A photographer is suing a real estate media site for copyright infringement after publishing several of his photos without permission. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this case and explain how media companies can handle similar situations in a post-Warhol world on this episode of The Briefing.
Social Media Giants and Copyright: Instagram’s Ninth Circuit Win Sets Precedent Against Photographers
By: Weintraub Tobin Summer Associate Josh Concepcion
The Ninth Circuit recently revisited the issue of “embedding” content by a website and its implication for copyright infringement claims. On July 17, 2023, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Hunley v. Instagram, LLC, and affirmed the trial court’s ruling that Instagram, a social media platform, could not face liability for secondary infringement under the “Server Test” because plaintiffs could not prove infringement of their copyrighted photographs since the third-party news platforms had “embedded,” but did not store, the copyrighted photos on their own websites. The Court ultimately reasoned that because the plaintiff posted their photos on Instagram and essentially stored a copy of those images on Instagram’s servers, Instagram did not violate or infringe on the plaintiff’s rights since Instagram had a sublicense to display photos posted onto their platform and the third-party news sites had “embedded” the content in their articles.
The Briefing: No CTRL-ALT-DEL For the Server Test
Alexis Hunley v. Instagram has been referred to as one of the top copyright cases to watch this year. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing.
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The Briefing: Zillow Loses Second Round of Copyright Fight
The Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion affirming that Zillow infringed thousands of copyrights owned by a real estate photography studio. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing.
Continue Reading The Briefing: Zillow Loses Second Round of Copyright Fight
No CTRL-ALT-DEL in the 9th Circuit for the Server Test
It has been referred to as one of the top copyright cases to watch this year. This case, Alexis Hunley, et al v. Instagram, LLC, questioned the scope and validity of the Server Test, a copyright doctrine that was established by the 9th Circuit and has since been rejected by a number of courts.
Continue Reading No CTRL-ALT-DEL in the 9th Circuit for the Server Test