One of the most important statutes to consider when discussing the legal liabilities and obligations of the social networking sites is Section 512(c) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Section 512(c) removes liability for copyright infringement from websites that allow users to post content, as long as the site has a mechanism in place whereby the copyright owner can request the removal of infringing content. The site must also not receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity.
This creates an interesting legal problem for most sites that allow users to post music, photos or video – from Flickr to Blogs that allow guest content. So what are 3 simple ways to protect your blog from violating this law?
(1) Post a legal disclaimer on your blog.
(2) If you are using your blog to generate revenues, including simple things such as Google Ads, do not accept content from users that have not provided releases for all the photos/videos/images/content that they are posting on your blog.
(3) Make sure that comments/content can be posted on your blog without approval. This includes posts in the “comments” portion of your site.
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by: Benish Shah, Esq. Sheheryar Sardar, Esq., Sardar Law Firm LLC
For more information on social media law, contact: Sardar Law Firm at sardar@sardarlawfirm.com.
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Article source: http://newyorkentrepreneurlaw.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/protecting-your-blog-from-violative-content/