https://doi.org/10.21697/zp.2018.18.2.09
Summary
Internet memes are a relatively new kind of intellectual product consisting of a catchphrase, or a witty comment or expression, and a static or animated graphic motif. Te question which is of interest from the legal point of view concerns the bounds to the freedom to create memes and disseminate them on the Internet. Te problem should be considered on the grounds of copyright law in particular, because what makes up the essence of memeing is the use of other people’s creative work and sharing it with other users. To assess the admissibility of disseminating a meme we must determine whether other people’s creative work has been used to create it, and how far that borrowing has gone. In other words, we need to know whether a meme is an independent work, or a dependent work, the use of which is subject to permission from the original author (unless the duration of its copyright has expired). However, the question of liability for infringement is not limited to the provisions of copyright law; another aspect which should be considered is a review of the problem in the context of the protection of moral right under civil law, and the penalties envisaged for such offences under criminal law.
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