11

Top 10 Things Social Media

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

Discussion of ten issues companies and in house counsel should address when considering social media for business.

Citation preview

Page 1: Top 10 Things Social Media
Page 2: Top 10 Things Social Media

By Darin M. KlemchukPartner, Klemchuk Kubasta LLP

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA TO

PROTECT IP AND AVOID OTHER PROBLEMS

Page 3: Top 10 Things Social Media

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER

Social media has the capability to

dramatically increase problems by providing a much

larger, well-connected audience.

Page 4: Top 10 Things Social Media

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER

Page 5: Top 10 Things Social Media

1.) IT'S GONE IN A FLASH (OR CLICK)

— Even inadvertent statements or posts can innocently give away a company’s trade secrets.  Care must be taken to educate employees about proper use of social media and how to safeguard confidential information. Examples of this include inadvertent disclosure of product launches and other sensitive information.

2.) EMPLOYEE POSTS IN SOCIAL MEDIA MAY BE PROTECTED SPEECH

— The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that certain employee gripes, while made publicly in social media at the company's expense, are protected and therefore, are not properly the subject of employee termination. 

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER

Page 6: Top 10 Things Social Media

3. ) EMPLOYEE POSTS MAY SUBJECT THE COMPANY TO LIABILITY

— False statements made by employees or paid third parties about a company’s products and services in social media and review sites have lead to claims for deceptive trade practices and false advertising. These risks should be communicated to employees.

4.) EMPLOYEE POSTS MAY ALSO CREATE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION

— The Federal Trade Commission promulgated new regulations in December 2009 that require disclosure of any connections between an endorser and a company’s products and services.  Employees who puff or exaggerate a company’s products or services, even if completely truthful, without disclosing their employment relationship run the risk of subjecting the company to administrative action by the FTC.

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER

Page 7: Top 10 Things Social Media

5.) SOCIAL MEDIA PROVIDES A MUCH BIGGER, REAL-TIME AUDIENCE FOR YESTERDAY’S PROBLEMS

— All the issues facing companies and employee relations, from employee discrimination and harassment to embarrassing pictures and comments at the company party, may be played out in a very public arena at the speed of light. Social media policies should be implemented to address these issues. Being on the losing end of an embarrassing video that “went viral” can devastate a company’s brand.

6.) BE CAREFUL USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A RECRUITING TOOL

— The highly personal nature of social media provides potential employers ample opportunity to learn extensive personal information about employment candidates that ordinarily would not be disclosed in a resume. Companies should exercise care in using this information to avoid claims for discriminatory hiring.

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER

Page 8: Top 10 Things Social Media

7.) REGISTERING USERNAMES IS A COST-EFFECTIVE, PROTECTIVE MEASURE

— One of the best ways to prevent trademark infringement is for a company to register its name and key brands as usernames for social media sites to prevent username squatters and other infringers from controlling the usernames. Proactive registration is much less expensive than attempting to recover the username later.

8.) SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES ARE BECOMING A BEST PRACTICE

— Companies should incorporate social media policies into their employee handbook or develop policies as separate guidelines. The concerns outlined in this article are just a few of the issues that can be covered by a well drafted social media policy. Additionally, a social media policy should address who owns social media accounts, usernames, posts, and other content. Finding out later that an employee or independent contractor owns a Twitter handle and associated posts can be a painful lesson for a company.

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER

Page 9: Top 10 Things Social Media

9.) THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE

— Proactively monitoring brand and trademark usage in the social media space is often the best strategy to protect trademark rights.  Often, a company can get a third party to stop using its trademarks or brand names with a simple request or through using the intellectual property policies of social media companies. This is usually a better and less expensive route than waiting and filing litigation later.

10.) SOCIAL MEDIA ADDS ADDITIONAL LITIGATION CONSIDERATIONS

— Because social media aggregates millions of users, the public relations aspect of this should be considered before commencing litigation. The trademark infringement case between North Face and South Butt, for instance, was played out heavily in social media. Typical aggressive litigation tactics may back fire and actually lead traffic to a sympathetic defendant’s social media pages. Careful consideration should be given to these consequences before suit is filed.

TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER

Page 10: Top 10 Things Social Media

Darin Klemchuk is co-founder and managing partner of Klemchuk Kubasta LLP, a Dallas-based IP boutique law firm that offers comprehensive intellectual property legal services, including litigation and enforcement of all forms of intellectual property as well as registration and licensing of patents, trademarks, trade dress and copyrights.  To contact Mr. Klemchuk, email him at [email protected]

Page 11: Top 10 Things Social Media