Court Case Max Dubler

When an unnamed brand used Max Dubler's photograph of two skateboarders on their Instagram account, the violated Mr. Dubler's copyright. If this went to court, I'm convinced Max Dubler would win for many reasons. The unnamed company does not meet the criteria for the protection under the 'safe harbor' provision in Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The company was fully aware they infringed upon his work. Not only was Dubler's name in the caption of the postings, they were watermarked with his name in capital letters and copyright symbol in the bottom lower left hand corner of his images. Even if those elements were absent, by virtue of creating a photograph the image is protected under copyright law. Dubler wrote, "I should note here that since I posted this article on my website, several people …show more content…
According to Instagram's Terms of Use, Instagram does not claim ownership of any posted content unlike other platforms. Colorado State University's 2017 "Copyright 101," states that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and You Tube have license to share the intellectual property all over the world without permission or paying royalties. Even terminated an account or deleting a posting will necessarily remove the content in question. The one exception to copyright law is the Fair Use law. But, the reposting of the image discussed does not fit that criteria either. The copyright law, 17 USC § 107, the fair use of a copyrighted work “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching use scholarship, or research.” I imagine it's more difficult to fair use an image than video or print, as print can be re-written and attributed and video can be deemed news. As Copyright laws are most likely light years behind the world of social media, it seems it still comes down to the basics. If you took the photo in a non-work for hire situation, you own