Many Kansas and Missouri residents frequent online social network sites. There are also many people in these and other states who enjoy uploading photographs they’ve taken to various internet venues to share them with others and invite public comments. A man who did just that wound up in a legal battle over copyright law, and according to the judge that recently heard the case, he won.
The man took a photo of NFL superstar Tom Brady alongside the manager and president of the NBA Celtics. Since Brady plays football, many people found the photo interesting and made it go viral. Several major online news networks embedded tweets that contained the photo into stories on their sites.
The original photographer then filed a lawsuit against all parties that had done so, including The Boston Globe and Breitbart, asserting that they had infringed upon his exclusive right to display the photo. Linking and embedding posts are basic computer skills that have brought speed and convenience to online communication through the years. However, the federal judge who heard the case ruled that embedding a tweet that contains an image into a web page can be an infringement of a copyright.
It is not yet known whether the decision will be appealed. Those in Kansas and Missouri who may be worried about similar legal issues can reach out for support from experienced copyright law attorneys. Often, aggressive litigation is necessary to protect a copyright against infringement. An attorney can quickly determine the best course of action in a particular situation.
Source: wired.com, “A Ruling Over Embedded Tweets Could Change Online Publishing“, Louise Matsakis, Feb. 16, 2018