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The Internet Is Not a Consequence-Free Zone

By Hajir Ardebili and Jamie Zagoria
August 01, 2016

The widespread use of social media, and the corresponding ability to create, share, and misappropriate content ' all in an instant ' has radically increased the number of unwitting copyright owners and infringers. Those who publish their musings, photographs, videos and other material via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, for example, do not necessarily know that their content may be protected by copyright law. By the same token, those who make use of others' content typically give little thought to whether their actions constitute copyright infringement, or are shielded from liability.

In light of the vast dissemination of material via social media, and with the average user taking such a casual approach to the creation and use of content, it is unsurprising that skirmishes over the appropriation of published material are occurring with greater frequency. In some instances, disputes have involved high-profile individuals and been the subject of media reporting. As discussed below, infringement claims have raised questions about how copyright law might protect the originator or the secondary publisher(s) of material, as well as what, if any, responsibility the operators of social media platforms may have to remove allegedly infringing posts from their sites.

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