If I put information on my Facebook page who owns the content?

This article first appeared on September 8

When I spoke at the Flying Solo Independents Day this week three different people asked me about who owns the content you add to your Facebook page.

I didn’t really know the full answer, so I researched and here it is. It seems that people are very worried about the unknown, hence the reason for today’s post.

In the Facebook terms (that I suspect that very few of us have ever read) it says (in very small font!) that:

• You own all the content you put onto Facebook.
• Any content covered by IP (intellectual property) rights you give Facebook permission to use that content as a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free worldwide license.

There are also Facebook page terms, which say that:

• Content posted to pages is public information and is available to everyone.

What this REALLY means…

1. Any content you add to Facebook that you own is still yours – Facebook doesn’t take ownership.
2. Any content that you add, even if it is trademarked, can be used by Facebook.

Business owners and marketers seem to get into a big panic about this, but in reality it is HIGHLY unlikely that Facebook are going to take your IP whether it is a logo, a system, etc and use it. Plus even if they did, they can only use it under license, which means that they still have to credit it back to you – and that would be a good thing if Facebook starts pushing your small business! Think of the publicity….

The other thing to think about is that if Facebook start using company’s IP the big boys, eg. Coke, Starbucks, Warner Bros, etc are going to get cross. Facebook makes it money through advertising and working with the large organisations to run promotions, so they will NOT want to annoy them. If Facebook start ripping off organisation’s IP however big or small the organisation is this is not going to go down well with other organisations.

Obviously you don’t want to publicise your business’ deepest darkest secrets on the page, so be sensible. If you wouldn’t add it to a marketing flyer, a magazine ad or your website then it shouldn’t go onto your Facebook page.

Hopefully this has helped to demystify the issue a bit. Just to note I am NOT a lawyer, and if you want more specific advice on this I would suggest you contact one.

Lara Solomon is the founder of Mocks mobile phone socks, Chief Rabbit at Social Rabbit – your guide in the world of social media, founder of Steps – the online Facebook and LinkedIn training course and author of ‘Brand New Day – the Highs & Lows of Starting a Small Business’. Lara’s business LaRoo was the winner of the NSW Telstra Micro-Business Award in 2008.