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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In a string of cases against Google, approximately 20 separate plaintiffs have claimed that, through advertisements on its AdWords service, Google engaged in tr

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Google AdWords Decision Highlights Contours of the CDA Section 230 Safe Harbor

Google AdWords Decision Highlights Contours of the CDA Section 230 Safe Harbor | Socially Aware

In a string of cases against Google, approximately 20 separate plaintiffs have claimed that, through advertisements on its AdWords service, Google engaged in trademark infringement. These claims have been based on Google allowing its advertisers to use their competitors’ trademarks in Google-generated online advertisements. In a recent decision emerging from these cases, CYBERsitter v. Google, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California found that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) provides protection for Google against some of the plaintiff’s state law claims.As we have discussed previously (see here and here), Section 230 states that “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” The Section 230 safe harbor immunizes websites from liability for content created by users, as long as the website did not “materially contribute” to the development or creation of the content. An important limitation on this safe harbor, however, is that it shall not “be construed to limit or expand any law pertaining to intellectual property.”In the CYBERsitter case, plaintiff CYBERsitter, which sells an Internet content-filtering program, sued Google for selling and displaying advertisements incorporating the CYBERsitter trademark to ContentWatch, one of CYBERsitter’s competitors. CYBERsitter’s complaint alleged that Google had violated numerous federal and California laws by, first, selling the right to use CYBERsitter’s trademark to ContentWatch and, second, permitting and encouraging ContentWatch to use the CYBERsitter mark in Google’s AdWords advertising. Specifically, CYBERsitter’s complaint included the following claims: Trademark infringement, contributory trademark infringement, false advertising, unfair competition and unjust enrichment.Google filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Section 230 of the CDA shielded it from liability for CYBERsitter’s state law claims. The court agreed with Google for the state law claims of trademark infringement, contributory trademark infringement, unfair competition and unjust enrichment, but only to the extent that these claims sought to hold Google liable for the infringing content of the advertisements. The court, however, did not discuss the apparent inapplicability of the Section 230 safe harbor to trademark claims. As noted above, Section 230 does not apply to intellectual property claims and, despite the fact that trademarks are a form of intellectual property, the court applied Section 230 without further note. This is because the Ninth Circuit has held that the term “intellectual property” in Section 230 of the CDA refers to federal intellectual property law and therefore state intellectual property law claims are not excluded from the safe harbor. The Ninth Circuit, however, appears to be an outlier with this interpretation; decisions from other circuit courts suggest disagreement with the Ninth Circuit’s approach, and district courts outside the Ninth Circuit have not followed the Ninth Circuit’s lead.Google was not let off the hook entirely with regard to the plaintiff’s state trademark law claims. In dismissing the trademark infringement and contributory trademark infringement claims, the court distinguished between Google’s liability for the content of the advertisements and its liability for its potentially tortious conduct unrelated to the content of the advertisements. The court refused to dismiss these claims to the extent they sought to hold Google liable for selling to third parties the right to use CYBERsitter’s trademark, and for encouraging and facilitating third parties to use CYBERsitter’s trademark, without CYBERsitter’s authorization. Because such action by Google has nothing to do with the online content of the advertisements, the court held that Section 230 is inapplicable.The court also found that CYBERsitter’s false advertising claim was not barred by Section 230 because Google may have “materially contributed” to the content of the advertisements and, therefore, under Section 230 would have been an “information content provider” and not immune from liability. Prof. Eric Goldman, who blogs frequently on CDA-related matters, has pointed out an apparent inconsistency in the CYBERsitter court’s reasoning, noting that Google did not materially contribute to the content of the advertisements for the purposes of the trademark infringement, contributory infringement, unfair competition and unjust enrichment claims, but that Google might have done so for the purposes of the false advertising claim.CYBERsitter highlights at least two key points for website operators, bloggers, and other providers of interactive computer services. First, at least in the Ninth Circuit, but not necessarily in other circuits, the Section 230 safe harbor provides protection from state intellectual property law claims with regard to user-generated content. Second, to be protected under the Section 230 safe harbor, the service provider must not have created the content and it must not have materially contributed to such content’s creation.