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Facebook, Twitter and the Next Generation of Social Media: Opportunities and Risks for Your Business July 13, 2010 John "Rocky" Rawls, Partner Valyncia Simmons, Associate Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP
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Vocabulary Internet Email Text Messages Blog Search Engine
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Social Networks 101 Definition Advantages Building connections with others User friendly Potentially, publicly available Typically free to users
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Focused Marketing for Businesses Builds "Self Executing" List of Interested Consumers Additional Demographic Data Permits Tightly Targeted Advertising
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Examples of Social Networking Sites Classmates.com Match.com LinkedIn.com Facebook.com Myspace.com Twitter.com
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Unique Problems for IP Owners User-generated content Relative anonymity of users Volume of users Intersecting technology
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Major Legal Issues Trademark Infringement and/or Dilution False Advertising Copyright Infringement Misappropriation of Name and/or Likeness Defamation Spam
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Trademarks and False Advertising Trademark: Word, logo, slogan, tagline etc…that identifies source Infringement: Use of same or similar mark in a manner that creates a likelihood of confusion Dilution: Limited to "famous" marks. No likelihood of confusion required. False Advertising: Ad is likely to confuse or deceive consumers. No trademark use.
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Trademarks and Social Networks "Love" and "Hate" Pages Usernames that incorporate trademarks http://twitter.com/CocaCola http://twitter.com/CocaCola False Affiliation Traditional Infringement/Counterfeiting
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Copyright Law Generally Protects Expression of Ideas Examples: Photographs Motion pictures Sound recordings Books Paintings
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Copyright Infringement Ownership of copyrightable subject matter Violation of Exclusive Rights Examples: Copying Distribution
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Copyright and Social Networks Video Games - Miller v. Facebook, Inc., 2010 WL 2198204 (N.D. Cal. 2010) Music - Henley v. DeVore, 2010 WL 2533388 (C.D. Cal. 2010) Photographs - Agence France-Presse v. Morel, case No. 10-civ-2730 (S.D.N.Y.) (March 26, 2010)
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Misappropriation of Name and Likeness State Law Commercial use of another's name, likeness or other attributes of personality prohibited No confusion required
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Defamation State law False statements to third party Malicious intent sometimes required Harm to Reputation
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Spam Federal and State law Prohibit unsolicited messages Emails Text messages
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Who is Liable? Varies depending on law Contributory Infringement Vicarious Liability
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Contributory Infringement Direct Infringement "Knowledge of infringing activity" "Induced, caused or materially contributed to the infringing conduct of another" Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences v. Network Solutions, Inc., 989 F.Supp. 1276, 1279 (C.D. Cal. 1997)
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Vicarious Liability Direct Infringement Profiting from such direct infringement "Declining to exercise a right to stop or limit" the direct infringement. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 930 (U.S. 2005)
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Copyright and the DMCA Takedown Notice Identify Material Ownership Good faith belief of infringement Misrepresentations Viacom Int'l, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc., 2010 WL 2532404 (SDNY 2010).
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Twitter's Trademark Policy Twitter's Trademark Policy provides that "[u]sing a company or business name, logo or other trademark-protected materials in a manner that may mislead or confuse others or be used for financial gain may be considered a trademark policy violation. Accounts with clear intent to mislead others will be suspended; even if there is not an explicit trademark policy violation; attempts to mislead others may result in suspension." http://help.twitter.com/entries/18367-trademark-policyhttp://help.twitter.com/entries/18367-trademark-policy (last accessed July 6, 2010)
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Other Twitter Policies Name Squatting Policy "Attempts to sell, buy, or solicit other forms of payment in exchange for usernames…may result in permanent account suspension." (http://help.twitter.com/entries/18370-name- squatting-policy) (last accessed July 6, 2010)http://help.twitter.com/entries/18370-name- squatting-policy Copyright and DMCA Policy Copyright owners may issue a complaint with Twitter and demand that copyrighted material be taken down. (http://help.twitter.com/entries/15795-copyright-and-dmca-policy) (last accessed July 6, 2010)http://help.twitter.com/entries/15795-copyright-and-dmca-policy
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Facebook's IP Policy Facebook states that once a complaint is made, "[s]o long as everything appears to be in order, we will promptly remove or disable access to the content. We will also notify the user and, if requested, provide your report to the user. We will terminate repeat infringers when appropriate." (http://www.facebook.com/legal/copyright.php) (last accessed July 6, 2010).http://www.facebook.com/legal/copyright.php
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Best Practices - Offensive Proactive Acquisition of Usernames Use of Social Network Programs Review of Competitor Advertisements and Understanding Social Network Advertising Practices (Keyword Advertising) Use of Social Network Watch Services
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Best Practices - Defensive Compliance for Your Business Takedown Notices Demand Letters Litigation Social Network Policies
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Best Practices – Advantages of Using Social Network Policies Expeditious Budget Friendly Eliminates Identification Problem Builds Enforcement Record
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Facebook, Twitter and the Next Generation of Social Media: Opportunities and Risks for Your Business July 13, 2010 John "Rocky" Rawls, Partner (john.rawls@bgllp.com) Valyncia Simmons, Associate (valyncia.simmons@bgllp.com)
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