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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On March 27, 2014, the highest court in the European Union—the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU)—decided that copyright owners have the right to se

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The Umpire Strikes Back: European Court Rules That ISPs Can Be Forced to Block Pirate Websites

The Umpire Strikes Back: European Court Rules That ISPs Can Be Forced to Block Pirate Websites | Socially Aware

Alistair Maughan

On March 27, 2014, the highest court in the European Union—the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU)—<a href="http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf;jsessionid=9ea7d0f130d66b28097e9d2c44d0ada7e2ae3f514902.e34KaxiLc3eQc40LaxqMbN4OaN8Te0?text=&docid=149924&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=181631">decided</a> that copyright owners have the right to seek injunctions against Internet service providers (ISPs) requiring the ISPs to block access to pirate websites illegally streaming or making copyright material available for download.The case arose out of a dispute in Austria between two movie companies and an Austrian ISP, UPC Telekabel Wien GmbH. The movie companies were concerned about access to an illegal streaming site, Kino.to, which was making copies of films such as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1167599/">Vicky the Viking</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1149362/">The White Ribbon</a> available to its subscribers. The Austrian Supreme Court had asked the CJEU whether the movie companies were entitled under European law to seek an injunction against the ISP, not just against the illegal streaming site.EU law allows holders of intellectual property rights to seek an injunction against any “intermediary” that provides services to third parties and, in doing so, helps them to infringe copyrighted works. The Austrian Supreme Court asked the CJEU for a ruling on whether ISPs in this position were considered to be an intermediary for the purposes of the European legislation.The CJEU answered in the affirmative, finding that “a person who makes protected subject matter available to the public on a website without the agreement of the right holder is using the services of the business which provides internet access to persons accessing that subject matter.” So, in effect, an ISP such as UPC Telekabel that allows its customers to access protected subject matter made available to the public on the Internet by a third party is an intermediary whose services are used to infringe copyright.The ISP had argued that it could not be held responsible for the material on the streaming site because it had no business relationship or cooperation with the operators of the unauthorized streaming site and because there was no proof that any of the ISP’s subscribers had actually used Kino.to to access pirated films.The CJEU had little sympathy for the ISP. It noted that EU copyright law does not require there to be a specific relationship between the person infringing copyright and the intermediary against whom an injunction might be sought, nor is it necessary to prove that end users have actually used the site at issue.To some extent, the decision is not surprising—but it is important that it comes from Europe’s highest court. Previously, in a case in 2011 in the UK, the Motion Picture Association of America and various film studios sought an injunction against BT, a UK ISP, seeking to block access to a website that facilitated the sharing of materials infringing their copyrights.In that case, the infringing website, www.newzbin.co.uk, had originally been shut down following legal action but then immediately reappeared outside the UK and therefore not within the UK court’s jurisdiction. As a result, the claimants stepped up a level and applied for an injunction against BT as the ISP. BT argued that it did not have actual knowledge of the infringements, that it was a mere conduit and that an ISP was not obligated to monitor activity over its service.In that case, the judge did not feel the need to refer the case to the CJEU and proceeded to grant the injunction. He held that BT had actual knowledge that some form of copyright infringement was happening in the sense that BT was aware that the service was being used to infringe—but it was not necessary to show actual knowledge of any specific instances of infringement.The Telekabel case goes further and is more broadly-based than the BT case—which will be of considerable comfort to copyright holders. The film industry has been seeking to enforce copyright rights against illegal streaming sites for some time, and the CJEU’s decision in this case is of significant importance in underlining that a key weapon in that fight—the ability to seek injunctions against the ISPs that facilitate access to online streaming sites—is valid.Other copyright owners may be sharpening their swords for battle in the European courts.