Copyright questions regarding forum posts, and turning them into NFTs

[PolyOly]

I've recently been exploring the idea of minting and potentially auctioning NFTs (non-fungible tokens) of reddit submissions written by myself. These are original written works. My layman understanding is that I DO have inherent copyright claims as the author over these publicly posted articles, but I have a few questions.

For reference, here is the relevant portion of the reddit.com Terms of Service:

By submitting Your Content to the Services, you represent and warrant that you have all rights, power, and authority necessary to grant the rights to Your Content contained within these Terms. Because you alone are responsible for Your Content, you may expose yourself to liability if you post or share Content without all necessary rights.

You retain any ownership rights you have in Your Content, but you grant Reddit the following license to use that Content:

When Your Content is created with or submitted to the Services, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, and sublicensable license to use, copy, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works of, distribute, store, perform, and display Your Content and any name, username, voice, or likeness provided in connection with Your Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed anywhere in the world. This license includes the right for us to make Your Content available for syndication, broadcast, distribution, or publication by other companies, organizations, or individuals who partner with Reddit. You also agree that we may remove metadata associated with Your Content, and you irrevocably waive any claims and assertions of moral rights or attribution with respect to Your Content."

So, I am assuming that reddit the company is the only entity in the world (other than me) that could legally sell a reproduction of any of my written works that were submitted to their site, and if any one else tried (including using NFTs), I could probably take legal action against them (please correct me if I am wrong).

But my main questions are:

1. How would I go about "proving" that I am the author of my own submissions to a forum like reddit? I obviously have access to the accounts I created that posted the works, but on the surface, my real life name of course isn't on them.

If it ever came to a legal matter, how would I typically prove that I am [SillyRedditUsername1234]? Would it be wise for me to register each post I am interested in protected as a creative work with the U.S. Copyright Office (or other organizations in other countries, too), or is that not necessary?

2. A number of people have already reposted or used some of these creative works (that were originally posted to reddit) elsewhere on the internet, such as in youtube videos, personal websites, blogs, and even news articles. Note: Many of these don't seem to be cases of "fair use," and usually much more than 10% of the written work is reposted/reused. It's sometimes a case of the entire post written by me being simply copy-pasted in full.

If I wanted any of these removed, would it be unwise for me to just contact the people myself and make the request? Or should I actually lawyer-up first and have them send something more formal? The former is preferable, but I don't want to mess up making the first request myself.

Also: Years ago I DID grant someone permission to use one of my posts on their website. It was a very casual and friendly thing... they simply asked if they could re-post a copy of it there, and I said "Sure!" There weren't any time stipulations or discussion, really.

However... what if I have changed my mind since then? (I'm simply more interested in protecting the content now than I was then, and also their site has since become something I don't want to be associated with) Do I still have the legal right to ask them to now remove my work from their site? Or did I accidentally grant them permission in perpetuity or something?

3. NFT Question: As stated, I'm curious about these things with an eye towards minting some of my written posts as NFTs.

Am I correct in assuming that I actually have a right to? I know I could obviously mint an NFT representation of something I have written, but does it matter if a thing has already been posted publicly on an internet forum (reddit specifically)?

Could I potentially take legal action against other individuals (besides reddit itself) who might ever try to create or sell an NFT reproduction of things I have written and posted to reddit?

Should I register each work anywhere else before I go about creating NFTs, or do I already have all legal copyright claims simply by virtue of being the original author?

Any help is greatly appreciated, especially in regards to things I'm probably not thinking of!

 

[Zigner]

Your matter goes beyond that for which an internet forum can help in all but the most general way. You should seek the assistance of a local attorney.

 

[quincy]

I've recently been exploring the idea of minting and potentially auctioning NFTs (non-fungible tokens) of reddit submissions written by myself. These are original written works. My layman understanding is that I DO have inherent copyright claims as the author over these publicly posted articles, but I have a few questions.

For reference, here is the relevant portion of the reddit.com Terms of Service:



So, I am assuming that reddit the company is the only entity in the world (other than me) that could legally sell a reproduction of any of my written works that were submitted to their site, and if any one else tried (including using NFTs), I could probably take legal action against them (please correct me if I am wrong).

But my main questions are:

1. How would I go about "proving" that I am the author of my own submissions to a forum like reddit? I obviously have access to the accounts I created that posted the works, but on the surface, my real life name of course isn't on them.

If it ever came to a legal matter, how would I typically prove that I am [SillyRedditUsername1234]? Would it be wise for me to register each post I am interested in protected as a creative work with the U.S. Copyright Office (or other organizations in other countries, too), or is that not necessary?

2. A number of people have already reposted or used some of these creative works (that were originally posted to reddit) elsewhere on the internet, such as in youtube videos, personal websites, blogs, and even news articles. Note: Many of these don't seem to be cases of "fair use," and usually much more than 10% of the written work is reposted/reused. It's sometimes a case of the entire post written by me being simply copy-pasted in full.

If I wanted any of these removed, would it be unwise for me to just contact the people myself and make the request? Or should I actually lawyer-up first and have them send something more formal? The former is preferable, but I don't want to mess up making the first request myself.

Also: Years ago I DID grant someone permission to use one of my posts on their website. It was a very casual and friendly thing... they simply asked if they could re-post a copy of it there, and I said "Sure!" There weren't any time stipulations or discussion, really.

However... what if I have changed my mind since then? (I'm simply more interested in protecting the content now than I was then, and also their site has since become something I don't want to be associated with) Do I still have the legal right to ask them to now remove my work from their site? Or did I accidentally grant them permission in perpetuity or something?

3. NFT Question: As stated, I'm curious about these things with an eye towards minting some of my written posts as NFTs.

Am I correct in assuming that I actually have a right to? I know I could obviously mint an NFT representation of something I have written, but does it matter if a thing has already been posted publicly on an internet forum (reddit specifically)?

Could I potentially take legal action against other individuals (besides reddit itself) who might ever try to create or sell an NFT reproduction of things I have written and posted to reddit?

Should I register each work anywhere else before I go about creating NFTs, or do I already have all legal copyright claims simply by virtue of being the original author?

Any help is greatly appreciated, especially in regards to things I'm probably not thinking of!

Your understanding of Reddit’s rights in your submitted works is faulty. You have granted Reddit “sublicensceable” rights which means they can license your published works to others.

 

[zddoodah]

auctioning NFTs (non-fungible tokens) of reddit submissions written by myself.

I have no idea what an "NFT (non-fungible token)" might be, but why would anyone want something like this?

How would I go about "proving" that I am the author of my own submissions to a forum like reddit?

Proving to whom? In court, you'd testify that you were the author and, unless your testimony is controverted, that would likely be that.

Would it be wise for me to register each post I am interested in protected as a creative work with the U.S. Copyright Office (or other organizations in other countries, too), or is that not necessary?

I've written probably over 100,000 message board posts on this and other similar boards and on sites like Reddit. I cannot even conceive of registering any (much less all) of them with the Copyright Office.

If I wanted any of these removed, would it be unwise for me to just contact the people myself and make the request? Or should I actually lawyer-up first and have them send something more formal?

Doesn't make a difference.

Do I still have the legal right to ask them to now remove my work from their site?

Outside of things like solicitation of criminal activity, you have the "right to ask" anything of anyone. Just keep in mind that the person you ask may have no obligation to comply with your request.

Or did I accidentally grant them permission in perpetuity or something?

You probably granted a non-exclusive license that would be revocable at will.

 

[quincy]

... You probably granted a non-exclusive license that would be revocable at will.

What was granted was an “irrevocable perpetual license.”

 

[quincy]

It is important for anyone who is wishing to retain ALL copyrights in and control over what they create to read carefully any licenses they may be granting a website if they publish to that site. Most sites, like this one, will be granted irrevocable sublicenseable perpetual rights.

The best way to protect the rights in your creations is to register your works with the US Copyright Office. The worst way to protect the rights in your works is to publish your works to sites with irrevocable perpetual licenses.

 

[PolyOly]

What was granted was an “irrevocable perpetual license.”

Really? Just because I told someone years ago they could post something on their website, now they can forever?

Just to be clear, in this particular question, I'm talking about just a third party individual, not reddit itself. The individual was not sublicensed or affiliated with reddit or anything. Sorry for any confusion

 

[quincy]

Really? Just because I told someone years ago they could post something on their website, now they can forever?

Just to be clear, in this particular question, I'm talking about just a third party individual, not reddit itself. The individual was not sublicensed or affiliated with reddit or anything. Sorry for any confusion

If someone was not granted any license to reproduce your work by either you or Reddit, then you can file a DMCA takedown notice to any site that is hosting your material without authorization.

The site will (or should) temporarily remove your work from showing in its identified location on the site until the one who published the material has a chance to respond to the DMCA notice. If there is no response, the material is removed. If the one who published the material challenges your ownership of the material, then you either sue for copyright infringement, proving in court you are the copyright owner, or the website can return the material to its place online.

 

[PolyOly]

I have no idea what an "NFT (non-fungible token)" might be, but why would anyone want something like this?

I'm no expert, but essentially an NFT is a way to create a unique digital token representing something (usually an image or video, but not necessarily).

They can have value in they create scarcity, i.e. someone can hold the NFT knowing that it is unique and can't simply be duplicated infinitely. If an NFT is created that represents something copyrighted (like a work of art), it necessarily has scarcity because the original artist is the only person who can legally create the NFT (as I understand it).

For example: Just the other day the guy who wrote the original source code for the internet auctioned an NFT representing his work on Sotherby's (for 5.4 million dollars). It's value is in its scarcity (he promises to only ever mint the one NFT, presumably), and the cultural relevance/fame of the thing it represents. Kind of like a signed artwork.

The same principle applies to less famous (but still valuable) NFTs, like silly pictures or video memes. Their NFT representation has value because someone can "own" a scarce/unique representation of something famous.

I've written probably over 100,000 message board posts on this and other similar boards and on sites like Reddit. I cannot even conceive of registering any (much less all) of them with the Copyright Office.

Well sure, but you might consider doing so if, for whatever reason, any of your message board posts actually became well known publicly, or famous.

Say, for example, you became a famous author. Some fanfiction or shortstory you posted to reddit or somewhere ten years ago might suddenly have serious value to superfans or collectors, because it represents your early work. Or, say some random picture of a cat you posted to reddit went super viral, and is now a very famous.

Neither of those apply to my case, but it is possible for simple internet posts to become "valuable" in a variety of scenarios.

You probably granted a non-exclusive license that would be revocable at will.

Hmm, that makes sense. Thank you for your help!

 

[quincy]

I have no idea what an "NFT (non-fungible token)" might be, but why would anyone want something like this? ...

The “why” would be up to the buyer of the NFT to tell, but NFTs can fetch a pretty penny at auction.

NFTs are original works in any creative form (e.g., digital art, drawings, music) that can be bought or sold or traded, just like baseball cards, Pokémon cards, Picasso paintings, musical ditties. Their value comes from their uniqueness.

Here is a link to some of the more valuable NFTs marketed and sold, published by Art Net:
https://news.artnet.com/market/most-expensive-nfts-1952597

PolyOly, the rights you granted Reddit makes selling anything you published on the site of questionable uniqueness and value.

 

[PolyOly]

If someone was not granted any license to reproduce your work by either you or Reddit, then you can file a DMCA takedown notice to any site

I suppose that was my question... see, I *did* grant the person permission when they asked, a long time ago. It was just a casual message where I said I didn't mind if they reproduced it, but it was still permission.

So the question would be... am I am to revoke this permission at will? Given that there was no stipulated time frame or formal contract or anything like that.

 

[quincy]

I suppose that was my question... see, I *did* grant the person permission when they asked, a long time ago. It was just a casual message where I said I didn't mind if they reproduced it, but it was still permission.

So the question would be... am I am to revoke this permission at will? Given that there was no stipulated time frame or formal contract or anything like that.

You could ask that the person stop reproducing your work. You do not, however, have a copyright infringement suit to pursue against the one to whom you previously granted rights unless you can prove he exceeded the rights you granted him. Without a written agreement, that could be difficult.

What I suggest you do is start creating other works, register these works with the US Copyright Office BEFORE publishing them online or elsewhere, and then reading carefully any rights you grant anyone to use these works.

 

[adjusterjack]

I suppose that was my question... see, I *did* grant the person permission when they asked, a long time ago. It was just a casual message where I said I didn't mind if they reproduced it, but it was still permission.

So the question would be... am I am to revoke this permission at will? Given that there was no stipulated time frame or formal contract or anything like that.

That's the thing. In the absence of an express limitation an argument can be made that there would be no limitation.

It may not be cost effective to register each item you create, especially if you are creating many small items. But there is a way to document that you authored the item and when. Print it out with your byline and dateline, initial all the pages, sign the last page and mail it to yourself to get a postmark on the envelope. When it comes in, don't open it, leave it sealed, describe the work on the envelope and file it away. You might also email it to yourself and archive the email.

 

[quincy]

That's the thing. In the absence of an express limitation an argument can be made that there would be no limitation.

It may not be cost effective to register each item you create, especially if you are creating many small items. But there is a way to document that you authored the item and when. Print it out with your byline and dateline, initial all the pages, sign the last page and mail it to yourself to get a postmark on the envelope. When it comes in, don't open it, leave it sealed, describe the work on the envelope and file it away. You might also email it to yourself and archive the email.

What you are advising about sending copies of your works to yourself is called the “poor man’s copyright” and it is not proof of anything. The Copyright Office even has a publication that addresses it.

 

[quincy]

Poor man’s copyright, debunking the myth:

https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/intellectual_property_law/publications/landslide/2018-19/july-august/debunking-copyright-myths/