Blogs are an indisputably valuable inbound marketing tool. However, while posting content for search engines and customers will generate additional sales, it can also increase the risk that you’ll be exposed to copyright trolls, defamation lawsuits and public relations gaffes. This webinar will provide an overview of the key legal issues that marketing professionals should consider when utilizing blogs as part of an inbound marketing campaign.
Reviewed in the Webinar:
Who is Using Social Media and Why
How are Lawyers Using Social Media
Business and Corporate Blogging
Intellectual Property Issues (Copyright, Trademark)
DMCA Takedown Notices
Criminal Law
Defamation (Truth as Defense, Public v. Private Figures)
Privacy (Publication of Private Information, “Newsworthy”)
Net Neutrality
Business Entity Formation Tips for Professional Bloggers
This webinar has been brought to you in partnership by Columbia Financial International, Inc., who has been providing legal solutions for over 105 years, Kenan Farrell of KLF Legal, an Intellectual Property and Entertainment law practice, and Kuno Creative Group, LLC., a leading Social Media and Inbound Marketing Agency.
http://www.kunocreative.com
Beyond Numbers A Holistic Approach to Forensic Accounting
Social Media, Blogging & the Law - An Inbound Marketer's Guide
1. Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls
of Using Blogs for Inbound Marketing
Kenan Farrell, CEO
KLF Legal
@KLFLegal
LinkedIn.com/in/kenanfarrell
Presented By:
In Partnership with:
Columbia Financial International, Inc.
2. Agenda
• About Kuno Creative
Chad H. Pollitt
Director of Social Media &
Search Marketing
Kuno Creative
@CPollittIU
LinkedIn.com/in/seofortwayne
Twitter: #KunoLaw
3. Agenda
• About Kuno Creative
• Introduction – Kenan Farrell
Chad H. Pollitt
Director of Social Media &
Search Marketing
Kuno Creative
@CPollittIU
LinkedIn.com/in/seofortwayne
Twitter: #KunoLaw
4. Agenda
• About Kuno Creative
• Introduction – Kenan Farrell
• Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Using
Blogs for Inbound Marketing
Chad H. Pollitt
Director of Social Media &
Search Marketing
Kuno Creative
@CPollittIU
LinkedIn.com/in/seofortwayne
Twitter: #KunoLaw
5. Agenda
• About Kuno Creative
• Introduction – Kenan Farrell
• Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Using
Blogs for Inbound Marketing
• How Lawyers are Using Social
Media
Chad H. Pollitt
Director of Social Media &
Search Marketing
Kuno Creative
@CPollittIU
LinkedIn.com/in/seofortwayne
Twitter: #KunoLaw
6. Agenda
• About Kuno Creative
• Introduction – Kenan Farrell
• Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Using
Blogs for Inbound Marketing
• How Lawyers are Using Social
Media
• The New Legal Networking Guide
Chad H. Pollitt
Director of Social Media &
Search Marketing
Kuno Creative
@CPollittIU
LinkedIn.com/in/seofortwayne
Twitter: #KunoLaw
7. Agenda
• About Kuno Creative
• Introduction – Kenan Farrell
• Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Using
Blogs for Inbound Marketing
• How Lawyers are Using Social
Media
• The New Legal Networking Guide
• Questions & Answers Chad H. Pollitt
Director of Social Media &
Search Marketing
Kuno Creative
@CPollittIU
LinkedIn.com/in/seofortwayne
Twitter: #KunoLaw
8. About Kuno Creative
Kuno Creative helps small to medium sized businesses find
and capture leads through Inbound Marketing.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
9. About Kuno Creative
Inbound Marketing Services
• Creating Great Content
• SEO
• Social Media
• Monitoring
• Engagement
• Marketing
• PPC, SEM
• Email Marketing
• Lead Nurturing
• HubSpot Certified Partner
Twitter: #KunoLaw
10. Twitter: #KunoLaw
Introduction
Kenan Farrell
CEO
KLF Legal
@KLFLegal
LinkedIn.com/in/kenanfarrell
Kenan Farrell, Attorney
•CEO, KLF Legal, Indianapolis, IN
– Intellectual Property, Entertainment
– www.KLFLegal.com
11. Introduction
Kenan Farrell, Attorney
•CEO, KLF Legal, Indianapolis, IN
– Intellectual Property, Entertainment
– www.KLFLegal.com
Chairman of the Indianapolis Bar
Association’s Sports and
Entertainment Committee
Twitter: #KunoLaw
Kenan Farrell
CEO
KLF Legal
@KLFLegal
LinkedIn.com/in/kenanfarrell
12. Introduction
Kenan Farrell, Attorney
•CEO, KLF Legal, Indianapolis, IN
– Intellectual Property, Entertainment
– www.KLFLegal.com
Chairman of the Indianapolis Bar
Association’s Sports and
Entertainment Committee
Past Chair of the Solo and Small
Firm Committee
Twitter: #KunoLaw
Kenan Farrell
CEO
KLF Legal
@KLFLegal
LinkedIn.com/in/kenanfarrell
14. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Today’s AGENDA
• Intellectual Property
(Copyright, Trademark)
• Corporate Blogging
• Criminal Law
• Defamation (Truth as Defense,
Public v. Private Figures)
• Privacy (Publication of Private
Information, “Newsworthy”)
• Net Neutrality
• Wikileaks
• Business Entity Formation for
Professional Bloggers
Twitter: #KunoLaw
15. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Dear KLF Legal,
• What obligation do I have to give
attribution to an original source?
• To what extent can I use the content of a
news story?
• Do I have any obligation to not delete
comments from my wall/comment board?
Twitter: #KunoLaw
16. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Laws vary state-by-state.
You publish to all states.
You may be subject to 50 different laws.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
17. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Social Media Policy
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php
Twitter: #KunoLaw
18. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Corporate Blogging
• Disclosure of non-public information
through the use of blogs can expose
a company to liability for violating
securities regulations on selective
disclosure.
• Information NOT allowed in blog
postings:
– buying and selling stock
– product launches
– regulatory proceedings or
investigations
– results of product trials
• If a disclosure does occur, the
company needs to immediately
evaluate the extent of the disclosure
and determine if some form of follow
up is required.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
19. Comment Policy
Post a comment policy to inform readers:
1.what you will allow on your blog
2.what you will not allow, and
3.what they are allowed to do.
(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010 Twitter: #KunoLaw
20. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Comments
You have a First
Amendment right to
publish your blog in the
way that you want, which
includes the right to
choose who may
participate in discussions
on your blog.
You’re able to delete
comments that are
offensive or off-topic.
Respect the voice of
others.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
21. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Copyright 101
Copyright are exclusive rights granted to the
creator of an original work
Bundle of Rights
1) reproduction of the work
2) preparation of derivative works
3) distribution of copies of the work
4) public performances of the work
5) public display of the work.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
22. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Internet – no barriers to copying
Twitter: #KunoLaw
23. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
The Internet Is Built on Copying
Twitter: #KunoLaw
24. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
It’s Technically Infringement,
but it may be a “Fair Use”
Fair Use factors:
• the purpose and character of the use, including whether such
use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational
purposes;
• the nature of the copyrighted work;
• the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to
the copyrighted work as a whole; and
• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of
the copyrighted work.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
25. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
The law favors “transformative” use.
“transformative” - the original use,
purpose, or intent of the material has
been changed significantly into
something substantially different in
both appearance and objective
Twitter: #KunoLaw
26. All images and text in the
presentation are used for
purposes such as:
•criticism
•comment
•news reporting
•teaching
•scholarship
•research
Fair Use
Twitter: #KunoLaw(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
27. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
How to avoid copyright
infringement
CREATE 100% ORIGINAL CONTENT
USE CONTENT LICENSED FOR REUSE*
GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!
Twitter: #KunoLaw
29. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Copyright Troll
Twitter: #KunoLaw
30. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
• Last week Righthaven filed its 167th copyright
infringement suit in federal court
• Righthaven seeks $150,000 in damages and
forfeiture of the defendants' website domain
name
• Cases generally settling for less than $5,000
Twitter: #KunoLaw
31. DMCA Takedowns
Google Wins Viacom
Copyright Lawsuit – 6/23/10
• YouTube’s “mere knowledge” of
infringing activity “is not enough.”
• YouTube had no way of knowing
whether a video was licensed by
the owner, was a “fair use” of the
material “or even whether its
copyright owner or licensee
objects to its posting.
• DMCA Sec. 512 - limiting the
liability of online services from
copyright infringement of their
users
(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010 Twitter: #KunoLaw
35. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Trademark 101
• A trademark is a 1) distinctive sign or
indicator 2) used to identify products or
services as originating from a unique
source, and 3) to distinguish its products
or services from those of other entities.
Reduces consumer confusion
Reduces unfair competition
Twitter: #KunoLaw
36. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Pepsi®, McDonalds®, Apple®
or
Trademark 101
Twitter: #KunoLaw
37. Trademark Checklist
Get your domain name(s), Facebook username,
Twitter account, etc.
At bare minimum, do a Google search for similar
marks
When budget permits, seek federal registration
Always use a proper trademark notice (™ for common
law rights, ® if you’ve obtained registration)
(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010 Twitter: #KunoLaw
38. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Nominative Fair Use
You are permitted to use somebody else’s trademark if using the
trademark is necessary to identify the products, services, or
company you’re talking about, and you don’t use the mark to
suggest the company endorses you.
"shopping for books at Walmart”
"playing a Playstation game”
"wearing Oakley sunglasses."
Twitter: #KunoLaw
39. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Criminal Law
Twitter: #KunoLaw
44. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
tinyurl.com/reallydumbfacebookposts
Twitter: #KunoLaw
45. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
DEFAMATION
• Defamation is the
issuance of a false
statement about
another person,
which causes that
person to suffer
harm.
• Slander involves
spoken defamatory
statements.
• Libel involves
defamatory
statements in a
printed or fixed
medium, such as a
newspaper, book or
blog.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
46. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
DEFAMATION
Twitter: #KunoLaw
• Anyone who repeats
someone else’s
statements is just as
responsible for the
defamatory content as
the original speaker if
they knew, or had
reason to know, of the
defamation.
• Section 230 of
Communications
Decency Act provides
strong protection.
47. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
• Private individual only has to prove you acted
negligently, which is to say that a “reasonable person”
would not have published the defamatory statement.
• A public figure must show “actual malice” – that you
published with either knowledge of falsity or in reckless
disregard for the truth.
– A “public figure” is someone who has actively sought, in a given
matter of public interest, to influence the resolution of the matter.
DEFAMATION
Twitter: #KunoLaw
48. No provider or user of an interactive computer
service shall be treated as the publisher or
speaker of any information provided by another
information content provider.
Communications Decency Act Sec. 230
(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010 Twitter: #KunoLaw
49. User Comments
If the bubble touches me, you’re
going to be arrested for assault
(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010 Twitter: #KunoLaw
50. French Court Convicts Google of Defamation After
Linking Convicted Rapist With Rape – Sept. 27, 2010
(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010 Twitter: #KunoLaw
51. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
PRIVACY
Publication of private
information (Indiana):
• A public disclosure of private
information concerning the
plaintiff that would be highly
offensive and objectionable to a
reasonable person of ordinary
sensibilities;
• to persons who have no
legitimate interest in the
information;
• in a manner that is coercive and
oppressive.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
52. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
“Newsworthy”
Private information is
newsworthy if some reasonable
members of the community
could entertain a legitimate
interest in it.
Public has a legitimate interest in
almost all recent events, even if
it involves private information
about participants, as well as a
legitimate interest in the private
lives of prominent or notorious
figures (such as actors, actresses,
professional athletes, public
officers, noted inventors, or war
heroes).
Twitter: #KunoLaw
53. “Newsworthy”
• Newsworthiness is not
limited to reports of
current events, but
extends to articles for
the purposes of
education, amusement,
or enlightenment.
• However, a court may
look at whether the
private information is
pertinent to an
otherwise newsworthy
story.
(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010 Twitter: #KunoLaw
54. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Wikileaks
Twitter: #KunoLaw
55. Right of Publicity
• Individual's right to
control and profit from
the commercial use of
his/her name, likeness
and persona
• In many states,
defendants often must
pay attorney fees to the
plaintiff if a claim is
successful.
(c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010 Twitter: #KunoLaw
56. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Net Neutrality
Really really really F’d.
The First Amendment
issue of our time.
Neutrality - No restrictions
by ISPs and
governments on
content, sites,
platforms, on the kinds
of equipment that may
be attached, and no
restrictions on the
modes of
communication
allowed
Twitter: #KunoLaw
57. (c) Kenan L. Farrell 2010
Professional
Bloggers
• How should you structure
your business?
• Two key features to consider
in structuring your business
are:
1) liability protection
2) desired tax
treatment.
• There are several ways to
form a business including:
sole proprietorship,
partnerships, corporations,
limited liability companies,
and limited liability
partnerships.
Twitter: #KunoLaw
59. #KunoLaw
Attorneys & Law Firms
Are using social media for…
•Personal & Professional Networking
•Blogging (Personal & Firm)
•Litigation Research & Voir Dire
•Communication with Clients
•Marketing
– Brand awareness
– Lead generation
60. • Facts & Fiction
• Social Media & the Law
• New Media Marketing
• Lead Generation
• Personal / Firm Brand
• Rules of Engagement
• Real-World Examples
• 6-month Plan
From: Columbia Financial International
and Kuno Creative
Special Offer for Attorneys & Firms
The New Legal Networking Guide
E-book: How to Use Social Media to
Get New Clients for Your Law Firm
Twitter: #KunoLaw
61. Special offer: $50 off (reg. $249)
http://NewLegalNetworking.com
Discount Code: “KunoLaw”
Special Offer for Attorneys & Firms
The New Legal Networking Guide
E-book: How to Use Social Media to
Get New Clients for Your Law Firm
From: Columbia Financial International
and Kuno Creative Twitter: #KunoLaw
Kuno Creative has been marketing company since the year 2000, We’ve always been involved with traditional marketing services such as Brand and PR and Marketing Strategy. We’ve used outbound techniques for our clients including media such as print, outdoor, direct mail and just about any other method that would help us ultimately market our clients to get good results.
But over the past few years we noticed that many of these methods kept requiring more and more effort to get a similar response. There are so many channels you can try to use to reach each demographic, but the problem is, people have just gotten better at blocking out unwanted Ads and marketing messages. That is the leading reason, that since the beginning of 2009 we’ve focused on Inbound Marketing methods that bring your audience to you because that’s what people want, rather then being inundated with advertising.
Developing these methods includes Getting Found Online by Creating Content that is optimized for the search engines and shared within social media. To Build your brand you have to join the conversations that are occurring in social media and win the trust and respect from your target audience. After doing this, that audience is much more likely to want to buy from you. And many of these interactions will happen online.
In these two case studies, we’ve integrated a combination of Outbound and Inbound techniques.
Can’t get upset about someone breaking a policy if there’s policy in place
Employers need to be upfront with employees that they have no right to privacy with respect to social networking
Employees should be made aware that company policies on anti-harassment, ethics and company loyalty extend to all forms of communication (including social media) both inside and outside the workplace.
Once you’ve opened up your blog for feedback, expect a wide range of comments - constructive, complimentary, hateful, and lots of spam.
Have a policy in place to determine how comments should be responded to, deleted or passed along for follow-up.
Certain laws provide protection from liability for user content, but you don’t want to get caught in the middle of litigation.
So isn’t this presentation a derivative work?
Fair use – technically copyright infringement, but an exception
Hopefully a little bit of each of these will occur today
Sharon angle’s campaign
Infringing content in blog posts
Righthaven promises in a 26-page motion that it won’t file any more lawsuits unless the defendant has copied at least 75 percent of the text of an article that Righthaven owns the copyright to.
Many of its lawsuits arise, not from articles posted by a website or blog owner, but from comments and forum posts by the site’s readers.
Under the DMCA, a website enjoys effective immunity from civil copyright liability for user content, provided they, promptly remove infringing material at the request of a rightsholder.
Paramount and mtv
What many don’t realize is that to claim immunity, you must register a DMCA Takedown Agent
If you run a U.S. blog or a community site that accepts user content, register a DMCA agent and sending $105 and the form.
DMCA not enough
In addition to music and film sites, Dropbox, Rapidshare – one-click hosting sites
Mp3 blogs – usually hold up under fair use, but DOJ could act differently
Sites that discuss p2p
Wikileaks? Govt information
allow the Attorney General to censor sites even when no court has found they have infringed copyright or any other law.
(2) Interactive computer serviceThe term “interactive computer service” means any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.
(3) Information content providerThe term “information content provider” means any person or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other interactive computer service.
ordered by the court to provide users’ IP address and other information
French computer user name to the word “rapist” in web searches. The man was convicted of the “corruption of a minor” and sentenced to three years in jail earlier this year. However, he is considered innocent under French law until all of his appeals have been exhausted.
Is it Google's responsibility to keep your cleared name from being paired with crimes you didn't commit?
Requiring Google to control information is another way to say you give Google control of information.
Another point --- World-wide web
Is it Google's responsibility to keep your cleared name from being paired with crimes you didn't commit?
Citizen Kane – September 5, 1941
Use similar technology as copyright trolls to scour internet for violations