Most of us use WhatsApp Status casually. We post photographs, videos, graphics, music, jokes, quotations and screenshots. Twenty-four hours later, the status disappears.
But the copyright does not necessarily disappear with it.
WHO OWNS THE PHOTOGRAPH YOU POST?
Suppose you take a beautiful photograph of Victoria Falls on your phone and post it on your WhatsApp Status. The fact that you have posted it for your contacts to see does not ordinarily mean that you have surrendered your copyright or given everyone permission to copy it and use it commercially. Someone downloading your photograph from your status does not automatically become its owner simply because WhatsApp allowed them to view it. The same principle applies to original artwork, graphics, written material and videos that you create.
BUT WHAT IF YOU DID NOT CREATE IT?
This is where things become interesting. People routinely download photographs, memes, videos and graphics from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and websites and repost them on WhatsApp Status. The fact that something is available on the internet does not automatically make it free of copyright. If somebody else created the photograph, video, illustration or other protected work, copyright may belong to that creator or another rights holder.
Therefore, there are really two copyright questions whenever you post something:
Do other people have the right to copy what I have posted?
And:
Did I have the right to post it in the first place?
WHAT ABOUT MUSIC ON YOUR STATUS? 🎵
This raises another copyright issue. A song can involve several different rights. There may be copyright in the musical composition and lyrics, as well as separate rights associated with the sound recording.
Putting your favourite song behind a video does not mean you own any of those rights merely because you bought the song, subscribe to a streaming service or found the recording online. Platforms may themselves have licensing arrangements covering particular uses. But that should not be confused with personally acquiring ownership of the music.
WHAT IF SOMEONE SCREENSHOTS MY STATUS?
A screenshot is technically very easy to make.
Copyright law asks a different question: was the person legally entitled to reproduce and use the protected material?
That becomes especially important where somebody takes your original photograph, advertisement, artwork or written material from WhatsApp and republishes it elsewhere, particularly for a commercial purpose. There may, of course, be circumstances in which copyright law permits particular uses without the copyright owner’s permission. The precise position depends on the work, the use being made of it and the applicable exceptions under copyright law.
WHATSAPP STATUS IS NOT A COPYRIGHT-FREE ZONE
Social media has created an unfortunate assumption:
“If I can see it, I can use it.”
That is not how copyright works. Technology determines how easily something can be copied. Copyright law determines whether you are legally entitled to copy it. The next time you post something on your WhatsApp Status—or download something interesting from somebody else’s—remember that a simple 24-hour status can raise questions about authorship, ownership, reproduction, licensing and infringement.
At Dzekedzeke and Company, intellectual property law is one of the areas in which we advise creators, businesses and rights holders.
We Learn Everyday.
DZEKEDZEKE AND COMPANY LEGAL PRACTITIONERS
Lusaka, Zambia
Intellectual Property | Copyright | Commercial Law
This article is intended for general information and does not constitute legal advice.
