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Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

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Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#211

Post by snowwrestler »

pridkett wrote: post #101

This isn’t unique to Disney. Delta Airline has been pushing #SkyMilesLife and other assorted hashtags for a while and they’ve had fine print that says they get a license to use the content with those hashtags. It was even on the signs hanging in the jet bridges back when people used to get on things called airplanes and travel to far off lands. Now it lives on through a website. > By tagging photos using #SkyMilesLif…

Apple applied very similar terms to their "Shot on iPhone" campaign. The public outcry was over paying the winners, but Apple's terms for the campaign gave themselves a license to use any submission, which was defined as a public post that used a certain hashtag and contained certain information.

The fact that no one seems to remember this about "Shot on iPhone" is a good clue that few people actually care about this sort of thing.

Which makes sense because from a practical perspective--whether or not these terms are actually enforceable--it's super easy to avoid them. Just don't use that hashtag.

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#212

Post by blotter_paper »

In this equally public and legally enforceable format I would like to announce that if The Walt Disney Company ever again tweets an octothorpe followed by any other character(s) they hereby agree to immediately release all of their intellectual property into the public domain, with no further action on their part necessary.

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#213

Post by waterhouse »

saagarjha wrote: post #70
beckingz wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least it's not arbitration.

https://www.ycombinator.com/legal#tou

Back in the good old days... http://web.archive.org/web/20141020194316/https://www.ycombi...

  Terms of Use
  When you click on a link, our server will send you the corresponding page.

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#214

Post by jankassens »

baxtr wrote: post #162
mholt wrote: post #44

Update from Disney: > The above legal language applies ONLY to replies to this tweet using #MayThe4th and mentioning @DisneyPlus . These replies may appear in something special on May the 4th! https://twitter.com/disneyplus/status/1254849654585323525 ... as if that's really any better.

Well, I believe, unfortunately, from a legal perspective they have to if they plan to use the reply for a marketing thing...

They could contact the authors and ask them for permission explicitly instead of saying in a random tweet somewhere that a hashtag opts you in to agree to anything.

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#215

Post by jdsully »

zucker42 wrote: post #190
jdsully wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I even still get emails from people who add footers that they own the information and if you receive it wrongfully, you're "required" to delete it. In ye olden days if you accidentally received someone else's mail it was a felony to open it. If anything the legal restrictions have been drastically reduced when it comes to email.

Isn't a more apt analogy if you receive mail addressed to you, you open it, and you find a letter meant for someone else?

In that scenario you actually have the legal obligation to return the letter to the post office. The law as written makes it a crime to throw it away or otherwise obstruct delivery. Being asked merely to delete it is a much lower obligation.

https://thelawdictionary.org/article/what-is-the-federal-law...

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#216

Post by snowwrestler »

shadowgovt wrote: post #66
ilamont wrote: post #46

It just appended a reply to its own tweet that says: "The above legal language applies ONLY to replies to this tweet using #MayThe4th and mentioning @DisneyPlus . These replies may appear in something special on May the 4th!" https://twitter.com/disneyplus/status/1254849654585323525

Good clarification, but it's still, I think, somewhat unclear whether there's any kind of enforceable contract they could claim there. Here's what that court conversation would likely look like in civil court: Disney: "As per our first tweet, when the user replied to use with #MayThe4th, they were giving consent to use their tweet in our ad campaign." Judge: "Were you aware of the first tweet?" Plaintiff: "No, your h…

Disney's tweets are better understood as a "heads up" to people, than creating any sort of right that Disney will actually try to defend.

There is zero chance Disney will try to argue about this content. If someone complains at all, Disney will just take their tweet down and replace it with another one. There are plenty more fans out there who would be psyched to see their tweet being promoted.

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#217

Post by Majromax »

shadowgovt wrote: post #66
ilamont wrote: post #46

It just appended a reply to its own tweet that says: "The above legal language applies ONLY to replies to this tweet using #MayThe4th and mentioning @DisneyPlus . These replies may appear in something special on May the 4th!" https://twitter.com/disneyplus/status/1254849654585323525

Good clarification, but it's still, I think, somewhat unclear whether there's any kind of enforceable contract they could claim there. Here's what that court conversation would likely look like in civil court: Disney: "As per our first tweet, when the user replied to use with #MayThe4th, they were giving consent to use their tweet in our ad campaign." Judge: "Were you aware of the first tweet?" Plaintiff: "No, your h…

> it's still, I think, somewhat unclear whether there's any kind of enforceable contract they could claim there.

What would be the consideration?

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#218

Post by ww520 »

hackinthebochs wrote: post #179
martincmartin wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could use the algorithms, just not their implementation of the algorithms. If you rewrote it from scratch, following their text (not their source code), you were fully allowed to use it.

I'm curious how this works in the case of reinvention. Some algorithms are so simple that there is basically one canonical way of writing it. I'm assuming copyright doesn't cover the independent implementation in such cases?

Reinvention is ok in term of copyright. Patent would prohibit it.

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#219

Post by DangitBobby »

warent wrote: post #181
ballenf wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if making money is fun for you.

What if you can only have fun making the puppets while simultaneously murdering someone? Following your logic, Disney endorses murder. Complete nonsense.

That's silly. Making money is not illegal. A contract simply cannot permit something that is illegal, such as murder.

Re: Disney claims anyone using a Twitter hashtag is agreeing to their terms of use

#220

Post by snowwrestler »

smnrchrds wrote: post #5
BitwiseFool wrote: post #2

I don't see this holding up - especially because it's ripe for abuse. What's to stop me from making a TOS for my own hashtag?

For it not to be held up, someone has to take Disney to court and win. Good luck with that. It's the whole single-digit millionaires don't have effective access to legal system , turned up to 11. I can only see a double-digit billionaire having the resources to fight this to the end.

Disney's strategy here will obviously be to just honor any and all complaints and take that content down.

They gain nothing from a fight, and there are plenty more Star Wars fans out there who would be happy to have their tweets promoted by Disney.

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