# Social-sharing and structured-metadata evidence guide

> **General information—not legal advice.** This guide explains what technical records may
> show and how to preserve them. It does not determine whether any use is lawful, create an
> attorney-client relationship, or guarantee any result. Metadata is not an automatic
> license, and none of these records alone establishes fair use or a safe harbor.

## Why these records matter

Publishers expose image URLs and embed instructions so software can build previews. If the
disputed image reached your page through that machinery, the raw records can support an
automated-selection account, identify the true delivery route, and frame the fair-use facts
(small preview, headline, source link, no substitution). They do **not** prove ownership,
enforcement authority, historical page state, or a license for every downstream use.

## 1. Open Graph

`<meta property="og:image" content="…">` plus `og:title`, `og:url`, `og:image:width/height`.
Preserve the source page's raw HTML (dated), not a re-rendering. The tag shows the publisher
designated that image for link previews at capture time.

## 2. X / Twitter Cards

`<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary|summary_large_image">`, `twitter:image`,
`twitter:title`. Same preservation rules as Open Graph. Card type bears on the *size* the
publisher contemplated.

## 3. JSON-LD structured data (`Article` / `NewsArticle`)

Preserve the complete `<script type="application/ld+json">` block. The `image` property —
often required by search-engine article guidelines — shows the publisher supplied the image
for article-preview surfaces.

## 4. oEmbed

Preserve the discovery link, the exact request URL, and the complete raw JSON response.
Field meanings (see the oEmbed specification):

| Field | May support | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| `rich`/`video` + `html` | Provider-supplied rendering instructions | Must be used unchanged, within provider terms; not automatic immunity |
| `photo` + `url` | Provider-selected media resource | Terms, size parameters, and context still apply |
| `thumbnail_url` | Provider-designated preview thumbnail | Not permission to enlarge, detach, permanently copy, or repurpose |
| `link` | Link metadata only | No embedded-media authorization at all |
| `cache_age` | How long the *oEmbed response* may be cached | Does not necessarily authorize storing the media bytes |

## 5. Feeds and APIs

RSS/Atom `enclosure`/`media:content` elements and API responses that carried the image URL.
Preserve raw responses with timestamps, plus the feed/API terms in effect.

## 6. Delivery route — the decisive technical fact

- **Original-source URL (hotlink/embed):** preserve a HAR/network trace showing the request
  initiator, the redirect chain, and the third-party host that transmitted the bytes. This
  is where the Ninth Circuit server test can matter — jurisdictionally limited, display
  right only.
- **Cached/proxied copy:** preserve the cache key, TTL, headers, hash, dimensions,
  creation/expiry/purge records, and proof processing was automatic and unmodified. A stored
  copy raises a reproduction question the server test does not resolve; the 17 U.S.C.
  § 512(b) system-caching conditions matter only if actually satisfied.

## 7. Image identity

Original URL, final URL after redirects, HTTP headers, content type and length, ETag, file
dimensions, and SHA-256 hash — enough to prove *which* image, at *what* resolution.

## 8. Display period

Feed-rotation schedules, cache TTL records, deploy logs, and dated captures bracketing the
window. Duration is not a standalone defense, but it bears on market effect and damages.
Do not assume it triggers § 512(b)'s caching safe harbor — that provision's conditions
(automatic, intermediate, user-directed transmission, refresh, and notice rules) are strict
and often unmet by aggregator caches. A claimant's single screenshot establishes a moment,
not a period — their duration allegation needs its own evidence.

## 9. Terms in effect

Publisher terms, platform embed terms, feed/API terms, and CDN/vendor terms as of the
alleged use. Archive dated copies; terms change.

## 10. Labeling

Mark every record **contemporaneous / historical / current / inferred / user-confirmed /
missing**, and never present a current capture as proof of historical page state.