The legal landscape of influencing may soon face substantial changes as Texan influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford recently filed a lawsuit against Alyssa Sheil in the District Court for the Western District of Texas. The lawsuit centres around claims that Sheil copied Gifford’s content on Instagram and TikTok, including the ‘aesthetic’ of photos and the content of posts.
Back in 2022, the two Texas based influencers met to discuss a potential collaboration given their similar aesthetics and style of content. However, the collaboration fell through, and the lawsuit states that several months afterwards Sheil blocked Gifford and began posting content almost identical to Gifford’s on Instagram and TikTok.
Gifford and Sheil’s content both features similar neutral colour schemes, fonts, and photo content, as well as the same Amazon products often being recommended by both influencers. After Gifford noticed Sheil was producing similar content, she registered the copyright in the posts that she believed were being copied.
It is not compulsory to register a copyrighted work in the US. However, an infringement claim can only be brought by an applicant if they have either registered their copyright or have a pending copyright application. In this case, it can be assumed that Gifford registered the copyright in the posts to enable her to successfully bring the lawsuit against Sheil.
The lawsuit follows reports from Gifford to Meta, TikTok and Amazon. Gifford also served Sheil with several cease-and-desist letters. Gifford is claiming between $30,000 and $150,000 in damages based on claims of mental anguish and loss of income, which have been caused by copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act by Sheil.
If Gifford is successful in her claim, this has the potential to set a new legal precedent which grants stronger protection to influencers’ online content in the US, and may influence the legal landscape more globally.
If you have any questions on the above, feel free to contact a member of the team at 0191 281 4000 or alternatively at legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
