Here are a couple interesting articles as to who owns Ellen’s “selfie”? Here and Here.

If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014

If you didn’t know, the above picture was the most Retweeted tweet/pic in the history of the social media platform. It actually crashed the site. So the question that has come up among lawyers is who owns the picture?

Actor Bradley Cooper took the picture, but Oscar show host Ellen DeGeneres uploaded the picture from her twitter account. Usually the original content creator (Cooper) would hold the copyright. But, DeGeneres does have an argument since she was the one with the idea for the “selfie” and posted the picture. Then, there’s the issue of whether the actual phone used would have a right to the picture. Without too much of an exhaustive discussion on this, its unlikely unless the content creators had a contract regarding copyright.

The first issue is to look at the Twitter terms of service since that was the method in which the photograph was distributed. According to this Poynter article, the twitter account holder has the right to post, submit or display on its platform. Certainly, if you copy and paste the photo from Twitter and use it for another use, you may have to look for permission especially if its for commercial use. A case last year saw a photographer win a lawsuit against a news agency (and settle with several others) as a result of the news agencies not seeking proper permission. So, as posted here, the photo has not been taken out of its native form.

The best practice, as always, is to ask for permission. This never hurts and so long as there is proper attribution, the copyright holder will usually allow the use. The other best practice is to check with the terms of use for the social media platform you utilize to see who owns what. If you have any other questions regarding social media, you may speak with a social media lawyer.

A Federal Court in New York found in favor of Haitian photographer Daniel Morel in a prolonged fight over photos he took of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010.

A jury found that Agence France-Presse and Getty Images willfully infringed upon Morel’s copyright of 8 pictures he took of the earthquake and that he sent out via Twitpic on Twitter.  The jury awarded Morel $1.22 million.

According to a New York Times article, Morel claimed that Getty Images and AFP sold his exclusive photos for $45.

Morel’s Twitpics of the earthquake were retweeted by Lisandro Suero who indicated that the photos were his.  As such, AFP distributed them to clients and Getty Images distributed the photos in the U.S.

Prior to the Court rendering its decision, Morel had settled with The Washington Post, ABC, CBS and others that used his images without authorization.

The jury determined whether the infringement had been “willful” by AFP and Getty Images and the amount of damages.

The case supports the rights of photographers and provides clarity of the rights to use of photographs in the age of social media.  AFP had sued Morel seeking a declaratory judgment to show it had not infringed Morel’s copyright.  It cited Twitter’s terms of service arguing that it had granted a license to use his TwitPics.  However, the terms of service grants Twitter only as granting a license to use the photographs.  Thus, anyone seeing the photos on Twitter or any subsequent retweets of the photos would not have a license to use the photographs.

While this case has many details to it, the big takeaway is that photographers that post photos on social media sites like twitter should look at the “terms of service” for the social media platform.  It is likely that you are giving a license to the social media provider but not any of its users.  Moreover, the Morel case is a win for photographer’s rights.  In a time when social media is a way to obtain and disseminate information, there are still protections out there to ensure that your intellectual property is not taken.

The court case filed in the US District Court Southern District of New York is Agence France Presse v. Daniel Morel

A recent ruling in New York federal court may have repercussions of online use of clips on YouTube.  The Court dismissed the lawsuit against YouTube for unauthorized use of clips showing Comedy Central clips of “The Daily Show” and “South Park.”

The Court ordered that You Tube was protected by the “safe harbor provisions” of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.  Thus, You Tube would not be guilty of any form of copyright infringement unless it had knowledge.  It would be the burden of the party making the accusation of copyright infringement and not for You Tube to disprove.

Viacom argued that YouTube used unauthorized copyrighted material to draw visitors and make it more attractive for potential buyers.  The argument was that YouTube benefited via ads placed next to videos.

Viacom plans to appeal the decision.

(via New York Times)

The ruling exemplifies the push and pull between copyright law and the DMCA.  Still, if you operate a YouTube channel, you could still be subject to the takedown notice provisions of the DMCA.   Also, if you find someone taking your work without your permission, you could use the takedown notice to your benefit.