IP/Privacy/Social Media

On March 12, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission issued its long-awaited update to its 2000 guidance on disclosures in online marketing and advertising.

The guidance, entitled .com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising, not only reaffirms many of the FTC’s longstanding principles for effective online disclosures, but also provides guidance as to how those principles will be applied to new technologies that have emerged since 2000, such as mobile phones and tablets with more limited space, banner ads and multimedia messaging, and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

The FTC has broad powers under Section 5 of the FTC Act to protect consumers from “unfair and deceptive acts or practices.”i Under the FTC Act, the FTC has long required effective disclosures for claims that would otherwise be deceptive or misleading without them. .com Disclosures is designed to help businesses comply with the FTC Act by providing examples and direction on how to avoid unfair and deceptive practices through appropriate disclosures in their online and mobile marketing.ii

Although the new guidelines do not carry the force of law, they provide insight into how the FTC will apply the FTC Act to online and mobile marketing disclosures. Advertisers and marketers are well advised to review and potentially modify their existing and future online advertising to ensure they are complaint with these guidelines.Continue Reading FTC Issues New Guidance for Advertising and Marketing in the Online and Mobile World

pic-trent.jpgCONTRIBUTED BY
Trent Dykes
trent.dykes@dlapiper.com

A great reminder compliments of our colleague Mark Radcliffe: On March 16, the US patent system will undergo a fundamental change from the current “first to invent” to a “first to file” system.

By way of quick background, a “first to invent” system means that even if another party files a patent application on your invention first in the US Patent and Trademark Office, you will still be entitled to obtain a patent on your invention if you can prove you created the invention first. The new “first to file” system, which becomes effective on March 16, 2012, provides that you can no longer get a patent by proving that you actually created the invention before the filing date of the first patent application.

Patents have become an increasingly important part of the assets of startups, especially since most startups exit through merger. PwC, in its recent report on US technology M&A, explains that “companies with strong patent portfolios continue to be likely targets for future acquisitions, as modern competitive pressures force businesses to acquire and defend intellectual property rights.”Continue Reading Major Patent System Change Effective March 16, 2013: First to File

Asher Headshot - Resized.pngCONTRIBUTED BY
Asher Bearman
asher.bearman@dlapiper.com

 

 

The Startup Company Starter Kit, available in our “Forms” section in the right hand column, provides forms to do any of the following: 

  • Create an offer letter for a prospective employee (state specific and will address confidentiality obligations)
  • Create an agreement that an existing or new employee will sign that protects and preserves the employer’s proprietary information and inventions (often called PIAAs, these are critical for employees involved with company IP)
  • Disclose confidential information TO someone else (for disclosures BY the company) 


Continue Reading Startup Company Form Agreements

Asher Headshot - Resized.pngCONTRIBUTED BY
Asher Bearman
asher.bearman@dlapiper.com

 

 

Startup companies often have to protect their intellectual property (IP) on a budget.  Here are some fundamental legal protections all startups should have:

  1. Employee Agreements.  All employees should sign non-disclosure agreements obligating them to keep the company’s information confidential.  In addition, all employees.  Most venture capitalists will require prior invention assignment agreements (PIAAs) from all key employees prior to investing in the business.  Forms for this are available in our free Starter Kit.
  2. Consulting Agreements.  Sets the terms of consulting


Continue Reading Fundamental IP Protection for Startups

Online and social media have revolutionized the way companies interact with their customers – allowing them to target customer interests and engage customers much more directly.

Entering into the world of social media, however, may pose reputational challenges. On-line stores and e-commerce platforms encourage customers to post reviews about the products they offer. Numerous companies directly prompt their customers to “like” them on Facebook or to comment on Twitter about their consumer experiences. But what if the responses customers post are less than glowing? What if a company is the

Continue Reading Ten Tips for Navigating Defamation Issues in Social Media

Gina Durham, an intellectual property partner with DLA Piper’s Chicago office, explains the new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program underway by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Over the past several months, ICANN has been accepting applications for the new gTLD program.

This program allows organizations to own their own top-level domain extension and aims to greatly proliferate the number of available domain extensions beyond the limited number of extensions, such as “.com” and “.org,” to which Internet users are accustomed. With a few exceptions, an organization
Continue Reading Is Your Name Safe? Top Level Domain Name Applications to be Revealed

Earlier this week Twitter announced that they plan to amend their standard employee innovations assignment agreement to keep “control in the hands of engineers and designers” as part of Twitter’s commitment to its employees “that patents can only be used for defensive purposes … and that [Twitter] will not use the patents from employees’ inventions in offensive litigation without their permission.”  This proposed amendment is being called the “Innovator’s Patent Agreement” (or IPA), a copy of which can be found here.

Others have said that adoption of the IPA
Continue Reading Understanding both sides to the ‘Twitter Patent Hack’ (aka the Innovator’s Patent Agreement)

Megan Muir.jpgCONTRIBUTED BY
Megan Muir

As companies struggle to protect and safeguard personal information, managing the legal responsibilities related to processing personal data consistent with applicable laws is a growing challenge. A well-constructed and comprehensive compliance program can provide an effective risk-management tool. Our colleagues from the DLA Piper Information Law Team have published a handbook with an overview of the applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations across 58 different jurisdictions, including a section on enforcement. Edited by Cameron Craig, Paul McCormack, Jim Halpert, Kate Lucente,
Continue Reading A SNAPSHOT OF THE WORLD’S DATA PROTECTION LAWS TODAY: NEW DLA PIPER HANDBOOK