What Does This Meme? How Copyright Protected The "Success Kid" Meme

We've all seen it, possibly even used it – the photo of a little boy in the green and white shirt, on the beach, with a fist full of sand and determined look on his face – which has been doing the rounds since 2007, after Laney Griner took a photo of her 11-month-old son, Sam Griner.

Reports state that Griner uploaded the image to Flickr and Getty Images, both platforms through which photographers can licence their images for use by others. From there, the memes flowed, and the success of the image resulted in the "success kid" meme going viral, loved, posted and reposted by many.

So significant was the interest in the "success kid" meme, that various well-known brands licensed the image from Griner for use in their advertising campaigns. It was not long before the "success kid" meme also featured in a political campaign, but this time, its use was not authorised by Griner.