Copyright and defamation are two very different parts of the law, but in today’s online landscape, it can be all too easy for content creators to violate both at the same time. Therefore, understanding the law when it comes to both copyright and defamation is becoming increasingly important for anyone who posts on social media at all.
Copyright vs. Defamation
To put it simply, copyright protects ownership while defamation protects reputation.
To be more specific, however, copyright is defined as the legal right granted to a creator of original, fixed works of authorship. The creator has exclusive control over how their work is used, reproduced, and distributed. Traditionally, copyright law has protected creative works such as books, music, film, and software, but today, it also protects online content such as videos.
Defamation, on the other hand, involves the act of making a statement (verbally or written) to a third party that damages someone’s reputation. If a person or business can prove that your public statements were inherently false and caused emotional or financial harm, you can be held liable in a court of law.
When content creators use or edit someone else’s content for the purposes of parody or critique, as is common on many social media platforms these days, they risk violating both copyright and defamation law at once.
An example of where both copyright and defamation were involved is Murphy v. Millennium Radio Group LLC. In this case, a New Jersey radio station scanned a photographer’s work and posted it online without permission. This act, alone, led to a copyright claim, but the radio hosts also mocked the photographer on-air, which sparked a defamation lawsuit as well. By using the photo without permission and also making defamatory statements about the photographer to their listeners, the radio hosts were found to be in violation of both laws.
double trouble
In copyright law, there is something known as “fair use”, which permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is meant to help balance the interests of copyright holders with public interest in the wider distribution of creative works. However, fair use does not give someone a free pass on defamation. If you edit or critique someone’s creative works in a way that twists facts or unfairly attacks them, you are violating defamation law.
Furthermore, making any type of public statement in the comments of a social media post—such as bragging about using someone else’s content or making statements that attack that person—can also lead to a defamation lawsuit.
Also important to note: FCC rules will not keep someone safe from a possible lawsuit, as shown with Murphy v. Millennium Radio Group. Whether you’re FCC-regulated or a podcaster working on your own, you can still be held liable for the things you write or say about another person.
Final Takeaway
The overlap between copyright and defamation is a growing problem in our current online reality. Posting viral clips, reaction videos, or borrowed content can all put someone at risk for violating both laws. Therefore, it’s always best to think—and consider all of the above—before you post.