Cartoonists vs. Big Meme | DMZ America Podcast | Ep 251

Get up to speed on a fascinating legal challenge to Big Tech by an independent web cartoonist. Editorial cartoonists Ted Rall (from the Left) and Scott Stantis (from the Right) break it down on today’s DMZ America Podcast. Who will win—cartoonists and creators, or Big Tech? Filipino cartoonist Elmer Saflor, who goes by pen name Superelmer, has filed a complaint against Memes App, LLC, the operator of Memes.ai and Memes AI Studio, for copyright infringement when they began selling a commercial template subscription plan that includes his viral cartoon “Running Away Balloon.”The complaint asks the court to stop the defendants use of his comic and compel discovery to see how many ads used his work. If instances are found, Memes App could face statutory damages upwards of $150,000 per “willful infringement.”By taking on the meme generator, Saflor may hit a wall if the court finds that his arguments apply to any meme generator and a finding in his favor could risk undercutting the entire meme ecosystem, Goldman said.