Pinterest, a new social networking site that lets users create virtual “pinboards” by pinning images of their favorite things, has some terms of use that writers should not ignore.
Over at Boston Business Journal, web editor Galen Moore took down his publication’s Pinterest page, worried after he discovered that “Pinterest’s service agreement gives it the right to sell images that users upload.”
According to the site’s terms of use, users are giving up the copyright of any materials that they share on the site. The terms of service explains: “By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services.”
Despite the issues with copyright, the new social network can be a great place for readers and writers to networks and an inspiring place to get ideas for books to read and stories to write. For more about how to use it, check out our Pinterest lists: 10 Pinterest boards for eBook fans, Pinterest Tips for Writers and Pinterest Boards for Book Lovers.