Everything You Need to Know about Instagram Copyright
Being around for more than ten years, Instagram as a social networking application has had its focus on sharing photos and videos. With such features as stories, shopping, Reels, and others, these collections of videos and images have numerous issues related to the use of different materials on the social media. It is a free application and platform for sharing photos and materials for this social network and its use raises a lot of questions about how to copyright a song, a short video, a photo, or an idea. Instagram copyright is a matter of crucial importance as people post their creative content either to grow their business or gain more exposure and they need it to be original and exclusive. For sure, if you share something on social media, there is a high risk that it will be borrowed from there and used in the way you would never allow.
What You Need to Know about Copyright Protection on Social Media
- In most cases, posts on social media are protected by the law of copyright automatically.
If you are the author of a unique visual or auditory content, you have the ownership rights over this intellectual property. Images may be subject to copyright and labelled with the © copyright symbol, but even if they are not, in all European countries and the UK, they are under protection automatically. In the US, lawsuits for infringement are possible only with the copyright registration.
- If you upload the content, it does not mean you want it to be used by others
You are the creator of the post or a photo; so, you are the holder of the copyright. If you, for instance, upload a photo on Instagram, you do not forfeit copyright. Actually, what you do is providing a license to the social media platform for the use of your content. This is a restricted permission, not a present to all other users.
- Copying the ideas is an ambiguous issue
For sure, your outstanding photo requires a lot of your emotion, inspiration, and work on it. You have an original idea and you would consider it an Instagram copyright infringement is someone apparently repeats your approach and copies what you have done. Unfortunately, it is not possible to protect the idea itself. Copyright may apply to a specific piece of content, not the idea itself.
- In some cases, it is not necessary to ask for permission to use the content
Seeking permission to reproduce the content of social media for non-commercial purposes, education, or making reviews and satire is not a must.
- Copyright infringement is different from plagiarism
Writing academic papers, students know that if they give due credit to the author and reference the source they use, they will not be accused of plagiarism.
We recommend the PlagiarismSearch.com for checking the texts for unoriginal content, but the property right for intellectual ownership is different from forbidding to copy-paste the ideas.
- It is challenging to get the right balance over the content online
As soon as you share, use, post, or modify the content online, you face the hazards of protecting it and using it for the sake of your benefits only.
How to Post Music on Instagram without Copyright
Instagram users are getting more worried about how to not get copyrighted on Instagram and how to avoid all the issues related to infringement, getting music in the Instagram Feed. If you want to use music on your videos, try to meet the following requirements:
- Give credit to the music composer
- Change the music beats to avoid identical sounding
- Use visuals in the video with music
- Check if the music is free for use
- Use the allowed live music streams
- Keep your videos short. Instagram Reels are only 15 seconds long and a built-in feature of adding music will save you from the copyright infringement.
The rules of Instagram reels music copyright can be a little tricky to understand and navigate, but it is possible to make use of certain tricks and prevent the infringement. You will definitely get an Instagram copyright message if you do not give proper credit to the creator of the music you are using. The automated system of the social network will delete the video after an infringement is identified. In case you have read all the terms and policies and you are sure that you have done nothing wrong, you can appeal to the owners to get the right to use the music after a positive decision of Instagram.
Does Instagram Own Your Photos?
Instagram has gradually become an app for daily use for millions of people. Uploading the best shots, you may wonder if they could get into some advertisements without you even know about that. Signing the terms of conditions of Instagram as a new user, you agree that Instagram does not take the rights of ownership over your photos. What you allow them to do is to re-use the content in their service. For sure, seeing someone steal your images, you can report on the copyright infringement and protect your own rights.
What Is Instagram Copyright Scam?
Be aware that getting an email about violations on Instagram does not necessarily mean that you have broken the rules. It may happen that it is a scam organized by the cybercriminals eager to make you pay them. A warning sent by an email about deleting an Instagram account in 24 hours because of the copyright infringement should make you suspicious. Clicking on the link for verification of the login details may lead you to become a phishing victim.
What can you do to spot the scam and protect yourself?
- Check the links to see where they are from
- Ask questions and check all the details before taking any action
- Take a breath and don’t panic
Although the criminals have become smart in creating pop-ups and websites similar to authentic pages, you should be careful not to fall for the fraud and protect your account and your content.
Copyright is a complicated matter and it requires special investigation to make sense of all the aspects. The copyrighted music and images get flagged at once and if you do not know the answer to the questions ‘Why did Instagram take away my music out of my video?’ or ‘Why did I get an Instagram copyright report on my post?’ you can check all the terms and conditions on https://help.instagram.com/354736791367645 and get the answers there.
