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Social Media: Protecting YourBrand and Other LegalConsiderations
Kathryn L. Ossian
The Social Media Buzz
You’ve heard about all the greatbenefits of using Social Media:
Facebook Facebook®
Corporate Blogging
So, what can go wrong?
Brand hijacking and impersonation
Who’s speaking on behalf of yourorganization?
Defamation and unfair competition
Respecting copyrights
Social media structures to address theseconcerns
**Conspicuous Disclaimer: This is
not an exhaustive list**
Has Your Brand Been Hijacked?
All Social Media sites have a username requirement
Some also allow personalized urls:
www.facebook.com/macomb-ouinc
www.twitter.com/millercanfield
www.facebook.com/mac-ouinc
www.twitter.com/millercanfield
Has Your Brand Been Hijacked?
Innocent or intended to cause harm?
Either way, prevents brand owner fromusing the name
2009 Twitter was described as “The WildWest”
Examples: Tony LaRussa v Twitter
Oneok, Inc. v Twitter
Carl Levin’s Twitter impersonator
Hijacking Example
“Acme Chili”
Acme Chili Facebook Page
Set up as a business page
Photos of products taken fromcorporate website
Posts praising products
Also some misinformation beingposted; questions not being answered
Acme Chili’s Options for HijackingExample
Email Facebook and have the pagetaken down
Monitor the page; correct andenhance
Discover identity of PageAdministrator and contact him orher
A long road leading to the ultimateconclusion
New California law
Malicious Online Impersonation Law S.B. 1411, effective January 1, 2011
Addresses misuse of social networkingsites
Misdemeanor to knowingly and withoutconsent impersonate another personthrough a website or other electronicmeans with the intent to harm,intimidate, threaten or defraud someone
Sites to Police User Names
Do a Google search for “user namecheck”
Several sites will come up
A few examples will follow – who’susing:
Pepsi
Nike
Pepsi Example
Pepsi’s Official Facebook Page
Not Pepsi on LinkedIn
How about Nike?
Nike’s Official YouTube Page
Nike on Twitter?
Results may vary . . .
Other Steps You Can Take
Utilize social network’s “take down”policies and practices
More formal remedies:
Lawsuit
Injunction
Damages
Who’s Speaking on yourOrganization’s Behalf?
Marketing? Sales? Management?Individual employees? Outsidefirm?
Authorization and using disclaimers
Who’s vetting?
What other policies are impacted?
Remember the SEC disclosure rules
eBay example – 2009 –
Defamation & Unfair Competition
Where is the line and how do youknow if you’ve crossed it?
On the flip side, what are yourcompetitors saying about you and isit crossing the line?
The challenges of online defamation
FTC endorsement guidance
Ann Taylor example
Respecting Copyrights
Don’t use others’ materials withoutpermission
Getty Images example
Ideal Diamond Solutions example
Permission may be expresslygranted
A link is a safe bet
Social Media Policies & Process
Policy is important but only onepiece of a Social Media Process:
Examples from Intel and IBM:http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/legal/intel-social-media-guidelines.html
http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html
Social Media Policies & Process
Structure is key Involve Marketing, Legal, Others to
achieve desired use without crossinglegal boundaries
Review and harmonize with otherrelevant policies (confidentiality,external communications, copyright)
Make sure policy is capable ofmonitoring and enforcement
Implement, train, monitor and update
What we did NOT address
Who’s controlling your content andwhat are they doing with it?
Use of social media in criminalcases
Labor and employmentconsiderations
Litigation matters – use by parties,lawyers, judges, jurors
Thank You – Questions?
Kathryn L. Ossian
