A hoax 'copyright' declaration that compels people to copy and paste the message on their status has gone viral on Facebook once again. The same message was shared several times in 2012.
The declaration demands people to put the same message on their walls if they want to be placed "under protection of copyrights laws."
Frantic members of the social networking site, worried that their photos and videos will be owned by Facebook, are repeatedly posting it – quite unaware that it is a hoax. More importantly, this message has been coming and going for years and many still think it is genuine.
The fake declaration reads:
"In response to the new Facebook guidelines, I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times."
The truth, however, as noted by ABC News back in 2012, is that Facebook doesn't own one's media and there is nothing such as the "Berner Convention". (There is a 'Berne Convention', which sounds similar to the one mentioned in the hoax message.)
When the message spread like wild fire three years ago, Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes had said: "Under our terms, you grant Facebook permission to use, distribute, and share the things you post, subject to the terms and applicable privacy settings.
"We have noticed some statements that suggest otherwise and we wanted to take a moment to remind you of the facts - when you post things like photos to Facebook, we do not own them,"
"My Newsfeed is blowing up with this fake stuff!" wrote a Facebook member Sharon Kay Work.
Even if it was true you have to agree to FB terms and conditions just to use it. So posting some disclaimer on your wall is pointless," said Fred Spagna
"Newsfeed is full of this crap again. This has been repeated every year, numerous times. Guess I don't get why people keep falling for it?" was another comment from Carol Miller.
