Instagram has emerged victorious in a lawsuit filed by photographers who claimed that the platform enables copyright infringement by allowing external websites to embed images.
The lawsuit, brought by photographers Alexis Hunley and Matthew Brauer, was initiated after news outlets, including Buzzfeed and Time, embedded their copyrighted photographs without permission.
Hunley and Brauer accused Instagram of violating their copyright by not requiring third parties to obtain a license for embedding their photos and videos.
However, a California federal judge initially dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that embedding Instagram images did not constitute copyright infringement.
The photographers appealed, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals once again sided with Instagram, stating that no copies of the underlying content were made during embedding.
The judges explained that HTML embeds do not contain the images themselves; instead, they contain links to where the photos are stored so that the embed can display the file.
The browsers follow the instructions given in the HTML code to handle the embed link. Since no copies of the photographers’ work were stored or displayed by BuzzFeed and Time, they did not infringe on copyright.
Though Instagram has seemingly escaped liability for now, the photographers may still pursue further action. They can petition for a rehearing en banc in the Ninth Circuit, which involves a randomly-selected panel of 11 judges.
The court also acknowledged the policy concerns raised by Hunley and Brauer regarding copyright holders’ control and profitability of their work.
This legal battle has prompted Instagram to introduce a feature that allows users to prevent others from embedding the content they post. Photographers can take advantage of this option to exercise more control over their work and protect their copyright.