22nd July 2025
I displayed an open graph image and had to pay how much?!
A media company demanded a license fee for an Open Graph image used on my twitter archive. I gave in and paid it, but what does that mean for open graph images and copyright?
In April 2025, I received an email from an image licensing company (hereby "licensor") regarding an image used on my twitter archive. That image was owned by them, but used as the Open Graph image for a news article. They demanded I purchase a license or face consequences for the infringement of their copyright.
I ended up purchasing the license to make it go away. Although I'm unconvinced I was at fault and it's certainly not a standard copyright case, it was not clear enough for me to risk those consequences. It really doesn't feel right, makes me wary of the Open Graph standard, angry about copyright on the web, and generally pissed off.
It also raises questions about the potential risks of displaying open graph images on the web.
That's the short version, the TLDR. What will follow is me going a bit more in-depth with some of the specific communication and my thoughts.
Short disclaimer
What I need to make clear from the beginning though is I am not a lawyer. Very far from it, so if you're in this same situation (I feel for you) please just take this as my experience and do your own research and find what works for you. I paid the fee so I also don't know how this would have gone in a court.
I've removed anything identifying — including details about the image itself and company, and paraphrasing all communication. I don't want to get into any further trouble by identifying companies — I've already had the displeasure of that experience before.
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