According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a meme is an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture, originating in the same root as imitation.
Memes is a Literary work eligible for copyright protection under Section 1(1) of the Copyright Act. It can also be in the form of a cinematograph film and photographs, all protected under Section 1(1) of the Copyright Act.
With popular culture, memes became one of the most important means of communication, via internet, attracting likes and viewership. By the nature of social media, memes adds value to a social media account by generating likes, followership and views. Content creators on social media, who create a meme, and whose memes become viral are faced with the option of protecting their intellectual work to prevent it from being shared without their consent.
Under Section 15(1) of the Copyright Act, the rights of a copyright owner will be deemed to be infringed by any person who, without the licence of authorization of the owner of the copyright, does or causes any person to do an act, the doing of which is controlled by copyright. Therefore exercising any of the rights reserved for the copyright owner results in an infringement of copyright. These rights include the right to reproduce, publish, perform, translate, distribute, broadcast, make into a cinematograph film or an adaptation. They are protected under Section 6 of the Copyright Act.
The Second schedule to the Copyright Act list the exceptions from copyright control, to include the doing of any acts stated under the section by way of fair dealing, use for parody, pastiche or caricature, etc.
While the creator of a meme may enjoy the copyright associated with the meme, subsequent users may enjoy fair use on the use of the meme in the internet without the authorization of the copyright owner. Here is why:
When a meme becomes viral on the internet, reposting same by other social media users is fair use. This is largely because the meme may have been reposted for caricature, comedy or parody, which is protected under the Second Schedule of the Copyright Act. In addition, the reposting may not add value to the accounts reposting same.
Fortunately, everything is not fair game on the internet. As such, the situation may be different when the reposting is done with the intent to monetize. In the instance where it adds some value to the account that it reposts same, or is used in advertisement, marketing and commercial purposes, it transcends the fair use doctrine, and becomes a commercialization of copyright that requires a licence.
Social media users with a large number of followers, who make their livelihood off the social media should however remember that copyright laws apply on the social media the same way it applies to other fields. Large Corporations with vast social media followers should ensure that they obtain the required copyright license before they repost a meme because of the huge possibility that the reposting may be seen as attempted commercialization.
The Social Media lawyer 