'Dear Abby' Law Firm Blogs a No-No, Carrier Says
May 30, 2007
One of the largest carriers of lawyers' professional liability insurance has set out guidelines for law firms that want to get into the business of blogging, without hurting their insurability.
Consumer-Generated Content Is Hot
May 30, 2007
Over the past year, a growing number of companies have begun to sponsor promotions involving consumer-generated content. These types of promotions offer many advantages for marketers. If a promotion is executed well, it could generate publicity for a relatively small investment. Consumers are also likely to spend more time on a company's Web site watching videos and learning about the company's products than they would otherwise. Moreover, a company may end up with a great commercial at a fraction of the price they would have had to pay an agency to develop it. Along with these advantages come a number of legal challenges.
Courts Grapple with Computer Searches
May 30, 2007
With a growing number of criminal cases depending on forensic searches of computers, the direction courts ultimately take is likely to affect a wide array of cases, ranging from hacking and piracy to murder investigations.
Whistleblowing with a French Twist
May 29, 2007
Last month, we discussed the fact that whistleblowing in France is a rather unwelcome legal obligation. France's total opposition to whistleblowing has softened over time and has been accompanied by a greater understanding and appreciation of its implications. Nevertheless, strong pervasive principles of French law continue to govern this domain. We referred our readers to a recent report on Whistleblowing and Ethical Charters, which was commissioned by the French Minister of State for Employment and Professional Insertion. The Antonmatt'i-Vivien report was aimed at encouraging the analysis and clarification of this grey area of French law. We continue this month with a look at how whistleblowing is implemented in France.
Involuntary Petitions Under BAPCPA
May 29, 2007
Last month, tha authors noted that on Oct. 17, 2005, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 ('BAPCPA') was implemented without the collapse of the bankruptcy world as we knew it. They discussed the 'changes' to ' 303, and several key cases. This article continues the discussion.
Internet Expands Trademark Infringement
May 25, 2007
It should strike no one as a surprise that the fluidity of using trademarks on the Internet expands the incidence of trademark-infringement claims and lawsuits. And along those lines, novel Internet trademark claims spring from the innovative but unlawful use of trademarks in e-commerce. Logically, then, it follows that Internet domain names, hyperlinks, meta tags and framing marks enlarge the number of trademark-infringement opportunities.
When the CEO Wants His 'Hotmail'
May 25, 2007
Not only do most of us not have a secretary tidying up our e-mail inbox each evening, but we also have many alternative inboxes for our business correspondence. Going through 'the file' has become an exercise not only in finding the appropriate messages and attachments, but in simply identifying all places and accounts where 'the file' might exist. Indeed, multiple accounts often are created by employees to bypass the hassles of security measures and record-retention policies diligently created by IT departments who often diligently enforce these polices and whose employees read and apply the information in publications like this one. Yet the rabbit-like multiplication of e-mail accounts has grave implications, not only for business, but, as we have seen in recent news, for anyone who uses e-mail ' including even our government leaders.
On the Razr's Edge: Mobile Marketing
May 25, 2007
Mobile marketing offers the best in advertising ' a direct, personal, measurable and dynamic means of engaging, informing, and entertaining consumers. But this mobile advertising frontier is hardly the Wild West. Plenty of federal and state laws regulate this direct-marketing vehicle. More than that, various industry groups ' most notably the Mobile Marketing Association ('MMA') ' have developed best practices designed to maximize advertising impact while minimizing potential legal entanglements.
