Franchise Industry Must Tackle Privacy
April 28, 2006
Consumers are growing more sensitive about the privacy of their financial information, and franchisors are no different than other businesses needing to become more attentive to protecting customer data. 'Information privacy and security is one of the most fast-paced and constantly changing areas of the law today,' stated Kirk Nahra, chair, Wiley Rein & Fielding's privacy practice, in a conference call on April 20, targeted specifically to the privacy challenges that franchises face.
<b>Technology In Marketing: </b> Attorney Blogging: Best Practices
April 27, 2006
Obtaining a high search-engine ranking may no longer be enough to realize the business potential of a blog. The reason is that as the use of blogs as a marketing tool proliferates among lawyers, differences in quality between blogs covering the same topic will become evident. There are only so many blogs that prospective clients can read on a daily basis, and as the number of choices grow, readers will become more and more selective. It is therefore critical for any lawyer launching a blog to consider 'best practices' that will set his or her blog apart from the pack.
<b>Media & Communication Corner: </b>Securing Media Coverage in Key Publications
April 27, 2006
The second installation of our series exploring the inside scoop from top media outlets took us to Chicago-based InsideCounsel. The longest-running monthly magazine serving general counsel and other in-house legal professionals, Inside-Counsel is the evolution of the former Corporate Legal Times, which was launched in 1991. We spoke with executive editor Robert Vosper to discuss the magazine's success and discover how he determines what stories and issues get covered.
Trademark Protection for Characters After Copyright
March 30, 2006
As the copyright terms of many iconic, character-based works of the 20th century near closure, owners of these works face the question as to what extent they can enjoy exclusive rights in the characters they have created. Included is Disney's Mickey Mouse, first introduced in the short animated film 'Steamboat Willie' in 1928. Enterprising third parties raise the related question: Does the expiration of copyright mean these works and characters can be freely exploited? Once a copyright term lapses, an original work is said to pass into the public domain, available for all to freely copy and exploit. However, continued trademark protection for a character may delay or complicate the character's passage into the public domain. A careful analysis of fundamental principles of trademark and copyright law and relevant case law illuminate certain legal guideposts for navigating through the complexities of character protection.
<b>Media & Communications Corner</b>Securing Media Coverage in Key Publications
March 30, 2006
Over the next few months in our monthly column on media relations, Jaffe Associates' media relations team will take a closer look at several of the top publications for legal coverage. We will interview the editors and reporters who cover the news and bring you their perspective on what is important to them and the direction in which they think legal reporting is heading.<br>Our first article in the series looks at the Wall Street Journal Law Page. In January of this year, the WSJ greatly expanded its online coverage of legal issues with a new page dedicated to law-related content and launched a legal industry blog, the only one of its kind by a major daily. We sat down with <b>Ashby Jones</b>, the editor of the page, and <b>Peter Lattman</b>, a WSJ Online legal reporter and the primary writer for the blog, to learn more about the page and its content.
<b>Meyerowitz on Marketing:</b> Lawsuits Too Bad To Be True
March 30, 2006
Lawyers have long been the subject of jokes and put downs, but apocryphal anecdotes demeaning lawyers, the courts, or the legal system particularly irk Karen M. Balaban, a Harrisburg attorney and one of three chairs of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Public Relations Implementation Task Force Committee. Lawyers, she believes, 'should not allow these urban legends to proliferate' to the detriment of lawyers and judges and the public's opinion of the profession. Instead, Balaban says, lawyers, who are trained to help adjudicators find the truth, 'should be more conscious about getting at the facts of the matter.' Balaban emphasizes that faux facts make all lawyers look bad, and asserts that lawyers should investigate and then, when they discover that some stories are false, should say, 'these things are not true.'
Online Compliance Training
March 29, 2006
Online training is a mainstay of compliance training today. Companies recognize that there is no longer a good excuse for failing to train all at-risk employees on the compliance and ethics risks they face. But for some, the next decision has become, do I make my own online training, or do I use training that is available on a turnkey basis? At first there is a superficial appeal to creating your own ' I can do it myself, maybe save a few dollars, and have exactly what I want. But like many first impressions in compliance, there are more challenges here than first meet the eye. Here is a checklist of things to consider in deciding whether to make your own training or to use an existing turnkey system.
Online: Investigate Product Safety on the Web
March 29, 2006
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. It works to ensure the safety of consumer products — such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals, and claims it has contributed significantly to the 30% decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years. The site, <i>www.cpsc.gov</i>, offers information (in English and Spanish) that could help protect consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard, or can injure children.
