Pinterest, a new-ish social network, like Facebook and Google before them, Pinterest is settling in for, what looks like, a long ride on the copyright infringement controversy train . Long and bumpy though it may be, the ride is sure to be fraught with less-than-positive publicity — but as they say in the business: there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is sorta like the Internet’s refrigerator door. People can “pin” their pictures, recipes, artwork and homemade homilies for all to see.  Think of it, also, as your own virtual bulletin board where you can “pin” things found online. Say you see a recipe on a recipe website or a picture of a unicorn that you want to save. With the Pinterest pin, which becomes attached to your browser toolbar after signing up, you pin the recipe or image and it’s saved in your Pinterest account.

Like many social media sites, the pervasive attitude in the Pinterest community is “sharing (and admiring the works of others) is caring.”

Currently, if you want to be a Pinterest pinner, you either have to be invited by an existing pinner or submit your request to be invited. Yes, there is a waiting line.

The Currently, if you want to be a Pinterest pinner, you either have to be invited by an existing pinner or submit your request to be invited. Yes, indeed, there is a waiting line.

Copyright Infringement Problem

The only fly in the Pinterest ointment, at this point, seems to be that pesky issue haunting the Internet as of late — copyright infringement — and it has to do with the way Pinterest is structured. Simply stated, on  Pinterest, it’s difficult to find the original owner of the images.

When an admiring fan of your “my latest card trick” pins it to their Pinterest account and it gets repinned by subsequent fans, your copyrights to the photo might get lost in the shuffle. While that may not be a big deal to some, you’ve just lost your ace-in-the-hole ticket to international card trick stardom. Instead, Johnny Magician has just announced his upcoming appearance on the Letterman show where he’ll be featuring the trick you know you created.

Google Sets Online Copyright Infringement Precedent

Back in 2006, Google was taken to court for copyright infringement of thumbnail images that weren’t properly attributed to their rightful copyright owners, but Google was vindicated the next year, which set precedent. As a result, oddly enough, both sides of the copyright infringement issue point to the Google case as their argument.

The Pinterest supporters claim that Pinterest’s posting of images is no different than Google’s. The naysayers proclaim that since Pinterest’s images are full-size, full-resolution images, the situation is different and the laws that gave Google safe harbor don’t apply to Pinterest.

DMCA Copyright Infringement Avenues

Currently, Pinterest is following the rules set by the DMCA, allowing the public to report alleged copyright infringements. When a complaint is found to be valid, Pinterest need only remove the image. Trying to trace the image back to its original poster is no easy task, especially when it’s been repeatedly repinned from one place to another. If that image is yours and it’s been repinned more often than a 70s Farrah Fawcett poster, you’ll need to fill out a formal DMCA Notice of Alleged Infringement. Pinterest will then take action as they see fit.

My Corporation CEO and IP attorney Deborah Sweeney says they’ve contacted Pinterest for their comments on copyright infringement issues that have been filed and remained unsettled, but Pinterest hasn’t responded.

If You Upload It, You Better Own It

Here’s the current rule as outlined in Pinterest’s Terms of Service: if you upload something to Pinterest and they subsequently sell it, which they can do, and it subsequently becomes embroiled in copyright infringement litigation, which it could, guess who’s butt is on the line?

Even without malicious intent, it’s so easy for a Pinterest pinner to pin something that could be an unintentional infringement of the owner’s copyright. That fact doesn’t escape the vengeful eye of the SOPA supporters who are lurking on the sidelines.

The only ones who aren’t facing any loss of copyright dangers are those who post images of something that isn’t defined by its image. People selling products aren’t really affected if somebody takes the image. Even some posters who trade in graphic arts consider it less of an evil than it could be. The fact that they’re getting more exposure offsets, in some people’s mind, the loss of copyright rights.

We’ll see how this Pintrest copyright infringement issue turns out; in the meantime, if you are in need with some copyright protection or enforcement, give the Kelly Law Firm a buzz.