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Facebook, Twitter and the Next
Generation of Social Media:
Opportunities and Risks for
Your Business
July 13, 2010
John "Rocky" Rawls, Partner
Valyncia Simmons, Associate
Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP
Vocabulary
 Internet
 Email
 Text Messages
 Blog
 Search Engine
Social Networks 101
 Definition
 Advantages
 Building connections with others
 User friendly
 Potentially, publicly available
 Typically free to users
Focused Marketing for Businesses
 Builds "Self Executing" List of Interested
Consumers
 Additional Demographic Data Permits
Tightly Targeted Advertising
Examples of Social Networking Sites
 Classmates.com
 Match.com
 LinkedIn.com
 Facebook.com
 Myspace.com
 Twitter.com
Unique Problems for IP Owners
 User-generated content
 Relative anonymity of users
 Volume of users
 Intersecting technology
Major Legal Issues
 Trademark Infringement and/or Dilution
 False Advertising
 Copyright Infringement
 Misappropriation of Name and/or Likeness
 Defamation
 Spam
Trademarks and False Advertising
 Trademark: Word, logo, slogan, tagline
etc…that identifies source
 Infringement: Use of same or similar mark
in a manner that creates a likelihood of
confusion
 Dilution: Limited to "famous" marks. No
likelihood of confusion required.
 False Advertising: Ad is likely to confuse
or deceive consumers. No trademark use.
Trademarks and Social Networks
 "Love" and "Hate" Pages
 Usernames that incorporate trademarks
 http://twitter.com/CocaCola
 False Affiliation
 Traditional Infringement/Counterfeiting
Copyright Law Generally
 Protects Expression of Ideas
 Examples:
 Photographs
 Motion pictures
 Sound recordings
 Books
 Paintings
Copyright Infringement
 Ownership of copyrightable subject matter
 Violation of Exclusive Rights
 Examples:
 Copying
 Distribution
Copyright and Social Networks
 Video Games - Miller v. Facebook, Inc., 2010 WL 2198204
(N.D. Cal. 2010)
 Music - Henley v. DeVore, 2010 WL 2533388 (C.D. Cal. 2010)
 Photographs - Agence France-Presse v. Morel, case No.
10-civ-2730 (S.D.N.Y.) (March 26, 2010)
Misappropriation of Name and
Likeness
 State Law
 Commercial use of another's name,
likeness or other attributes of personality
prohibited
 No confusion required
Defamation
 State law
 False statements to third party
 Malicious intent sometimes required
 Harm to Reputation
Spam
Federal and State law
Prohibit unsolicited messages
Emails
Text messages
Who is Liable?
 Varies depending on law
 Contributory Infringement
 Vicarious Liability
Contributory Infringement
 Direct Infringement
 "Knowledge of infringing activity"
 "Induced, caused or materially contributed to the
infringing conduct of another"
 Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences v.
Network Solutions, Inc., 989 F.Supp. 1276,
1279 (C.D. Cal. 1997)
Vicarious Liability
 Direct Infringement
 Profiting from such direct infringement
 "Declining to exercise a right to stop or limit" the
direct infringement.
 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v.
Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 930 (U.S. 2005)
Copyright and the DMCA
 Takedown Notice
 Identify Material
 Ownership
 Good faith belief of infringement
 Misrepresentations
 Viacom Int'l, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc., 2010 WL
2532404 (SDNY 2010).
Twitter's Trademark Policy
 Twitter's Trademark Policy provides that "[u]sing a company or
business name, logo or other trademark-protected materials in a
manner that may mislead or confuse others or be used for
financial gain may be considered a trademark policy violation.
Accounts with clear intent to mislead others will be suspended;
even if there is not an explicit trademark policy violation; attempts
to mislead others may result in suspension."
http://help.twitter.com/entries/18367-trademark-policy (last
accessed July 6, 2010)
Other Twitter Policies
Name Squatting Policy
 "Attempts to sell, buy, or solicit other forms of payment in
exchange for usernames…may result in permanent account
suspension." (http://help.twitter.com/entries/18370-namesquatting-policy) (last accessed July 6, 2010)
Copyright and DMCA Policy
 Copyright owners may issue a complaint with Twitter and
demand that copyrighted material be taken down.
(http://help.twitter.com/entries/15795-copyright-and-dmca-policy)
(last accessed July 6, 2010)
Facebook's IP Policy
 Facebook states that once a complaint is made, "[s]o long as
everything appears to be in order, we will promptly remove or
disable access to the content. We will also notify the user and, if
requested, provide your report to the user. We will terminate repeat
infringers when appropriate."
(http://www.facebook.com/legal/copyright.php) (last accessed July
6, 2010).
Best Practices - Offensive
 Proactive Acquisition of Usernames
 Use of Social Network Programs
 Review of Competitor Advertisements and
Understanding Social Network Advertising
Practices (Keyword Advertising)
 Use of Social Network Watch Services
Best Practices - Defensive
 Compliance for Your Business
 Takedown Notices
 Demand Letters
 Litigation
 Social Network Policies
Best Practices – Advantages of
Using Social Network Policies
 Expeditious
 Budget Friendly
 Eliminates Identification Problem
 Builds Enforcement Record
Facebook, Twitter and the Next Generation
of Social Media: Opportunities and Risks
for Your Business
July 13, 2010
 John "Rocky" Rawls, Partner
([email protected])
 Valyncia Simmons, Associate
([email protected])