Avoiding Copyright Pitfalls on Pinterest

Remarkably, Pinterest has become one of the most visited social networking sites in the United States. Not only are people out there “friending,” “liking,” and “tweeting,” but social media users are now “pinning” with regularity. Pinterest allows users to express themselves through a virtual bulletin board of images and articles they collect online or “pin” and share with their followers. As Pinterest has become wildly popular, there have been questions raised about the legality of pinning content, particularly with respect to copyright infringement concerns such as (1) the possibility of committing inadvertent copyright infringement and (2) whether one’s own copyrights are being infringed through Pinterest. However, such copyright infringement concerns are not unique to Pinterest as it is certainly not the first website that provides a way for users to upload content.

Anytime a user uploads content to a website or copies content from one Internet location to another, that user should take certain steps to avoid the risk of inadvertent copyright infringement. First, a user should determine the content’s source and if it is not the user’s own content, it should be traced back to determine if the source permits “pinning,” such as through a clear “Pin it” button. Second, a user can simply ask permission such as through an email exchange if there is no clear indication that reposting or repining is allowed.

For a Pinterest user that is concerned about others infringing their original content, there are a few steps that can be taken even though Pinterest’s Terms of Service seem to deal a fatal blow to the user’s rights. First, a user can disable re-pinning for a particular image. Also, a user can ensure that all images are uploaded with a lower resolution, which may read fine on a computer monitor but is heavily pixilated when printed out. In the same vein, watermarks on the image discourage further copying. Essentially, the positive benefits of using Pinterest (such as using it as a cheap marketing tool) must be weighed against the possible risk of loss of control over your original content.

For more information, please visit our social media law service page.

Klemchuk LLP is an Intellectual Property (IP), Technology, Internet, and Business law firm located in Dallas, TX.  The firm offers comprehensive legal services including litigation and enforcement of all forms of IP as well as registration and licensing of patents, trademarks, trade dress, and copyrights.  The firm also provides a wide range of technology, Internet, e-commerce, and business services including business planning, formation, and financing, mergers and acquisitions, business litigation, data privacy, and domain name dispute resolution.  Additional information about the IP law firm and its IP law attorneys may be found at www.klemchuk.com.

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