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Banning the Blog: Updating the Employee Handbook for an "Online" World

May 28, 2009

by Daniel W. Matlow (Ruden McClosky)

With the advent of social networking Web sites and more pervasive Internet usage, employees are posting information on Web sites and “blogs” concerning their employers. The content on these postings – which may contain sensitive or embarrassing information – can be accessed by anyone, including the employer’s customers, suppliers and vendors. Significantly, the law recognizes that employers have a legitimate need to maintain an orderly workplace and protect c...

Tags: Internet Law, Handbooks and Policy Drafting

User-Generated Content, Online Fair Use and the DMCA's 'Good Faith' Requirement

January 21, 2009

by Michael J. Remington (Drinker Biddle & Reath) and
Philip J. Cardinale (Drinker Biddle & Reath)

Reproduced with permission from BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal, 77 PTCJ 351 (Feb. 6, 2009). Copyright 2009 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) <http://www.bna.com>   Copyright law has always provided a balance between the proprietary rights of copyright owners and freedom of speech. The law ‘‘contains built-in First Amendment accommodations.’’ Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186, 219, 65 US...

Tags: Copyrights, Internet Law

The Challenges of Logo and Image Searches on the Internet

April 1, 2009

by Curtis Krechevsky (Cantor Colburn)

Historically the Internet developed as a text-based (typewritten character) system.  Everyone by now is familiar with entering keywords in Internet search engines and reviewing the results to find relevant information.  For brand protection purposes, from both a marketing and legal perspective, the Internet works very well in locating both authorized and unauthorized uses of word trademarks.  In turn, this permits brand owners to effectively monitor and police the proper use of their valuab...

Tags: Internet Law, Trademarks

Brave New Web: Trademark Rights in the Expanding Internet

April 28, 2009

by Kimberly K. Smith (Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton)

  In June 2006, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved a plan that will allow private parties to create custom online domains. These domain names may be anywhere from 3 to 63 characters long and in nearly any alphabet, such as Arabic or Chinese. The Internet currently operates using 12 generic top-level domains (gTLDs) to direct traffic.  The more common gTLDs include .com, .org, and .gov,  of which "dotcom" is by far the most popular. The draft plan was releas...

Tags: Internet Law, Trademarks