LinkedIn is a popular social media platform used by professionals to network and share content. With over 800 million users, it’s easy to want to share interesting articles, images, or videos you find online. However, much of the content online is protected by copyright law. This raises an important question – can you legally share copyrighted material on LinkedIn without permission?
The short answer is sometimes, but it depends. Sharing small excerpts or quotes from copyrighted works for commentary or criticism may be allowed under fair use. However, reposting entire articles, images, or videos without permission is generally not allowed. Proper attribution is also required.
It’s important to have a basic understanding of copyright law and LinkedIn’s policies around copyrighted material. This will help ensure you don’t unintentionally infringe on someone’s copyright on LinkedIn.
What is copyright?
Copyright is a form of intellectual property law that gives creators of original works exclusive rights to determine how their works are used. Copyright applies to a wide range of creative works including books, articles, music, paintings, photography, videos, software code, and more.
The creator of an original work automatically gets copyright protection when the work is fixed in a tangible medium, like written down or recorded. The copyright holder then has exclusive rights, like:
- The right to reproduce the work
- The right to distribute copies of the work
- The right to display or perform the work publicly
- The right to make derivative works
Copyright protection lasts for the creator’s life plus an additional 70 years. After that, the work enters the public domain where it can be used freely.
It’s important to note that copyright applies only to the creative expression of ideas, not the ideas or facts themselves. For example, you can freely discuss or reuse facts, data and ideas from a copyrighted work, but you cannot reuse the exact words or images without permission.
Does fair use allow sharing copyrighted material?
Fair use is an important exception to copyright law that allows limited reuse of copyrighted works without permission in certain cases. There are four key factors courts consider when evaluating whether a use of copyrighted material qualifies as fair use:
- The purpose and character of the use (non-commercial vs. commercial, transformative vs. reproducing)
- The nature of the copyrighted work
- The amount and substantiality reused
- The potential market effect on the copyright holder
Uses for commentary, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, and education are more likely to be considered fair use compared to purely commercial uses. Reusing small amounts of a work in a transformative way is better than reposting a work in full. Proper attribution also strengthens a fair use case.
Quoting a short excerpt from an article in your own commentary or analysis would likely qualify as fair use. However, simply reposting a full article without adding new insights would not qualify. Images are trickier since reposting an entire image is rarely considered fair use even if properly attributed. The safer option is to link to the original source instead.
Fair use is determined on a case by case basis, so there are gray areas. When in doubt, it’s better to err on the side of caution and avoid reusing large portions of copyrighted works without permission.
What is LinkedIn’s policy on copyright?
LinkedIn does not allow copyright infringement on their platform. All content you post on LinkedIn is subject to their User Agreement which states:
“You agree that you will not upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy…”
If you share copyrighted material on LinkedIn without the right to do so, LinkedIn can take down your content upon receiving a valid legal request from the copyright holder. Repeated copyright infringement could lead to your account being restricted or terminated.
To report copyright infringement on LinkedIn, copyright holders can submit a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). LinkedIn’s DMCA policy outlines the process for submitting takedown requests.
LinkedIn does, however, allow proper sharing of copyrighted material under fair use principles. Their policy states:
“We will assess whether the content was removed improperly due to misidentification of the material or based on a valid fair use or other permissible reason for sharing the content before removing or disabling access to it.”
So you generally should not repost full copyrighted works on LinkedIn without permission. But commentary that incorporates limited excerpts or quotes from copyrighted works for criticism, news reporting, etc. is likely permitted under fair use.
Best practices for legally sharing content on LinkedIn
To safely share content on LinkedIn and respect copyright law, keep these best practices in mind:
- Only post your own original content or content you have explicit permission to share.
- Link to the original source webpage rather than reposting full articles or images.
- Properly attribute any quotes or excerpts to the copyright holder.
- Keep excerpts brief – a few sentences or short paragraphs at most.
- Add your own insightful commentary and analysis when incorporating quotes or excerpts.
- Secure licensing or permission from copyright holders when reusing substantial portions of a copyrighted work.
- Avoid reposting full-length articles, songs, videos, artwork, or any other copyrighted works in their entirety.
- Err on the side of caution if you are unsure whether your use qualifies as fair use.
Also be aware that just because something is accessible on the internet does not mean it is free for you to reuse without permission. Do some quick research to identify and respect the copyright status of online content you wish to share.
What happens if you receive a copyright complaint?
If you receive a notice from LinkedIn that content you posted has been restricted or removed due to a copyright complaint, you have a few options:
- You can accept that the content was removed and avoid posting it again.
- You can clarify how your use qualifies as fair use and ask LinkedIn to reconsider.
- You can reach out to the copyright holder to secure permission or licensing for your intended use.
- If you believe the complaint was submitted in error, you can formally contest the takedown by sending a counter-notice to LinkedIn.
However, to qualify for a counter-notice, you must have a good faith belief that the content was removed by mistake or misidentification. Contesting a valid claim of copyright infringement can potentially expose you to legal liability.
If in doubt, it may be wise to simply avoid reposting the content again without securing permission. But if you have a strong fair use case, you can try to clarify this in further communications with LinkedIn or the copyright holder.
What are the risks of copyright infringement?
Before reposting copyrighted content on LinkedIn or anywhere online, it’s important to understand the potential risks:
- The copyright holder can issue a formal takedown notice to have your content removed.
- For severe or repeated cases of infringement, your LinkedIn account could get restricted or terminated.
- You may face civil penalties like monetary damages, legal costs, and injunctions against you.
- In some cases, criminal charges are possible for willful copyright infringement.
- You damage your professional reputation through unethical conduct.
The penalties for personal social media use tend to be less severe. But copyright infringement in a professional or commercial context can lead to much harsher consequences. Always get permission when significantly reusing copyrighted works in your business activities.
Conclusion
Sharing copyrighted material on LinkedIn without permission can put you at risk of DMCA takedown requests, account restrictions, legal penalties, and reputational damage. Try to mainly share your own original content or properly attribute any excerpts used under fair use principles. Obtain licenses or permission when reusing substantial portions of protected works. With some care and common sense, you can legally promote your brand and share your expertise without infringing on copyright law.
