedded on Mashable's website. The court initially granted a dismissal but then reversed. The court focused on the agreements and terms that govern the sublicensing of work uploaded to the social media site. The court noted ambiguity in the language as to whether it meant that API users may embed the public content of third-party users on their websites.

However, in Hunley v. Instagram (9th Cir. 2023) the Ninth Circuit held that its server test permits copyrighted content to be embedded on another's website without violating copyright law.

Companies that operate online should be aware of recent developments to protect themselves from liability. Media companies have been the targets of recent litigation and may be liable for substantial damages when others' copyrighted images are used for their monetary gain.

Listen as our authoritative panel of IP attorneys examines the embedding of photos from social media and the associated copyright issues. The panel will review recent court treatment of these issues. The panel will discuss what companies can and should do if they have unlicensed third-party content currently embedded on their websites and policies that should be in place to protect the company from copyright infringement actions.