With the processes of digitisation and globalisation of the 21st century, social media has become not only the primary means of communication, but also a mass creative space.
There are a wide range of platforms that enable people of all ages and backgrounds to share their innovative ideas and creative processes. On the one hand, this shapes an intellectually diverse social environment by giving voice to people with different perspectives. The principle of mutuality that social media is built on gives the words “art” and “creativity” new collective forms. On the other hand, it establishes a space in which credit is no longer feasible due to the sheer amount of content that is produced every minute. It is almost impossible for original creators to be tracked, which substantially increases the risk of breaching Intellectual Property (IP) rights.
Social media has made the crediting process user-friendly, by introducing the option of “tagging”. Every platform has its own way of referencing a piece of text, sound, or idea that was previously shared on that same platform. Thus, it is ensured that IP policy is accessible to all users and potential breaches are easily prevented. However, the issue is in crediting outside resources like books, articles, music, podcasts, etc. as “tagging” in this instance is not supported by software. Developments need to be made to simplify the process but, for the time being, it is the creator’s responsibility to make sure their work references all relevant resources, both inside and outside the platform.
A scenario which most people are familiar with, is being faced with a long list of guidelines while trying to join a certain social media platform. What usually follows is a few seconds of scrolling until the anticipated “Accept” button. This often-neglected list of rules, however, is of the utmost importance, as it contains a social media platform’s Intellectual Property policy. Upon closer inspection of different social media platforms’ guidelines, such as those of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, it seems that there is a lot of overlap between them. One needs to be familiar with these general policies in order to avoid taking unfair advantage of someone else’s idea, avoid facing certain legal repercussions, and have comfort in the fact that they will be recognised as the owner and creator of their own work.
There are two concepts of legal significance within these guidelines – copyright and trademarks. This section explores the former. Copyright takes effect the moment a certain creation comes into existence and, according to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988, protects all “original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, sound recordings, films” from being used in any way without permission. However, in their attempt to create appealing content, social media users might often unknowingly be in breach of copyright. For example, the seemingly innocent act of using another person’s song as background music for a video montage is a breach of copyright. In case of copyright infringement, the CDPA 1988 states that legal action could be taken, possibly resulting in significant legal repercussions for the breacher, and the owner might be awarded a variety of remedies. To prevent unlawful actions regarding copyright, people in the social media space need to be certain that they have acquired the owner’s permission before using a certain work in any way and give credit for it in the appropriate manner.
The other concept of significance for IP in the online space is trademark. The Trade Marks Act (TMA) 1994 defines a trademark as, any “words (including personal names), designs, letters, numerals, colours, sounds or the shape of goods or their packaging” which are registered following an accepted trademark application through the UK Government’s website that belong to a specific creator. Infringement of a trademark is common throughout social media, as users often use slogans or designs for their appealing qualities to enhance their own content, without realising that someone else might have trademark rights over it. Similar to where infringement of copyright policy takes place, the breacher might face legal consequences while the owner of the trademark might be awarded remedies. Relevant precautions should be taken by social media creators through researching the Intellectual Property Office’s page, located on the UK government’s website, to ensure that no other creator has trademarked a certain thing.
Crediting and getting familiar with Intellectual Property is especially important today. Two events of utmost importance for the social media space in the last two years have made it a topic that exercises the public mind. First, the global Covid-19 pandemic that kept people in isolation during the quarantine, caused a substantial growth in social media usage. With the internet being people’s only connection to the outside world, it started playing a bigger role in everyday life than previously. Phones and computers took the place of schools, food stores, art classes and gyms. Thus, technology finally solidified the necessity of its presence after twenty years of growth and developments. In recent years, a different social media phenomenon was born - TikTok. Some users use sounds that are protected under copyright laws. As a result, IP and IP law continue to be of great relevance and importance. So next time you see an “Agree to General Terms” checkbox, make sure you know what you are agreeing to.
By Chaya Belezhkova and Fatima HalawiFirst year LLB student at Queen Mary University of London