Copyright
About Copyright
In most countries, copyright is a legal right that protects original works of authorship (ex: books, music, art). Generally, copyright doesn’t protect facts and ideas, but it may protect the original words or images that express an idea. Learn more about the scope of copyright protection from the World Intellectual Property Organization. To learn about copyright for a specific country, visit the WIPO's directory.
We can't provide you with any legal advice. If you're not sure, don’t post it on Facebook. Posting copyrighted content without permission might be a violation of the law. If you’ve already posted it, you should remove it from Facebook.
Just because you recorded a live event or publicly broadcasted show onto your own recording device, doesn’t necessarily mean that you aren’t infringing the rights of the person or company that owns the copyright to the television show or performance. Disclaiming ownership of the original material, or giving credit to the copyright owners, also doesn’t necessarily mean you’re authorized to use it. If you’re not sure if you own the right to the content you want to post, or whether the content might infringe someone else’s copyright, please seek legal guidance before posting it on Facebook.
According to the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, people on Facebook may not post copyrighted content to Facebook unless they own or are allowed to post the copyrighted content. If someone has posted your original work (ex: photo you took, poem you wrote) without your permission, you may want to seek legal guidance to find out if your rights have been infringed.
Please keep in mind that you don’t own the copyright to a photo just because you appear in it. For example, if someone else takes a photo of you that you don't like and posts it to Facebook, that isn’t a violation of your copyright under most circumstances.
When we receive a report from someone claiming that content on the site infringes their copyright, we may need to immediately remove that content from Facebook without contacting you first.
If we remove your content because of a copyright claim, you’ll receive a warning from Facebook that includes the contact information of the person or company who made the report and/or the contents of the report. If you believe the content should not have been removed, you can follow up with them directly to try to resolve the issue.
If the content was removed under the notice and counter-notice procedures of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), then you will be able to file a DMCA counter-notification. If that is the case, you will also receive further instructions about this process in the warning you receive from Facebook.
It's our policy to disable the accounts of people who repeatedly infringe others’ intellectual property rights when appropriate. Please make sure that all content you’ve posted and will post in the future doesn’t violate or infringe the rights of others.
Reporting Copyright Infringements
If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can submit this form. You can also contact our designated agent. If you choose to contact our agent, please include a complete copyright claim in your report. Keep in mind that you don't need a Facebook account to submit a report. Before you report a claim of copyright infringement, you may want to send a message to the person who posted the content. You may be able to resolve the issue without contacting Facebook.
You can also learn about trademark.
Submitting a claim of copyright infringement is a serious matter with legal consequences. Before you report a claim of copyright infringement to us, you may want to reach out to the person posting the content. You may be able to resolve the issue simply by bringing it to their attention without contacting Facebook at all.
If you’re not sure whether the content you’re reporting is infringing your legal rights, you may want to seek legal guidance. Keep in mind that submitting intentionally misleading reports of infringement may be punishable under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the United States or similar laws in other countries.
If you believe your copyright is being infringed, the fastest and easiest way to report that to us is to fill out this online form. You do not need a Facebook account to submit a report. Alternatively, you can choose to use traditional (and slower) methods, such as mail, to contact our designated agent. In that case, make sure you send us a complete copyright claim.
Related articles:
- How do I know whether my copyright is being infringed by content that someone shared on Facebook?
- Do I own the copyright to something that I filmed from television or a live concert or sporting event on my own camcorder or phone?
- What should I include when submitting a report to Facebook alleging infringement of my copyright?
Facebook complies with the notice and takedown procedures defined in section 512(c) of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), which applies to content reported and removed for infringing United States copyrights.
If your content was removed under the notice and counter-notice procedures of the DMCA, you will receive instructions about the counter-notification process, including how to file a counter-notification, in the warning we send you.
When we receive an effective DMCA counter-notification, we promptly forward it to the reporting party. If the reporting party does not notify us that they have filed an action seeking a court order to restrain you from engaging in infringing activity on Facebook related to the material in question within 10-14 business days, we will promptly restore eligible content under the DMCA.
In rare instances, we may not be able to restore content due to technical limitations. In that event, we’ll send you an update letting you know you may repost the content to the site at your discretion.
Restored content will not be counted against you if your account is ever reviewed for potentially violating our policies about repeat infringement.
The fastest and easiest way to submit a claim of copyright infringement to us is to use our online form. It may be required by law that you include the following information:
- Your complete contact information (full name, mailing address and phone number). Note that we regularly provide your contact information, including your name and email address, the name of your organization or client who owns the right in question, and/or the contents of your report to the person who posted the content you are reporting. You may wish to provide a professional or business email address for contact by users.
- A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed.
- A description of the content on our site that you claim infringes your copyright.
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material on our site. The easiest way to do this is by providing web addresses (URLs) leading directly to the allegedly infringing content.
- A declaration that
- You have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted content described above, in the manner you have complained of, is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law,
- The information in your notice is accurate, and
- You declare, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive copyright that is allegedly infringed.
- Your electronic signature or physical signature.
When we receive copyright claims through our online form and remove the reported content, we provide the reported user with the following information:
- Report number
- Rights holder’s name
- Email address provided by the reporting party
- Description of the rights holder’s copyrighted work
- Description of the removed content
In rare instances (such as when we are contacted by fax, mail or email), we pass through the report number and a description of the removed content, and additional information can be provided upon request.
For any content that was removed under the notice and counter-notice procedures of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), we will include information about how to submit a counter-notification under the DMCA.
The fastest and easiest way to send our designated agent a DMCA claim of copyright infringement is by using our online form. If you wish to contact our designated agent through traditional (and slower) methods, you can contact them at:
Facebook, Inc.
Attn: Facebook Designated Agent
1601 Willow Road
Menlo Park, California 94025
Attn: Facebook Designated Agent
1601 Willow Road
Menlo Park, California 94025
650.543.4800 (phone)
650.560.6293 (fax)
ip@fb.com
650.560.6293 (fax)
ip@fb.com
Please keep in mind that if you submit a report to our designated agent by any means other than through our online form, you must include a complete copyright claim.
Only the copyright owner or their authorized representative may report a suspected infringement.
If you believe something on Facebook infringes someone else’s copyright, you may want to let the rights owner know.
Facebook can't provide you with any legal advice. If you’re not sure whether you’re allowed to post something, we recommend that you seek legal guidance.
You can also visit the World Intellectual Property Organization, which offers helpful information about copyright and other intellectual property laws.
Some apps you can find on Facebook (ex: Candy Crush, Spotify) are created and operated by third-party developers. Facebook doesn’t control the content made available through these apps.
If you believe an app developer isn’t following the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, we suggest contacting the developer directly with your concerns. If you still have issues after contacting the developer, you may file a report.
We’ll process the claim, which may result in removing the reported content from Facebook.
If the content is removed, the party that posted the content will receive a warning letting them know that content they posted to Facebook was removed because of a notice of copyright infringement. We will also provide them with your contact information, including email address and the name of your organization or client, and/or the contents of your report.
If the party that posted the content believes that the content shouldn’t have been removed, they’ll be encouraged to reach out to you to try to resolve the issue directly, and if the content is removed under the notice and counter-notice procedures of the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), they will also be able to submit a counter-notification under the DMCA.
Keep in mind that if you choose to message the other person directly instead of submitting a claim, Facebook won’t get a copy of your message or be notified about the issue.
You can report ads that you believe infringe your intellectual property rights to us by using the report links on Facebook or by filling out our online form and including information about how to locate the ad.
To report an ad directly, hover over the ad and click 
or X in the top right and follow the reporting instructions.
or X in the top right and follow the reporting instructions.If you choose to fill out our online form, please keep in mind that we’ll need a direct link to or photo of the ad. You can add it to the form by using one of the following options:
- Right click on the ad and copy the link location
- Include a link to the Facebook account that was logged in when the ad appeared
- Take a screenshot of the ad and upload it as a .JPG or .PDF file attachment in the form