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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
How to Fight Online Defamation
Doug Bania
Internet tools are becoming more sophisticated in measuring the impact of disparaging and defamatory online statements, paving the way for affected business owners and celebrities to fight back by filing defamation suits seeking to recover damages for the harm to their reputation and brand value.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Defamation Investigations: A Big Leap in Fighting Back
Doug Bania
Internet tools are becoming more sophisticated in measuring the impact of online disparaging and defamatory statements, paving the way for affected business owners and celebrities to fight back by filing defamation suits seeking to recover damages for the harm to their reputation and brand value.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
SCOTUS Narrowly Interprets CFAA to Avoid Criminalizing ‘Commonplace Computer Activity’
Patricia Kim and Maren Messing
The Court held that only those who obtain information from particular areas of the computer which they are not authorized to access can be said to “exceed authorization,” and the statute does not — as the government had argued — cover behavior where a person accesses information which he is authorized to access but does so for improper purposes.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
Supreme Court Narrowly Interprets CFAA to Avoid Criminalizing ‘Commonplace Computer Activity’
Patricia Kim and Maren Messing
The Court held that only those who obtain information from particular areas of the computer which they are not authorized to access can be said to “exceed authorization.”
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Entertainment Law & Finance
3d Circuit Hears Case on Interaction of Publicity Rights and the CDA
P.J. D’Annunzio
Likening his client’s claim to that of an athlete with a monetizable image, an attorney representing TV reporter Karen Hepp, who is suing social media websites over misuse of her likeness, recently argued to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that the case should fit a narrow exception to a federal law that bars suits against online content providers.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Copyright and Internet Content
Jonathan Bick
Online publication impacts the duration of copyright protection among other purposes, including optimizing creative and ownership rights and the availability of statutory damages and attorney fees. Thus, it is important to determine when Internet distribution constitutes publication.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Copyright Issues In Online Content
Jonathan Bick
Publication of content online impacts the duration of copyright protection among other purposes, including optimizing creative and ownership rights and the availability of statutory damages and attorney fees. Thus, it is important to determine when Internet distribution constitutes publication.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Legal Issues and Monetization Strategies In a Quarantine-Streaming Music World, Part 2
Gwendolyn Seale
Part Two of a two-part article
While the livestreaming of music performances is not an entirely new phenomenon, the COVID crisis has transformed the live performance landscape, compelling artists from around the world to reach their fanbase by producing “quarantine streams,” in which they livestream their sets on social media platforms. Unsurprisingly many questions have arisen.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Legal Issues and Monetization Strategies In a Quarantine-Streaming Music World, Part Two
Gwendolyn Seale
Part Two of a two-part article
While the livestreaming of music performances is not an entirely new phenomenon, the COVID crisis has transformed the live performance landscape, compelling artists from around the world to reach their fanbase by producing “quarantine streams,” in which they livestream their sets on social media platforms. Given this sudden pivot to livestreaming over social media, unsurprisingly many questions have arisen.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Can Terms of Service Agreements Allow Companies to Skirt Consumer Protection Laws?
Stephen M. Kramarsky
Most users do not have the time or inclination to read through dozens of pages of legalese before reviewing the morning’s tweets, and if millions of users are agreeing to these terms, how bad can they be?
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Legal Issues and Monetization Strategies In a Quarantine-Streaming Music World
Gwendolyn Seale
Part One of a Two Part Article
While the livestreaming of music performances is not an entirely new phenomenon, the COVID crisis has transformed the live performance landscape, compelling artists from around the world to reach their fanbase by producing “quarantine streams,” in which they livestream their sets on social media platforms. Given this sudden pivot to livestreaming over social media, unsurprisingly many questions have arisen.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
EU Unveils New Online Content and Data Regulation
Krishnan Nair
Say Hello to the Digital Services Act.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
To Embed, or Not to Embed, that is the Question
Shaleen J. Patel and Mike Hobbs
Would Shakespeare Post Hamlet on Instagram in 2020?
While the sound distracting you hear from this article may well be William Shakespeare rapidly turning in his grave like the Mad Hatter Teacup Ride at Disneyworld, recent legal and procedural developments associated with the ubiquitous Instagram social media site have created significant practical and legal risks for both copyright owners and account holders that would have even vexed the Bard himself.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Legal Issues and Monetization Strategies In a Quarantine-Streaming Music World
Gwendolyn Seale
Part One of a Two Part Article
While the livestreaming of music performances is not an entirely new phenomenon, the COVID crisis has transformed the live performance landscape, compelling artists from around the world to reach their fanbase by producing “quarantine streams,” in which they livestream their sets on social media platforms. Unsurprisingly many questions have arisen.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
A Look at the EU’s Latest Proposal for Regulating Online Content
Linda A. Thompson
The DSA is intended to reset the rules around online content moderation and to reframe the responsibility of platforms for illegal content uploaded to their websites.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
To Embed, or Not to Embed, that is the Question
Shaleen J. Patel and Mike Hobbs
Would Shakespeare Post Hamlet on Instagram in 2020?
Recent legal and procedural developments associated with the ubiquitous Instagram social media site have created significant practical and legal risks for both copyright owners and account holders.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Judge’s Ruling in Epic Games/Apple App Store Battle
Entertainment consumer icon Fortnite’s pathway back to the App Store is in the hands of the video game developer, a California federal judge decided in the closely watched legal battle over the distribution of app content.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
ESports Streaming Deal Part of Law Firm Practice Aims
Patrick Smith
It’s a deal that provides a potential look into a future where esports, like traditional sports before them, provide a potentially lucrative practice area for firms that want to plant a flag in that plot.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Ticket Refund Suits Against StubHub to Get MDL Treatment
Amanda Bronstad
Online ticket reseller StubHub faces lawsuits over allegedly unrefunded event tickets in California, after a federal judicial panel ordered that similar cases from jurisdictions in multiple states be coordinated.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Facebook and Instagram Developers Sued for Privacy Violations In U.S. and UK
Alaina Lancaster
Facebook filed two separate lawsuits in the UK and U.S. that the company says is part of an ongoing effort to hold developers that abuse its platform accountable.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
What’s in a Name? Booking.com and Consumer Perception Evidence
David H. Bernstein and Jared I. Kagan
In the first case in U.S. Supreme Court history argued by telephone, the Court ruled 8-1 in favor of Booking.com, holding that it could register as a trademark its eponymous domain name BOOKING.COM.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
What’s In a Name? Booking.com and Consumer Perception Evidence
David H. Bernstein and Jared I. Kagan
In the first case in U.S. Supreme Court history argued by telephone, the Court on June 30, 2020 ruled 8-1 in favor of Booking.com holding that it could register as a trademark its eponymous domain name BOOKING.COM.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
TRO Bid in Arts Case Results in COVID-19 Rebuke from Judge
Jenna Greene
At this moment in COVID-19 time, if your case involved stopping the sale of counterfeit unicorn products on the Internet, sorry, that wouldn’t be an emergency. That was the message from U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger, in a decision denying a request for a temporary restraining order filed on behalf of Art Ask Agency, the exclusive licensee for the fantasy art of British artist Anne Stokes, who is popular among the Dungeons and Dragons crowd.
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Marketing The Law Firm
Digital Dive: New Report Reveals Opportunities for Improvement on Digital Marketing Strategy for Law Firms
Jamie Diaferia and Jennifer Johnson Scalzi
For those of us who have devoted more years in legal marketing than we’d care to admit, it’s heartening to see the field receiving the recognition it deserves. The demand for top talent has never been higher and marketing plans are getting more attention from firm management. Still, there is more work for law firms to do. That’s particularly true in digital marketing.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
IP News
Anthony H. Cataldo
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Booking.com Trademark Case
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Exploring the Nebulous Boundaries of Trade Dress
Nicole D. Galli
Now that we are in the digital age, questions have been raised about the trade dress of websites and apps.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Legal Tech: Demystifying Social Media Discovery
Todd Heffner
Social Media Escapes an Easy Definition, But You Know It When You See It
While it would be helpful to understand the technical details of collecting data from various social media platforms, what’s more important is what parts of social media might be relevant to a dispute and what that means for both the requesting and producing parties.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
EU E-Commerce Proposal Aims to Eliminate Barriers; Calls for E-Signatures and Net Neutrality
Simon Taylor
The European Union has put forth an ambitious proposal for how countries can eliminate barriers to e-commerce and protect businesses and consumers engaged in online transactions. But parts of the proposal, published as part of a World Trade Organization initiative that includes the U.S. and China, are likely to face opposition.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Social Media Influencers: Basic Tax Issues
Robert M. Jason
This article discusses the basic tax issues facing social media influencers, who have become an important element in the entertainment industry.
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Marketing The Law Firm
Are Online Reviews Threatening Your Online Reputation?
Melanie Trudeau
An attorney’s reputation may be one of the most important factors that clients consider before hiring counsel. In today’s world of online reviews, managing your reputation can be challenging. How should you manage online reviews to ensure your reputation and trustworthiness are intact?
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Photographs on the Internet: Circuit Courts Examine Copyright Infringement
Kyle-Beth Hilfer
Two recent circuit court cases clarified copyright infringement of photographs on the Internet. Both cases serve as cautionary tales for those who takes photographs for their websites from the Internet without investigating copyright rights.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Navigating the Two Sides of Amazon’s Take-Down Process
Edward Weisz and Alanna Miller
In this article, we explain how copyright, trademark and patent infringement issues unfold on Amazon by describing the process for rights holders to report infringement, and the impact of successful infringement take-down requests.
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Marketing The Law Firm
Marketing Tech: 7 Habits of Effective Online Marketers
Larry Bodine
The advantage of online marketing is that it is one-to-many, as opposed to in-person marketing which is one-to-one. By adopting the seven habits of effective online marketers, CMOs can generate more business for their law firms.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Online Extra: Europe Passes Controversial New Copyright Law
Simon Taylor
Technology Platforms Such As Google, YouTube and Facebook Had Opposed the Changes, Which Will Require Them to Compensate Publishers, Artists and Musicians
EU lawmakers have approved controversial new copyright rules that aim to make it easier for content rights-holders to make money when their content is used on digital platforms but could force large platforms such as Google, Facebook and YouTube to make changes to their operations.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
BREAKING NEWS: Europe Passes Controversial New Copyright Law
Simon Taylor
EU lawmakers have approved controversial new copyright rules that aim to make it easier for content rights-holders to make money when their content is used on digital platforms but could force large platforms such as Google, Facebook and YouTube to make changes to their operations.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
25 Years After: Campbell v. Acuff-Rose and the State of Copyright Fair-Use Controversies
Stan Soocher
On March 7, 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court decided for the first time that a parody may be a copyright fair use. In the 25 years that followed, the High Court’s unanimous 9-0 ruling in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Inc., has been cited in more than 500 court decisions. But the Supreme Court’s pronouncement left questions and controversies in its wake.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
UMG v. Grande Communications: Another Victory for the Music Industry in Its Battle to Hold ISPs Liable for Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
J. Alexander Lawrence
Since the advent of the Internet, the music industry has been in a pitched battle to combat online piracy. Initially, the industry focused on shutting down services that offered peer-to-peer or other similar platforms, such as Napster, Aimster and Grokster. For a time, the industry also focused on filing claims against individual infringers to dissuade others from engaging similar conduct. In recent years, the industry seems to have shifted focus toward Internet Service Providers.
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Business Crimes Bulletin
Sticking a Hand in the Internet Cookie Jar
Jeffrey Higel, Michael Bahar and Mike Nelson
As convenient, useful and cool mobile technology and interconnected devices are, they come with risks that remain largely unseen or, worse, ignored. Some…
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Cloudy With a Chance of IoT attacks: The Cybersecurity Forecast for 2019
Leigh-Anne Galloway
2018 was a trying year for the cybersecurity industry, with breaches increasing and showing no signs of slowing as we enter the New Year. 2019 will bring its own threats with the propagation of new technology — 5G and IoT — and their security vulnerabilities. However, there’s also progress on the horizon, thanks to more stringent government regulation and increasing legal action.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Making Sense of YouTube’s Monetization Policies
Gwendolyn Seale
This article delves into YouTube’s policies for channel monetization, explores the different streams of revenue an artist or creator may be entitled to receive for their works, and offer suggestions to indie creators and more established creators, so they can meet these new thresholds.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Risks in Online Collection of Children’s Data
Jeffrey Higel, Michael Bahar and Mike Nelson
As convenient, useful and cool mobile technology and interconnected devices are, they come with risks that remain largely unseen or, worse, ignored. Some pose security risks and privacy risk, like those present in voice-activated devices — especially for children. For manufacturers, they also pose regulatory litigation and insurance risks, especially when children end up using their “smart” products.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Bit Parts
Stan Soocher
Complaints to Amazon by TV Show Host and His Attorney Didn’t Constitute DMCA Notices
No Actual Malice by Defendants in Libel Suit over Composite Character in Film
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Sticking a Hand in the Internet Cookie Jar
Jeffrey Higel, Michael Bahar and Mike Nelson
Why Collecting Children’s Online Data is a Risk
As convenient, useful and cool mobile technology and interconnected devices are, they come with risks that remain largely unseen or, worse, ignored. For manufacturers, they also pose regulatory litigation, and insurance risks, especially when children end up using their “smart” products.
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Cybersecurity Law & Strategy
Right Out of the Box: California Enacts First-of-its-Kind Statute Regulating Internet-of-Things
Michael Bahar, Frank Nolan and Trevor Satnick
Companies Impacted By California’s SB-327 — Especially Manufacturers and Distributors of IoT Devices — Should Work to Ensure Compliance With the Act As Soon As Possible If Regulatory Fallout Is to Be Avoided Come January 2020
While a great deal of attention has focused on the California Consumer Privacy Act, California also passed a less-publicized, but highly critical, statute that will regulate certain aspects of Internet of Things device security.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
How Will the Music Modernization Act’s Mechanical Licensing Collective Work?
Chris Castle
This article focuses on managing change for clients affected by the MMA’s government-mandated mechanical licensing collective. In my view, far from putting songwriters on a trajectory away from the government regulation that has oppressed them for generations, the collective imposes an entirely new bureaucracy with potentially significant costs that are not readily apparent.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
DMCA Filmmakers Exemption Expanded
Scott Graham
Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemptions aren’t just for documentary filmmakers anymore. The U.S. Copyright Office and Library of Congress has broadened a DMCA exemption to now allow more filmmakers to circumvent anti-copying technology and rip short video clips for purposes of commentary and criticism.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
New York State’s Latest Ticket Sales Reforms
Anthony J. Dreyer and Andrew Green
The majority of these recent amendments become effective on Dec. 28, 2018. Many of these reforms appear to be in direct response to concerns expressed in 2016 by the New York Attorney General (NYAG), yet the changes do not appear to be as sweeping as the NYAG had sought.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
The ‘New NAFTA’ and How It Will Affect Intellectual Property Law
Lawrence E. Ashery
The stage is set for the 24-year-old north American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to end and the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has implications for intellectual property, to take its place.
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Entertainment Law & Finance
Issues in Using Bots to Send Takedown Notices
Ian Lopez
We asked University of Idaho College of Law Professor Annemarie Bridy, one of the forefront experts in both DMCA and automated notice sending, about out of control bots, DMCA takedowns’ potential threat to freedom of speech and more.
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The Intellectual Property Strategist
Fair Use, First Sale and Marilyn Monroe
Robert W. Clarida and Robert J. Bernstein
Recently, the Southern District of New York resolved a question that neither the Southern District nor the Second Circuit had ever squarely faced: Can the lawful owner of an art object create and post a photograph of that object in connection with the sale of the object through an online platform such as eBay, without the permission of the owner of copyright in the object?
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