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[Jp]

On Your Profile Page, . . .

Who Owns the Copyrights on Face Book ?

[Kaitlin]

The creator of any work on facebook would normally be the owner of the copyright.
The important question with facebook is who has rights to control what's done with the copyrighted material.

If you go to the Facebook privacy policy at http://www.facebook.com/policy.php, that leads you to their Statement of Rights and Responsibilities at http://www.facebook.com/policy.php#!/terms.php .
There, you will find the following, current as of 2/1/11 (but subject to revision when they like):

"Sharing Your Content and Information
You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings." 

Nice, so far, but read on....

"For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos ("IP content") [and they don't say it, but what you write is also covered by IP rights], you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it."  [Emphasis added.]

So, so long as something you post remains on facebook, whether on your page or someone else's, you've given facebook permission to use it, sub-license it, transfer it to someone else, what-have-you, for free. 

Presumably, facebook is not intending to sell copies of your work and the above is intended to be a cya clause to protect facebook from other peoples' misdeeds with your copyrighted material.  Nevertheless, the fact remains that so long as any work you've a copyright in remains on facebook you cannot offer anyone an exclusive license on that work. 
So if you have something whose IP rights you want to maintain control over, it's best not to post it on facebook. 

[Jp]

Kaitlin,
All I can say about that is, . . Gawd !
How horribly abusive, ............
and How horribly Americans are addicted to being abused !



What about something that has a copyright marked on it ?

                          ©

[Kaitlin]

What about something that has a copyright marked on it ?
                          ©

Your work is copyrighted whether or not you use the symbol.  But it's not a question of you owning the copyright.  You've given them a license.

License, by definition, is permission to do something otherwise forbidden.
So the copyright is intact.  All FB has done is to get you to agree to let them do what they want with your copyrighted work provided you have shared it on FB and either you haven't deleted it or, you have deleted it but someone else you shared it with still has it up.

Actually, if the 2007 article referenced below is to be trusted to have correctly quoted the terms of use then in effect, it seems their former terms were much worse by comparison, purporting to give FB a perpetual license. 
See the part on copyright in Facebook Isn’t Private, and 7 Other Things You Should Know.  (Note that this was written a good 3-4 years ago and is NOT current.  Also the author was outraged at a lot of things, some of which aren't really that outrageous, such as surrendering rights to any ideas you submitted to FB--a standard and necessary C.Y.A approach used by most large businesses.)

[Jp]

(Note that this was written a good 3-4 years ago and is NOT current.  Also the author was outraged at a lot of things, some of which aren't really that outrageous, such as surrendering rights to any ideas you submitted to FB--a standard and necessary C.Y.A approach used by most large businesses.)

In my estimation it is still outrageous because what business exchange is there,
you, your friends and family are being used on a nationalk an international scale, basically like a Guinea Pig for information to be sold to advertisement to again use you when your being sold a product that they psychologically trick you into to thinking positive about because they used you, your, friends and family to obtain that psychological information.

I think the whole thing is dirty, . . just a dirty trick !

Then they purchase or otherwise appropriate your copyrights to do with what they please, in most cases without you being aware of it.

Tonight I did a little Gif I wanted to post for a friend but will not until I re think this.

BTW, when you post a gif, like an image host is used, that does then separate the rights doesn't it ?

That smells, . . stinks !!

" Oh Yeah your cattle can cross my land,
BUT, . . all the Cow Crap is Mine and so is all the Bull Crap" 

[Jp]

Kaitlin, . .
Being truthful, . . I have not read those rules you spoke, at least not yet but let me ask you something, . .

I do a graphic that graphic may have commercial value, as a graphic that can be customized and may be sold to users for posting etc.

What is the implication regarding that FB may in some way appropriate or otherwise use this for thier own commercial interest ?

[artchain]

The terms of use for virtually any site where a user uploads content require the user to grant some rights to the website.

The specifics are often quite broad, since they are drafted to provide the maximum possible protection (and flexibility) for the site operators.

If there is something that has commercial value, don't upload it to a UCC (User Contributed Content) or social networking website.