Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey guys, I need to know of the rights to re-post news article or pictures from other websites to our Facebook fanpage. Is it legal to do so if we give credit to the original source?
Here's an example of a fan page in Facebook doing such exercise. They regularly take interesting photos from other websites for their fan page. [url]https://www.facebook.com/grouponmy[/url]
Feedbacks are very much appreciated!
Thanks,
brain
Last edited by brainagogo; 07-24-2012 at 02:34 AM..
You have limited options under "fair use" to reuse other peoples materials, fair use is not exactly defined. If you were for example copying part of an article there is no set definition of how much you can copy. Generally speaking copying an entire article and images in their entirety do not fall under "fair use".
Fair Use
One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords. This right is subject to certain limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the copyright law (title 17, U. S. Code). One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of “fair use.” The doctrine of fair use has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years and has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law.
Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair.
The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
The nature of the copyrighted work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work
The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.
The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”
Copyright protects the particular way authors have expressed themselves. It does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in a work.
The safest course is to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material. The Copyright Office cannot give this permission.
When it is impracticable to obtain permission, you should consider avoiding the use of copyrighted material unless you are confident that the doctrine of fair use would apply to the situation. The Copyright Office can neither determine whether a particular use may be considered fair nor advise on possible copyright violations. If there is any doubt, it is advisable to consult an attorney.
Very informative in general but the advice is mostly geared towards blogs.
On Facebook, I have to assume that pressing the "share" button on a picture that is in someone else's account/album is okay - or Facebook would be having major legal issues. The sports team I work for uploads my photos to their Facebook site - fans can then click "share" and my photos will show in their own news feed but they haven't "taken" or copied my photos, anyone who clicks on them will be opening the photos from the team's original album, not copies.
However, in order to upload a photo to an album yourself, you must have the rights to do so because then you are producing copies of the image, not merely linking to the original. That's where the blog post above is useful as it suggests ways to find images you can legally reproduce.
I wonder more about Pinterest than I do Facebook, since it's entirely image based.
You can share anything you want on the internet. Facebook has protected themselves, not you. You can post all the credit you want. Usually that is fine, but in the off chance the owner wants you to delete the post, you delete the post. They can also tell Facebook to take it down if you don't.
Unless the person has registered the photo/work with the copyright office ( I do this once a month with my work) they can't sue you. (Well, they CAN but it will be thrown out)
Now, as soon as I press the shutter I automatically have copyright of my work. However, in order to actually sue for Damages, it has to be registered. If not you an only sue to make them take it down, no money awarded.
Unless the person has registered the photo/work with the copyright office ( I do this once a month with my work) they can't sue you. (Well, they CAN but it will be thrown out)
A bit of clarification:
The U.S. Copyright Act states that “no civil action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration to registration of the copyright claimn has been made.” 17 U.S.C. sec. 411(a).
The rules for foreign works are a bit different, and while lack of registration may affect claims for statutory damages pre-registration, it is not the same bar to an action by the holder of a foreign copyright under the Berne Convention.
Very informative in general but the advice is mostly geared towards blogs.
On Facebook, I have to assume that pressing the "share" button on a picture that is in someone else's account/album is okay - or Facebook would be having major legal issues.
I'm not familiar with Facebook but I'll assume this is internal? When you sign up for Facebook or any site that allows uploads there is general clause they can use, reproduce blah, blah, blah. This is what they call a soft license, you've licensed Facebook to copy it.
I'm not familiar with Facebook but I'll assume this is internal? When you sign up for Facebook or any site that allows uploads there is general clause they can use, reproduce blah, blah, blah. This is what they call a soft license, you've licensed Facebook to copy it.
Yes but I don't think that means other users can save your images from your Facebook account (or anywhere else on the internet) and re-upload them to their own account. The example Facebook page seemed to mostly be uploading pictures to their own albums, rather than just "sharing" a photo from someone else's album. And where they got those images, from Facebook or elsewhere, I don't know and I can only hope they have the rights to upload them.
Facebook and other sites like this one are covered under the "Safe Harbor" provision in the DMCA. The service provider is exempt from liability of the actions of their users within certain limits.
Quote:
Unless the person has registered the photo/work with the copyright office ( I do this once a month with my work) they can't sue you. (Well, they CAN but it will be thrown out)
Now, as soon as I press the shutter I automatically have copyright of my work. However, in order to actually sue for Damages, it has to be registered. If not you an only sue to make them take it down, no money awarded.
You don't have to sue to get it taken down, you can issue a DMCA takedown notice. It's quite a powerful tool. You would issue this to whoever is responsible for hosting services and they have to act because if they don't then they are liable. You can also issue this to third parties like Google to get search results deindexed.
As far as suing in civil court a copyright owner is not precluded from registering a work after infringement but the damages are limited compared to if it was already registered. Generally speaking registered or not unless the infringement was substantial suing is going to cost you more than the award received.
In general, copyright registration is a legal formality intended
to make a public record of the basic facts of a particular copy *
right. However, registration is not a condition of copyright
protection. Even though registration is not a requirement for
protection, the copyright law provides several inducements
or advantages to encourage copyright owners to make regis*
tration. Among these advantages are the following:
• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright
claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, regis*
tration is necessary for works of U. S.origin.
• If made before or within five years of publication, regis*
tration will establish prima facie evidence in court of
the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in
the certificate.
• If registration is made within three months after publica*
tion of the work or prior to an infringement of the work,
statutory damages and attorney’s fees will be available to
the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an
award of actual damages and profits is available to the
copyright owner.
• Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record
the registration with the U. S.Customs Service for pro*
tection against the importation of infringing copies. For
additional information, go to the U. S.Customs and
Border Protection website at CBP.gov - home page.
Yes but I don't think that means other users can save your images from your Facebook account (or anywhere else on the internet) and re-upload them to their own account.
Correct, it just means that Facebook can use them within the confines of the Facebook.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
