Pinterest Coming Unpinned By Assignment of Legal Liability onto its Users?
Pinterest Coming Unpinned By Assignment of Legal Liability onto its Users?
People who do not care about unauthorised use of their images and who feel they benefit from referral traffic generated to their sites will tell you not to worry, but if you use Pinterest to pin others' work, the design of the site may shift significant liability onto you.
Thanks Michael Russell for sharing this enlightening post. I'll include your useful comments here i this share as well:
"Another interesting article on the potential legal pitfalls with Pinterest. I have an account, but so far I have only pinned my own content - the content I have repinned has been that of other photographers pinning their own content. I am not sure how useful the site would be to me overall, but I am reluctant to do much more with it before some of these legal questions have a bit more resolution. I also don't see it as a good driver of traffic as the previews on there are so large I don't know why it would be necessary to go view the content in its original context."
Originally shared by Stuart Duncan (AutismFather)
Pinterest - Why I tearfully deleted my pinterest inspiration boards
This piece (http://ddkportraits.com/2012/02/why-i-tearfully-deleted-my-pinterest-inspiration-boards/), written by a lawyer and photographer, is enlightening.. and scary.
For example:
In several places in Pinterest’s Terms of Use, you, as the user, agree that you will not violate copyright law or any other laws. And then there is this:
“YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, APPLICATION, SERVICES AND SITE CONTENT REMAINS WITH YOU.” (yes, this is in ALL CAPS right in their TOU for a reason).
And then, there is this:
“you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Cold Brew Labs, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or use of the Site, Application, Services or Site Content, (ii) your Member Content, or (iii) your violation of these Terms.”
This “defend and indemnify” stuff means that if some photographer out there decides that he or she does not want you using that photogs images as “inspiration” or otherwise and decides to sue you and Pinterest over your use of that photog’s images, you will have to hire a lawyer for yourself and YOU will have to hire a lawyer for Pinterest and fund the costs of defending both of you in court. Not only that, but if a court finds that you have, in fact, violated copyright laws, you will pay all damages assessed against you and all damages assessed against Pinterest. OUCH. Oh, but it gets better. Pinterest reserves the right to prosecute you for violations. Basically, Pinterest has its keester covered and have shifted all of the risk to you.
Read More Here:
http://ddkportraits.com/2012/02/why-i-tearfully-deleted-my-pinterest-inspiration-boards/
I'm taking a very cautious "Wait and See" with Pinterest, too, especially where my clients are concerned. Would like to see this ironed out before I start suggesting they get real involved, and certainly before we started offering it as a service.
ReplyDeletethis bullshit is getting out of hand, as long as it links back to your site I don't see the problem. If you don't want your stuff on the internet, don't put it up in the first place! You'll need permission to recommend someone next.
ReplyDeleteThat's a standard across most all sites allowing user uploaded content. Craigslist is the best example of fending off legal action while their users absorb it.
ReplyDeleteRed Bryant Photographers should tolerate theft, or not show their work to (new or existing) customers on the Internet? With that sort of logic, Wal-Mart should tolerate rampant shoplifting, or prevent it only by locking its doors and not showing their goods to anyone?
ReplyDeleteJeffrey Sullivan - theft?? That's a big leap to going into a shop and actually taking an item. Appreciating someone's photo on a page is not stealing, what exactly do you think they'll do with a low res photo?
ReplyDeleteRed Bryant Sell the images. That's what the TOS says people who "pin" photos authorize them to do:
ReplyDeletePinterest May Sell, Distribute, or "Exploit" Pinned Images
Pinterest's terms of use state that if you upload content to Pinterest, then you're giving Pinterest permission to distribute, sublicense, and sell that content:
By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, *modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services.
"you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Cold Brew Labs the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms; and (ii) neither the Member Content nor your posting, uploading, publication, submission or transmittal of the Member Content or Cold Brew Labs’ use of the Member Content (or any portion thereof) on, through or by means of the Site, Application and the Services will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other proprietary or intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy..."
Is Pinterest a Haven for Copyright Violations?
http://greekgeek.hubpages.com/hub/Is-Pinterest-a-Haven-for-Copyright-Violations
Neither you nor anyone else has the right to authorize Pinterest to sell my images (instead of me). Yes, absolutely, that's theft.
Basically the law is letting them sell stolen goods... how can that be legal? The laws in the US are totally fucked, but that's nothing new... I believe brother Ali says it best, America is 'Land of the thief and home of the slave!' ;-) Unless they change their terms, the Pinterest site is utterly useless and too risky to use!
ReplyDeleteFrom now on, I'll be pinning my interest to a folder on my desktop, thanks for the heads up!
Most of the links are great advertising for product, but when it comes to photographers, it's a different deal. I will bet money that thumbnail size gets reduced within the year. That one change would address so many issues, but it would make the site less popular.
ReplyDeleteThey are in a very grey area (grey enough to mean that it isn't grey, but normally no one cares) for that reason alone. It will take one lawsuit by a big enough opponent (Flickr?) to make that happen.