Imagine going to court over your content.
What can we learn from this historic court case?
Two TikTokkers in the US have faced off against each other in court, with one claiming the other had stolen her Tiktok and Instagram storefronts.
Both women use the same cream and beige aesthetics with the same Amazon-promoted products. But aren't most TikTok creators doing this and promoting the same products and why is this relevant?
Now that’s a valid question, but it also feeds into where we draw the line with taking inspiration from other’s content, and straight up copying.
Taking inspiration from others is a way of life and is seen as the highest form of flattery, but plagiarism is the opposite of flattery and that's where these two creators have have found themselves embroiled in a court battle.
We’ve written about IG’s new updates, with original content being labelled as such on Reels page, so all other videos that are like it will be seen rightfully as copies or having taken inspiration from. So hopefully this can cut down on people being taken to court?
You'd think anyway...
But there’s a big difference between using others’ content for inspo and straight up copying. Now this has gone in front of a judge for them to determine, because if it was up to us? We wouldn’t have a scooby. Creative licenses are all well and good but when money gets involved things can turn ugly.
These two creators in question met at an event, and then one blocked the other after she’d starting replicating the other’s content and refused to get in touch after repeated attempts. She has already had some of her posts taken down as it was a direct copy of the other’s posts. So it seems reporting content on TikTok works, and moderators are there to help get to the bottom of it.
Now it’s also important to note here that these two women do know each other, which probably stings more, than if it was a random other user on the platform copying the content. It also may be harder to track, how can you prove a correlation between the two accounts and prove its been copied, when so many people love to make these aesthetic videos? It's not always a black and white case, especially if lots of people are making similar content.
Don’t get us started on the beige and cream “pack my Stanley for walk” videos, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Is this copying someone else's content? They all look exactly the same to us, so why is that not plagiarising but this is?
Threats are often made between content creators, but this is the first instance of it actually going to court and be put on front of a judge, so in that case, it’s a historic case, we just wish it was a bit more colourful…
Another question is who decides on what is “original content”? Is it the first person to post it? Or is it the nature of the content? Social media moderators have never been more important, yes they help keep us safe, but they can also help stop people directly rippling off your content. We're all for it! Small businesses are unique because there's no-one like you in the world, but the second you start copying other's ideas it's game over, and it's a hard label to shake in this day and age when the digital footprint is there forever, and thanks a a few clicks, no-one is able to forget past transgressions.
Copying VS Taking inspiration
Is there a set figure or percentage for how much you can take from a video before it becomes straight up copying? We’re unsure, but its always good to air on the side of caution with these things. TikTok’s rules on copyrighting and breaching copyright rules are strict, check them out here: https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/copyright
But honestly, who wants to get dragged to court for flogging the same beige jumper? Not us, that’s who...