quincy
Senior Member
I don't know what happened to tripwater's thread. I only see that it has been reported. His legal concern apparently, however, has to do with what he wrote as quoted below:
"A buddy and I post goofy and wacky photos and often add our own taglines and banter to posts on our Facebook. We get tons of laughs and people look forward to our posts everyday. So I thought we would continue the fun and just build a website that would give us more flexibility in this ..."
First, there would be no problem if the goofy and wacky photos and videos are created by you and your buddy and are of you and your buddy. You are free to make fun of yourself. Problems are created when you have "fun" with the photos and videos created by others that have images of other people.
Several legal issues can come up with a website (or a Facebook page) that takes photos and videos from others to comment on them or criticize them - this especially if permission has not been granted by the copyright holders of the photos and videos, but can arise even if permission to display the photos and videos has been obtained.
If the photos and videos have been purloined from other Facebook pages or from other websites, there can be copyright infringement suits spawned by the unauthorized uses. Depending on the photos or videos, there can be additional IP problems.
When you comment on or criticize identifiable people or places, you open yourself up to defamation claims. You must handle all reputations with care.
There can also be invasion of privacy suits that can be considered, and intentional infliction of emotional distress actions.
In other words, websites that are based on creating "laughs" at the expense of other people have legal risks galore.
I recommend, tripwater, that you have your current Facebook page reviewed by an attorney in your area and have your proposed website plans reviewed by an attorney. It sounds to me, from what little I read of your original thread, that your idea needs serious re-thinking.
"A buddy and I post goofy and wacky photos and often add our own taglines and banter to posts on our Facebook. We get tons of laughs and people look forward to our posts everyday. So I thought we would continue the fun and just build a website that would give us more flexibility in this ..."
First, there would be no problem if the goofy and wacky photos and videos are created by you and your buddy and are of you and your buddy. You are free to make fun of yourself. Problems are created when you have "fun" with the photos and videos created by others that have images of other people.
Several legal issues can come up with a website (or a Facebook page) that takes photos and videos from others to comment on them or criticize them - this especially if permission has not been granted by the copyright holders of the photos and videos, but can arise even if permission to display the photos and videos has been obtained.
If the photos and videos have been purloined from other Facebook pages or from other websites, there can be copyright infringement suits spawned by the unauthorized uses. Depending on the photos or videos, there can be additional IP problems.
When you comment on or criticize identifiable people or places, you open yourself up to defamation claims. You must handle all reputations with care.
There can also be invasion of privacy suits that can be considered, and intentional infliction of emotional distress actions.
In other words, websites that are based on creating "laughs" at the expense of other people have legal risks galore.
I recommend, tripwater, that you have your current Facebook page reviewed by an attorney in your area and have your proposed website plans reviewed by an attorney. It sounds to me, from what little I read of your original thread, that your idea needs serious re-thinking.
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