5th Circuit: ISP Not Liable for Infringement Due to Lack of Volitional Conduct, Despite Ineligibility for DMCA Safe Harbor
- The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently considered in BWP Media USA, Inc. v. T&S Software Associates, Inc. whether volitional conduct is required to establish a claim for direct copyright infringement against an Internet service provider (“ISP”). The defendant ISP, T&S Software Associates (“T&S”),... ›
FINRA Publishes New Guidance on Social Networking Websites and the Application of Rule 2210
Broker-dealers have been reluctant to fully embrace social media due to regulatory concerns. Although the industry regulator, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), has issued regulatory notices relating to the use of social media and the application of FINRA Rule 2210 (Communications with the... ›Court Orders Google to Turn Over Foreign-Stored Data
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently secured a notable victory against Google in a dispute over the enforceability of a U.S. search warrant seeking access to foreign-stored account data. The April 19 ruling—from Magistrate Judge Beeler in the U.S. District Court for the... ›Social Links: Social ad spend soars; the FTC’s special message to “influencers”; LinkedIn changes terms of use
By: Aaron P. Rubin
A New York State senator has introduced a bill that would make posting footage of a crime to social media with the intention of glorifying violence or becoming famous punishable by up to four years in prison and fines. Instagram hit the 700-million-user mark.... ›Limiting Statutory Damages in Internet Copyright Cases
By: Paul Goldstein and Joyce Liou
One of the most significant legal concerns for Internet service providers is the risk of exposure to liability for the copyright infringements of their users. The concern is not unreasonable. Because Internet service providers can be held secondarily liable for the infringements of their... ›- - M&A
M&A Leaders Predict a Bullish Year for Tech Deals
By: Aaron P. Rubin
2017 will be an even busier year than 2016 and 2015 for M&A deals in the technology sector, according to more than half of the dealmakers who responded to the semi-annual M&A Leaders Survey conducted by our colleagues at Morrison & Foerster in partnership... › Now Available: The April Issue of Our Socially Aware Newsletter
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this edition, we explore the threat to U.S. jobs posed by rapid advances in emerging technologies; we examine a Federal Trade Commission report on how companies engaging in cross-device tracking can stay on... ›Social Links: Burger King ad triggers Google Assistant devices; suits allege infringement of copyrights in content posted to social media; Twitter’s hidden “dislike” button
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Without Google’s permission, Burger King ended one of its television commercials with a statement designed to automatically cause Google Assistant devices to read a list of the Whopper’s ingredients out loud. Having passed the 1.2-billion-user mark, Facebook Messenger is now twice as popular as... ›Gloom Descends on This Year’s SXSW Interactive
For the third year in a row, Socially Aware co-editor Aaron Rubin and I attended SXSW Interactive , which arguably has become the premier annual gathering for the global tech community. But this year, SXSW Interactive had a very different vibe to it than... ›Overview of Ransomware Attacks
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In the most recent edition of his CyberSide Chat series, Socially Aware contributor Andy Serwin discusses ransomware attacks, including: the reasons why ransomware attacks are becoming more common; the types of ransomware attacks companies should prepare to address; and the strategies that companies can... ›