“In response to the new Facebook guidelines, I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times!”
‘No such thing’
It’s a frightful message and those worried that Facebook will own their photos or other media are posting it — unaware that it is a hoax. Here’s the truth: Facebook doesn’t own your media and there is no such thing as the Berner Convention. (There is a Berne Convention!)
“We have noticed some statements that suggest otherwise and we wanted to take a moment to remind you of the facts — when you post things like photos to Facebook, we do not own them,” Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said in a statement. “Under our terms (https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms), you grant Facebook permission to use, distribute, and share the things you post, subject to the terms and applicable privacy settings.”
‘Don’t bother posting’
Brad Shear, a Washington-area attorney and blogger who is an expert on social media, said the message was “misleading and not true.” He said that when you agree to Facebook’s terms of use you provide Facebook a ”non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any content you post. You do not need to make any declarations about copyright issues since the law already protects you. The privacy declaration [in this message] is worthless and does not mean anything.”
Bottom line? Don’t bother copying, pasting, and posting. It was a hoax before and is still a hoax now.
Have you fallen prey to these “copyright” hoaxes on Facebook before? Tell us about other forms this hoax that you know of!
Image: Raw Signal
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