Should you think twice before tweeting that sports highlight or animated GIF? While sports bloggers have long created and posted video excerpts and animated GIFs of NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and NCAA sports footage to which they have no express rights, recent crackdowns by some of these entities – in the form of DMCA takedown notification – suggests that reposting sports clips may cost you your Twitter or other social media accounts. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was signed into law by President Clinton in 1998 and essentially protects copyrighted information from infringement on the Internet. Because the copyright owner holds an exclusive right in a copyrighted work, it may bring a claim – or a DMCA takedown notice – against someone believed to be using the work without authorization. While a single tweet or set of tweets will not usually result in statutory or actual damages for copyright infringement, monetary damages are still within the realm of possibility, and can range from $750 to $30,000 per work and up to $150,000 for intentional or willful infringement, as well as attorneys’ fees. Importantly, Twitter typically will not be held liable for copyright infringement on its site, provided it promptly complies with all valid DMCA notices.

While it remains to be seen whether monetary damages are appropriate in such instances, other corrective actions arising out of copyright infringement on Twitter and other social media accounts include removal of the post, suspension of the account, or even banning of the user. Last year, Twitter disabled the account of the Gawker-owned sports blog Deadspin in response to numerous DMCA notices from the NFL over animated GIFs of NFL game highlights. The action sparked heated debate from sports and legal authorities, although the account was reinstated several hours later. A Twitter spokesperson refused to comment, but cited Twitter’s Terms of Service, which provide that Twitter may terminate a user’s account if the user is deemed a “repeat infringer.” It turned out that the DMCA notices were not sent directly by the NFL, but by NetResult Solutions, a copyright infringement company hired by the NFL to monitor the Internet for conduct it considers infringing.

This past summer, Twitter user Jim Weber received a DMCA takedown notice from Twitter that included a letter from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stating that Weber had ten minutes to reply to the IOC and “immediately and permanently remove” a GIF he shared of Aly Raisman’s floor routine from the 2016 Rio Olympics. Three minutes later, Weber received a second email informing him that his account had been suspended. Four days later, Weber was notified that he had been permanently banned from using the micro-blogging platform under the handle @JimWeber.

You might think that these enforcement efforts are aimed solely at sports writers and bloggers or those with no relationship to the events. And you might be wrong. Last month, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Network filed a DMCA takedown notice against its own member, @UofLFootball (University of Louisville Football). Thus, it appears that even athletic departments and collegiate teams are not free to post their own performances without the fear of being reported by their respective conference.

While some entities, such as the NBA, are fairly relaxed when it comes to policing their copyrightable material on Twitter and other social media (presumably due to the branding opportunity), others – including the NFL, MLB, and ACC – are not so lax. It remains to be seen whether the posting of short video excerpts or animated GIFs constitute copyright infringement and, if so, whether such use is protected by some exception to the DMCA, such as fair use, or subject to statutory or actual damages. In the meantime, perhaps we should all think twice before posting (or reposting) excerpts of sports highlight videos or animated GIFs – at least, if we value our Twitter accounts.

Sources: https://musportslawsociety.wordpress.com/2016/09/17/social-media-takedown-acc-network-files-ten-dmca-notices-includes-acc-member/ http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/08/twitter-user-banned-for-olympics-gifs.html http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/the-real-story-behind-twitters-deadspin-take-down-over-animated-nfl-gifs-1201616372/

For more information on this topic, please visit our Copyright Infringement service page, which is part of our Software and Copyrights practice.

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 intellectual property law firm and its intellectual property attorneys may be found at www.klemchuk.com.

Klemchuk LLP hosts Culture Counts, a blog devoted to the discussion of law firm culture and corporate core values with frequent topics about positive work environment, conscious capitalism, entrepreneurial management, positive workplace culture, workplace productivity, and corporate core values.

Pin it for later: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/315252042650605675/