photo credit: Beadzoid via Flickr
Okay, so once again, there was a bs fake copyright notice circulating Facebook statuses earlier this week. The Legal World of Social Media is one of the topics that I cover in my workshop series Real Law for Creative Entrepreneurs. However, because of the confusion surrounding Facebook user policies I will address a few key points here.
If you pay any attention at all to Facebook, you should recognize this status:
“In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times! (Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place them under protection of copyright laws). By the present communiqué, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook’s direction or control. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute). Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are recommended to publish a notice like this, or if you prefer, you may copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once, you will be tacitly allowing the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates.”
You’ve been played. Bamboozled. Got.
Once you sign up for a social media site, you subscribe to their user policies. That is why they exist. You cannot simply will them away with a well crafted status.
You just can’t.
Facebook released it’s own statement concerning the foolery:
“There is a rumor circulating that Facebook is making a change related to ownership of users’ information or the content they post to the site. This is false. Anyone who uses Facebook owns and controls the content and information they post, as stated in our terms. They control how that content and information is shared. That is our policy, and it always has been.”
I strongly encourage anyone who has a social media presence to familiarize yourself with the user policies. Here are a few key points on Facebook’s policy:
one.
If you were the owner of the content when you posted it, you are still the owner of the content. Facebook does not steal ownership from you. Now, if someone else was the owner…that is a separate issue.
two.
You do grant Facebook a license to republish any content that you share, including photos and videos…ahem…your intellectual property.
three.
That license is revoked once you delete the content unless that content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
The Good.
You maintain ownership peeps.
The Bad.
Depending on how much your work has been shared you may face challenges completely removing it from Facebook should the day come that you choose to do so.
Be smart about what you share. Even a license to republish could be worth valuable money.