Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. Here at Morrison Foerster, across all of our practice groups, we are seeing complex, cutting-edge legal issues arising out of social media. As with the Internet boom during the mid-to-late 1990s, social media is generating new legal questions at a far faster pace than the law’s ability to provide answers to such questions. In an effort to stay on top of these emerging issues, and to keep our clients and friends informed of new developments, Morrison Foerster publishes this blog devoted to the law and business of social media.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Aaron is the chair of the firm’s Technology Transactions Group and co-chair of the Interactive + Digital Media Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals.Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data- and technology-intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud-based technology, digital media (social media, AR/VR, gaming, streaming media, AdTech), AI, healthcare, consumer electronics, e-commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on branding and marketing, trademark licensing, and content-related transactions, as well as the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin-offs, and private equity investments.He has represented clients such as Autodesk, Meta, OpenAI, Splunk, Konami, Kaiser Permanente, SoftBank, Visa, and Yahoo, among others.Aaron has been recognized by numerous publications for his work on market-defining technology transactions. He is currently ranked by Chambers USA for “Technology Transactions.”Aaron also serves as co-editor of Socially Aware, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics. Aaron is also a sought-after speaker on new and emerging areas of law, and is a frequent presenter and panelist at conferences and legal services programs. In addition to his active practice, Aaron regularly provides pro bono assistance to various nonprofit and charitable organizations such as Common Sense Media and the Starlight Children’s Foundation. He is a member of the board of directors of California Lawyers for the Arts.While in law school at the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Aaron served as executive editor of the California Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following law school, Aaron served as law clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick and the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, both United States District Judges for the Northern District of California.

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Aaron is the chair of our Technology Transactions Group. He advises clients on a wide range of complex transactions involving intellectual property and technology, including structuring and negotiating strategic licensing, development, collaboration, procurement, and distribution deals. Aaron’s practice focuses on advising both established and emerging companies in a variety of data– and technology–intensive sectors, including software, SaaS, cloud computing, AR/VR, AI, gaming, healthcare, consumer electronics, social media, e–commerce, other online business models, and mobile applications. He also maintains an active practice counseling companies on the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, asset spin–offs, and private equity investments.

Aaron P. Rubin

Lawrence Gallick is of counsel in the firm’s Austin office and a member of the Technology Transactions Group.Lawrence focuses his practice on technology transactions and licensing matters. His diverse experience includes advising on SaaS agreements, cross-licensing agreements, research and collaboration agreements, development agreements, and distribution agreements. He counsels a broad range of companies across the software, hardware, life sciences, biotech and FinTech spaces, as well as other entities including universities.He advises clients in connection with general corporate matters including contract negotiations, and leasing and technology placement agreements.Lawrence also serves as co-editor of <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/" target="_blank">Socially Aware</a>, the firm’s award-winning newsletter and blog devoted to the law and business of social media, and regularly publishes on various IP and technology-related topics.Prior to joining the firm, Lawrence was counsel at another major law firm. Before earning his law degree, Lawrence was a web consultant, project manager, and web developer in Portland, Oregon, where he managed and consulted on projects using industry methodologies and performed custom development and integration of content management systems.Lawrence was named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2015 and 2018–2022, and is licensed in both California and New York. Lawrence earned his J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he was the electronic systems editor for the Buffalo Law Review and awarded the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Intellectual Property Law.

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Lawrence Gallick

Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster.Anthony advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. He regularly advises companies on the IP aspects of their M&A transactions. His clients include technology, digital media and content for television and music, financial services, and communications companies with diverse intellectual property assets and issues.His practice focuses on the legal aspects of developing, licensing, and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts, including outsourcing transactions, as well as content and data licenses. He regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to licensing and commercialization of digital media and content, digital content that is distributed over the Internet or streamed, mobile applications and social media, as well as the licensing of recorded music for distribution via digital platforms. Anthony is also experienced with issues relating to open-source software, software development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based technology, and protection of proprietary information.Anthony has extensive experience working on matters involving disruptive technologies, such as blockchain. He has helped fintech clients with general intellectual property issues in connection with terms of service for online financial products and services.Anthony is an integral part of the outside pro bono legal team for nonprofit organizations based in New York, including advising clients on legal issues regarding entertainment, social media, privacy rights, and the negotiation of outsourcing and service agreements. Anthony received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2009. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 2004.

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Anthony Ramirez is a partner in the Technology Transactions Group in the New York office of Morrison Foerster. He advises clients on general commercial and transactional matters. His clients include technology, media, and communications companies with considerable intellectual property assets. His practice focuses on the legal aspects of licensing and commercializing technology and intellectual property, as well as negotiating general commercial contracts. He also regularly assists clients with legal issues relating to mobile applications and social media.

Anthony M. Ramirez

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Socially Aware is devoted to the law and business of social media, proactively addressing emerging issues and keeping our clients informed of new developments. We cover fields such as artificial intelligence, privacy and data security, Section 230, intellectual property, and much more.

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Last year, this blog raised concerns regarding the TCCWNA, its growing popularity with plaintiffs’ lawyers and the implications for online retailers. At a high 

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E-tailers Rejoice as Decisions Limit Suits in Federal Court for Alleged Violations of N.J.’s Controversial Consumer Protection Law

E-tailers Rejoice as Decisions Limit Suits in Federal Court for Alleged Violations of N.J.’s Controversial Consumer Protection Law | Socially Aware

Last year, this blog raised concerns regarding the TCCWNA, its growing popularity with plaintiffs’ lawyers and the implications for online retailers. At a high level, the TCCWNA is a New Jersey consumer protection law that focuses on contractual terms (including online terms of service) governing transactions between sellers/service providers and New Jersey consumers. It prohibits sellers/service providers from including certain common provisions in their contracts with New Jersey consumers, and provides aggrieved New Jersey consumers with the right to recover from the seller/service provider a civil penalty of not less than $100 per violation. The TCCWNA applies even if the relevant contractual terms are expressly governed by the laws of a state other than New Jersey.The application of the TCCWNA to online retailors initially looked to be a boon to the plaintiff’s bar, based on a simple formula:  (1) assemble a class comprised of New Jersey consumers who have used an online retailer’s website that has terms of service alleged to be in violation of the TCCWNA; (2) file a class action lawsuit in New Jersey state or federal court; and (3) collect at least $100 for each affected New Jersey consumer.However, this approach now appears to have hit a serious speedbump, at least with respect to TCCWNA disputes filed or removed to federal court.In a March 29, 2017 decision in <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-jersey/njdce/3:2016cv02167/332108/26/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rubin v. J. Crew Group, Inc.</a>, Judge Wolfson of the U.S. Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed a putative TCCWNA class action claim against the retailor J. Crew. The plaintiff claimed that the terms and conditions on J. Crew’s retail website included a limitation of liability provision that violated the TCCWNA. The plaintiff, however, could not point to specific harm that she suffered as a result of the alleged TCCWNA violation. Instead, she argued that the violation of her rights under New Jersey law is, itself, the underlying harm.Judge Wolfson rejected the plaintiff’s argument. Relying on the U.S. Supreme Court’s <a href="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/assets/blt5775cc69c999c255/bltdcce7bda080639e7/62731974deee7329767e7760/160516spokeo.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent decision</a> in <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/578/13-1339/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins</a>, Judge Wolfson held that a bare violation of a right granted by a statute is not enough under Article III of the U.S. Constitution to provide a plaintiff with standing to sue in federal court; in order to have standing, the violation must result in a concrete harm. Because the plaintiff could not show that she suffered any concrete harm as a result of the offending provisions in J. Crew’s online terms and conditions, the court dismissed her claim.Judge Wolfson also took the opportunity to directly address the recent flood of TCCWNA lawsuits against online retailors:The Court is aware that there are numerous class actions filed in this district based upon similar TCCWNA violations alleged in this case. While the intent of the New Jersey legislature in enacting the TCCWNA is to provide additional protections for consumers in this state from unfair business practices, the passage of the Act is not intended, however, for litigation-seeking plaintiffs and/or their counsel to troll the internet to find potential violations under the TCCWNA without any underlying harm. In such instances, standing would be lacking.Not long after the J. Crew ruling, Judge Hillman, also a judge of the U.S. Court for the District of New Jersey, echoed Judge Wolfson’s decision in a separate case. The fact pattern in <a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-jersey/njdce/1:2016cv05016/336530/16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Murray v. Lifetime Brands, Inc.</a> is similar to that in J. Crew: the plaintiff brought a putative class action suit against an online retailer alleging that the retailer’s online Terms of Use violate the TCCWNA. Noting that this case is one of several putative class action suits filed in District Court of New Jersey “all asserting basically the same claim against various sellers,” Judge Hillman dismissed the plaintiff’s claim under Spokeo for failure to plead that the plaintiff suffered a concrete harm from the online retailer’s purported violation of the TCCWNA.Although the J. Crew and Lifetime Brands decisions should come as some relief for online retailers, it remains important for retailers to be aware of the TCCWNA and to determine whether they are in compliance with the statute. Notably, the reasoning behind these recent retailer-friendly decisions may not be applicable to TCCWNA actions brought in New Jersey state courts, because Spokeo’s concrete harm requirement is tied to jurisdictional limits placed on federal courts under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, and thus specific to actions pursued in federal courts.Online retailers who are subject to suit in New Jersey state courts, and who do not succeed in removing such actions to federal court, could still be subject to the potentially substantial civil penalties afforded to plaintiffs under the TCCWNA. Accordingly, it is still too early to tell whether federal court decisions like J. Crew and Lifetime Brands, Inc. will ultimately reduce the volume of TCCWNA lawsuits brought against unsuspecting e-commerce providers, or merely shift the action primarily to New Jersey state courts going forward.*        *       *For our earlier Socially Aware article on New Jersey’s Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act, please see Controversial New Jersey Consumer Protection Law Creates a Potential “Gotcha” for E-Commerce Companies. For more on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Spokeo decision, please see the following Morrison & Foerster client alert: <a href="https://media2.mofo.com/v3/assets/blt5775cc69c999c255/bltdcce7bda080639e7/62731974deee7329767e7760/160516spokeo.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Supreme Court’s Spokeo Decision: Concrete Shoes for Consumer Class Actions?</a>