I use to say that it was a myth that if it was on the Internet it was free to use. While still a myth, photojournalist Daniel Morela may have reason to question whether this in fact still true.

Morla was recently sued by Agence France Presse (AFP) for “antagonistic assertion of rights” for accusing AFP of violating his copyright in several photos taken following the January earthquake – Morela has counter sued for copyright infringement. AFP has asked for summary judgment that it did not infringe on Morela’s copyrights (complaint). AFP’s claims are interesting because, in part, they note that since Morela used Twitter to distribute the photos (which he did not – he used Twitpic), the Twitter Terms of Service (ToS) granting Twitter the right to distribute the photos should be extended to AFP as well. Besides the fact that AFP appears to have little understanding of the facts of their own case, this reading of the Twitter ToS is a little odd.

The Twitter ToS provide that:

    You retain your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).

 

    You agree that this license includes the right for Twitter to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Twitter for the syndication, broadcast, distribution or publication of such Content on other media and services, subject to our terms and conditions for such Content use.

While it is possible that AFP is making the argument that the second clause which allows Twitter to make the content available to partners and that they in fact are partners, it is clear from anyone’s reasonable reading that this scenario is not what is intended by this agreement.

 

The much sparser Twitpic ToS has a similar clause, but its sparser writing style makes the intent of these types of clauses much more clear. The Twitpics Terms of Services specifically notes:

    • By uploading your photos to Twitpic you give Twitpic permission to use or distribute your photos on Twitpic.com or affiliated sites

 

    • All images uploaded are copyright © their respective owners

While I believe that AFP’s arguments are weak (though other claims raised by AFP may have more merit), they do help to illustrate that Creatives that use various forms of social media or SaaS solutions related to the creation or distribution of their work should be aware of, and understand, the ToS for those sites. Otherwise, you risk obscure boilerplate agreements giving away your work for free – or at least claims to that effect by multinational corporations.