Tag: photo

Photographer Unsuccessful in Copyright Case Over Use of Embedded Instagram Photo

User beware – you will be held to a social media platform’s terms of use. Most people are aware by using a social media platform that they give up some rights to the content that they share. What rights and to what extent depends on the platform and the specific terms of use.

A district court in the recent Sinclair case found no copyright infringement by the website Mashable, where it used one of photographer Sinclair’s Instagram photos in an article, even after an unsuccessful attempt to license the photo directly from Sinclair. Sinclair v. Ziff Davis, LLC, and Mashable, Inc., No. 1:18-CV-00790 (S.D.N.Y. April 13, 2020).

Plaintiff Sinclair had a “public” Instagram account and posted a copy of the subject photograph. Defendant Mashable, a digital media and entertainment platform, published on its website an article about female photographers that embedded the publicly posted photo from Sinclair’s Instagram account. Notably, prior to using the Instagram photo, an employee from Mashable contacted Sinclair about licensing the same photo to be used in the article. Sinclair declined Mashable’s US$50 offer to license the use of the photo. Sinclair later demanded that Mashable remove the embedded photograph from their website and demanded compensation. Mashable refused. Sinclair then sued for copyright infringement.

Sinclair argued that Mashable infringed her copyright in the photo since it did not have permission to use the photo. Mashable contended that it had a valid sublicense from Instagram to use the photo and therefore did not infringe Sinclair’s copyright. The court sided with Mashable.

By creating an Instagram account, Sinclair was bound to Instagram’s Terms of Use, which grant Instagram the right to sublicense content that is posted and made public by the user. Instagram then exercised that right by granting Mashable a sublicense to display the photo through sharing the embedded photo. Instagram utilizes API (application programming interface) which allows users to share public content posted by other users. The Instagram policies allow users to use API to embed posts on their websites.

The court held that Sinclair’s right to license the photo directly and Instagram’s right as a licensee to sublicense the photo to Mashable were independent from one another.

Sinclair also contended that the authorization of Instagram to sublicense the photo was invalid because of the complex and interconnected documents which established the rights. While the court agreed that Instagram could make their terms of service and policies more concise and accessible, they were under no obligation to do so.

Lastly, Sinclair argued that it was unfair of Instagram to force a professional photographer to choose between keeping her work “private” on one of the most popular photo sharing apps or to post publicly which would allow Instagram a sublicense to her photographs to users like Mashable. While the court noted this dilemma was very real, the court held that Sinclair had already made her choice by opting to post the photo publicly.

The court also noted that because it held that Instagram had granted Mashable a valid license to display Sinclair’s photo, it did not have to reach the question of unsettled law in the circuit of whether embedding an image is considered a ‘display’ capable of infringing a copyright in an image. That issue was addressed on a motion for summary judgment in Goldman v. Breitbart News Network LLC et al., 1:17-CV-03144 (S.D.N.Y. February 15, 2018), where the court came to the exact opposite conclusion.

In the Goldman case, a different Judge in the same jurisdiction held that the use of embedded Tweets on news media websites featuring a picture of Tom Brady did infringe the copyright of the photographer. The decision for partial summary judgment in favor of the photographer in the Goldman case was highly criticized, and the case ultimately settled outside of court.

While this case affirmed that use of a public Instagram photo as embedded in an article on a third-party website is covered by Instagram’s Terms of Use, this ruling does not necessarily mean that Instagram’s terms grant a blank check regarding the use of publicly posted content. This ruling addressed a specific use of an embedded photo, but did not touch on a litany of other potential concerns when using another’s photo posted publicly on the platform, such as right of publicity, unfair competition, false sponsorship or affiliation, or trademark infringement.

Copyright 2020 K & L Gates

For more on photo & other copyright issues, see the National Law Review Intellectual Property Law section.

Sarah Palin and North Jersey Media Group Battle Over “Fair Use” of Famous 9/11 Photo

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The iconic “Raising the Flag at Ground Zero” photo of firemen raising an American flag on September 11, 2001, which appeared on the cover of The Record newspaper and other newspapers on September 12, is at the heart of a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in New York. The Complaint, filed by the owner of the copyright in the photograph, claims copyright infringement and false designation of origin for the unauthorized reproduction of portions of the photograph on the website for Sarah Palin’sfederally registered political action committee, www.sarahpac.com,  and on her Facebook page,www.facebook.com/sarahpalin.

The suit claims that the photograph is being used by Palin and the other Defendants to raise money for her political action committee. The PAC website solicits and accepts financial contributions from supporters and accepts requests for Sarah Palin to make paid appearances at events, including media and campaign events, and Palin’s Facebook page provides links to this website. The owner of the copyright in the photograph also alleges that the use of the photo falsely designates the origin of the photograph and that its appearance on the PAC website and Palin’s Facebook page is likely to cause confusion mistake or deception as to the source or ownership of the photograph, falsely representing that Palin or the PAC owns the copyright when they do not.

Defendants have responded to the Complaint by moving to dismiss it on grounds of improper venue, failure to state a viable claim for false designation of origin, and fair use of the copyrighted photograph.  Defendants’ content that their alleged “commercial use” is no different from the conduct of Google in its Google Books Project, which was recently held by the same court in which suit was filed to favor a finding of fair use despite Google’s general commercial focus. They argue further that since the photograph in question is “an iconic depiction of a compelling and unforgettable historic moment” that there is a public interest and demand for such newsworthy photographs, making its reproduction a fair use. As to the remaining fair use factors, it is argued that the cropped and altered version of the original photograph was used only “to provide a visual context for the accompanying text” conveying the message that the day should not be forgotten, and that the use has had no effect on the market for or value of the photograph itself.

Palin is not the first politician to be sued for copyright infringement in connection with political activities. As we have reported to you in the past, politicians in recent and not so recent campaigns have also been brought to task for the unauthorized use of copyrighted works.

It remains to be seen how this issue will be decided, and we will report back to you with all further developments.

 

Article by:

Susan Neuberger Weller

Of:

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.