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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If Your Company’s Website Hosts User-Generated Content, Stop and Read This Post!

If Your Company’s Website Hosts User-Generated Content, Stop and Read This Post! | Socially Aware

In the classic rock song “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_My_Fire">Light My Fire</a>,” ‘60s icon and the <a href="https://www.thedoors.com/">Doors</a>’ lead singer Jim Morrison sang, “The time to hesitate is through.”If your company operates a website or blog that hosts user-generated content, and has yet to register an agent for receipt of copyright infringement notices under the U.S. Copyright Office’s new agent designation system, it’s time to light a fire. Failure to do so could significantly increase your company’s copyright liability exposure in connection with such hosted content.Here’s what you need to know:Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) Section 512(c) safe harbor, website operators and other online service providers that comply with the eligibility requirements are shielded from copyright damages in connection with their hosting of infringing content uploaded by service users.This powerful safe harbor has played a major role in the success of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other U.S. social media and Internet sites. But it also protects brands that host on their websites text, photos and videos uploaded by their customers.An online service provider seeking Section 512(c) safe harbor protection must designate with the U.S. Copyright Office an agent to receive notifications of infringement from copyright owners. A year ago, the U.S. Copyright Office rolled out a new online system for the designation of agents, replacing a paper-based system that had been in place for nearly 18 years; the Copyright Office, however, provided a year-long grace period for online service providers who had registered agents under the old system to register those agents under the new system.This grace period is coming to a close. Online service providers with an agent registered through the old system must register that agent through the new system by December 31, 2017, in order to maintain a valid agent designation.This point is so important that we’re going to repeat it in bold italics:Online service providers with an agent registered through the old system must register that agent through the new system by December 31, 2017, in order to maintain a valid agent designation. Failure to register under the new system by the end of this year could result, beginning on January 1, 2018, in an online service provider losing the benefits of the Section 512(c) safe harbor in connection with its hosting of user-generated content.We know it’s a busy time of year. We know that copyright issues are often not top-of-mind in the last few weeks of the year. We know that you are preparing for the holidays. But if your company hosts user-generated content and has yet to register its DMCA agent under the new agent designation system, you’ll want to make sure that this task gets moved to the top of the company’s “Things to Do Before Year’s End” list.There’s a lot more to know about the new system. For example, the Copyright Office’s new approach expands the options available to online service providers in designating an agent. Under the old system, service providers were required to name a natural person or a specific position or title. The new regulations provide that a designated agent may be an individual, a specific position or title held by an individual, a specific department within the service provider’s organization or within a third-party entity or a third-party entity generally.For purposes of designating an agent under the new system, related or affiliated service providers that are separate legal entities (e.g., corporate parents and subsidiaries) are considered separate service providers and each will need to have its own separate designation.Further, the cost of designation under the new system is cheaper than under the old system. Each paper form designation under the old system would have cost a service provider $105, not including additional fees to list non-legal names used by the service provider; under the new online system, the designation fee is $6 with no additional fee to <a href="https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/faq.html">register alternative names</a> (i.e., names that the public would be likely to use to search for the service provider’s designated agent in the Copyright Office’s online directory of designated agents).Also, under the new system, online service providers will need to renew their agent designations every three years in order to maintain safe harbor protection in connection with their hosting of user-generated content. There was no renewal requirement under the old system. Although the new system will generate reminder notices as renewal deadlines approach, companies will want to ensure that these deadlines are noted on their own calendaring systems.The Copyright Office has created a series of<a href="https://www.copyright.gov/dmca-directory/help.html"> tutorials</a> to assist online service providers in registering an agent under the new system. The tutorials titled “<a href="https://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/tutorials/transcripts/designate-an-agent.pdf">Designating an Agent for a Service Provider</a>” and “<a href="https://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/tutorials/transcripts/register.pdf">Creating a DMCA Designated Agent Registration Account</a>” provide step-by-step instructions on how to designate an agent through the new online system.For more information regarding the new system (including the rationale behind the new system), check out <a href="https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2016/12/06/new-copyright-office-rule-creates-potential-gotcha-for-blogs-and-websites-hosting-user-generated-content/">our blog post on the subject from December 2016</a>.Here are our key takeaways regarding registration under the new system:<ul><li>If your company hosts, stores or even links to user-generated content, it should ensure that it has registered an agent with the Copyright Office under the new system. If it hasn’t, it should do so by December 31, 2017.</li><li>The fact that your company may have already registered its DMCA agent with the Copyright Office under the old paper-based system will be irrelevant for purposes of maintaining DMCA safe harbor protection in 2018 and onward.</li><li>Under the new system, a company cannot make a single designation covering all of its affiliates; rather, each corporate entity that hosts user-generated content will need to do its own designation.</li><li>After registering under the new system, online service providers will need to ensure that they observe the “every three years” deadlines for renewing their registrations. The Copyright Office states that the new system will automatically send email reminders to the designated primary contract and, if provided, secondary contact, service provider and designated agent at 90 days, 60 days, 30 days and one week prior to the deadline for renewal; but companies will want to make sure that renewal deadlines are recorded on their internal calendaring systems.</li></ul>So, if your company hasn’t done so already, it needs to get its DMCA agent registered under the new agent designation system. If it doesn’t do so, you may be singing a different song associated with Jim Morrison and the Doors: “When the music’s over, turn out the lights . . . .”