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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Readers of our blog may remember Leonard Barshack as the co-founder of Bigfoot, a popular Internet mail forwarding service that launched in 1995. Barshack, a re

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Whose @SunValley Is It? | Socially Aware

Readers of our blog may remember <a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=610984&privcapId=90406&previousCapId=90406&previousTitle=Bigfoot%20International,%20Inc.">Leonard Barshack</a> as the co-founder of <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/19970404164357/http:/www.bigfoot.com/">Bigfoot</a>, a popular Internet mail forwarding service that launched in 1995. Barshack, a resident of Sun Valley, Idaho, recently became well-known once again for his role as plaintiff in <a href="http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/703454/143267425-barshack-v-twitter-sun-valley-cv-13.pdf">Barshack v. Twitter</a>, a suit filed in Idaho’s Blaine County District Court on May 6, 2013 against Twitter and Sun Valley Company, the owner of <a href="http://www.sunvalley.com/">Sun Valley Resort</a>.According to the <a href="http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/703454/143267425-barshack-v-twitter-sun-valley-cv-13.pdf">complaint</a>, Barshack began using the Twitter handle “<a href="https://twitter.com/sunvalley">@SunValley</a>” for personal use back in April 2008. Although not the most avid tweeter, Barshack used his handle to tweet on a variety of topics, including skiing—even skiing at co-defendant Sun Valley Company’s resort. According to some accounts, Barshack’s long-term plan for his Twitter account was to use it to promote local businesses in Sun Valley, Idaho. But in October 2012, Twitter notified Barshack that it had “received a valid report and determined that [Barshack’s] account, @SunValley, is engaged in non-parody impersonation,” and re-assigned his account to the potentially less aesthetically pleasing <a href="https://twitter.com/sunvalley_">@sunvalley_</a>.Over the next few months, Barshack contacted Twitter multiple times by mail, the contents of which are attached as an exhibit to Barshack’s <a href="http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/703454/143267425-barshack-v-twitter-sun-valley-cv-13.pdf#page=7">complaint</a>. According to Barshack, the only response he received from Twitter was a boilerplate message that included a copy of Sun Valley Resort’s original report of impersonation, which is also included in the complaint’s <a href="http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/703454/143267425-barshack-v-twitter-sun-valley-cv-13.pdf#page=17">exhibits</a>. Ultimately, Barshack and his attorney and wife Erin Smith filed suit in May 2013, demanding that Twitter return the @SunValley handle to Barshack.Barshack’s complaint seeks an injunction prohibiting Twitter from permitting Sun Valley Company to use the @SunValley handle and demands that Twitter return the handle to Barshack. In addition, the complaint alleges breach of contract and breach of good faith and fair dealing by Twitter. According to Barshack’s May 30, 2013 tweet from his new Twitter account bearing the handle <a href="https://twitter.com/IWasSunValley">@IWasSunValley</a>, Barshack “granted extensions to both SVC and Twitter until mid-june [sic] for them to reply.” The Twitter tagline for Barshack’s @IWasSunValley account reads: “Fighting Evil and Arrogance for as long as I can remember.”The exhibits attached to Barshack’s complaint show that Twitter’s original decision to re-assign the @SunValley handle to Sun Valley Company was based on Twitter’s trademark and <a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/18366-impersonation-policy">impersonation</a> policies. Twitter’s trademark policy prohibits the use of trademarked material that is intended to mislead or confuse, or has the effect of misleading or confusing others, but, significantly, the policy permits the use of “another’s trademark in a way that has nothing to do with the product or service for which the trademark was granted.” In parallel, Twitter’s impersonation policy prohibits “accounts portraying another person in a confusing or deceptive manner” but permits accounts in which “the user shares [the name of the person being impersonated] but has no other commonalities” or for which “the profile clearly states it is not affiliated with or connected to any similarly-named individuals.”In Sun Valley Resort’s original October 2012 report to Twitter concerning the @SunValley handle, Sun Valley Resort alleged that Barshack’s @SunValley account was “using artwork from our trademarked Logo along with wrod [sic] mark of Sun Valley,” and that Sun Valley Resort “would like to use this username on Twitter.” One of the pieces of artwork at issue was an illustration of a “<a href="http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=929749&caseType=US_REGISTRATION_NO&searchType=statusSearch">sun representing a human face or an animal</a>”; the other was “<a href="http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85260154&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch">a sun positioned above and to the right side of the words ‘Sun Valley’</a>.” Barshack’s complaint argues that many local businesses in Sun Valley, Idaho use a similar illustration to promote their companies, and that the trademark registration for the only logo he used—the illustration of the “sun representing a human face or an animal”—had expired due to non-renewal. The complaint further argues that Barshack’s Twitter account had neither the intention nor the effect of deceiving, misleading or confusing others into thinking that the account was operated by Sun Valley Resort, which could be a critical point if Sun Valley Company were to respond with an allegation of infringement of either federal or common law trademark rights.It is unclear how Barshack intends to use the @SunValley handle if it is ultimately re-assigned to him. Barshack reportedly has stated that if he does reacquire the handle, it would not be for sale (and note that Twitter’s username squatting policy already prohibits attempts “to sell, buy, or solicit other forms of payment in exchange for usernames”). Regardless of the outcome, Barshack v. Twitter may be one of the first cases of its kind in which a user has formally filed suit against Twitter for re-assigning the user’s handle to someone else, and the case underscores the fact that in the world of social media, even if you grab your username first, you might not always be able to keep it.