Bloggers, especially Nigerian bloggers, if you have ever republished content on your website without clearing your content i.e. getting permission from the original authors or making sure your use is within the requirements of intellectual property laws, you could be in trouble for intellectual property infringement. A few years ago we saw Nigerian celebrity blogger Linda Ikeji get into trouble for copyright infringement when Google shut down her blog. Now, we see yet another Nigerian who is the publisher of the very popular American gossip site ‘The Shade Room,’ get into trouble with Facebook for alleged infringement. Avoid these issues. Also seek the advice of a lawyer to help you with understanding how to comply with intellectual property laws.
Excerpt of the alleged infringement follows:
The removal of a popular gossip website’s Facebook page has alarmed some in digital media, but the social media giant told CNNMoney that it was taken down due to “repeated” intellectual property violations.
It’s Facebook’s policy to “disable the accounts of people who repeatedly infringe others’ intellectual property rights when appropriate.”
Angie Nwandu, the founder of The Shade Room, indicated on Monday that the site has drawn warnings from Facebook in the past, but she said “nothing was posted that violated any rules to my knowledge.”
“We have been targeted on [Facebook] and have been receiving numerous reports over things that don’t violate the terms,” Nwandu told Nieman Lab. “The amount of reports have been excessive.”
Nwandu, 25, did not respond to a request for comment. Her site, which originated on Instagram, has become a go-to source of celebrity and entertainment news. At the time of its exile, The Shade Room’s Facebook page had more than 4.4 million “likes.”
CNN Money has the full story.
Listen to AML Podcast Episode on Copyright Infringement during the Google Blog Shut Down Involving Ikeji
[audio-clammr mp3=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/africamusiclaw/20_AML020LindaIkejiBlogShudownTBJOSHUALiability.mp3″]
Photocredit: CNN Money
