Copyright
These articles provide information about copyrights, including how you can protect your own copyrighted works and avoid infringing the copyrights of others. We also provide information about how Facebook addresses reported copyright infringement. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can report it by filling out this form
.
Laws in different countries may vary. For more information on copyright law, you can visit the website of the U.S. Copyright Office
or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
. Facebook can’t provide you with legal advice, so you may want to speak with an attorney if you have more questions about copyright.
Learn More About Copyright
What is copyright and what does it protect?
What is copyright and what does it protect?
In most countries, copyright is a legal right that protects original works of authorship. Typically, if you create an original work, you have a copyright from the moment you create it.
Copyright covers a wide variety of types of works, including:
Visual or audiovisual works
: videos, movies, TV shows and broadcasts, video games, paintings, photographs
Audio works
: songs, musical compositions, sound recordings, spoken word recordings
Literary works
: books, plays, manuscripts, articles, musical scores
Please note, only an original work is eligible for copyright protection. To be original enough for copyright protection, a work needs to be created by the author themselves and have some minimal amount of creativity.
Generally, names, titles, slogans or short phrases aren't considered to be original enough to qualify for copyright protection. For example, the symbol “+” is likely not subject to copyright, but a painting full of shapes and colors arranged in a unique pattern is likely protected by copyright.
Copyright generally doesn’t protect facts or ideas, but it may protect the original words or images that express a fact or idea. This means that you may be able to express the same idea or fact as another author, as long as you don’t copy that author’s way of expressing that idea or fact. For example, a playwright may not be able to copyright the idea of a man waking up to repeat the same day over and over again, but the script for a play or movie expressing that idea could be subject to copyright.
How do I know if I own the copyright in a work?
How do I know if I own the copyright in a work?
In general, the person who creates an original work owns the copyright. For example, if you create a painting, you likely own the copyright in that painting. Similarly, if you take a photo, you likely own the copyright in that photo.
There may be situations where you might think you have a copyright in an original work, but you may not. For example:
If you appear in a photo or video, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a copyright in that photo or video ( learn more
about what to do If you think a photo or video on Facebook might violate your privacy.)
If you take a photograph of a sculpture, that doesn’t mean you have the right to prevent someone else from also taking a photograph of the same sculpture.
If you create a work as part of your regular job responsibilities, you might not be the owner of the copyright in that work. Instead, there are circumstances where the law will consider your employer to be the “author” of that work for copyright purposes.
If you’re not sure about the extent of your copyright in an original work, you may want to contact an attorney to advise you on your rights.
What rights do I have as a copyright owner?
What rights do I have as a copyright owner?
As a copyright owner, you have certain rights under the law. These include the right to stop others from copying or distributing your work, or from creating new works based on your work. Copyright infringement generally occurs when a person engages in one of these activities without the copyright owner’s permission.
For example, when someone uploads your photo or video, they make a copy of that photo or video. The same is true if someone uses a song in the soundtrack to a video, even if they paid for a copy of that song on another service.
If you own a copyright, you have the right to grant permission to use your copyrighted work as well as the right to prevent other people from using your copyrighted work without permission.
How long does copyright protection last?
How long does copyright protection last?
Copyright protection doesn’t last forever. Eventually, a work loses copyright protection and becomes part of the “public domain.” Once a work is in the public domain, it’s freely available for anyone to use.
A central purpose of copyright law is to encourage people to make creative works. For this reason, the public domain ensures copyright owners obtain certain rights only for a limited amount of time. This balance between copyright law and the public domain gives the author an incentive to create, but also gives other people the ability to use the work without permission after the copyright expires.
There are many factors that determine when a work becomes part of the public domain. Some of these factors include when and where the work was first published, the type of work and the publisher. For example the Berne Convention, an international treaty about copyright, states that the copyright for most types of works must last at least 50 years after the author’s death. Countries, however, are free to set longer copyright terms within their own laws.
What’s the difference between copyright and trademark?
What’s the difference between copyright and trademark?
The law in most countries recognizes copyrights as well as trademarks. Copyright law and trademark law serve two different purposes.
Copyright
is meant to foster creativity and to provide incentives to create original works of authorship for the benefit of the public. Copyright protects original works like photos, videos, movies and music. It’s also important to note that, in the U.S., the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) applies only to copyrights and doesn’t apply to trademarks.
Trademark
law is meant to prevent consumer harm because it prohibits someone other than the rights owner from using a trademark (for example, a brand’s logo) in a way that may confuse consumers. Trademark law protects brand names, slogans, logos or other symbols that help consumers identify the source of goods or services.
Copyright and Posting Content on Facebook
How can I make sure the content I post to Facebook doesn't violate copyright law?
How can I make sure the content I post to Facebook doesn't violate copyright law?
Under Facebook's Terms of Service
and Community Standards
, you can only post content to Facebook that doesn’t violate someone else's intellectual property rights. The best way to help make sure that what you post to Facebook doesn’t violate copyright law is to only post content that you’ve created yourself. It's possible to infringe someone else's copyright when you post their content on Facebook, even if you:
Bought or downloaded the content (ex: a song from iTunes)
Recorded the content onto your own recording device (ex: a song playing in the background during a party, concert, sporting event, wedding, etc.)
Gave credit to the copyright owner
Included a disclaimer that you didn’t intend to infringe copyright
Didn’t intend to profit from it
Modified the work or added your own original material to it
Found the content available on the internet
Saw that others posted the same content as well
Think the use is a fair use
Before you post content on Facebook, you may want to ask:
Did I create all of the content myself?
Do I have permission to use all of the content included in my post?
Does my use of the content fall within an exception to copyright infringement
?
Is the content protected by copyright (ex: is it a short phrase, idea or public domain work?)
It’s generally a good idea to get written permission from the author of the work before posting content on Facebook. You might be able to use someone else’s content on Facebook if you’ve gotten permission from them, such as through obtaining a license. You also may be able to use someone else's content if it's in the public domain, is covered by fair use, or there is another exception to copyright.
Learn more about copyright and what copyright laws protect.
What are fair use and other exceptions to copyright?
What are fair use and other exceptions to copyright?
Laws across the globe recognize that strict application of copyright laws in certain cases may be unfair or may inappropriately stifle creativity or stop people from creating original works, which would harm the public. These laws allow people to use, under certain circumstances, someone else's copyrighted work. Common examples include use for the purpose of criticism, commentary, parody, satire, news reporting, teaching, education and research.
The United States and some other countries follow the “fair use” doctrine, while other countries, including those in the European Union, provide other exceptions or limitations to copyright. These exceptions or limitations permit users to use copyrighted material where appropriate. You may want to seek legal advice if you have questions about the possibility to use someone else’s copyrighted work within the limits set by the law.
Fair Use
Though it can be difficult to know whether a particular use of copyrighted work is a fair use, the law offers some factors you can consider:
1.
The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes:
Does the use transform or change the original work by adding new meaning, context or expression? For example, using a fashion photograph to discuss the amount of photo editing used in the photograph is more likely to be fair use than simply posting the photograph without comment. Parodies may be fair use if they imitate a work in a way that criticizes or comments on the original work.
Is the use commercial or purely personal? Commercial, or for-profit uses are less likely to be considered fair use.
2.
The nature of the copyrighted work:
The use of factual works like maps or databases is more likely to be fair use than the use of highly creative works like poems or science-fiction movies.
3.
The amount and substance of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole:
The use of small portions of a copyrighted work is more likely to be fair use than copying an entire work. But even if only a small portion is used, it is less likely to be fair use if that portion used is the most important piece — the “heart” of the work.
4.
The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work:
Will the use replace the original work such that people stop buying or viewing the copyrighted work? If so, this is less likely to be fair use.
To learn more about fair use in the U.S., you can visit the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index
.
Exceptions to Copyright
The application of exceptions and limitations to copyright may vary from country to country. Generally, in countries that rely on exceptions and limitations, the use of copyrighted works should not unreasonably harm a rights holder’s interests.
In the EU, each Member State must ensure that users are able to rely on the following exceptions when making content available: quotation, criticism, review, caricature, parody or pastiche. To learn more about copyright law in the EU, you can visit the EUIPO website
.
Can I still violate another person’s copyright on Facebook if I didn’t intend to infringe?
Can I still violate another person’s copyright on Facebook if I didn’t intend to infringe?
It's possible to infringe someone else's copyright, even if you don't intend to do so. In most cases, you shouldn’t use someone else’s copyrighted work if you don’t have permission. Posting content that facilitates copyright infringement through unauthorized devices or services is also not allowed on Facebook.
Keep in mind that your use of someone else’s content may infringe their copyright or facilitate copyright infringement, even if you:
Gave credit to the copyright owner
Included a disclaimer that you don’t intend to infringe copyright
Think that the use is a fair use
Didn’t intend to profit from it
Bought or downloaded the content (ex: a copy of a DVD or a song from iTunes)
Modified the work or added your own original material to it
Found the content available on the internet
Recorded the content onto your own recording device (ex: from a movie, concert or sporting event)
Saw that others have posted the same content as well
Are using an unauthorized streaming device or service (ex: a “jailbroken” or “loaded” app or service)
Learn more about copyright and what copyright laws protect
.
A video I posted on Facebook was removed immediately. What happened, and what are my options?
A video I posted on Facebook was removed immediately. What happened, and what are my options?
If you tried to post a video and it was immediately removed, it may have been identified as potentially containing someone else’s copyrighted content. This could include video, audio or both.
If your video was removed for copyright reasons, you'll receive an email and a notification about the removal. Please use the information you receive to learn more about your options, such as confirming that you have the right to use the copyrighted work and you still wish to post the content.
If you don't see an email from us regarding the removal, please make sure that you are checking the email address that is associated with your Facebook account. You can find your primary address under your account settings.
If you still have not received an email from us, you also may want to review your Facebook notification settings
as well as your email's spam folder.
Content I posted on Facebook was removed because it was reported for intellectual property infringement. What are my next steps?
Content I posted on Facebook was removed because it was reported for intellectual property infringement. What are my next steps?
When we receive a report from a rights owner claiming that content you posted on Facebook infringes their intellectual property rights, we may need to promptly remove that content from Facebook without contacting you first.
If we remove content you posted because of an intellectual property report submitted through our online form, you’ll receive a notification from Meta that may include the name and email address of the rights owner who made the report and/or other details of the report. If you believe the content shouldn’t have been removed, you can follow up with the rights owner directly to try to resolve the issue.
If you're an admin on a Page, and content another admin posted on the Page was removed due to an intellectual property report, you'll receive a notification with information about the content that was removed, as well as the name of the other admin who posted it.
If content you posted in a group was removed due to an intellectual property report, the group admins will also be notified of the removal and the identity of the group member who posted the content that was removed.
Appealing the removal of content
If your content was removed because of a copyright report, you can submit an appeal. You'll receive instructions about how to appeal in the message we send you. Similarly, if the content was removed under the notice and counter-notice procedures of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
, you may be able to file a DMCA counter-notification. Again, instructions will be available for you in the message we send you. Learn more
about our appeals process.
Group admins will be notified about content removed from their group due to intellectual property violations, but only the person who posted it will be able to submit an appeal.
Repeated intellectual property infringer policy for Meta
Repeated intellectual property infringer policy for Meta
By using Facebook, you have agreed to our Terms of Service
. Our Terms prohibit people from taking any action on Facebook that infringes or violates someone else's intellectual property rights or otherwise violates the law.
Learn more about what you can do if you think your account was disabled by mistake
.
Loss of account, Pages, or groups, under repeat infringer policy
If a person repeatedly posts content that violates intellectual property rights, then their:
Account may be disabled
Page may be removed
Group may be removed
Examples of intellectual property include things like:
Copyrights
Trademarks
Post & access limits under repeat infringer policy
If a person repeatedly posts content that violates intellectual property rights, then under this policy their:
Abilty to post photos or videos may be limited
Access to certain features and functionaltiy may be limited
The actions taken under the policy may depend on the nature of the reported content and where it was posted.
Restored posts under repeat infringer policy
If something a person posted is restored due to an appeal or because a rights owner withdrew their report, then we’ll take that restoration into account under our repeat infringer policy.
How does Meta process United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) counter-notifications?
How does Meta process United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) counter-notifications?
Meta complies with the notice-and-takedown procedures set out in section 512(c) of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which applies to content reported and removed for violating U.S. copyrights.
If your content is removed under the DMCA, you'll receive instructions about how to file a counter-notification in the message we send you. You should only submit a counter-notification if the content was removed because of a mistake or misidentification. Please note that if your content was removed for reasons unrelated to a copyright report, you may not receive a response from us.
When we receive a valid DMCA counter-notification, we forward it to the party that reported the content. The information they receive includes your contact information, which they can use to contact you.
If we provide your counter-notification to the party that reported the content, and they don't notify us that they have filed a court action seeking an order to keep the content down, we will restore or cease disabling eligible content under the DMCA. This process can take up to 14 business days. Please note, in rare instances, we may not be able to restore content due to technical limitations. If this happens, we’ll send you an update letting you know you may repost the content at your discretion.
Content that is restored based on a valid DMCA counter-notification will not be counted against you under our repeat infringer policy
.
Reporting Copyright Infringement on Facebook
How do I report copyright infringement on Facebook?
How do I report copyright infringement on Facebook?
If you believe content on Facebook is infringing on your copyright, you can take one or more of the following actions:
You can report copyright infringement to us by filling out this form
.
You can contact our designated agent.
If you contact our designated agent, please be sure to include a complete copyright claim in your report.
You may be able to resolve the issue without contacting Meta, by sending a message to the person who posted the content.
Please note:
Only the copyright owner or their authorized representative may file a report of copyright infringement. If you believe something on Facebook infringes someone else’s copyright, you may want to let the rights owner know.
We regularly provide the rights owner’s name, your email and the details of your report to the person who posted the content you are reporting. In the case that you are an authorized representative submitting a report, we provide the name of the organization or client that owns the right in question. For this reason, you may wish to provide a valid generic business or professional email.
What should I consider before submitting a report of intellectual property infringement to Facebook?
What should I consider before submitting a report of intellectual property infringement to Facebook?
Before you submit a report, please consider whether the content you want to report may be a permissible use of your copyright
or trademark
. If you’re not sure whether the content you’re reporting infringes your intellectual property rights (ex: because it may be a fair use), you may want to seek legal guidance.
Please note that submitting a report of intellectual property infringement is a serious matter with potential legal consequences. Intentionally submitting misleading or otherwise fraudulent reports of copyright or trademark infringement may lead to Facebook taking action, including termination of your account.
For copyright, it’s important to note that intentionally submitting a misleading or fraudulent report may also lead to liability for damages under section 512(f) of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) or similar laws in other countries.
Can I report an infringement of someone else’s intellectual property on Facebook?
Can I report an infringement of someone else’s intellectual property on Facebook?
Only an intellectual property rights owner or their authorized representative may report a suspected infringement. If you believe content on Facebook infringes someone else’s copyright or trademark rights, you may want to let the rights owner know.
How do I contact Meta's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) designated agent?
How do I contact Meta's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) designated agent?
The fastest and easiest way to send a DMCA report of copyright infringement to our designated agent is to contact Meta
.
If you wish to reach our designated agent through other (and slower) methods, you can contact:
Meta Platforms, Inc.
Attn: Meta Designated Agent
1601 Willow Road
Menlo Park, California 94025
650.543.4800 (phone)
ip@fb.com
Please keep in mind that if you submit a report to our designated agent by any means other than through our online form, you must include a complete copyright claim
.
What information do I need to include in a copyright report to Meta?
What information do I need to include in a copyright report to Meta?
The fastest and easiest way to submit a claim of copyright infringement on Facebook to us is to report it
. Whether you submit your report through our online form or another method, Facebook needs the following information to be able to process your report:
Your complete contact information (full name, mailing address and phone number)*.
A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed.
A description of the content on our site that you claim infringes your copyright.
Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material on our site. The easiest way to do this is by providing web addresses (URLs) leading directly to the allegedly infringing content.
A declaration that:
1.
You have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted content described above, in the manner you have complained of, is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
2.
The information in your notice is accurate.
3.
Under penalty of perjury, you are the owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive copyright that is allegedly infringed.
Your electronic signature or physical signature.
*Please note that we regularly provide your name, contact information and the contents of your report to the person who posted the content you are reporting. If you are an authorized representative submitting a report, we provide the name of the organization or client that owns the right in question. For this reason, you may wish to provide a professional or business email address.
Facebook removed content as a result of my copyright report. What information is sent to the person who posted that content?
Facebook removed content as a result of my copyright report. What information is sent to the person who posted that content?
When we receive a copyright report through our online form and remove the reported content, we regularly provide the person who posted the content with the following information:
Report number
Rights owner’s name
Email address provided by the reporting party
Details of the report
Instructions on how to submit an appeal
The person whose content was removed may contact you with the information you provide. For this reason, you may want to provide a valid generic business or professional email address.
In rare cases (such as when we are contacted by fax, mail or email), we are only able to provide the report number and a description of the removed content. We may provide additional information if it’s requested by the person who posted the reported content.
What happens when I submit a copyright report to Meta?
What happens when I submit a copyright report to Meta?
If you submit a copyright report
to us through our form or via email, you'll receive an automated message that contains information about your report, including a unique report number. You should save this number in case you need to contact us about your report.
Sometimes, we might respond to your report and ask for more information. If you receive a message from our team you should respond directly to that message. Your response will be received by our team so they can continue to look into your report.
Please note that we regularly provide the person who posted the content with the following information about your report:
Report number
Rights owner’s name
Email address provided by the reporting party
Details of the report
Instructions on how to submit an appeal
The person whose content was removed may contact you with the information you provide. For this reason, you may want to provide a valid generic business or professional email address in your report.
How do I report an advertisement for intellectual property infringement on Facebook?
How do I report an advertisement for intellectual property infringement on Facebook?
If you own a registered trademark, you may be eligible to use Brand Rights Protection. This tool allows you to identify trademark violations, counterfeit products and copyright infringement across Meta technologies such as Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about Brand Rights Protection
, including how to apply.
If you don’t have access to Brand Rights Protection, and you believe content on Facebook is infringing your intellectual property rights, you can report it to us through one of the following forms:
Copyright
Trademark
Counterfeit
If you use business manager, you can also report intellectual property infringement
. If not, you can use the Intellectual Property Reporting Center
.
Reported content will be reviewed by our IP operations team. If you submit a report, please include a direct link to the ad. If you don’t have a direct link to the ad, you can attach a screenshot to your report.
Report an advertisement on Facebook
1.
Click 
next to the ad you want to report.
next to the ad you want to report.2.
Click Report ad
and follow the on-screen instructions.
How do I report a third-party app on Facebook that I think infringes my intellectual property?
How do I report a third-party app on Facebook that I think infringes my intellectual property?
Some apps you may find on Facebook are created and operated by third-party developers. Meta doesn’t control the content made available through these apps.
If you believe an app developer isn’t following the Facebook Terms of Service
, we suggest contacting the developer directly with your concerns.
Retract an intellectual property report that you've submitted to Facebook
Retract an intellectual property report that you've submitted to Facebook
If you submitted an intellectual property report, but then reached an agreement with the person who posted the content, or if you reported content by mistake, you can withdraw your intellectual property report.
The best way to do that is to complete the Retraction Form provided to you in the email you received when you filed your report. Alternatively, you can submit this form.
Once we receive your notice withdrawing your report, we’ll restore the content if it has already been removed and send you an email confirmation. We may be unable to restore the content in certain instances, including due to technical limitations or if the content was removed for other reasons unrelated to your intellectual property report.
Rights Manager and Other Intellectual Property Tools
What tools does Facebook provide to help me protect my intellectual property in my videos?
What tools does Facebook provide to help me protect my intellectual property in my videos?
In addition to our other measures, including our online reporting forms and our repeat infringer policy, we use systems that flag content posted to Facebook that may contain copyrighted content owned by someone else.
Rights Manager, Facebook's rights management technology, allows copyright owners to upload and maintain a reference library of video content they want to monitor and protect, including live video streams. You may be able to use Rights Manager to take a number of actions on a video that matches your content, including:
Block:
A blocked video is not viewable by anyone other than the person who posted it. If a blocked video is posted on a Page, it is not viewable by anyone other than administrators of that Page. You may be able to block a video worldwide or in specific countries where you own rights. Learn more about blocking in Rights Manager
.
Claim Ad Earnings
: You may be able to claim money earned from a video that contains ad breaks. Your claim may apply to money earned from all views on a video or only views in specific countries where you own rights.
Apply Attribution
: You may be able to insert a banner below a video linking it to your own content. You may be able to apply this banner worldwide or only in specific countries where you own rights.
Report
: You can use Rights Manager to send a copyright report to Facebook, which may result in the reported video being removed.
To learn more about Rights Manager, visit https://rightsmanager.fb.com
.
What tools does Facebook provide to help me enforce my intellectual property rights in advertisements and sale posts?
What tools does Facebook provide to help me enforce my intellectual property rights in advertisements and sale posts?
If you own a registered trademark, you may be eligible to use Brand Rights Protection. This tool allows you to identify trademark violations, counterfeit products and copyright infringement across many of our platforms. Learn more about Brand Rights Protection
, including how to apply.
