Online social networking, and its capacity to connect our professional lives to our personal lives, have introduced a variety of new legal issues in the workplace – issues that we explore regularly in Socially Aware. Many managers and supervisors have connected with subordinates on social networking sites, and have likely wondered about the practical and… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: November 2011
Big Spenders: Social Media Brand Fans Spend More Than Non-Fans
Posted in InfographicOpen Kimono: Court-Compelled Discovery of Non-Public Social Media Pages
Posted in E-DiscoveryDue to the widespread popularity of social networking sites (“SNS”), courts have had to determine how the rules of discovery apply to content stored on such sites. In addressing this issue, many courts have required parties to provide opposing counsel the SNS content – such as emails and Facebook wall postings – that is relevant to… Continue Reading
Employee Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Agreements in the Social Networking Era
Posted in Employment LawEmployers have long used non-compete and non-solicitation agreements to prevent former employees from taking unfair advantage of confidential information, including client information, to which they received access during their employment. The growth of social media, however, is raising complex new issues for employers seeking to protect such company confidences from misuse by ex-employees. For example,… Continue Reading
A Copyright Troll’s Last Stand?
Posted in CopyrightSuits by so-called “copyright trolls” are of keen interest to operators of social media sites, given that user-generated content, or, as some call it, “user-uploaded content,” is a cornerstone of the social media experience. In the April 2011 issue of Socially Aware, we reported on a recent string of lawsuits filed by Righthaven, a company… Continue Reading
Facebook Not “Liked” in Europe, Overhauls Its Privacy Settings
Posted in PrivacyFacebook’s “Like” button has been creating problems for Facebook in Europe. Thilo Weichert, the data protection commissioner for the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, has told all website owners based in the state to stop using web analytics associated with Facebook, including its “Like” button. “Facebook builds a broad individual and for members even a… Continue Reading
Ninth Circuit Follows eBay v. MercExchange and Second Circuit on Preliminary Injunctions for Alleged Copyright Infringement
Posted in CopyrightIn its recent opinion in Perfect 10, Inc. v. Google, Inc., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court ruling that a copyright infringement plaintiff’s showing of likely success on the merits is not in itself sufficient to warrant injunctive relief, particularly absent the plaintiff’s separate demonstration that it will suffer irreparable harm…. Continue Reading
The FTC Proposes Changes to Its COPPA Rule – And Why Every Website Operator Should Pay Attention
Posted in PrivacyThe Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently released proposed amendments to its rule (“Rule”) implementing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). The Rule requires the operator of a website or online service to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from a child under the age of 13. If adopted as drafted, the revised… Continue Reading
Bieber’s New Record, The Most Expensive Tweet Ever, and More
Posted in Status UpdatesNot Hot For Teachbook In the latest chapter of an ongoing dispute, Judge Marvin E. Aspen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois was not hot for Teachbook.com’s motion to dismiss Facebook’s trademark infringement action. The court denied the motion, holding that the suffix “book” was not necessarily generic as used… Continue Reading