Last April at Mom2.0, Janice Croze from 5 Minutes for Mom shared her love of Pinterest. She explained its usefulness–for curating things and ideas you love through pictures and images. She described it as a bookmark program that’s beautiful (I’m paraphrasing.) I returned home and eagerly joined early, before it was commonly used. I explored Pinterest: created boards, curated beautiful finds, invited friends… all to share the love of things I love on the internet.
For those not yet members at Pinterest, basically, Pinterest is a place to pin images you love. Think of it as an organized internet bulletin board: you pin a picture on your board and you show it to your friends who stop by, or your hundreds or thousands of followers.
Pinterest can be a great tool for curating images. Pinterest is an excellent marketing tool, when used correctly. And it’s an exceptional way to communicate. Afterall, a picture tells a thousand words.
Apparently, some Pinterest users are not so quick to agree with that adage. In fact, some Pinterest users are finding it necessary to copy entire posts that are attached to a pinned image. They believe this to be fine. As you’ll read in this conversation, some believe the Internet to be a “free for all”:
The quote, above, is taken from a discussion when @mommynamedapril asked a pinner to please take the recipe down from the pin, as pinning an image with credit is acceptable, but content stealing is not. April said it far more elegantly:
The fault of the confusion does not lie on Pinterest users. Many users are uneducated in Intellectual Property Law and truly believe that anything posted on the world wide web is for world wide use. In sum, the opposite is true. Copyright law extends to the internet and all things digital. WIPO (the World Internet Property Organization) explains Copyright, related rights and the WIPO Internet treaties. It’s actually a very interesting read… if you have the time. If not, you can trust me that the internet is not a “free for all” and if one is copying and displaying elsewhere, that is stealing. Stealing isn’t nice.
April’s situation isn’t the only case where users have pinned with full content in the comments without siting sources. Pinterest has it’s rules and offers suggestions on reporting infringed property:
It is Pinterest’s policy, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, to disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe or are repeatedly charged with infringing the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of others.
The good news for those of us in internet media is that, recently, Pinterest has been very quick to respond to reported content theft; they are taking down the pins and alerting the user as to the reason for the removal.
But while stating a policy is all Pinterest has to do, and taking down offending pins with notice is certainly an active step in stopping content theft on their website, I’m calling on Pinterest to take this one step further: be proactive and educate Pinterest users before they post:
Hey @pinterest It’s time you step up & clarify rules on content stealing for the safety of your membership pinterest.com/pin/1612852303…
— Julie(@justprecious) January 4, 2012
I ask Pinterest to send a membership update in the form of an email newsletter or to institute a sticky or pop-up video or window so that all of its registered users have a clear understanding of copyright infringement and Intellectual Property Law.
I enjoy Pinterest. I see it as a benefit for readers, marketers, writers, curators and many others. But it doesn’t benefit anyone when it’s used wrong. It’s in everyone’s best interest to know, understand and adhere to the rules.
© 2012, Julie Meyers Pron. All rights reserved.
Twitter: KimMoldofsky
says:
I’ve flirted with Pinterest now and again, but now that we’re getting ready to decorate our house, I’ve been hanging out there a bit more. IMO, the entire network seems to invite intellectual property theft, or something very close to it. Maybe they should require a 2-3 minute tutorial before people can activate accounts. Not sure what they would do for all of the accounts that are already active, though.
Twitter: juliempron
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I think every idea should be considered, and I hope that Pinterest will come across this post and listen. My suggestion is a video tutorial that serves as a sticky on every user’s account and will remain there until watched.
thanks for coming by, Kim! Looking forward to seeing YOUR renovations! Mine are waiting for that one. final. thing.
I’ve had the issue with people posting my whole recipes on Pinterest too. I contacted Pinterest and suggested that by just limiting the number of characters that could be used in a description they could easily solve the problem of full recipes being copied regardless of copyright. I never heard any reply from them. I haven’t personally contacted any of the users because I know from past experience the hateful reaction you get when you ask people to not break copyright & reprint your recipe. At least the people who have reprinted mine have linked back to me.
Twitter: juliempron
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Kat, I try to put reactions below education. It’s like an intervention (well, not really, but hear me out.) they may hate you forever, but they’ll learn something to get them further.
Still, you can now report a pin for copied material with the “other” option. And the form asks you if it’s your intellectual property. Now the trouble is finding and checking all the pins… if you’re so lucky to be pinned a lot.
Twitter: saving4someday
says:
Unfortunately, copyright likely does not apply to the majority of recipes posted on the internet. Sadly, many do not understand that copyright doesn’t protect every bit of content they create. Just because there is copyright law and it applies to any publication (which includes the internet) does not mean that it applies to everything that is published. With regard to recipes, I break down the copyright issues in my post – http://www.savingforsomeday.com/know-your-digital-rights-recipe-copyright/
I doubt Pinterest will do anything more than indicate what they have already in place. That you have misunderstood copyright law indicates that there is truly a need for educating users, but that goes for any sharing site. Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Etsy, Tumblr, etc. do not go through this process of educating users so I doubt Pinterest will. Not because they don’t want to but because there are so many exceptions.
No, stealing is not nice. But if there is no legal protection to your property then taking it does not subject someone to legal penalties. Calling someone a copyright infringer and asking for their ‘re-pin’ to be taken down must have a basis in copyright. If the intellectual property is not subject to copyright then there is no infringement and thus Pinterest should not take it down. Sure, they can, but then they will also need to re-post it once it’s determined not to be subject to copyright.
The issue is not with Pinterest, it’s with users who choose not to educate themselves. Going after someone without a proper legal basis is equally as wrong as copyright infringement.
And this brings me to this – just because it’s not illegal doesn’t mean it’s right. http://www.savingforsomeday.com/just-because-its-not-illegal-doesnt-mean-its-right/
But ethics is an area with lots of gray, so what’s OK to one person may not be OK to another.
While I think you’re on the right track, I wanted to clarify the copyright issues. No, the internet is not a ‘free for all’. But not everything on the internet is subject to copyright either.
Disclosure: I am an attorney, but nothing in this comment is to be construed as legal advice. This is for informational purposes only.
Twitter: juliempron
says:
Sara, thank you SO much for commenting and clarifying. Unfortunately, it’s more than just a recipe that’s being copied on Pinterest (and other similar sites.) In cases of recipes, it’s true that one can copy instructions and ingredients, but my understanding, and it’s been a WHILE since I took a media law class, is that they can’t copy and repeat the wording used, especially when there are opinions and added points.
But on Pinterest, it’s more than recipes being copied. Last night I read a post about eyeliner make-up, entirely copied into the comments. Previously, I’ve read a review of a product.
Yes, my point in posting is that the users need to be educated. And the easiest way to do that is for Pinterest to reach out.
(and, no. I’m not a lawyer either. I defer to you for that, whether it’s official legal advice or unofficial. I love your just because it’s not illegal doesn’t mean it’s right. http://www.savingforsomeday.com/just-because-its-not-illegal-doesnt-mean-its-right/ post!)
Twitter: saving4someday
says:
Julie,
You’re right that there is a lot of cut/paste going on with Pinterest (and on the internet in general). I wish there was some way to give a bright line rule as to what is or is not protected by copyright to help ease the infringement and content theft. It would be easier if people just used Pinterest (and other sharing sites) as intended and link to the original work. That’s kind of the whole reason behind the ‘re pin’.
Copying someone’s work, whether protected by copyright or not just isn’t cool. But I can talk about that for days!
Twitter: juliempron
says:
I look forward to reading YOUR post!
Thank you so much for this post!
As somebody who regularly re-pins Food & Drink related posts, I found this an extremely crucial post. I haven’t copied any recipes into the comments when pinning, but it really did open my eyes to being more careful when I do pin things! No doubt, I’ve been guilty of not changing someone else’s ‘comment’ when re-pinning. I think from now on I’m going to be careful of that too!
I don’t normally comment on blog posts, but I thought I’d show my support!
Twitter: juliempron
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Thank you so much for your comment, Anna. I’ll see you on Pinterest!
Twitter: MainlineMom
says:
Yes!! Wonderfully explained. Thanks for this.
I was linked to your article FROM Pinterest and was interested in what you had to say. Unfortunately, the grammatical error in your first sentence drove me away. Please become educated about the difference between IT’S and ITS. Thank you!
Twitter: juliempron
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Wow. So glad you took the time to comment. It’s a shame you replied as “anonymous” because I really appreciate that you caught my little error. No one’s perfect, right?
I had no idea that what I pin could be illegal!!! Thanks for this info! Just to clarify, as long as I pin (or repin) something and it linkss back to the original website that is came from I’m OK, right?!?!?!? Thanks!
Twitter: juliempron
says:
yes, pinning is totally fine. it’s when one copies and pastes the actual blog posts into the pin that there is a problem. For more on the legal aspect, see Sara at Saving for Someday’s comment in this thread. She offers a great explanation.
I appreciate this post. I’ve definitely had that done with at least one of my recipes. I love Pinterest, but I’ve been confused by several copyright issues. Is it any different than taking a picture from someone’s site and putting it on yours if you embed a Pin on your blog? Pinning Etsy crafts as DIY seems wrong … I don’t know. It’s all so muddled.
Twitter: juliempron
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I agree with it all being so confusing. And it’s new, so there’s very little out there. I often wonder the same: if the posts where people share things they found on pinterest are acceptable. In my opinion, if the writer gives credit to the creator, it’s okay. But acting as if they’re all her ideas… that’s wrong.
This is a great post….I created a series called Project Pinterest where you share the Pins you’ve created and the number one rule is to give the original poster credit. It’s so important. Great share!
Twitter: juliempron
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excited to check out Project Pinterest!
Well written! I would add that not only is it not proper to copy and paste entire content, but it clutters up the visual elements of the boards. Thanks for writing this Julie!
Twitter: juliempron
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SO true, Kristen! Pinterest was so visually beautiful without the clutter of lengthy “comments”! Thank you!
Keep in mind, their infringement issues deal with more than just the written word:
http://seanlockephotography.com/2012/01/26/pinterest-com-and-copyright/
Twitter: juliempron
says:
very true!
Sorry I’m late, every time I paste a picture on to my blog or pinterest board I add the link. For me it is the right thing to do, I add a picture and tell people where I found it, but sometimes it’s too hard to find the original post or photographer. Actually on my blog I have some post where I “hunted” pictures trying to find the original one, sometimes I succeed and if later I come across the same picture with the wrong info I write them back given them the right info; some time I get lost in a sea of links and re-links. But what annoyed me more of pinterest is when I add a picture and the link is something like this:
From 2.bp.blogspot.com
If you click on it it will open a window with the image and nothing else… In those cases what I do is to add the website URL and the date when I found it. Although I must confess that there are times when I forget to check that the link is correct, it’s something that should be mandatory for every one of us
Twitter: juliempron
says:
You are SO right. It’s so very annoying when you click through and it gets you to the embedded pic, and that’s it. Or when it links you to the homepage, and not the post–because then you have nothing.
Thank you for visiting, Romy! Hope to see you in NY again this summer!
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was wondering what all is needed to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very web smart so I’m not 100% certain. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Twitter: juliempron
says:
thanks for asking. here’s a link to starting a blog: http://just-precious.com/2012/01/12/mom-blogging-how-do-i-start/ Pretty inexpensive to get started.
Twitter: popcosmo
says:
Thank you for the article – it is very informative. I’m looking forward to seeing how Pinterest handles this issue in the future!
Twitter: juliempron
says:
Me, too, Kim. In a discussion I did learn that Pinterest has said they are looking into shortening the comments field. We shall see…
I am going to pin this blog post!!! I am so glad that I am not alone in thinking about this issue. If you look at http://pinterest.com/claireisabel/social-media/ – I have pinned/posted many things about correct Photo usage online. I am really frustrated with this issue. It has got out of hand, especially with sites like Tumblr, imgfave, weheartit etc. I have started slowly going through all my boards & checking my pins to make sure they all link to the original owners of the images. Google Image Search & my sleuthing brain have helped me to locate original sources. I have done about half of my boards so far. It is time consuming, but I don’t want any pins that are not correctly sourced. I now put all pins in my likes until I have time to check them & repin them. I wish more people would start doing the right thing.
Twitter: juliempron
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You are super-dedicated, Claire. The unfortunate thing is that the average user isn’t going to do all of that because she simply doesn’t care. Pinterest is a wonderful part of the social-web, it just needs major fine-tuning and a bit of a respectful kick in the butt.
I agree, the average user doesn’t care, and doesn’t ‘think’ about the fact that they may are pinning pictures and content that belong to other people (whether that be photographs, recipes, or other blog/website content). They simply want to pin pretty pictures and ideas.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve followed a link for a tutorial or recipe, only to find that the link goes nowhere (or to a spam page – congrats, you are a winner!!). Many ideas, once pinned and re-pinned, get farther away from the original source. And there are various ways in which that can happen.
Pinterest is fun, it is interesting, and it can be beneficial, but like any other social media it can also be scary for those of us who want to protect our images/work. That said, if we have a blog, the threat is already out there. Pinterest simply adds to it ten fold.
All I can do as far as my photographs are concerned is to put my name on them, and hope. And be willing to fight someone over the fact that they are mine, should the need arise. Either that, or never show them to anyone.
My husband heard a short news story on the radio about Pinterest (and other social media) not too long ago. Many ‘experts’ are saying that because of the internet, we are living in an age where copyright laws are obsolete and no longer apply.
Really? Photographs that I’ve taken, words that I’ve written, are wide open for everyone to take and use at their will? I’ll fight that one.
Twitter: juliempron
says:
I would SO fight that, too. I think it’s a misconception that copyright laws don’t exist–and I think that misconception is based on the undereducated. The problem is that too many people haven’t been educated in this area–and the laws can’t just keep looking the other way and turning heads to the excuse “but I didn’t know…”
People need to know and understand.