A Texas court will soon have to decide whether the “vibes” of a social media creator – in this case, the “clean girl” or “beige home” aesthetic – are copyrightable. Can the use of a similar aesthetic (and not the copying of a single photo or video) even constitute copyright infringement? As we have seen, genres should not be protected by copyright in order to prevent monopolies. On the other hand, the business of “influencing” these days deserves some protection, given how much money and efforts are involved and that algorithms and thus what consumers see (and ultimately buy) could be heavily influenced by a “vibe”. However, most of what influencers do in terms of content creation still does not seem protectable.
See the story on: https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/26/24303161/amazon-influencers-lawsuit-copyright-clean-aesthetic-girl-sydney-nicole-gifford-alyssa-sheil
Photo Credits: Liam James Doyle/ The Verge.
Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
As someone who’s seen how influencers craft entire brands around specific aesthetics, I can see why they would want some form of legal protection. Building a recognizable “vibe” like the “clean girl” or “beige home” look takes creativity, time, and money—especially when algorithms reward specific visuals. But at the same time, copyrighting something as abstract as an aesthetic feels tricky. I am really curious how the court will handle this—balancing creative freedom with the realities of a social media-driven economy is not easy.