Socially Aware

August 24, 2015 - topics/undefined, Discovery, Litigation
Social Media E-Discovery: Are Your Facebook Posts Discoverable in Civil Litigation?
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Judge Richard J. Walsh began his opinion in Largent v. Reed with the following question: “What if the people in your life want to use your Facebook posts against you in a civil lawsuit?” With the explosive growth of social media, judges have had
... ›
August 10, 2015 - First Amendment, Online Reviews, Litigation
Washington State Court Refuses to Unmask Anonymous Online Reviewer
By: Aaron P. Rubin
In a precedent-setting ruling, the Washington Court of Appeals in Thomson v. Doe refused to grant a motion to compel brought by a defamation plaintiff who had subpoenaed the lawyer-review site Avvo.com seeking the identity of an anonymous online reviewer, holding that, for a
... ›
June 30, 2015 - Online Promotions, Terms of Use, Labor Law, Copyright, Employment Law, Arbitration, IP, Litigation
Five Social Media Law Issues To Discuss With Your Clients
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The explosive growth of social media has clients facing legal questions that didn’t even exist a few short years ago. Helping your clients navigate this muddled legal landscape will have them clicking “like” in no time. What’s in a Like? Not long ago, the
... ›
May 20, 2015 - Status Updates, Disappearing Content, topics/undefined, Discovery, Litigation
Status Updates: Facebook Posts—Reliable Evidence?; Quora Post Costs Applicant a Job; a New Ephemeral Messaging App
Facebook: Fact or fiction? These days, courts are more and more frequently faced with disputes over whether, as part of the discovery process, a litigant should be entitled to view the opposing party’s social media posts. As we’ve discussed , some courts deciding physical
... ›
May 18, 2015 - topics/undefined, Discovery, Litigation
Effort to Hide Facebook Evidence by Deactivating Account Ends Badly for Louisiana Man
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
As social media has become ubiquitous, courts are wrestling with more discovery disputes involving social media accounts. In a recent case, Crowe v. Marquette Transportation Co. Gulf-Inland, LLC , the plaintiff deactivated his Facebook account in an effort to be able to claim that
... ›
May 13, 2015 - Trademark, Litigation
#Trademarks?: Hashtags as Trademarks
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Hashtags have become ubiquitous in social media, but their status as intellectual property—particularly as trademarks—is still developing. First adopted by Twitter users to link user posts, hashtags are character strings preceded by the “#” symbol that generate a link to all other posts containing
... ›
May 11, 2015 - Copyright, IP, Litigation
Rolling With the Punches: The Fight Over Livestreaming
By: Aaron P. Rubin
Boxing fans eagerly awaited the May 2, 2015, championship match between boxers Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. But the fight also drew the interest of those following online video apps Meerkat and Periscope. Launched at the end of February 2015, Meerkat is a
... ›
April 28, 2015 - First Amendment, Privacy, Defamation, Litigation
Court Protects Anonymity of Yelp Users
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
Virginia’s highest court recently held that Yelp could not be forced to turn over the identities of anonymous online reviewers that a Virginia carpet-cleaning owner claimed tarnished his business. In the summer of 2012, Joseph Hadeed, owner of Hadeed Carpet Cleaning, sued seven anonymous Yelp
... ›
February 05, 2015 - FTC, Cloud Computing, Infographic, Litigation, Wearable Computers
Hot Off the Press: The January-February Issue of Our Socially Aware Newsletter Is Now Available
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware , our Burton Award -winning guide to the law and business of social media, we discuss key–and often ignored–legal concerns regarding social media assets in M&A
... ›
December 16, 2014 - Internet of Things, Terms of Use, Privacy, Copyright, Infographic, Litigation
Hot Off the Press: The December Issue of Our Socially Aware Newsletter Is Now Available
By: Aaron P. Rubin
The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware , our Burton Award -winning guide to the law and business of social media, we look at several topics surrounding the proverbial online thumbs up, including
... ›