Just because we may post the picture does not necessarily mean we own it and that's what allowed Richard Prince to give his controversial Instagram art show.
According to CNN Money there may be a legal argument for what Prince did this week and it is a scary loophole for artists, photographers and Instagram users around the world.
This week, the artist held an exhibit in New York called New Portraits, which showcased screenshot Instagram portraits from people, including other artists, porn stars and just plain attractive women.
However, although Instagram’s Terms of Use claim that users own their photos and videos, the site's privacy policy says otherwise. "Once you have shared User Content or made it public, that User Content may be re-shared by others,” the page says.
Mary Ann L. Wymore, an intellectual property attorney in St. Louis, Missouri, said that this loophole may allow people like Prince to think that they have the permission to take other people’s posts.
"We've found the defense they'd probably try to rely on, which is consent -- explicit or implied," she told CNN Money. "People need to be very careful about their privacy settings."
However, as of right now, it does not seem that many of the people in the portraits will be taking legal action against Prince yet, even if they aren't happy about it.
Doe Deere, one of the women who’s photo was used, and the CEO of Lime Crime makeup, released a statement on her Instagram page, writing, “Yes, my portrait is currently displayed at the Frieze Gallery in NYC. Yes, it's just a screenshot (not a painting) of my original post."
She continued, “No, I did not give my permission and yes, the controversial artist Richard Prince put it up anyway. It's already sold ($90K I've been told) during the VIP preview. No, I'm not gonna go after him. And nope, I have no idea who ended up with it! #lifeisstrange #modernart#wannabuyaninstagrampicture.”
screenshot from KelownaArt YouTube video