First there was MySpace.? Then there was Facebook and Twitter.?? And then came Google+.? Now Pinterest is ?the next big thing? in social media ? but it may go the way of Napster soon.
Here is an excerpt of a statement that Pinterest sent the Wall Street Journal:[1]
The protection of copyrighted content is by no means unique to Pinterest ? virtually every site on the web that allows users to express themselves contends with copyright complexities. As a company we care about respecting the rights of copyright holders and have outlined on our site best practices that people should abide by when adding pins to make them useful to themselves, the community, and the content owners.
The Information Age has been harsh on Intellectual Property and the laws that protect it in this country and abroad ? just ask the entertainment industry about Napster, LimeWire and MegaUpload.com.? Now, Pinterest ? a website which calls itself an ?online pinboard? ? also threatens to run afoul of U.S. copyright laws.
On the Pinterest website users basically create virtual bulletin boards by pinning content ?found? across the Internet.[2]? This content includes pictures, recipes and bedroom designs ? but what if this content does not belong to the user?
Along with many business and marketers, photographer and attorney Kirsten Kowalski was among the masses that have flocked to Pinterest to create her own virtual scrapbook.[3]? However, one day as she was pinning photos on the website she had an epiphany.? Because she did not own the content that she was pinning, her virtual scrapbook may potentially violate U.S. copyright laws and could subject her to legal liability.[4]
That?s because while Pinterest enjoys DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) protections for user-generated content, website users themselves don?t have the same legal protections afforded under the DMCA.? Therefore, users may be exposing themselves to a significant legal risk and could face severe penalties such as monetary damages.[5]? Further, under the ?Legal & Copyright? section of the website, Pinterest makes no mention to their users that they could be violating copyright laws by posting content that does not belong to them.[6]
The easy solution to this copyright issue?? Advise your clients not to post anything they don?t own and create on Pinterest.? Make sure your clients aren?t posting celebrities photos or pinning pictures that don?t belong to them.? Otherwise, they must go through the arduous process of clearing the rights with the copyright holder.
Pinterest did offer this to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog:[7]
Moreover, we strongly encourage people to pin from the original source or permalinks, give credit to the content owner, and include a thoughtful pin description. If a user notices that a pin is not sourced correctly they should leave a comment so that the original pinner can update the source. Many publishers have also added ?Pin It? buttons to their site, making it easier to identify content that is okay to add to Pinterest.
Finally,?content owners who do not want their material shared on Pinterest can add a?small piece of Pinterest-provided code to their site that prevents Pinterest users from sharing that site?s content. We also strictly follow the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to ensure we are in compliance with all copyright laws and respond rapidly to infringement reports.
[1] How to Use Pinterest without Breaking the Law
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/03/13/dont-get-stuck-by-pinterest-lawyers-warn/
[2] Is Pinterest the Next Napster?
The social media website lets their users collect ideas they run across on the Internet for such things as recipes, home d?cor and gardening. Each user then maintains a board of photos and other users can then click on the links to the original source and choose to re-pin the image on boards of their own.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304450004577279632967289676.html
[3] Founded in 2009, Pinterest attracted 17.8 million unique users in the month of February, according to comScore Inc.
[4] Last month Ms. Kowalski wrote a blog post that went viral.? In the blog post she explained why she was taking down photos from others that she had pinned to her virtual bulletin board.
[5] ?Illegally downloading one song can net you a $75,000 fine.? That would be a pretty hefty fine for illegally pinning pictures you don?t own on your virtual scrapbook.
[6] See: http://pinterest.com/about/trademark/.
[7] How to Use Pinterest without Breaking the Law
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/03/13/dont-get-stuck-by-pinterest-lawyers-warn/
Source: http://www.attorneycredits.com/wordpress/2012/03/pinterest-spawns-copyright-issues/
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