Traditionally, media companies (as well as non-media companies) almost exclusively utilized their own content. However, because of the exponential growth in the public’s desire and ability to interconnect through social media and the Internet, publication of user-generated content (UGC) (also known as consumer-generated media) has exploded. Many business and government entities, including the vast majority of traditional media companies, have developed frameworks to facilitate the distribution of content by end users, thereby adding social media elements to traditional media, and vice versa.

The most prominent websites devoted to UGC are Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram—with Facebook, of course, leading the league in users. In 2013, Facebook reportedly had 1.23 billion active users, adding 170 million users in just one year. The youngest of the more prominent sites is Instagram, an online photo sharing service that allows users to take pictures and share videos on social networking sites. Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion in April 2012, a little less than two years after it started. By estimate, an average of 60 million photos are shared on Instagram daily.

Although UGC presents great opportunities for both users and website operators, it also inevitably raises a host of potentially thorny legal questions concerning intellectual property (IP) rights, defamation, and privacy rights. This article identifies some of these legal concerns, focusing on the more prominent IP issues relating to UGC. This article also briefly discusses other areas of liability that can arise from UGC, including claims of defamation and violations of the rights to privacy and publicity. This article concludes by offering some practical tips for website operators and copyright holders on how to deal with the legal issues associated with UGC....

Originally published at the State Bar of Texas 24TH ANNUAL ENTERTAINMENT LAW INSTITUTE COURSE in Dallas, Texas on November 6-7, 2014.