Legality of Embedding Copyrighted Material Challenged

This article provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of federal court cases that consider the legality of embedded copyrighted materials on third party website. Per a Ninth Circuit case from 2007, “the practice of embedding (or “framing”) content from an external source within [a] site – so that customers can see what the third-party has posted – does not involve a reproduction nor a public display,” and is therefore lawful. However, a district court case from last month in New York concluded that embedded material may indeed constitute a public display, and would therefore be illegal. The article proceeds in an excellent discussion on the law of copyright in this space and contemplates normative questions that consider the challenges that would be presented if embedded material on the internet were found to violate copyright law.

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