Blog Wars: The Changing Legal

Landscape for Bloggers

Legal Background •  Founder of the Internet Law Center

in Santa Monica, California •  Past Co-Chair California Bar Cyberspace

Committee •  Part of US Delegation of Internet Experts

to meet with Leading Chinese “Netizens” •  Part of US Delegation for US-China Legal

Exchange on E-Commerce

New Media Background •  Host of Cyber Law and Business Report

on WebmasterRadio.fm •  Publisher of Cyber Report Newsletter •  Award-Winning Political Blogger

“I wouldn’t be so paranoid if everyone weren’t out to get me.”

Michael McDougal – “The Paper” (1994)

Ron Howard - Director / David & Stephen Koepp - Writers

OVERVIEW

Copyright Basics COPYRIGHT  CLAUSE  

To  promote  the  Progress  of  Science  and  useful  Arts,  by  securing  for  limited  Times  to  Authors  and  Inventors  the  exclusive  Right  to  their  respec>ve  Wri>ngs  and  

Discoveries  

FIRST  AMENDMENT  Congress  shall  make  no  law  .  .  .  abridging  

the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  

press    

FAIR  USE  DOCTRINE.  .  .  .  [T]he  fair  use  of  a  

copyrighted  work  .  .  .  for  purposes  such  as  cri>cism,  comment,  news  repor>ng,  teaching  (including  mul>ple  copies  for  classroom  use),  scholarship,  or  research,  is  not  an  infringement  of  

copyright.        

Fair Use Factors Copyright  Act  

•  the  purpose  and  character  of  the  use,  including  whether  such  use  is  of  a  commercial  nature  or  is  for  nonprofit  educa>onal  purposes  

•  the  nature  of  the  copyrighted  work;  

•  the  amount  and  substanKality  of  the  porKon  used  in  rela>on  to  the  copyrighted  work  as  a  whole;  and  

•  the  effect  of  the  use  upon  the  potenKal  market  for  or  value  of  the  copyrighted  work.  

COPYRIGHT  TERM  Founders:  14  years  

Today:  Life  +  70  years  

08  

AP’s Excerpt

for Web Use Fee Schedule

08  

10  

10-­‐11  

Stevens Media Declares War •  Copyright  The]:  We’re  not  taking  it  anymore”  –  “It  is  our  primary  hope  that  Righthaven  will  stop  people  from  stealing  our  stuff.”  

•  Media  News  Group  Joins    –  Combined  total  of  20  major  daily  newspapers  

•  Righthaven  –  276  Lawsuits  –  $352,500  in  seilements  

08  

10  

10-­‐11  

“Meltwater  News  is  a  parasi>c  distribu>on  service  that  competes  directly  with  tradi>onal  news  sources  without  paying  license  fees  to  cover  the  costs  of  crea>ng  those  stories.  It  has  a  significant  nega>ve  impact  on  the  ability  of  AP  to  con>nue  providing  the  high-­‐quality  news  reports  on  which  the  public  relies.”    

AP v. Meltwater

Newton’s Law •  2008    

AP  Boycoi  and  Retreat      

•  2010    Righthaven  Recovers  $352,500  in  Seilements    BUT  .  .  .  Sanc>ons  and  Aiorneys’  Fees  Awards  Force  Righthaven  in  Bankruptcy    Unfavorable  Fair  Use  Rulings  permilng  reprint  of  en>re  ar>cle  where  Righthaven  failed  to  present  evidence  of  market  harm  from  publica>on  by  a  remote  blog  

 •  2012  

Meltwater  Contends  AP  Abusing  Copyright  Laws  and  is  barred  from  recovery  under    doctrine  of  copyright  misuse    

Fair Use /Open Licensing Resources

NEW MEDIA RIGHTS A CITIZEN'S LEGAL GUIDE TO FAIR USE IN COPYRIGHT LAW LINK

CREATIVE COMMONS Link

ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION LEGAL GUIDE FOR BLOGGERS LINK

AMERICAN UNIV. CENTER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA CODE OF PRACTICES IN FAIR USE FOR ONLINE VIDEO LINK CODE OF BEST PRACTICES IN FAIR USE FOR POETRY LINK

KONOMARK Link

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Link

THE FEDS PART  2  

FTC Endorsement Guidelines

Video  Clip  

The Endorsement Guidelines •  §  255.5  Disclosure  of  material  connec>ons.    •  When  there  exists  a  connec>on  between  the  endorser  and  the  seller  of  the  adver>sed  product  that  might  materially  affect  the  weight  or  credibility  of  the  endorsement  (i.e.,  the  connec>on  is  not  reasonably  expected  by  the  audience),  such  connec>on  must  be  fully  disclosed.    

Example  7:  Blogger  Receives  Free  Sample  •  Readers  are  unlikely  to  know  that  he  has  received  the  video  game  system  free  of  charge  in  exchange  for  his  review  of  the  product,  and  given  the  value  of  the  video  game  system,  this  fact  likely  would  materially  affect  the  credibility  they  aiach  to  his  endorsement.  Accordingly,  the  blogger  should  clearly  and  conspicuously  disclose  that  he  received  the  gaming  system  free  of  charge.  The  manufacturer  should  advise  him  at  the  >me  it  provides  the  gaming  system  that  this  connec>on  should  be  disclosed,  and  it  should  have  procedures  in  place  to  try  to  monitor  his  pos>ngs  for  compliance.    

Lo]y  and  Legal?  

Similar  factors  for  HP/Inkology    (1)  Small  number  of  posts;  (2)  A  few  bloggers  complied;  (3)  Wriien  guidelines  that  “adequately  

address  our  concerns”  (4)  “The  FTC  staff  expects  that  

HP  .  .  .  will  take  reasonable  steps  to  monitor  bloggers’  compliance  with  the  obliga>on  to  disclose  gi]s  they  receive.”  

FTC No Action Letter

Updating DotCom Disclosures

May  2000  –  FTC  Issues  DotCom  Disclosure  Guidelines    May  2012:    FTC  holds  workshop  on  upda>ng  Gidelines  to  address  social  media  ads  (see  below).    FTC  Response  expected  soon  

WOMMA Standard •  Microblogs  •  Include  a  hash  tag  nota>on,  either:  •  #spon  (sponsored)  •  #paid  (paid)  •  #samp  (sample)  •  Addi>onally,  WOMMA  strongly  recommends  

pos>ng  a  link  on  your  profile  page  direc>ng  people  to  a  full  “Disclosure  and  Rela>onships  Statement.”  This  statement,  much  like  the  one  WOMMA  recommends  for  review  blogs,  should  state  how  you  work  with  companies  in  accep>ng  and  reviewing  products,  and  lis>ng  any  conflicts  of  interest  that  may  affect  the  credibility  of  your  sponsored  or  paid  reviews.  

PRIVATE DANGER

PART  3  

Bloggers Can Be Easy Targets for Revenge

LITIGATION  RISK  

CYBER  HARASSMENT  

CRIMINAL  RISKS  

Being Careful

Li>ga>on  

•  Links  can  mi>gate  defama>on  risk  •  Insurance  •  An>-­‐SLAPP  

Harassment  

•  Be  Careful  About  Merging  Your  Blog  and  Personal  Informa>on  •  Call  Authori>es  if  risk  of  harm  •  Civil  Remedies  

Criminal  

•  15  States  Have  Criminal  Defama>on  Laws  •  Inten>onal  Copyright  Infringement  can  be  criminal  

Criminal Defamation Today

Red  –  States  with  criminal  defama>on  laws  and  prosecu>ons  Yellow  –  States  with  law  on  books  but  no  recent  prosecu>ons  

Colorado  Law  Repealed  2012  

PUBLICDANGER

PART  4  

Truth Can Be Dangerous •  2012  was  one  of  deadliest  years  for  journalists  –  133  journalists  killed  

•  Lesson  taken  by  “Arab  Spring”  is  to  suppress  the  internet  

•  Bloggers  killed  in  several  countries,  including  Mexico  

THANK YOU! Bennet Kelley Internet Law Center 100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 950 Santa Monica, CA 90401 www.internetlawcenter.net @InternetLawCent Listen to Cyber Law and Business Report Wednesdays at 10AM PT on WebmasterRadio.fm