Social Media Marketing Legal Risks

Social Media MarketingLegal Risks

Pria Chettypria@chettylaw.co.za

Chetty Law

Mission Possible

What is Intellectual Property?

Enter Social Media

Intellectual Property Challenges

Boardroom Conversations

What is Intellectual Property?

CopyrightLiterary, Musical, Artistic Works, Films, Comp. Programmes

TrademarkLogo, Name (Brand)

Trade SecretFormula, Practice, Process,

1

Copyright Infringement

Copyright holder has the exclusive right:

To Reproduce To make adaptations based on the original

workTo broadcast

To cause the work to be transmitted in a diffusion service

To distribute copies To perform

To display the work in public

Trademark Infringement

Passing Off (what’s mine is not yours)

Unauthorised use of actual mark

Use of mark (actual or similar) in relation to similar goods or services

Identical or Confusingly Similar

Trade Secret Violation

Violation of Restraint of TradeViolation of Non Disclosure

AgreementsSolicitation of Employees

Reverse EngineeringIndustrial Espionage

Enter Social Media

Social Media Profiling

The Art of Conversation

Lloyd Salmons, first chairman of the Internet Advertising Bureau

social media council:

“Social media isn't just about big networks like Facebook and

MySpace, it's about brands having

conversations”

Where? Twitter

FacebookYouTubeLinkedin

Wordpress/bloggerFlickr How?

Linking to profiles from your contact page, or other high ranking pages on

your siteCross linking between your social media

profilesLinking to these pages in any articles or

blog posts you write

http://www.realfresh.tv/introduction-to-study-on-social-media-usage-amongst-ftse-100-companies//

Intellectual Property “Challenges”

Legal Challenges

Intellectual Property Challenges

DefamationBreach of Privacy

Interception of CommunicationsInformation Security

Reputational RisksElectronic Records

Intellectual Property

Ownership ?Licences ?

Employee? Social Media Company

Who Owns SM Accounts (Trademark) ,Content

(Copyright) & Followers (Brand & Trade Secrets)?

Employee/ Twitter/ Company?

Course and Scope of Employment?

8am-5pm?

Whose internet connection?

Company Policy

Terms of Service Binding?

Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (Legal force and

effect)

Click-wrap Agreements/ Browse Wrap Agreements

Copyright Ownership?

Reproduction rights? Exclusive licence?

Performance rights?Commercial use?

Distribution rights?Termination of account?

Trademark InfringementWho is @mycompanyname?

Twitter claims no intellectual property rights over material

Termination = removal of text & images in system

“We reserve the right to reclaim usernames on behalf of businesses or individuals that hold legal claim or trademark on those usernames.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-handel/trademark-protection-and_b_213756.html/

In theory – functional equivalent of domain name

First come, first served

"Preventing the Registration of a Username” form

"Notice of Intellectual Property Infringement (Non-Copyright

Claim)“"

Brand Risks?

Blurring of private & professional personas of employees

Posting of “inappropriate” content

Disclosures & complaints by customers

Defamatory comments about company

Anonymous defamatory comments about company

Dealing with objectionable or negative comments

http://123socialmedia.com/2009/01/23/social-media-policy-examples/

Branding work undone as Details of U.K. tax case spread by employees

42% of Pringles = potatoes, claims of sawdust etc.

Pringles is a brand with many loyal fans on SM sites, 2.8 million fans on Facebook

Trade Secret Risks?

Publication by employee of confidential information

Boardroom Conversations

Social Media Marketing Strategy

Statement on Risk Management

Evaluation of risks – each SM tool

Statement on Legal Compliance

Statement on Ethics

Statement on E- Records Management

Privacy Principles

Social Media Policy

Disclaimer: "The postings on this site are my own and don't

necessarily represent Company's positions, strategies or opinions.“

Conduct

Confidentiality

Restrictions on SM Use & Unacceptable Use

Intellectual Property RightsInterception of Communications

http://123socialmedia.com/2009/01/23/social-media-policy-examples/

Content Licensing Framework ?

The Economy of Ideas

Wikinomics

The Wealth of Networks

Legal Risks

Intellectual Property InfringementDefamation

Breach of PrivacyInformation Security

Reputational Risks

http://www.spamfighter.com/News-12389-Cybercriminals-Fabricating-Clone-Social-Networking-Sites.htm

T H A N K S ! !

P r i a C h e t t y

p r i a @ c h e t t y l a w . c o . z a0 1 1 4 6 3 6 3 6 80 8 3 3 8 4 4 5 4 3

w w w . c h e t t y l a w . c o . z a

www.chettylaw.co.za