This article appeared in Cybersecurity Law & Strategy, an ALM publication for privacy and security professionals, Chief Information Security Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Technology Officers, Corporate Counsel, Internet and Tech Practitioners, In-House Counsel. Visit the website to learn more.

While the sound distracting you hear from this article may well be William Shakespeare rapidly turning in his grave like the Mad Hatter Teacup Ride at Disneyworld, recent legal and procedural developments associated with the ubiquitous Instagram social media site have created significant practical and legal risks for both copyright owners and account holders that would have even vexed the Bard himself. To provide a context for these risks, as well as some options for addressing them, this article examines the history of using copyright-protected content on the Internet, uncertainty for content owners and sites created by courts in some recent cases, and difficult options and potentially costly litigation with a potential for loss of rights now facing content and site owners given those cases.