Defining Copyright Protections on Social Media in the Age of Instagram #Reposts
Jessica Barbaria Globally, more than one billion people use Instagram every month. It is no wonder Instagram’s impressive user base has attracted big businesses to the platform. Brands seeking to grow their audiences often turn to social media to reach new customers, engage with existing customers, and source marketing content. Despite brands’ increasing reliance on Instagram, the legal boundaries of social media marketing are not well defined. Brands do not always know when they have permission to exploit user-generated content, and users do not always feel their content is fully protected. To clarify this uncertainty, Congress should amend the Copyright...
Don’t Sue Meme, It’s a Parody
Lea Silverman Memes have become one of the most prolific posts on social media websites. Memes exploit familiar templates of existing images overlaid with text, typically to make a point or a joke. There have been very few court cases and almost no rulings on the issue of memes and copyright infringement. By applying a fair use analysis and the Supreme Court’s 1994 decision in Campbell v. Rose-Acuff Music, Inc., this Essay argues that meme creators can successfully assert the parody defense to copyright infringement. Read Full Text Here
The Internet of Things: How Digital Copyright Rules Govern Our Physical World
Jessica Barbaria Intellectual property law governs the digital world. Thus, copyright law controls how digital content, such as software, is shared and accessed. Digital content is generally licensed, permitting users to save and use a copy of software but not to own it outright. Because the internet enables monitoring of these licenses, copyright holders can ensure users do not infringe on copyright or violate their license agreements in other ways. Software also enables advanced capabilities in physical products. For example, car manufactures can remotely modify settings to benefit drivers after they buy their cars. That said, software updates come with...
No Safe Harbor: YouTube’s Content Id and Fair Use
Robert Andrea YouTube is arguably the world’s foremost platform for user-generated content. When users upload material to YouTube, there is a possibility that the uploaded content is protected by copyright. Under traditional copyright law, YouTube is technically liable for allowing copyrighted material to be disseminated. But the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) insulates YouTube and other internet service providers from liability if the companies take certain steps to filter out copyrighted material. For YouTube, the only feasible way to fulfill its copyright protection obligations is to utilize automated copyright protection software. Nevertheless, YouTube’s software, Content ID, and the copyright policies...
Hackback to the Drawing Board: Ambiguity and Risk in the Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act
Robert Andrea Cyber criminals, both state-sponsored and unaffiliated, are targeting private corporations and individuals more frequently. For several years, there have been calls for legislation that would allow private entities to defend themselves in cyberspace by “hacking back” against their attackers. The Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act is a recent proposal to amend the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to permit private entities to take active defensive measures without exposing themselves to criminal liability. Although a well-intentioned proposal, the bill uses vague language to identify when, and against whom, private entities can take defensive measures. Enabling private entities to begin...
The Case for the Use of Facial Recognition Technology
Ye-Eun Sung Consumers often unknowingly enter brick-and-mortar stores that utilize facial recognition technology. Many are, therefore, at risk of their biometric data being wrongfully used without their consent or knowledge. The delay in the courts’ and the federal government’s response to facial recognition technology has allowed its development and use to remain unregulated. Although regulation of this technology is essential, its use should not be banned outright. Due to the changing retail landscape, facial recognition technology provides brick-and-mortar stores with information that allows them to remain relevant in a market that relies significantly on the internet and e-commerce. Read Full...
Blockchain and Copyright: Vain Hope for Photographers?
Jason Kim Blockchain technology has near unlimited application potential, and its influence could extend all the way to the copyright industry. For photographers, blockchain technology might serve as a safe and efficient tool to detect infringement. However, this notion must be treated with caution. Blockchain’s security applications are indeed a valuable prospect, but the technology has critical flaws that prevent it from becoming the panacea for photographer. Read Full Text Here
FTC Social Media Endorsement Guidelines: The Effects on Social Media Users and Business Owners
Jason Kim In the midst of heydays of social media, a social media user will inevitably face a product or service endorsement post in his/her social media feed or thread page. However, in the endorsement post, it is quite rare to see disclosure information as to whether the social media endorser has some kind of commercial relationship with the product manufacturer or service provider. On September 7, 2017 the FTC issued its first ever legal action against individual social media endorsers for posting endorsement posts without revealing their commercial relationship with the service providing company. This action by the FTC...
ISP Regulation and Antitrust: The Case for Better Competition
David Yangli Wang This Note firstly discusses net neutrality and ISP regulations broadly– do we see it as a commerce issue, a government regulation issue, a data fairness issue, or even a human rights issue? And if we decide that ISPs must be regulated, what type of antitrust regulation will be most effective? This Note takes a comparative look at Internet regulations around the world, examining both the development of broadband infrastructures and the antitrust laws (or lack thereof) of such countries. This Note ultimately concludes that the current antitrust regime in the United States will not be able to...
The Growing Concern Regarding US Corporate Trade Secrets
Stephen Anderson Globalization has produced many benefits for United States corporations, but a significant detraction has been the emergence of trade secret theft. As technology advances, trade secret theft has become an even more persistent threat in the general marketplace. There are various ways trade secret theft can occur, but it is increasingly common for the theft to involve cyberspace, especially as these corporations expand into foreign markets. Consequently, Congress has taken a significant interest in curbing trade secret theft, as is evidenced by the various proposals before them today. These proposals offer varying solutions to trade secret theft, which...