Pinterest's Deal With Getty to Address Infringement Concerns

When social networking site Pinterest first gained popularity, IP lawyers everywhere raised their eyebrows at the copyright infringement issues attendant with the site. In a nutshell, when users pin content that they do not own on Pinterest, Pinterest makes a copy of the full-size image to its servers. This action entails reproducing the image, often without the permission of the content owner, and with possible copyright infringement. Pinterest is distinct in this way from other social media websites like Facebook and Tumblr, where users generally post content that they own or link directly to third-party sources.