Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

The Intellectual Property StrategistKickerSectionsNewsLJN Newsletters

Ten Issues to Consider in Launching a Social Media Presence

By Kyle-Beth Hilfer
May 27, 2010

As companies focus on building their brands through social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, they are becoming increasingly aware that
content may be proprietary, and intellectual property laws still apply. Due to the viral nature of social media, however, mistakes happen quickly and are often difficult to correct. It is impossible for a brand owner to monitor every social networking site or blog to police online chatter about the brand. Instead, the prudent business will try to initiate and influence the conversation by launching its own social media applications, while paying attention to intellectual property concepts. While the law has not caught up to the technology in this fast-paced area of marketing, certain intellectual property and advertising issues have emerged in the forefront of social media law. This article provides a brief look at 10 of these issues.

1) Trademark Highjacking in social media is a priority concern. The social media sites do little to prevent users from adopting usernames that incorporate third-party trademarks, thus misdirecting traffic and creating confusion in the marketplace. While Twitter threatens suspension of accounts that manifest a clear intent to mislead others and Facebook has a registration process for trademarks and a reporting option for infringement, there is little consistency in enforcement. Will the social media sites police similar trademark usages or trademarks that are not registered with the USPTO? What about foreign registrations? At this point, the trademark owner bears the responsibility of monitoring the marketplace and cannot rely on the social media Web site to do so, particularly because of the safe harbor defense that is available in most instances for social media Web sites.

This premium content is locked for LJN Newsletters subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.