Article Review Format Guide
MEMORANDUM
UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
DATE: December 1, 2014
TO: Joseph Caulfield
FROM: Melissa Jones
RE: I Can Haz Copyright Infringement? Internet Memes and Intellectual Property Risks
Slavick, S. J. (2012). Corporate Counsel. Retrieved from http://www.brinksgilson.com/files/article_nov_14_corp_counsel_slavick_internet_memes_2012.pdf
ARTICLE SYNOPSIS I Can Haz Copyright Infringement? Internet Memes and Intellectual Property Risks article reviews the use of memes and the significance of corporate infringement. Within the commercial use, companies have to be careful not to distribute copyrighted works by using memes for use in commercial activities on the internet.
LEGAL ISSUE There are a few legal business issues raised within this article, there are those of copyright infringement, the use of culture information, memes, in marketing, and intellectual property rights. Companies that are interested in mass or viral marketing run the risk of infringing on copyrights of another company by posting/reposting or spinning a popular meme. There are companies that assume that they can repost a meme and it would be covered under fair use, which is rarely the case in commercial advertising. MANAGERIAL PERSPECTIVE
What are memes? Memes are a predominant way of communicating a company’s ideas of the internet, but it can lead to a case of copyright infringement in commercial use. An internet marketer of a company or a private seller may assume that it is fair to repost a meme on their own company’s page, such as Facebook. The truth is that the meme or underlying image or possibly both can be subject to copyright by the copyright holder. It is imperative for businesses to carefully review any and all meme for possible copyright infringement prior to posting it on the internet. An example that can be used is when posting on a company Facebook page, internet marketers will want to share popular