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ARTICLE · 01 FEBRUARY 2019

The Copyright "Meme" Game: Can An Internet Meme Containing A Copyrighted Work Be Considered Infringing?

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
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Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

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The abundant use of memes in social media raises many legal issues, including copyright infringement and fair use, that are now beginning to be addressed.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
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The abundant use of memes in social media raises many legal issues, including copyright infringement and fair use, that are now beginning to be addressed. Philpot v. AlterNet Media Inc., 18-4479 (N.D. Cal. filed Jul. 24, 2018), involves a battle between Larry Philpot, a concert photographer, and AlterNet Media Inc., a liberal activist news service, over AlterNet's use of one of Philpot's photos. AlterNet had posted on its social media accounts a photo Philpot had taken of artist Willie Nelson alongside a quote from an interview Nelson gave in 2010 to Parade Magazine (see Figure 1, below). The quote read, "Rednecks, hippies, misfits—we're all the same. Gay or straight? So what? It doesn't matter to me. We have to be concerned about other people, regardless. I don't like seeing anybody treated unfairly. It sticks in my craw. I hold on to the values from my childhood." Additionally, AlterNet added its own comment above the photo that simply stated, "We need more values

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