January 5, 2011
The Internet has provided access to resources beyond our dreams, but access does not include the right to use those resources in any manner we wish. Limitation on such use is the principle involved in a case pending in the New York Southern District Court.
Haitian-born photographer Daniel Morel brought a lawsuit against Agence France Presse (AFP) for using without permission his photographs of the destruction caused by the earthquake in Haiti. Morel, one of just a few professional photographers in the country at the time, documented the catastrophe, uploaded the photos to TwitPic and posted on Twitter that the photos were available for purchase.
The lawsuit alleges that a Dominican Republic man, Lisandro Seuro, illegally copied the photographs and liberally emailed them to his contacts, and further alleges that AFP and a number of other news providers published the photos, not only without paying Morel but also incorrectly crediting the work to Seuro.
AFP argued that the re-use of photos disseminated through Twitter was an everyday occurrence and the suit should be dismissed. However, District Court Judge William Pauley opined that Twitter’s terms of use do not condone re-use of copyrighted material. In fact, the terms of use agreement specifically states that TwitPic users are the owners of their own content.
The case is moving forward and will be watched closely for further clarification on what rights Twitter and other social media users have with regard to their words and images.
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