Quebec influencers on TikTok who steal content from other creators to boost their popularity could be accused of plagiarism, an intellectual property lawyer warns.
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“I find it unfair and there is a lack of transparency. i see a lot What can’t be plagiarized in a comedy show and in the theater shouldn’t be done on TikTok,” Me Chanel Alepin, of Laval’s Alepin Gauthier company, told the Journal.
The lawyer posted a video about it last week. It has been viewed more than 33,000 times on the social network. In this roughly one-minute sequence, she warns internet users that copying in full another author’s content could lead to “copyright infringement” lawsuits.
“I’m not talking about viral dance videos, for example, which are designed to be embraced by everyone and become trending,” Me Alepin clarifies. I tend to think of humorous content or original concepts conceived, written and discussed by creators. This is protected by copyright.”
She’s referring to viral dances like the one with the main character Wednesday from a Netflix series. Several Quebec netizens have recorded his steps and movements on the Chinese social network and paid tribute to him:
Translated without permission
Me Alepin felt the need to enlighten Quebec Tiktokers after noticing that many of them are plagiarizing English-language or other-language creators. They only translate all the content into French to use on their channel.
“I’ve seen Quebecers with lots of followers completely plagiarize the speeches of popular Tiktokers. In addition, these people are likely to be paid by companies to represent them. Often not even the main author is acknowledged. It’s presented as original content,” she said.
However, in May 2022, TikTok introduced new tools to identify, mention, or acknowledge content creators. The platform also has a policy to ensure the intellectual property rights of its users.
Screenshot from newsroom.tiktok.com/
Note that some TikTok users are generously paid for posting videos. They may be paid or sponsored by brands for creating publications, among other things.
copier denounced
Our representative has noticed that several influencers on TikTok have spoken out against those copying their content over the past few months.
This is the case of Johannie Vallée, better known as “La fille du dep”, who even made a video about it on the platform.
“One of my sketches was copied word for word. After making this video and explaining myself to the young man, I made it clear to him that as content creators, we work hard to find our ideas. It’s okay to take inspiration from it, but don’t copy it,” Ms Vallée told the Journal.
As you can see in the footage below, Tiktokers around the world are lamenting the tacklers on the platform:
real consequences
Courts want to apply copyright law to today’s world, argues Chanel Alepin.
“These rules of this law are general principles that also apply to the Internet. It’s enough for someone to say there’s enough plagiarism on TikTok, for example, and to set a precedent that drives case law,” she explains.
The Québec court passed a corresponding verdict last January. Montreal-based company Le Studio Luminaires, owned by Lucy Coish, has been convicted for posting photos taken by photographer Charles O’Hara on its social media.
He had never given his consent. The court therefore ruled that the company had “infringed its copyright”.
“The court has determined that she must pay $50 in damages for accidentally and unlawfully using three photos of Mr. O’Hara for approximately thirty minutes,” writes the judge, who is among other things in the ruling based on copyright law.
- With the collaboration of Maude Boutet
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