Do Internet Memes Have Licenses?

You can make your own meme . memes dont have license i think but its always way better to make your own . you do not know whether what you generate randomly is already been used by others .

A fair point.

However, knowing who committed a copyright crime does not immediately mean that person can be proven guilty of committing the crime. Anyone could have been at (or remotely accessed) a computer connected to a network of Internet connected devices within the persons home at the specific time the crime was committed. Proving the suspected person was the owner of a specific IP address is rarely sufficient enough evidence to prove he/she was the one responsible for the crime at the specific time it was committed.

You might think you understand the law well, but prosecution is a lot more difficult than you might think without sufficient evidence. And sufficient evidence of someones involvement in a crime online is typically very difficult to obtain.

That's exactly right. You can get away using these all day long but all it takes is one person who doesn't want you sharing their stuff and you're in hot water.

As I said in my earlier post. A meme would be considered 'fair use' as a parody.

Saturday Night Live doesn't need permission or pay royalties to Paramount every time they do a Star Trek skit or parody a Star Trek character.

Pron producers don't pay royalties when they make 'The Flintbones'.

A meme is the same thing.

But that doesn't mean someone like Getty couldn't try to sue you anyway because they are very aggressive and rely on intimidation, not the courts.

Mahlon

@SethTheUBotGuy

Hmm...
Seems legit.

Maybe the owner of the fictional char will. lol.

hey at least you credited the meme generator lol.

Yup but if I'm gonna use them on my website which I monetize wouldn't that be classified as commercial?

Edit: Wait a minute, did you say non-commercial use? But you're using that meme to drive traffic to your website where you have your products/CPA offers/affiliate links. Is that still classfied as non-comm?

This is an interesting thread, I would have thought with the latest offerings of Meme Generator WSO's there would have been a lot more interest. I was reading this article which might clarify matters.
I Can Haz Copyright Infringement? Internet Memes and Intellectual Property Risks
It depends on your POV, people often try to justify with statements such as, "everyone does it", "there's no harm in it", "I didn't know that permission was needed" etc, etc, I've heard people justify that the reason they illegally download music is that CD's are overpriced, that may be but wouldn't stand up in a legal case.
Ignorance is no defence as someone once said, I think most people do actually know. Problem is that most people just don't care and if it suits their agenda to use other peoples creativity for their own gains without paying, then they will continue, but they will be the first to complain if they have to pay when caught. I've spent lots with Istock and sleep well as a result. There are plenty of free resources available too, the only requirement is an attribution.
I wonder if Facebook has a "get out clause" for hosting the images? I'm sure they have, just as You Tube have I guess.
Just my opinion main reason and don't want to get into the legalities of You Tube, Pinterest (another massive debate on the web continues) or any other areas where this is debated and will continue to be, as long as there is the www