Ultra Records LLC and Ultra International Music Publishing LLC are suing beauty blogger Michelle Phan for copyright infringement, alleging that she used music from their artists in her makeup tutorials without permission.
Phan, who has grown her blog and Youtube channel into a multichannel lifestyle and beauty business, reportedly made $5 million last year. Phan’s team contends that she had permission to use the music, and one of the artists in question has publicly defended her. Whatever its outcome, the case is a reminder of the complex legal issues that can arise on social media.
Photo by Amie Fedora.
Copyright and Corporate Social Media
Social media is still young. It takes time for legal precedent to be established. Just last year, a U.S. Court ruled that photos shared via Twitter cannot be assumed to be in the public domain. It’s likely that legal concerns will continue to arise. As they are settled, a clearer picture of copyright law as it applies to social media will continue to develop.
In the meantime, all employees managing brand accounts must understand copyright basics. A mistake on a corporate account can affect the whole business. Images are a chief concern, as they are commonly used across social media accounts, blogs, websites and enewsletters, and many businesses do not have the resources to readily create their own images of the quality, type and quantity desired.
The good news is that there are many resources for usable images online. Creative Commons licenses are a popular tool for artists who wish to share their work online through sites like Flickr. The licenses also come with handy “human-readable” summaries that clearly explain the limitations on use of a given image. Review the different types of Creative Commons licenses and always double-check which one an image is issued under. Some images are licensed for commercial use while others are not. Some licenses do not permit adaptations, while others allow remixing but require a statement of alterations made. All licenses require attribution, which should include a link in works distributed online.
Even when using Creative Commons images, consider their sources. A photo of a copyrighted work may be incorrectly released as free to use, so be thoughtful.
If your business is willing to pay a licensing fee, sites like iStock provide royalty-free images for a one-time fee. These sites own the rights to all images they offer, and businesses can use them across platforms.
Copyright law is complex, and these guidelines are only the beginning. Be sure to stay on top of developing copyright law and always, always give credit where it is due.
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