Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. Here at Morrison Foerster, across all of our practice groups, we are seeing complex, cutting-edge legal issues arising out of social media. As with the Internet boom during the mid-to-late 1990s, social media is generating new legal questions at a far faster pace than the law’s ability to provide answers to such questions. In an effort to stay on top of these emerging issues, and to keep our clients and friends informed of new developments, Morrison Foerster publishes this blog devoted to the law and business of social media.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Aaron is the chair of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group and co-chair of the Interactive + Digital Media Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals.Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data- and technology-intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud-based technology, digital media (social media, AR/VR, gaming, streaming media, AdTech), AI, healthcare, consumer electronics, e-commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on branding and marketing, trademark licensing, and content-related transactions, as well as the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin-offs, and private equity investments.He has represented clients such as Autodesk, Meta, OpenAI, Splunk, Konami, Kaiser Permanente, SoftBank, Visa, and Yahoo, among others.Aaron has been recognized by numerous publications for his work on market-defining technology transactions. He is currently ranked by Chambers USA for “Technology Transactions.”Aaron also serves as co-editor of Socially Aware, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics. Aaron is also a sought-after speaker on new and emerging areas of law, and is a frequent presenter and panelist at conferences and legal services programs. In addition to his active practice, Aaron regularly provides pro bono assistance to various nonprofit and charitable organizations such as Common Sense Media and the Starlight Children’s Foundation. He is a member of the board of directors of California Lawyers for the Arts.While in law school at the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Aaron served as executive editor of the California Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following law school, Aaron served as law clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick and the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, both United States District Judges for the Northern District of California.

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Aaron is the chair of our Technology Transactions Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals. Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data– and technology–intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud computing, AR/VR, AI, gaming, healthcare, consumer electronics, social media, e–commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin–offs, and private equity investments.

Aaron P. Rubin

Lawrence Gallick is of counsel in the firm’s Austin office and a member of the Technology Transactions Group.Lawrence focuses his practice on technology transactions and licensing matters. His diverse experience includes advising on SaaS agreements, cross-licensing agreements, research and collaboration agreements, development agreements, and distribution agreements. He counsels a broad range of companies across the software, hardware, life sciences, biotech and FinTech spaces, as well as other entities including universities.He advises clients in connection with general corporate matters including contract negotiations, and leasing and technology placement agreements.Lawrence also serves as co-editor of <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/" target="_blank">Socially Aware</a>, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics.Prior to joining the firm, Lawrence was counsel at another major law firm. Before earning his law degree, Lawrence was a web consultant, project manager, and web developer in Portland, Oregon, where he managed and consulted on projects using industry methodologies and performed custom development and integration of content management systems.Lawrence was named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2015 and 2018–2022, and is licensed in both California and New York. Lawrence earned his J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he was the electronic systems editor for the Buffalo Law Review and awarded the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Intellectual Property Law.

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Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster.Anthony advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. He regularly advises companies on the IP aspects of their M&A transactions. His clients include technology, digital media and content for television and music, financial services, and communications companies with diverse intellectual property assets and issues.His practice focuses on the legal aspects of developing, licensing, and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts, including outsourcing transactions, as well as content and data licenses. He regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to licensing and commercialization of digital media and content, digital content that is distributed over the Internet or streamed, mobile applications and social media, as well as the licensing of recorded music for distribution via digital platforms. Anthony is also experienced with issues relating to open-source software, software development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based technology, and protection of proprietary information.Anthony has extensive experience working on matters involving disruptive technologies, such as blockchain. He has helped fintech clients with general intellectual property issues in connection with terms of service for online financial products and services.Anthony is an integral part of the outside pro bono legal team for nonprofit organizations based in New York, including advising clients on legal issues regarding entertainment, social media, privacy rights, and the negotiation of outsourcing and service agreements. Anthony received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2009. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 2004.

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Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster. He advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. His clients include technology, media, and communications companies with considerable intellectual property assets. His practice focuses on the legal aspects of licensing and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts. He also regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to mobile applications and social media.

Anthony M. Ramirez

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Socially Aware is devoted to the law and business of social media, proactively addressing emerging issues and keeping our clients informed of new developments. We cover fields such as artificial intelligence, privacy and data security, Section 230, intellectual property, and much more.

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Lawrence W. Gallick

All Your Sale Are Belong to Us - Mitigating IP and Payments Risk in In-Game Economies (Part II – User-Generated Content and In-Game Payment Models)

A New California Digital Content Law Establishes New Requirements for Advertisers and Vendors

California’s Assembly Bill 587 Loses Key Provisions After Legal Challenge from X

Social Links: TikTok Tussles, Teen Privacy Push, and the Thumbs-Up That Sealed the Deal

Utah’s New App Store Age Verification Law: What S.B. 142 Means for Kids, Parents, and Tech

Social media is transforming the way companies interact with consumers. Learn how to make the most of these online opportunities while minimizing your company’s risk at Practicing Law Institute’s (PLI) 2017 Social Media conference, to be held in San Francisco and webcasted on Thursday, February 2nd.  The conference will be chaired by Socially Aware co-editor John Delaney, and our other co-editor, <a href="https://www.mofo.com/people/aaron-rubin.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aaron Rubin</a>, will also be presenting at the event.Topics to be addressed will include:<ul><li>Key developments shaping social media law</li><li>Emerging best practices for staying out of trouble</li><li>Risk mitigation strategies regarding user-generated content and online marketing</li><li>Legal considerations regarding use of personal devices and other workplace issues</li></ul>Other special features of the conference include: <ul><li>Regulators panel: guidance on enforcement priorities for social media and mobile apps</li><li>In-house panel: practical tips for handling real-world issues</li><li>Potential ethical issues relating to the use of social media by attorneys</li></ul>Don’t miss this opportunity to get up-to-date information on the fast-breaking developments in the critical area of social media and mobile apps so that you can most effectively meet the needs of your clients.For more information or to register, please visit PLI’s website <a href="http://www.pli.edu/Content/Seminar/Social_Media_2017_Addressing_Corporate_Risks/_/N-4kZ1z10oyn?Ns=sort_date%7c0&ID=288996" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.  We hope to see you there!

Social Media 2017: Addressing Corporate Risks

Social media is transforming the way companies interact with consumers. Learn how to make the most of these online opportunities while minimizing your company’s

Social Media 2017: Addressing Corporate Risks

Donald Trump’s successful road to the White House was fueled by heated rhetoric against free trade deals and U.S. companies engaged in offshore outsourcing. Underpinning his slogan “Make America Great Again” was a premise that millions of jobs lost to other countries should and could return to the United States.The president’s ambitious goals include the creation of 25 million new jobs over 10 years. Central to the plan is adjusting trade policies—either scrapping them altogether or negotiating new ones more beneficial to American workers. So, too, it would seem, are policies aimed at discouraging companies from outsourcing operations abroad where labor is cheaper.During the campaign, President Trump called out some of America’s best-known companies for their reliance on foreign labor. He has kept up the rhetoric since being elected. In December, when he touted his success in persuading air conditioner maker Carrier Corp. to keep 800 jobs in Indiana, Trump signaled a policy of retribution to prevent further outsourcing: “Companies are not going to leave the United States any more without consequences,” <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-carrier-outsource-leave-consequences-2016-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said</a>.Many economists view President Trump’s plans with skepticism. They note, for instance, that trade deals generally <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/trump-says-hell-bring-jobs-back-to-america-economists-are-skeptical/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have little overall impact on jobs</a>. Additionally, his threats to companies engaged in outsourcing would face practical obstacles. <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/donald-trump-twitter-tariffs-232160" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Levying punitive taxes on individual companies</a>, for example, would probably require Congressional approval. Even if such a policy were put into place, <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-trumps-carrier-deal-isnt-the-way-to-save-u-s-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it would not likely improve American competitiveness</a>. After all, the U.S. cannot prevent non-U.S. companies from using low-cost labor to make less expensive goods.The bigger problem is that President Trump’s focus on trade and outsourcing appears to be misplaced. The real long-term threat to American jobs isn’t foreign labor; it’s the accelerating pace of technological disruption eliminating jobs altogether.We’re on the cusp of seeing entire job categories disappear—not move offshore, but vanish—because of rapid advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, cloud computing, and other emerging technologies. A recent World Economic Forum survey of executives at large companies estimated that five million jobs in the world’s leading economies could disappear over the next five years.It doesn’t require a vivid imagination to foresee some of the potential destruction.As just one example, consider the <a href="http://wolfstreet.com/2016/09/14/self-driving-vehicle-revolution-to-wipe-out-4-million-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four million Americans</a> who make their living behind the wheel. With rapid advances in self-driving vehicle technology, their future is under a dark cloud. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fi-automated-trucks-labor-20160924/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Some suggest</a> the 1.7 million truck drivers are especially vulnerable, given that they spend most of their time on the highway where human intervention is needed least. Then there is the tremendous financial incentive: In the $700 billion trucking industry, an estimated third of costs go to compensating drivers. The temptation among trucking companies to cut those costs—and gain a competitive advantage—will be great.Similarly, the potential widespread adoption of block chain technology could lay waste to <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoins-blockchain-technology-proves-itself-in-wall-street-test-1460021421" target="_blank" rel="noopener">millions of jobs in the financial services industry</a>. The technology is now used to record and store Bitcoin payments, but startups and large banks are exploring ways to use it to improve a variety of other services and compliance tasks, which could save billions.Automating tasks—a core function of many of these new technologies—is nothing new. But the pace of automation’s march into areas beyond the assembly line is hard to overstate. Consider the now ubiquitous ATM or the airport kiosk. The march won’t stop. A new restaurant with a machine capable of making a gourmet hamburger in 10 seconds, for example, <a href="http://www.modernrestaurantmanagement.com/whats-next-for-restauranttech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is set to open in San Francisco</a>. In Japan, an insurance company laid off workers following the company’s adoption of IBM’s Watson Explorer, an artificial intelligence system that will perform an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/05/japanese-company-replaces-office-workers-artificial-intelligence-ai-fukoku-mutual-life-insurance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">important back office function</a> at the company.Of course, not all automating technologies will lead to the elimination of jobs. But if the president is committed to massive and sustained job growth, he will need to confront the inevitable, relentless advance of disruptive new technologies.Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy have blamed new technologies on the <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/515926/how-technology-is-destroying-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“great decoupling” of productivity and job growth rates</a>. After World War II, the two rates rose in near lockstep for decades, but beginning in 2000 job growth slowed considerably compared to productivity. President Trump’s promise to reduce bureaucracy and roll back regulation may well fuel the growth of these new technologies, leading to more rapid displacement of workers than might have otherwise occurred.History has shown new technologies create new jobs even as they kill off old ones. After talkie movies were introduced in the late 1920, for example, movie theatres no longer needed piano players to provide accompaniment to movies. But new job opportunities opened in Hollywood for audio engineers. The more recent innovation of online banking has surely limited the need for traditional bank tellers, but it has created new jobs for programmers.So yes, technology creates jobs, but mostly for the skilled worker capable of exploiting the new opportunities. The truck driver, and other low-skilled workers facing disruptive technologies that threaten their livelihood, are in a much more precarious position. For many truck drivers, becoming a software programmer for self-driving vehicles, or a drone-repair person, isn’t possible absent extensive training.Moreover, the pace of technology-driven disruption is accelerating as new technologies combine and mutate in often unexpected ways. Autonomous vehicles using block chain technology for payment transactions will mean job losses for taxi drivers and bank employees. Commercial drones combined with big data analytics relying on cloud storage will mean less need for delivery personnel and supply chain managers.Along with most elected officials, President Trump has been silent on this key issue. He ignores it at his own political peril. To make good on his campaign promises, his administration will want to focus on training displaced workers for these new emerging jobs, many of which will require programming, engineering, or similar skills.President Trump clearly knows a thing or two about disruption—his upset victory in November is proof of that. But will he be able to get out ahead of the coming wave of low-skilled job losses arising from disruptive technologies? Doing so would help him address what threatens to be a growing source of economic anxiety among American workers.*    *    *A version of this article <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-real-long-term-threat-to-american-jobs-is-tech-not-trade-deals-2017-01-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">originally appeared</a> in <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MarketWatch</a>.

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Tech, Not Trade, Poses Biggest Threat to American Jobs

Tech, Not Trade, Poses Biggest Threat to American Jobs

Donald Trump’s successful road to the White House was fueled by heated rhetoric against free trade deals and U.S. companies engaged in offshore outsourcing. Und

A federal district court judge refused to grant summary judgment to the copyright owners of the Star Trek franchise in the infringement suit they brought against the team behind a fan-made, crowdfunded prequel to the original Star Trek television series.Strict new European Union privacy rules will <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-10/google-facebook-face-tighter-eu-grip-with-new-privacy-law-ixrikusj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restrict Internet companies’ access to consumers’ data</a>.Brands might soon be able to <a href="http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/01/instagram-stories-testing-ads.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">place video ads</a> within Instagram Stories.Driving while Snapchatting (or holding your cell phone in your hand for any other possible reason) is now illegal in California.China is reportedly testing a system that <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-communist-party-social-credit-score-silence-critics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assigns potentially life-altering “scores”</a> to people based on their online activity.How much about the future of the Internet do you think <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-internet-predictions-2015-12/#content-created-for-the-internet-would-be-just-as-big-a-moneymaker-as-tv-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Gates was able to predict</a> 20 years ago?The 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee website’s privacy policy apparently <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/privacy-policy-drafting-lessons-from-presidential-web-polonetsky?published=t" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contains language suggesting it was lifted</a> from a casino website.  A small neighborhood restaurant <a href="http://gothamist.com/2017/01/10/epic_yelp_clap_back.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turned the tables</a> on a Yelp critic.Concerned about the post-mortem fate of your property, legacy and reputation? Don’t forget your digital assets. This <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/technology/is-your-digital-life-ready-for-your-death.html?_r=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Times article</a> explains how to make sure your wishes are carried out.If you spot <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/blogs/these-are-the-apps-cheaters-are-using-to-get-away-with-their-secret-life?cid=soc_dg_fb_PersonalSpace" target="_blank" rel="noopener">these apps</a> on your significant other’s phone, it might be time to worry.

Aaron is the chair of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group and co-chair of the Interactive + Digital Media Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals.

Aaron Rubin

Social Links: Will a fan-made Star Trek prequel live long and prosper?; California bans driving while Snapchatting; apps that facilitate infidelity

A federal district court judge refused to grant summary judgment to the copyright owners of the Star Trek franchise in the infringement suit they brought agains

Social Links: Will a fan-made Star Trek prequel live long and prosper?; California bans driving while Snapchatting; apps that facilitate infidelity