Socially Aware

February 14, 2013 - DMCA, Terms of Use, Copyright, IP, Litigation
Thinking About Using Pictures Pulled From Twitter? Think Again, New York Court Warns
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
If you want to use those pictures you found on Twitter, beware. A federal judge in New York recently held that taking photos from Twitter to use for a commercial purpose infringes the photographer’s copyrights. On January 14, 2013, Judge Alison Nathan ruled that
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November 01, 2012 - Terms of Use, Litigation
That’s a Wrap: Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble
Website operators often take for granted the enforceability of their websites’ terms of service. In a recent order issued in a case from the Central District of California, Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble, Inc. , Judge Josephine Tucker reminds us that such presumptions are
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July 23, 2012 - Terms of Use, Privacy, Litigation
We’ve Come for Your Tweets: Twitter to Appeal Denial of Its Motion to Quash District Attorney’s Subpoena
By: J. Alexander Lawrence
As the Occupy Wall Street protests fade from memory, a related discovery battle between Twitter and the New York County District Attorney rages on. Earlier this year, we discussed the District Attorney’s efforts to subpoena user information and tweets of criminal defendant Malcolm Harris,
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June 08, 2012 - Terms of Use, Litigation
Computer Crime Prosecutions Face New Difficulties
In two recent decisions issued within a day of each other, two influential federal courts limited the scope of three important federal laws used to prosecute criminal conduct involving computers. On April 10, 2012, the Ninth Circuit limited the scope of criminal liability for
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April 25, 2012 - Online Promotions, Terms of Use, Privacy, IP
Caveat Emptor, Part II: A Brief Overview of Twitter’s Terms of Service and Related Documents
In our September 2010 issue of Socially Aware , we provided a brief overview of Facebook’s “ Statement of Rights and Responsibilities ,” the social media service’s complex set of terms and conditions that companies frequently “click-accept” with little review (often, in a rush
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March 15, 2012 - Terms of Use
Facebooks’s Online Terms of Service Held to Be Enforceable
In the recent online contracting case of Fteja v. Facebook, Inc. , a New York federal court held that a forum selection clause contained in Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (the “Terms”) was enforceable because the plaintiff assented to the Terms when registering
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February 14, 2012 - Terms of Use, Employment Law, IP
District Court Considers Value of Twitter Account
“Man, what do I write here? And what’s it going to be valued at?” So read Noah Kravitz’s Twitter profile soon after Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of the Northern District of California denied Kravitz’s motion to dismiss a number of claims brought against him
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January 07, 2012 - Terms of Use, Privacy, Employment Law, IP
Editor’s Predictions for 2012
By: Aaron P. Rubin
To ring in the New Year, the Socially Aware editors provide their predictions regarding social media law and business developments in the coming year (please keep in mind that, if we were good at this prediction thing, we wouldn’t be practicing law for a
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January 06, 2012 - DMCA, Terms of Use
Northern District of California Court Addresses the Law of the (Virtual) Horse (and Bunny)
Online “virtual worlds,” such as Second Life , have their own cultures, customs and economies. This presents new challenges for applying existing intellectual property laws to user-created content in such virtual worlds, as illustrated by a recent case in the Northern District of California,
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January 06, 2012 - Online Promotions, Terms of Use
Running Contests and Sweepstakes on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter: How the Rules Stack Up
By: Seth M. Graham
Over the past two years, Socially Aware has revisited Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines from time to time — even as recently as August 2011 — to help keep our readers up-to-date on how popular social media platforms seek to regulate contests, sweepstakes and other promotions.
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Topic Archives: Terms of Use

Thinking About Using Pictures Pulled From Twitter? Think Again, New York Court Warns

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

That’s a Wrap: Nguyen v. Barnes & Noble

We’ve Come for Your Tweets: Twitter to Appeal Denial of Its Motion to Quash District Attorney’s Subpoena

By: J. Alexander Lawrence

Computer Crime Prosecutions Face New Difficulties

Caveat Emptor, Part II: A Brief Overview of Twitter’s Terms of Service and Related Documents

Facebooks’s Online Terms of Service Held to Be Enforceable

District Court Considers Value of Twitter Account

Editor’s Predictions for 2012

By: Aaron P. Rubin

Northern District of California Court Addresses the Law of the (Virtual) Horse (and Bunny)

Running Contests and Sweepstakes on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter: How the Rules Stack Up

By: Seth M. Graham