Can Social Media Trends Qualify for Copyright Protection?

Hi everyone, I am looking to explore if social media trends can qualify for copyright protection under Canadian Copyright law and the role that contractual licensing agreement plays in this. I have attached the introductory portion of my paper but I will appreciate your thoughts and comments.

INTRODUCTION: There is little doubt that while our world remains as vast as ever, the advent and widespread use of social media have effectively made it more accessible. From the comfort of our not so proverbial couches, we can now access parts of the world and various forms of creativity that were previously inaccessible. Alongside this shift, we now witness the monetization of creativity, with creators aiming to achieve this by creating content that goes viral and sets trends. One interesting aspect of trend-based creativity is that it sometimes develops over time, utilizing resources from the social media platforms on which it is created, incorporating elements like music and dance, and involving contributions from different individuals. These trends, which are akin to “group creations,” raise an interesting question for copyright law: can social media trends, with all the intricacies that come with them, obtain copyright protection?

Drawing insights from established legal precedents in other creative domains, such as music and art, the paper will examine the applicability of existing copyright frameworks to the realm of social media trends. By juxtaposing these domains, the paper aims to elucidate the extent to which social media trends may warrant copyright protection based on their inherent creative value and the principles of originality. Furthermore, the paper will scrutinize the practical implications of extending copyright protection to social media trends, considering the challenges posed by their collaborative nature and the fluidity of digital content dissemination. In doing so, the paper will also explore the role of contractual licensing agreements and alternative mechanisms for safeguarding the intellectual property rights associated with social media trends.

Ultimately, based on an analysis of existing copyright law and its application to other forms of creative expressions, the essay will argue that while social media trends possess inherent creative value which might ordinarily qualify for copyright protection, extending copyright protection to them may not be feasible within our current legal framework.