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Google’s Library and Books Projects involve the digitization of complete copies of millions of print books without the authors’ or copyright owners’ permission. Google’s platform allows the public to search digital copies of the books and displays both titles and snippets of the works in the search results. On Friday, the Second Circuit Court of…

In this third and final blog of our series on social media promotion we are looking at use of content posted by others, particularly in the context of “linking” and “framing.”

“Linking” is a well-known method of providing an Internet user with the ability to jump from one site or page to another via hyperlink.  The link may redirect the user to content posted by others with no connection to the host site.  “Framing” is similar to linking but the user views the third-party content in a window or “frame” on the host site.  This distinction may be significant because without redirection the user may be unaware that the framed content is being generated by a third party.

There are a number of legal issues that may be implicated by linking and framing, including contract, trademark and copyright law.  Many social media providers include terms of use that place restrictions on the use of content available through their service.  Linking or framing may violate those restrictions, which could lead to account deactivation and the like.  Deactivation can be a significant problem for commercial users who use those sites for promotion and customer interaction.
Continue Reading Social Media Promotion: Dos and Don’ts with Content Posted by Others

The unauthorized use of copyrighted material may, under certain circumstances, be permissible under copyright’s “fair use” doctrine.  Fair use has been described as “the most troublesome [doctrine] in the whole of copyright” in that “courts are left with almost complete discretion in determining whether any given [fair use] factor is present in any particular use.” …