![]() 13 If a user repeatedly infringes on other people’s intellectual property rights, Instagram will disable the users account “when appropriate.” 14Īccording to Merriam Webster, a meme is “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media.” 15 “A meme typically consists of a photograph, brief animation or snippet of video accompanied by a single quip (often in bold white text) appearing at either the top or bottom of the image. 11 Finally, users agree that content posted to Instagram is not confidential, and agree not to hold Instagram liable “for any use or disclosure of any content … provide.” 12 Instagram does provide a “copyright report form” which allows users to report content that they believe infringes on their copyright. In addition, users represent and warrant that their postings “do not violate, misappropriate or infringe on the rights of any third party, including, without limitation, privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademark and/or other intellectual property rights.” 10 Users also agree to pay any royalties, fees or money owed for the content that they post. The Terms of Service is a “contract of adhesion” which “offer no room for negotiation – the user’s only options are to take it or leave it.” 7 Instagram does not claim ownership of any content that users post: however, users do grant Instagram “a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that post on or through the Service.” 8 Users represent and warrant that they own the Content which they post. To create an account a user must accept Instagram’s Terms of Service. There are also accounts which post strictly humorous content, which often includes memes. Users can “follow” other accounts, which could be, for example, friends, acquaintances, brands, celebrities, political officials, accounts devoted to posting pictures of puppies/cities/cupcakes etc. 5 With the swipe of a finger, Instagram posts can also be shared on a user’s linked Facebook, Twitter, and Tumbler accounts. ![]() Once a user has created an account with Instagram, they are able to “post” pictures to their feed. Instagram allows users to instantly share photos with their friends and followers. 3 “Roughly half (51%) of Instagram users access the platform on a daily basis, with 35% saying they do so several times a day.” 4 Although memes can be accessed on a variety of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, this article will primarily focus on memes as they are used on Instagram. adults are Facebook users, while 28% use Instagram, 26% use Pinterest, 25% use LinkedIn and 21% use Twitter.” 1 Of the Facebook users, 76% report that “they visit the site on a daily basis.” 2 Instagram use is especially high among younger adults, with roughly 59% of online adults ages 18-29 using Instagram. This article examines why legal claims based on copyright infringement are unlikely to succeed in the meme context.Īccording to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, in 2016 “n a total population basis (accounting for Americans who do not use the internet at all), 68% of all U.S. Meme creators are usually not the copyright owners in the underlying work: surprisingly, however, there has been little litigation on this issue. The ease with which memes can be created and shared has led to a vibrant social internet culture. Memes influence modern communication and culture, and are used as a form of entertainment, as business and marketing tools, and as a method for making social commentary. ![]() Internet memes, pictures with juxtaposed text which evolve through imitation, reproduction, and mutation, have become a widespread phenomenon with millions of memes being created and shared daily. ![]()
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