User-created ads create rights conundrum

Ad Age had an interesting piece about companies creating ads using content from online users. One example was when an ad agency used photos from Flickr users with Creative Commons licenses but never asked permission, creating a dust-up.

"For commercial use of photos, videos or text, you should cover yourself legally by asking. Not to mention it's polite," said Josh Peters, a social-media consultant who has written about the Toyota misstep. "It's an ethics and courtesy issue. In 30 seconds they could have saved face by asking him ... but they didn't bother."

Using Twitter feeds is another matter, however.

It's legally still a bit of a gray area, but generally when a person puts content out there using the social-media tools where content can be syndicated, they grant the world an implied license, said Evan D. Brown, attorney at Hinshaw & Culbertson.