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ARTICLE · 05 NOVEMBER 2026

Can A Heart Emoji ❤️ Create A Binding Copyright License?

Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA)
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An Icelandic content creator with 1.5 million Instagram followers sued a tourism platform for copyright infringement after it reposted her travel content without permission. The case explores complex questions of copyright ownership, implied licensing through social media interactions, and the extraterritorial reach of U.S. copyright law when foreign contractors upload content targeting American audiences.

GlobalIntellectual Property
Brian Murphy (Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz)
Brian Murphy (Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz)
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Asa Steinars is an Icelandic content creator. Her Instagram account has more than 1.5 million followers, making her the 6th most followed Icelander on Instagram (Laufey is first, and Björk is third). Videos of Steinars kayaking among icebergs, zip-lining over glaciers, and bathing in hot springs would make anyone with a ❤️ beat want to visit the Land of Fire and Ice. Working closely with her husband Leo (who is often behind the camera or operating drones that take dramatic aerial footage), Steinars licenses content to third parties, does brand collabs, and earns commissions on tours and hotels booked through links on her page. She pours her ❤️ and soul into it.

Defendant Tripscout promotes tourism through a large network of social media accounts. Tripscout also owns @hotel, a booking platform linked from the bios of its travel accounts, and it earns a commission when users book through it. Tripscout is, as the court put it, “always on the hunt for captivating travel-related content

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