The original pitch — a candy-shop photo that earned the family nothing — doesn’t hold up. Side-Eyeing Chloe is a screengrab from a 2013 home video the Clem family uploaded and still owns, which is exactly why they could sell it as a 25 ETH NFT in 2021 and land sponsorships like a Google Pixel deal. The real lesson: going viral pays nobody automatically — owning the original media is what turns a meme into money, as a federal court’s $750 Success Kid ruling shows by contrast.
Sources:
– YouTube (Katie Clem): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGhuLkjl4iI
– BuzzFeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/side-eyeing-chloe-is-officially-the-patron-saint-of-tumblr
– U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit: https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/24/06/223623P.pdf
#meme #NFT #copyright #internetculture #viralhistory
