The legislation has been opposed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Yahoo!, eBay, American Express, Google, Reporters Without Borders, and Human Rights Watch to name a few.  Media-sharing services such as Vimeo and Flickr, along with crowd favorite e-commerce communities such as Etsy could be the types of sites at risk under the Stop Online Piracy Act.  Fight for the Future published a 3-minute infographic video explaining the basics of the bills and their impact on everyday activities of online interactions.

The bills are designed to provide the government and copyright holders the power to block access to “rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods,” especially those registered outside the United States.  If passed, PIPA and SOPA would allow the government to prevent public access to websites with “no significant use” other than copyright infringement, or enabling such infringement.  It would also make unauthorized media streaming a felony and hold web publishers and hosting services responsible for curbing users from acts involving copyright-infringement.

All in all – it would make most everyday media usage a crime, hold people accountable even if they did not know it was going on, and it would focus energies away from real issues (such as lack of healthcare and a dying economy).  SOPA would also get rid of the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, which grants Web sites immunity from prosecution as long as they act in good faith to take down infringing content upon notice.

Under the bill, the Justice Department would be allowed to obtain court orders demanding that American ISPs prevent users from visiting blacklisted websites. ISPs receiving such orders would have to alter records in the net’s system for looking up website names, known as DNS.  The House bill would also enable the Justice Department to order sites like Google to remove allegedly “rogue” sites from search results.  As with many other bills, the determination of what is “rogue” would be out of the hands of the general public, the companies hosting the content, and anyone with direct understanding of the content and its use.  It would give unprecedented censorship power to the US government.

The potential censorship issues were met with strong arguments that some measure of law is needed to police the piracy and counterfeiting problems rampant on the Internet.

“Doing nothing is not an option,” Rep. Mel Watt of North Carolina noted.  “Not only are online piracy and counterfeiting drains on our economy, they expose consumers to fraud, identity theft, confusion and to harm.”

His sentiments were echoed by John Clark, the security chief for Pfizer, who testified about counterfeit drug sales on the internet.  “I see counterfeited medicines as attempted murder,” said Clark.

Proponents of the bill also argue that if nothing is done, the US Copyright system will be rendered useless. However, it is unclear how the copyright system would fail when companies like iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, Grooveshark and Amazon are the mostly commonly used sources for legitimate music downloads.

The issues comes down to this:  how many rights are we willing to give up here?  Is it worth it? And does Congress understand the numerous options available on the Internet?  After all, computer savvy users will always find a workaround; but the people who would be held accountable would be minor offenders, and under this bill, even accidental offenders.

With strong arguments on both sides of the bills, the answer remains unclear.

- Sheheryar T. Sardar, Esq., Sardar Law Firm LLC*

For more information on contract law or digital media law, contact: Sardar Law Firm at sardar@sardarlawfirm.com.

First published in The BroadStreet Times

Before proceeding with securing international rights, a company should assess whether filing for protection is appropriate. Circumstances for determining what type of IP protection is best for a certain company vary, so seeking legal counsel is advisable. Several general questions can help guide the decision, such as whether or not you will be selling, distributing or outsourcing your product abroad, and what the likelihood if of your product being copied overseas. International protection is not inexpensive, and affordability should be a deciding factor. While every care and consideration should be taken in the decision, businesses should keep in mind that since certain actions can bar certain types of protection, it’s in a business’s best interest to consider IP protection as early as possible.

Once you have decided to protect your IP abroad, legal counsel can help you develop an overall protection strategy, conduct due diligence of potential foreign partners, record your U.S.-registered trademarks and copyrights with Customs and Border Protection, and secure and register trademarks and copyrights in the appropriate foreign markets.

As trademarks are territorial and a U.S. trademark does not grant protection in other countries, trademarks must be filed in each country where protection is sought. If a business is seeking trademark protection in numerous countries, it may be expedient to file an application under the Madrid Protocol, which offers trademark protection in many countries, including those beyond the European Union (e.g. Turkey, Iran). Another option for businesses seeking protection in several countries is a CTM, which must be applied for and provides protection for a trademark in all member countries of the European Union.

Although there is no such thing as an “international copyright” that will protect a work worldwide, most countries offer protection to foreign works under international copyright treaties and conventions. In the case that the work can’t be brought under an international treaty, a country may still offer protection under its national laws. Examples of international copyright treaties and conventions include the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Work, the Universal Copyright Convention, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty; the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and the Agreement on Trade­Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Since there are still some countries that offer little or no copyright protection to any foreign works, it may be advisable to consult www.copyright.gov for a list of policies specific to each country.

It is important to keep in mind that international protection and U.S. protection can differ in several ways with regards to IP. For example, the U.S. offers arguably less protection of an author’s moral rights than other countries. On the other hand, the fair use defense to copyright infringement under §107 of U.S. copyright law is significantly broader than international fair use exemptions, which have a tendency to be more specific in nature. Since policies can vary between countries, it is always advisable to conduct due diligence for the most up-to-date legal and procedural issues surrounding international protection. Failing to do so may result in product or name infringement and dilution in a jurisdiction where you have no judicial or legal remedies, possibly resulting in devastating economic consequences.

by, Sheheryar Sardar, Esq., Sardar Law Firm LLC*

For more information on contract law, contact: Sardar Law Firm atsardar@sardarlawfirm.com.

Follow Sardar Law Firm on Twitter: @sardarlawfirm

Take a read at this excerpt: Social media has schools on defense 

The circumstances under which a school might find itself in court over an item of social media content are fairly easy to predict, experts said.

If a university athletic department actively monitors its students’ social media accounts and fails to recognize or act on information that could have predicted or prevented a loss—property damage, personal injury or death—the school could be sued for negligence or dereliction of duty, said Stephen Marcellino, a partner in the New York and White Plains, N.Y., offices of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker L.L.P.

“Once you take on that kind of policing activity, it creates an obligation,” Mr. Marcellino said. “One could easily posit a liability theory in terms of discharge of duty. It’s almost a case of “Be careful what you wish for.’”

On the other hand, acting too swiftly on information obtained through social media monitoring also might not be advisable. Even if every post by every student under surveillance were authenticated, experts worry whether school and athletic administrators can correctly interpret the content of each post.

Jennifer Whittington, executive director of the Bloomington, Ind.-based University Risk Management & Insurance Assn., said a student suspended or kicked off a team for a post that he or she did not author or that was taken out of context could file a claim against the school for reputational damage or lost future financial benefits linked to their athletic talents.

A university also could face litigation based on how it determines which students to monitor. Sheheryar Sardar, a partner at the New York-based Sardar Law Firm L.L.C. and author on using social media, said a school that monitors only some of its students—such as athletes—and not the rest could be accused of discrimination or violating students’ 14th Amendment right of equal protection.

“It’s just not advisable for any school to regularly monitor a student’s social media use,” said Alyssa Keehan, senior risk counsel for the Chevy Chase, Md.-based United Educators Insurance, a Reciprocal Risk Retention Group. “Social media, really, is just another medium for behavior; and just as you can’t feasibly monitor every student’s behavior 24/7, it’s unreasonable to try to do that with social media postings.”

Read Full Story HERE. 

Sandstorm distills how social media played a role in creating a global generationthat catalyzed a historic “leaderless revolution” in the greater Middle East. The Arab Spring, notably Tunisia and Egypt, harnessed the power of social media as a means to facilitate the grievances of the masses. Pervasive unemployment, endemic poverty and widespread corruption finally compelled the people in the region to mobilize and demand change. The speed of technology, with its aggregation of social media across multiple platforms transformed the people’s protest into a geopolitical movement. The youth created a change so powerful that its demand for economic growth and prosperity can no longer be ignored.  This book recognizes this new reality and emphasizes the power of social media as a means to unify disparate voices for the creation of a new social and economic contract.

A group of privacy watchdogs drawn from the European bloc’s 27 nations will study the measure for possible rule violations, said Gérard Lommel, a Luxembourg member of the so-called Article 29 Data Protection Working Party. Authorities in Britain and Ireland said they are also looking into the photo-tagging function on the world’s most popular social networking service.

“Tags of people on pictures should only happen based on people’s prior consent and it can’t be activated by default,” said Mr. Lommel. Such automatic tagging suggestions “can bear a lot of risks for users” and the European data protection officials will “clarify to Facebook that this can’t happen like this.”

Facebook said on its blog on Tuesday that “Tag Suggestions” was available in most countries after being phased in over several months. When Facebook users add photos to their pages, the feature uses facial-recognition software to suggest names of people in the photos to tag based on pictures in which they have already been identified. Before the feature was introduced…read original article here.

(1) Unknown author: while the Internet allows you to be whoever you want, this causes many users a lot of distress. Since you do not know who wrote the document, it could have been written or scanned by anyone. Also you do not know when this document was uploaded so it might also be outdated. Also, since this document could have been written by anyone, the wording and terminology could be completely incorrect and prove to be embarrassing with the person you are working with. This could cause you a potential loss of business and reputation.

(2). Not relevant: legal documents, while usually the same basic format, are typically structured on a case by case basis. The document that you find online is likely to not fit your situation exactly, which can do more harm than good if it is ever disputed.

(3). Wrong state:  statutes vary from one state to the next, what is legal in one state may not be legal in yours. By using a document found online you could be potentially breaking the law.

(4). Copyright:  Often legal documents will contain copyright laws and depending on the state, if caught using a document with a copyright, many fines could potentially be imposed.

(5). Lack of validity: Specifically divorce papers and incorporation documents are invalid when placed online. They are designed to look official but often do not follow the correct format. Many states have strict rules against submitting any document that is not officially recognized by the state.

If you decide to use a legal document found on the Internet, consult with a lawyer first before taking any further steps. This will save you a lot of personal and possible legal trouble in the long run.

Justice William O. Douglas established in the 1960s that the right to privacy is a right so fundamental to the individual, is it located in the, “penumbras” and “emanations” of the Constitution. Yet living in the age of the Internet, the line between what is and isn’t private is dimmed.  In an Internet filled with endless, open possibilities, can privacy exist?  Shouldn’t the individual be guaranteed some form of privacy on the Internet, where they can freely express themselves or an aspect of their life without having to face the consequences later on by the public eye?

California began the quest to figure out this privacy conundrum in 2003 with its Online Privacy Protection Act (Calif. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 22575-22578), which “requires an operator, defined as a person or entity that collects personally identifiable information from California residents through an Internet Web site or online service for commercial purposes, to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its Web site or online service and to comply with that policy.” In Nebraska it is prohibited to,  “knowingly making a false or misleading statement in a privacy policy, published on the Internet or otherwise distributed or published, regarding the use of personal information submitted by members of the public” (Nebraska Stat. § 87-302(14)).

While California says that privacy can exist within social media, New York courts say otherwise. In a recent case, Romano v Steelcase Inc(2010), Katherine Romano had suffered an injury, which would permit her from doing activities such a dancing, yet the defendant, after acquiring a Notice for Discovery and Inspection CPLR 3120, accessed her private Facebook account, revealing an “active lifestyle.”  Thus the New York Supreme Court ruled in the defendants favor, establishing that nothing put on the Internet is completely private.

While this setting of limitations on our privacy may not be convenient, it needs to be known that we unfortunately give up these privacy rights when we enter into a contract with social media. By making the choice to publish our lives on Facebook and Myspace, is it our responsibility to be aware of how exactly we are being protected?  These social media sites clearly warn their users that “complete privacy is not guaranteed,” so one cannot argue that they were uninformed.

Are you an entrepreneur?  Check out “Getting Funded: Making Your Business Investment Ready” http://t.co/BEpdy9B – March 31, 2011 in New York City.

by: Benish Shah, Esq. & Sheheryar Sardar, Esq., Sardar Law Firm LLC*

For more information on contract law, contact: Sardar Law Firm at sardar@sardarlawfirm.com.

Follow Sardar Law Firm on Twitter: @sardarlawfirm

Research assistance provided by Dave Shorten.

Some executives believe social media is merely a fad, a tool that inherently knows no bounds and therefore cannot be controlled. Others perceive a nominal value in its use and delegate it to the marketing or public relations department. Neither approach captures the potential of a company’s ability to leverage social media to fit its purpose. Leveraging social media is an operational mechanism, not merely a marketing tool. Every department and all levels of a company must engage collaboratively to facilitate and market its products, services and ethos. Social media is another channel to facilitate such collaboration. It provides each layer of a company, including the C Suite, an opportunity to engage internally and externally with its vendors, customers, advisors, stakeholders and constituents. If deployed strategically, social media can transform and export the brand of a company, changing an entire audience’s perception.

This doesn’t merely apply to technology or consumer or retail; traditional professional services such as banking, law and finance can benefit from sophisticated, yet regulated, use of social media as a means to improve corporate image, find client referrals, or opine about a large merger to showcase professional prowess on a truly democratized platform.

The advent of social media should not be taken as antagonist to corporate culture. Every company’s strategic arsenal should include social media as an organic dialogue to further embody the spirit and letter of its purpose. There is no company in the world that doesn’t include in its purpose a quality-oriented focus, whether the company is a service provider or a product developer. Social media must be weaved into the company culture as an expression of what the company does well – what it’s known for.

Social media however cannot be compartmentalized. Social media must be diffused across internal corporate barriers, yet involve each division in its implementation. Corporations are inherent social aggregators that must connect to its audience in a relevant way. Social media is a natural extension of that, carrying the message with even more visibility and impact than traditional media to a niche, but highly engaged and loyal audience. And it’ll cost less.

by: Sheheryar Sardar, Esq., Sardar Law Firm LLC

Are you an entrepreneur?  Check out “Getting Funded: Making Your Business Investment Ready” http://t.co/BEpdy9B – March 31, 2011 in New York City.

For more information on social media law, contact: Sardar Law Firm at sardar@sardarlawfirm.com.

Follow Sardar Law Firm on Twitter: @sardarlawfirm

Follow Social Media Legalat:@socialmedia_law

Before the world of social media the most worrisome part of a corporate training was that some people may not pay attention. For the presenter, the critical concern was that attendees would take notes on the training, including highly prized trade secrets, and tell then to their friends how boring it was.  But now, with bloggers and Tweets, the social media risk is much higher: how can a corporate event planner prevent company training materials from ending up on the social media platforms? After all, with a simple click of the “tweet” button, a bored attendee can tarnish the presenter’s reputation while simultaneously releasing potentially confidential information. The risk from social media use is high.

Social Media Risk Strategy – Planners Plan a Tweet

Corporate training planners must understand that despite repeated emails that attendees may not use cell phones during the presentatio or publish training materials on the Internet, more than a few people in that room will turn to social media to alleviate boredom, or to express excitement. The only way to avoid the social media risk in real time is… read the rest of this piece on social media risk at corporate meetings here.