Pinterest and Groups

We’ve been talking about Pinterest, and by extension, all the wave of “___board” sites, like Juxtapost.com .  One additional problem occurred to me today, as I was reading comments on a blog post about using Pinterest to promote non-profit groups.  I think, up until this point, I’ve been pointing out that “pinning” images to these sites merely infringes copyright of the, usually, unwilling, original artist.  However, what if the content is not merely being used for a “I love this” or even a straight “marketing” type board, but was actually being used for a cause the artist did not support.

For instance (and these are hypothetical instances) what if someone’s image of a cow was posted onto a PETA pinboard and the artist was against what PETA stood for?  Or someone’s image of their grandparent ended up on an AARP supported board, and their views did not mesh?  What if a staunch supporter of peaceful resolution found their work on the pinboard of the US Army?

In the end, someone/thing, like the Army is there to market itself, and content provided is a means to that end.  (And I’m not saying they haven’t secured the rights to the images they are using, because I haven’t looked into that.)  Is it ok for these groups to take content to further their goals, goals aside from mere financial gain?  Is there more to lose, legally, from using copyrighted content in this way?

Something else to consider…

One thought on Pinterest and Groups

  1. I made this point in Trey Ratcliff’s Google+ post on the subject (http://goo.gl/nqjti). I shoot photos of marriage equality rallies because I support that cause, not because I expect to make much money licensing them. But I do want some control over how these images are used; I wouldn’t want anti-gay groups to use them to further their cause. (Of course those depicted might also have a say in that as these photos aren’t model-released.) This is also part of why I don’t use Creative Commons licensing.

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