Copyright Update for Photographers & Content Creators

Professional photographers and content creators on Instagram: your professional lives just got more difficult.

Did you know that when you post your photographs on Instagram, under Instagram’s Terms of Service, you “grant[ed] to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to the content that [he/she] post[s] on or through [Instagram]”? According to the District Court for the Southern District of New York, you are doing exactly that.

As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details: Instagram’s Terms of Use.

Read more

The EU Parliament Rejects the Copyright Directive Proposal; Interesting Battle Between Tech Companies and Creators on the Horizon; Sir Paul Weighs In

EU Parliament Rejects the Copyright Directive Amendments

As a follow up to my previous article regarding a proposed massive copyright law overhaul in the European Union, the EU Parliament sounded rejected the proposed amendments by a 318-278 vote.  The proposed amendments go back to the committee for revision.  

The European music industry establishment calls the vote a "missed opportunity."  It is interesting to note in this article the amount of money spent on lobbying by Google and YouTube (hint: it's a lot). 

Sir Paul McCartney Weighs In

Sir Paul wrote a letter to the EU Parliament urging them to back the Copyright Directive and address the Value Gap, which is the space between content platforms that compensate artists and creators, and content platforms that refuse to do so. 

“You hold in your hands the future of music here in Europe,” writes McCartney, stressing the importance of music and culture as “our heart and soul.” 

“Unfortunately, the value gap jeopardizes the music ecosystem,” he warns. “We need an internet that is fair and sustainable for all. But today some user upload content platforms refuse to compensate artists and all music creators fairly for their work, while they exploit it for their own profit.”

Expect some form of this debate to hit the United States soon.