Reed Smith just released its White Paper on legal issues surrounding social media. You can download"Network Interference: A Legal Guide to the Commercial Risks and Rewards of the Social Media Phenomenon", a 69-page, 10-chapter White Paper positioned to be the definitive source for information about legal issues in social media. The White Paper covers a myriad of practice areas, including Advertising & Marketing, Commercial Litigation, Data Privacy and Security, Employment Practices, Government Contracts & Investigations, Litigation, Evidence & Privilege, Product Liability, Securities, and Trademarks. We will keep building the White Paper to ensure that it remains the definitive source addressing social media issues and solutions.
Social media and the law
Popular related articles
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Protecting Jane Doe's privacy: how far must employers go? (Hunton & Williams LLP)
A recent decision out of the Pennsylvania courts is a caution to employers who are required to produce employee personnel information in responding to court or agency proceedings.
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Quick tips for monitoring and enforcement of Web 2.0 content (Haynes and Boone LLP)
Determine your pain tolerance.
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Do you have an ESI strategy yet? Companies and in-house counsel sanctioned for poor oversight (Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC)
Although it has been more than three years since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to codify parties' obligations to preserve and produce potentially relevant electronically stored information (ESI), a recent survey conducted by Kroll Ontrack reflects that only 46% of U.S. corporations possess an ESI readiness strategy.
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Best practice considerations when serving on the board of a nonprofit organization (Morris Manning & Martin LLP)
Under U.S. tax law, most tax-exempt organizations are required to file an annual tax return known as a Form 990.
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Tag it and bag it - what you must consider when drafting a digital document retention policy (Ungaretti & Harris)
Many companies are extremely concerned about retaining every single document in todays electronic age.
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Employee endorsements can now lead to employer liability (Bond Schoeneck & King)
Under guidelines recently issued by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”)—Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, 16 CFR Part 255—an employer may now face liability for employee endorsements of its products and services, if the employment relationship is not disclosed.
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Remember "Super Bowl", the "Olympics" and "March Madness" are trademarked terms - don't use them in advertising without permission (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
With the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics less than 2 weeks away, and March Madness not far behind, we once again need to remind our readers that all three are trademarked terms, meaning that their use, particularly for commercial purposes, is limited.
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Federal estate, GST and gift tax law: current status and possible retroactive legislation (Duane Morris LLP)
Despite legislation proposed by Congress in 2009, which we reported on in our prior Alerts, Congress has nevertheless been unable to prevent the repeal of the federal estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes.
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Recently released DOL budget makes worker misclassification and state paid leave priorities for the next fiscal year (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)
On Monday, February 1, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its budget for the 2011 fiscal year.
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New York Jets coach fined for "off-duty" conduct (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)
While attending a Mixed Martial Arts event in Miami, New York Jets head coach, Rex Ryan, apparently made an obscene gesture at some Miami Dolphin fans who were taunting him.
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Quick tips for monitoring and enforcement of Web 2.0 content (Haynes and Boone LLP)
Determine your pain tolerance.
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Employee endorsements can now lead to employer liability (Bond Schoeneck & King)
Under guidelines recently issued by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”)—Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, 16 CFR Part 255—an employer may now face liability for employee endorsements of its products and services, if the employment relationship is not disclosed.
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Two significant Australian copyright decisions handed down (Minter Ellison)
The Federal Court handed down two significant copyright decisions yesterday.
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Search engines: competitive keyword advertising (Lang Michener LLP)
All major search engines sell keywords to advertisers – when a user inputs selected keywords into the search engine, advertisements are displayed with the results.
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Canadian Privacy Commissioner investigates Facebook (Hunton & Williams LLP)
Pursuant to a public complaint, on January 27, 2010, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced a new investigation into Facebook.
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Google seeks U.S. nod to trade wholesale electricity (Patton Boggs LLP)
Google is seeking U.S. approval to trade wholesale electricity to reduce costs associated with buying renewable energy resources such as wind and solar power.
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Federal Circuit rejects PTO’s bright-line rule that a picture is required for a website-based specimen of use (Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP)
In In re Sones, No. 09-1140 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 23, 2009), the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the TTAB’s final decision denying Michael Sones’s registration application for the mark “ONE NATION UNDER GOD” for charity bracelets.
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Rockefeller to move cybersecurity bill (Patton Boggs LLP)
Citing the cyber-attacks on Google originating from China, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, (D-WV), said that he intends to focus more keenly on cybersecurity and that his panel will soon mark up S. 773, the cybersecurity bill he introduced with Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME).
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Digital Controversy Bill (Bristows)
The campaign against the Digital Economy Bill continues to gather momentum as the bill makes its way through Parliament.
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ISP wins against motion picture studios: Roadshow Films Pty Ltd -v- iiNet Limited (Davies Collison Cave)
In a landmark decision, which has been closely watched around the world, Australia's third largest ISP, iiNet, has succeeded against the major motion picture studios in the US and Australia.
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Remember "Super Bowl", the "Olympics" and "March Madness" are trademarked terms - don't use them in advertising without permission (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
With the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics less than 2 weeks away, and March Madness not far behind, we once again need to remind our readers that all three are trademarked terms, meaning that their use, particularly for commercial purposes, is limited.
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Two significant Australian copyright decisions handed down (Minter Ellison)
The Federal Court handed down two significant copyright decisions yesterday.
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Spanner in works for racing game - High Court interprets IP indemnity (Bristows)
An indemnity is a promise to be responsible for another's loss arising, most usually, from a breach of contract or warranty.
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Canadian Privacy Commissioner investigates Facebook (Hunton & Williams LLP)
Pursuant to a public complaint, on January 27, 2010, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced a new investigation into Facebook.
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C7 decision: meaning of ‘purpose’ (Freehills)
On 2 December 2009, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia handed down its decision in Seven Network Limited v News Limited, the appeal from the widely publicised 'C7' decision in 2007.
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Tim Tebow's Super Bowl ad - any real FCC legal controversy here? (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
Reading the trade press and the blogs, one would think that the Tim Tebow ad that will reportedly air during the Super Bowl presented novel, controversial legal issues.
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Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd v EMI Songs Australia Pty Ltd (Davies Collison Cave)
In June 2009 the Federal Court of Australia considered the preliminary question of whether Larrikin (a music publisher) is the owner of the copyright in the classic Australian children's song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" ("Kookaburra"), written and composed in 1934 by Marion Sinclair and the winning entry of a Victorian Girl Guides singing round competition.
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Digital Controversy Bill (Bristows)
The campaign against the Digital Economy Bill continues to gather momentum as the bill makes its way through Parliament.
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ISP wins against motion picture studios: Roadshow Films Pty Ltd -v- iiNet Limited (Davies Collison Cave)
In a landmark decision, which has been closely watched around the world, Australia's third largest ISP, iiNet, has succeeded against the major motion picture studios in the US and Australia.
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iiNet and the future of file sharing – authorisation and copyright infringement (Freehills)
The Federal Court has found that iiNet did not authorise any copyright infringement by its users who access BitTorrent systems to download copyright works - film and television programs.
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The study that never was - a lesson in comparative advertising (Reed Smith LLP)
On Jan. 19, 2010, Weight Watchers International Inc. of New York sued its rival, Jenny Craig, Inc., in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission proposes Policy Guidance that would presume employers engage in disparate impact discrimination when they use criminal history information (Reed Smith LLP)
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission ("PHRC") has proposed "Policy Guidance" stating that it intends to treat an employer's rejection of an African-American or Hispanic applicant because of his or her criminal record as presumptive evidence that the employer is discriminating against the applicant in violation of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act ("PHRA").
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Notes on the National Summit on Health Care Fraud (Reed Smith LLP)
Last week, in my capacity as president of the American Health Lawyers Association, I attended the first National Summit on Health Care Fraud, a joint undertaking by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice.
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More from the Marcellus Shale: West Virginia's Department of Environmental Protection finalizes guidelines for fracking (Reed Smith LLP)
On January 8, 2010, West Virginia's Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) finalized its industry guidance for oil and gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
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New regulations expand mental health parity requirements for group health plans (Reed Smith LLP)
On January 29, 2010, the U.S. Departments of Labor ("DOL"), Health and Human Services ("HHS") and the Treasury jointly issued interim final regulations implementing the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 ("MHPAEA").
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Reed Smith files amicus brief in Textron (Reed Smith LLP)
Reed Smith filed an amicus brief yesterday afternoon with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking that the Court grant certiorari and review the First Circuit decision in Textron.
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National Practitioner Data Bank adverse action reporting final rule (Reed Smith LLP)
On January 28, 2010, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) published a final rule updating the regulations governing the National Practitioner Data Bank for Adverse Information on Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners.
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Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to hire 68 new oil and gas regulators (Reed Smith LLP)
In a move described as an "Aggressive Action to Protect Public, Environment as Marcellus Drilling Operations Expands," Pennsylvania's Governor Ed Rendell directed the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") to hire 68 new staff members today to work on natural gas well inspections and related oil and gas regulation.
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New case law by the European Court of Justice regarding reputation in the Community and exhaustion of trademark rights (Reed Smith LLP)
In a decision of October 6, 2009 (file no. C-301/07), the European Court of Justice had to decide on the interpretation of Article 9 (1)c of the Community Trademark Regulation.
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Bribery Bill and the property industry (Reed Smith LLP)
Can the Bribery Bill, which we are told will be become law before the General Election, affect property investors, agents and buyers?
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