Social Media - Are You Monitoring for Infringement?
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Does your AMC have a social media policy? What about your clients? Everyone uses social media today but it is important for associations, nonprofit organizations and their AMCs to be aware of the legal issues associated with it. Social media sites allow users to post comments and upload their own content which can create copyright infringement issues.
Associations can take steps to protect against allegations of copyright infringement by being aware of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which provides two safe-harbor provisions that may protect them from liability as long as certain conditions are met.
The site’s host:
The site’s host:
- Must establish effective notice-and-takedown procedures
- Promptly remove content at issue when notified of the infringing materials by the copyright owner
- Have no actual or effective knowledge of the infringement.
Monitoring content for infringement, which includes text, photos, trademarks, graphics or other media content, is important and can either be done by AMC staff or by a business that specializes in providing monitoring for social media.
Protect your clients and your AMC while maintaining compliance with the AMC Standard of Good Practices for the Association Management Industry by instituting a Social Media Terms of Use policy.
