Tag archives: Instagram

How Animal Influencers Are Changing the Way Brands Advertise

By Chandler Stephens (US) on August 2, 2017 Posted in General

At this point you are probably familiar with the world of social media influencers. You might follow several on Instagram, or maybe your company partners with them to promote its products. But have you realized that the most valuable influencers may not even be human? This post will focus on animal influencers – they are … Continue reading

FTC, Instagram Posts, and Endorsement Guides

By Susan Ross (US) on May 25, 2017 Posted in General

On May 4, 2017, the public received access to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) advisory letters to approximately 45 companies and 45 celebrities/bloggers relating to potential “endorsements” on Instagram. As a result, we now have some additional guidance on the FTC’s expectations with respect to its Endorsement Guides.… Continue reading

That’s My Mark! Enforcing Trademark Rights on Social Media

By Andrea Shannon (US) on September 6, 2016 Posted in Trademark

It is no doubt surprising and frustrating for brand owners when they find that someone has appropriated their trademarks on social media. A few of the common scenarios include: small competitors modifying logos and passing them off as their own; unauthorized distributors using logos and trademarks on their social media advertising; and social media users … Continue reading

Making Us Safer, through Brand Protection

By Susan Ross (US) on July 5, 2016 Posted in Security

What does brand protection have to do with cybersecurity? A study earlier this year demonstrates the connection.… Continue reading

Recent changes to advertising on social media platforms

By Karen Sie (CA) on July 1, 2016 Posted in General

With millions of people walking around with their heads down on their phones, it’s no surprise that mobile advertising on social media platforms has experienced significant growth in the past 12 months. Social media platforms have been continuing to develop ad capabilities to maximize offerings for brands and growth in the social media marketing space … Continue reading

Rise of the social media bots

By Mayura Noordyke (US) on May 4, 2016 Posted in Fraud, General

As we discussed in a recent post, “Social media overload”, social media has grown exponentially over the past decade and has caused businesses to change how they operate and how they make decisions. Social media has quickly become one of the most important marketing platforms, providing a convenient way for companies to reach broad audiences.… Continue reading

Social media overload

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on April 19, 2016 Posted in Defamation, General, Social media policies

The explosion of social media in the past decade has caused a major shift in the way we conduct our affairs. In particular, businesses have been required to adapt to new ways of communicating with their clients. At a rate of thousands of social media applications surfacing each month, and new legal issues surrounding the … Continue reading

Social Media Stars and Defamation

By James Leito on March 31, 2016 Posted in Defamation

This blog recently discussed regular people who have become internet sensations through the use of social media. Chiara Ferragni, for example, started a fashion blog in 2009. She is now a multimillionaire with approximately 5,000,000 Instagram followers. Tay Zonday posted his song “Chocolate Rain” on YouTube in 2007, which led to numerous appearances on daytime … Continue reading

Social media stars and IP empires

By Maya Medeiros on March 14, 2016 Posted in Copyright, General, Social media policies

Social media platforms enable users to profit from their brand and original works such as photos, videos, articles and various “mash ups”. Their brand and content may be protected by trademarks and copyrights and users may generate thousands of postings to build an extensive intellectual property portfolio. A user may develop a popular brand for … Continue reading

A two pronged prescription: The FDA releases new social media guidelines

By Jay Greathouse (US) on July 16, 2014 Posted in Social media policies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) released two new sets of guidance regarding the use of social media to disseminate information about prescription drugs and medical devices. This guidance supplements years of FDA warning letters and untitled letters sent to manufacturers, packers or distributors in regulated industries (each a “Regulated Entity”). We have previously discussed … Continue reading

A picture can be worth a thousand links

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on June 18, 2014 Posted in Copyright, Employment and labor, Privacy, Social media policies

From giant billboards on the highway to tiny pictures that can go viral within seconds, the use of social media sites like Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr has revolutionized the advertising industry. Companies can now reach their target audiences more quickly and more effectively by taking advantage of instantaneous posting of pictures and blogs. The use … Continue reading

Do you “like” it?

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on May 5, 2014 Posted in Security, Social media policies

From clicking “like” on Facebook to the +1 button on Google+ to the “Follow” or “Retweet” buttons on Twitter, the use of endorsements in social media has exploded since 2009. “Like” buttons and retweeting are growing trends in social media. While the use of third-party endorsement type functionality in social media has obvious benefits in … Continue reading

IP enforcement via takedown notices

By on February 11, 2014 Posted in Trademark

According to a January 22, 2014 ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, an incorrectly-chosen takedown notice may constitute a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). CrossFit and its DMCA takedown notice In Crossfit, Inc. v. Alvies, plaintiff CrossFit, Inc. brought a trademark infringement action against Jenni Alvies … Continue reading

Social media part 3: leveraging social media data analytics to improve M&A

By Sara Josselyn on November 8, 2013 Posted in General

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+,Tumblr, Slideshare… The catalogue of popular social networking sites continues to grow as more and more consumers – both individual and corporate – sign-up by the millions. But how can social media be used to bolster M&A? In addition to the fairly obvious answer that social media can be … Continue reading

Social media part 2: the proof is in the data analytics

By Sara Josselyn on November 7, 2013 Posted in General

Part 1 of our series on social media looked at how new technologies have started infiltrating the M&A landscape. But the question we aim to answer here is: to what end? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal considered just that, noting that new technologies – and specifically data analytic technologies – can be used at various stages throughout the … Continue reading

Social media part 1: how technology is changing M&A

By Sara Josselyn on November 6, 2013 Posted in General

Earlier this year, the MIT Sloan Management Review published a research report summarizing the findings of its global executive study on social business. The study canvassed 2,545 respondents from 25 industries and 99 countries, all of whom were involved in corporate development decisions at their respective organizations. The aim of the study was to determine how new technologies have … Continue reading

Corporate Governance: Cyber Security Issues (Part II)

By Jay Greathouse (US) on September 6, 2013 Posted in Security, Social media policies

There are three distinct aspects of cyber-security that should be addressed by directors: prevention, detection and, if a company is publicly traded, disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Part I of our posting addressed prevention and detection matters. This Part II addresses disclosures and some questions to consider. Disclosure Public disclosure of a security … Continue reading

Corporate Governance: Cyber Security Issues (Part I)

By Jay Greathouse (US) on September 4, 2013 Posted in Security, Social media policies

The use of cloud computing, mobile devices and social media add significant corporate risks beyond the traditional security risks arising from networks, databases and e-mail. A cyber security breach can cause serious operational disruptions, create financial costs and damage a company’s brand and reputation. As part of risk management, a company’s board of directors should … Continue reading

Social media companies adopt alternative patent models

By Maya Medeiros on August 16, 2013 Posted in Patent, Social media policies

Social media companies are increasingly involved in patent lawsuits and frustration is setting in. Hoping to inspire change within the industry, a number of companies have adopted alternative patent policies. While these alternative models are based on the social good of sharing innovation with a promise to use patents only as a defensive shield and … Continue reading

Shared Social Media Accounts

By James Leito on August 15, 2013 Posted in Employment and labor

A court in the Eastern District of Texas recently held that two companies were “integrated employers” under the Family Medical Leave Act, in part, because the two companies shared a Facebook page. Dooling v. Bank of the West, No. 4:11-cv-00576 (E.D. Tex. July 17, 2013) (Bush, Mag. J.). This conclusion allowed the plaintiff to establish her … Continue reading

The Rise of the #Hashtag

By Daniel Daniele (CA) on July 17, 2013 Posted in Defamation, Trademark

Every day, hundreds of millions of people use social media to share their thoughts about everything that is happening around them. The most popular social media sites do not have simple ways to search for and organize content, so users turned to the hashtag to solve the problem. Hashtags are words or phrases prefixed with the … Continue reading

Copyright Safe Harbor for Third-Party Content

By Seth Jaffe (US) on July 16, 2013 Posted in Copyright

Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides a safe harbor for online service providers that allow users to self-post content. For companies with Web 2.0 enabled sites, 17 U.S.C. § 512(c) limits liability “for infringement of copyright by reason of the storage at the direction of a user.” But this safe harbor … Continue reading

Social Media Service, Minors, and Photos

By Susan Ross (US) on July 12, 2013 Posted in COPPA, Privacy, Security

On July 10, 2013, U.S. Representative John Duncan (R-Tenn.) and co-sponsor Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) introduced H.R. 2645, the “Forbidding Advertisement Through Child Exploitation Act of 2013.” The stated purpose of this short bill is to “prohibit providers of social media services from using self-images uploaded by minors for commercial purposes.” Under the bill, a “social … Continue reading