It was a big topic when a “popular” Instagram growth coach was called out for copyright infringement. On a business page of his, he was reposting (to his feed) reels from other creators WITHOUT their permission.

A common misconception is that if you just give credit to the creator, all is well. This is NOT true.

Let’s go back a step -

When you create original work and fix it in a tangible medium (aka post it online), YOU hold the copyright instantly. This “work” can be a blog post, your website, a book or ebook, photos, videos, and yes - even posts on social media! Copyright law protects you, as the creator. Even if you have not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. (Unlike trademarks where you have very limited protection without filing for trademark registration - check out the blog post: When Should I Trademark).

Now, actually registering still gives you additional benefits, but it’s unrealistic to register every single piece of content you ever post… (unless maybe you’re rich and bored). So if someone wants to use your work - which as we covered - YOU own the copyright to, they need to get permission from you.

If they don’t, it can be copyright infringement.

What about fair use?

Now, I said it CAN be copyright infringement because there are instances where you CAN use other people’s work without permission if it falls under fair use. Fair use is a defense against copyright infringement.

Copyright law is used to protect all types of creators BUT fair use exists to allow the ability to talk about the work of others or comment on it when it could be beneficial - like for news reporting, commentary/criticism, teaching, research, etc. But, you can’t always rely on fair use because it is subjective.

There’s no clear rule to know if something falls within fair use or not - the only way to know FOR SURE is by having a judge determine if it is or isn’t. This is likely not a route you want to go down as these types of cases can cost tens of thousands!

If you do get there, a judge will look at

the purpose for using someone else’s work, like if it was for commercial use or not,
the nature of the work (fictional or not),
the amount used and if it was a major part of the work or not, and
the effect on the market or value

These are also factors you can consider when you are deciding if you should use something that may or may not fall under fair use. For example, an individual that found a Tiktok video with a quick cleaning hack who reposted 5 seconds of it on their Instagram as a reel, with a comment that they’ve done this hack before and it didn’t work may be more likely to be found to be fair use.

Meanwhile, someone who runs a business and is posting an entire reel full of social media tips to their business account, with a comment that merely says “great social media tips” which in turn helps build authority for their business and influences viewers to sign up for paid products, may be more likely to be found NOT to fall under fair use.

What about the public domain?

It is probably not what you think it is.

Many people think that the public domain refers to content that is pushed out to the public. This is not true. The public domain is actually very specific and consists of creative works that are unprotected by intellectual property laws. Works in the public domain exist there because it was not able to be protected under copyright law or the copyright has expired.

For example, ideas are not eligible for copyright protection, and in general, works published in the United States after 1989, are protected under copyright law for 70 years after the death of the creator of that work. (See more here). As you can see, publishing something on a public platform has no relevance to the public domain.

So, what can be reposted again?

Reposting someone else’s reel, picture, graphic, video, etc AS IS does not fall under fair use. This means you need permission to share it.

However, you do not need permission to share via Instagram’s built-in share feature (like sharing a post to your stories). It’s clear who posted it and there can’t be any confusion as to whether you’re trying to pass it off as yours or not.

You also don’t need permission to stitch or duet a video on Tiktok using their built-in features because the point of it is that you are adding something to the video, whether it is your opinion on it, providing an example, or sharing more information. The intent of these features is to transform the original work, not just merely repost it AS-IS. These also show that it is a stitch or duet, so there’s no confusion as to who was the creator.

What do you do if you see your content reposted?

First, copy the URL of the post and save it somewhere (like the Notes app on your phone).

Next, decide if you want the content there or not. Since it is YOUR property, you are the one that should get to make this decision. Not the person that reposted your content without permission.

Ask yourself these questions:

How did you feel when you saw your content reposted without your permission?
Would it bother you if this person made money off of your content? (Remember - this could be either by signing new clients or other ways, like Instagram Reels bonuses).
Do you mind being associated with this person/brand/account?
How would you feel about other people potentially thinking you are a client of that person?
How do you feel about people thinking you may have purchased that person’s programs or other products or services?
Do you share the same values? (This could be personal values or the same ideas about the topic either of you educates on).

How to get your content removed:

If you decide that you do not want your content there you can either message the person and ask them to remove it, or you can file a DMCA takedown notice. *You can also just file the form if you do not want to message them.

This is a procedure set in place under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This is done to remove content that you hold the copyright to (registered OR unregistered). You can submit this if your content is reposted without permission anywhere - not just on social media. The U.S. Copyright Office has a sample form that you can use: Sample notice.

Some platforms have their own form to make it easier for users to do this. Facebook and Instagram have their own as well: Copyright Report Form.

Or, if you google “Copyright Report Form Instagram” this is the option you should choose:

How to fill it out correctly if your content was posted on Instagram or Facebook:

You will select that you are the rights owner.
Then fill out your contact information.
Then you are going to include (where the form asks) the URL to the copyrighted work. This means your work - wherever it is - Instagram, your website, etc.
Then select the type of content you are reporting.
Provide links to the infringing content. (It’s important to act quick before it gets reposted to more accounts or you get blocked etc).
Submit the report.

Once you submit the report, you will usually receive correspondence back fairly quickly with a decision or a request for additional information.

INSTAGRAM TIP: Copycat accounts - these impersonator accounts have been popping up so often lately. If they are also reposting your content as well, submit this form for those fake accounts with the URL to their posts that copy your posts! If you are blocked and cannot access the URL, look them up from another account or have a friend send you the URL’s of the posts that copy yours.

Most important takeaways:

Your social media content isn’t the only thing worth protecting.

You should:

Hire an attorney to file a trademark for any part of your brand that you care about OWNING (business name, course name, program name, logo, slogan, podcast name, etc),
Use contracts from a lawyer for everything you do: client contracts, digital terms & conditions for all digital or passive offers, affiliates, hires, speakers, etc.
Get your legal info from credible sources (lawyers).

Reminder: please don’t feel bad for wanting to protect your own property. There will always be people that try to tell you that protecting your business means you have a scarcity mindset or don’t value collaboration. This is untrue.

Wanting to protect your own property and the business you’re putting your heart and soul into shows that you care about your business. You can value collaboration and want others to succeed AND want them to do so based on their own merit, not your property.