linkP.O. Box 414557 • Kansas City, MO 64141

March 2007 • Volume 19 • Number 1www.awl-kc.org

OFFICERS

Tracy Bornman, PresidentKim Fournier, President-ElectLara Dickey Lewis, Treasurer

Tamie Anfang, SecretaryMira Mdivani, Asst. Secretary

B. Janeen deVries, Past President

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIP:Shelley Ericsson, Chair

Nikki Cannezzaro, Vice-Chair

JUDICIAL:Lauren Tucker McCubbin, Chair

Jennifer Chapin, Vice-Chair

MEMBERSHIP:Jennifer Kopp Dameron, Chair

Phyllis Norman, Vice-Chair

COMMUNITY SUPPORT:Courtney Hasselberg, Chair

Kimberly Gibbens, Vice-Chair

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES:Amanda Pennington Ketchum, Chair

Wendee Elliott-Clement, Vice-Chair

CONTINUING LEGALEDUCATION:

Lynne Weddle Judkins, ChairPascale Henn, Vice-Chair

BOARD MEMBERS AT-LARGEBeverly Weber

Koriambanya (Kori) CarewAthena Brackmann

Sheryl NelsonJenny Redix

Brandee B. Bower

©2007 Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City

Board of Directors

DATE .......... EVENTApril 19 ...................Spring Judicial Reception, 5:00-7:00 p.m. (Lidia's)

March 23 ................Recruiting Lunch (Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP)

April 24...................Women’s Lyceum (Overland Park Convention Center)

December 11..........Annual Meeting and Holiday Judicial Reception (Time & Location TBA)

ink

it in

...

By Amanda Pennington KetchumZiegler Pennington Ketchum, LLC

This year's AWL Social Committee,Amanda Pennington Ketchum andWendee Elliott-Clement, invite you

to attend the first social event of the year.AWL's annual SpringJudicial Reception willtake place from 5:00 to7:00 p.m. on Thursday,April 19, 2007, at Lidia'sKansas City. Lidia's islocated in a restoredfreight building at 101

West 22nd Street, just north of UnionStation. The event will take place upstairs inLidia's private banquet room, and willinclude a sampling of their exquisite Italiancuisine and wines for AWL members andjudges.

AWL's Spring Judicial Reception is anannual event to honor Missouri and Kansasstate and federal trial and appellate judges.Please join AWL for an evening of socializ-ing with colleagues and the judiciary. Also,please see the Ink It In section of thisnewsletter for a listing of all of the upcom-ing AWL social events - and remember tomark your 2007 calendars accordingly!

AWL'S Spring Judicial ReceptionSet for April 19th at Lidia's

For highlights from our

Annual Meeting

and Judicial Reception

in December,

see page 6

Polsinelli Announces Addition of“Mothers’ Room” To Plaza OfficesPolsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus

(PSFS) recently announced to itsemployees the addition of a specially

designed "Mothers' Room." The room, at thefirm's Country Club Plaza location, isdesigned to assist new mothers with thetransition back to work and provides aclean, private and quiet space for expressingbreast milk at PSFS. The Mothers' Room alsoprovides PSFS women with the option ofusing a hospital grade Medela Symphony

breast pump, which remains in the room.Kits for each individual mother are availablefor purchase through the firm's humanresources department. St. Luke's reportsthat PSFS is the first business to rent from ita breast pump for employee use.

Other basic necessities to the breast pump-ing process are provided in the PSFSMothers' Room, including a refrigerator forstoring milk and both a sink and microwave

continued on page 4

2 the AWL link March 2007

It's time to kick off a new AWL year!A warm welcome to new members,and a warm welcome back to our vet-

eran members! AWL's new Board ofDirectors has already met three times,and we're moving full steam ahead withactivities for 2007. We're planning ourSpring Judicial Reception at Lidia's onApril 19, 2007. We also have a couple ofCLE programs in the works, so be watch-ing for those announcements and look

for the "Ink It In" section in each issue of The Link.This is my first message as AWL President, and I am hon-

ored (and a bit nervous!) to take on this role. One of thequestions the new president is always asked is, "What areyour goals for this year?" That is a tough one. I have toadmit that I spent most of 2006 wondering what monu-mental goal I could come up with that would cause every-one to "ooh" and "aah." I did not come up with one thatcaused that reaction, however, I did come up with a coupleof goals that are important to me, and that I think areimportant to many AWL members.

First, I do not want our organization to move backwardsin any way and, in fact, I want us to continue to move for-ward. We've come a long way over the past several years,and I am impressed with this progress. From the substanceand quality of our newsletters and CLE programs, to theactive, qualified, and intelligent Board Members we havebeen able to attract, to the strong member participation atAWL events. We must keep moving forward!

Second, I really would like to increase the involvement ofour membership in community service activities and caus-es, particularly those that assist women in need. We havemade great progress in this area. I hope we make evengreater progress this year, and I highly encourage all mem-bers to find at least one AWL service activity in which youcan be involved. For example, at virtually every AWLevent, we have a designated charitable organization forwhom we collect donations. These donations typicallyinclude a specific list of items that represent a current needof that organization, and we always forward monetarydonations for those members who prefer that option. Thisis an easy way to fill an urgent need of a charitable organi-zation.

We also have our annual "I'm Not Serious About Golf"Tournament, which raises funds that we use for charitablepurposes. Those funds have been used for the AWL schol-arship fund, to purchase toys for the Children's Room at theMunicipal Court, and to donate much needed monetaryassistance to the Hurricane Katrina victims. So, you canhave fun playing golf (or looking like you've never playedbefore) and raise money to help others at the same time.

Finally, we will again have our Women in Shelter Step-UpProgram this summer. This program was started last sum-mer under Janeen's excellent leadership. We discoveredthat many women in shelters had really dug themselvesinto a hole that was preventing them from moving forwardin their lives. They each had outstanding warrants inMunicipal Court. These warrants resulted from what wasinitially a minor, non-violent violation, followed by a fail-ure to pay their fine, or otherwise resolve the ticket they

had received. They could not afford an attorney to helpthem because they didn't have jobs. They couldn't get a jobbecause the outstanding warrant was keeping them fromgetting a driver's license for transportation to a job, frompassing a background check needed to get a job, etc.

Under AWL's program, local shelters transported thesewomen to the Municipal Court, and Judge Franco, JudgeMcAdam, and Judge Williams kindly devoted their court-rooms to an afternoon of hearing these women's cases.Several attorneys volunteered their time to appear withthese women, and the women were given community serv-ice hours to perform (in their own shelter, where possible)as their sentences for the violations they had committed.

The gratitude of these women was amazing for anyonewho was there. There was one woman who was about tofinish her degree in Social Work, but she couldn't get theinternship she needed with the County because of her out-standing warrant, for something she said she did when shewas a "silly teenager." I thought she was going to dance outof the courthouse, while other women had tears streamingdown their cheeks from the relief and gratitude. These arejust a few of the many stories from the 130 women whowere helped that day. These warrants will no longer beobstacles to these women getting the jobs they need to takecare of themselves and their children, and that is a power-ful accomplishment.

This program will be held again this summer, and I wantto encourage all AWL members to consider volunteering insome way (even if you don't feel comfortable appearing incourt - I was one of those!). We have many opportunities toassist in planning the program, which takes several months,as well as assisting with check-ins, schedules, etc., the dayof the event. We also hope to increase attendance in theprogram and perhaps expand it to other courts, so there isa huge need for volunteers! Please e-mail me at tborn-man@hoveywilliams.com if you would like to participate,or if you would like to be involved in some other aspect ofAWL's community service projects. We would love to haveyour help, and we're looking forward to a great year!

Welcome to a Brand New Yearpr

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Congratulations‘Super Lawyers’

Congratulations to the AWL Members whowere recently included in the "50 Women SuperLawyers in Missouri and Kansas" published inKC Magazine. They are:

Regina Kellan BassCathy DeanDenise K. DrakeKaren Rose GlicksteinR. Denise HenningNancy E. KennerElaine Drodge KochSusan Linden McGreevy

Cheryl A. PilateKaren PlaxAnita Porte RobbTerry J. SatterleePatricia A. SextonMarie S. WoodburyTeresa A. Woody

March 2007 the AWL link 3

Meet your 2007 AWL Board Members

4 the AWL link March 2007

Wha

t’s

goin

g on

... Congratulations to Denise Henning on

the recent opening of The HenningLaw Firm, P.C. Denise will continue

to focus on representing Plaintiffs in casesinvolving serious personal injuries or wrong-ful death arising from car accidents, semi-truck wrecks, work-related accidents, med-ical malpractice or product liability.

Denise prepares every case with the samemeticulous attention to detail. She gets toknow her clients on a personal level whichallows her to understand their concerns andbe a better advocate for her client's positionthroughout the case and in the courtroom.Most of Denise's clients have never hired a lawyer beforeand are seeking representation because something tragic

has happened to them or to a family member.They seek counsel, advice and someone totrust as they try to put their lives back togeth-er while facing medical treatment and thecosts associated with it, the financial strain ofnot being able to work, or the death of a lovedone.

Denise is a former AWL board member andwas the president of AWL in 2003. Denise washonored with AWL's "Woman of the Year"Award in 2004. Denise's trial skills have beenrecognized with several awards including theMissouri Bar Foundation's Lon O. HockerAward in 2002 and the Kansas City

Metropolitan Bar Foundation's Thomas J. Conway Awardin 2006.

Denise Henning opens The Henning Law Firm

R. Denise Henning

Making sure everything's dot-ted and crossed is a big reliefto many entrepreneurs when

starting their businesses. But there arebigger hurdles than just formation.

With the knowledge of how the busi-ness owner's mind works, and theexperience to understand their needs,The Murphy Law Firm, P.A. has devel-oped its policy of not only helping abusiness with their transactionalneeds, but being there to assist themwith whatever hurdles come next,wherever they happen to crop up.

The Murphy Law Firm is anOverland Park, Kansas based law firmserving clients in Kansas, Missouri andnationwide. The firm’s litigation prac-tice includes representation in the trial,appellate and supreme courts ofKansas and Missouri, the district andappellate federal courts in Kansas,

Missouri, Michigan, Illinois and theUnited States Supreme Court. Theyhave substantial trial experience inbusiness litigation, arbitration andmediation involving such topics asshareholder disputes, contracts, securi-ties, employment issues, real estate andconstruction.

Murphy’s business practice entails afull range of representation for small-to medium-sized businesses, includingentity choice and formation, capitaliza-tion and funding, mergers and acquisi-tions, reorganizations, contractual rela-tionships, employment matters andother issues confronting today's busi-nesses. They also have significantexperience in both day-to-day andsophisticated real estate matters,including syndication, development,construction, 1031 exchanges, andmechanic's liens.

The Murphy Law Firm’s mandate isto provide quality representation forclients, utilizing their ability to beavailable for clients when needed, andto keep them fully informed of theirlegal matters.

Mark D. Murphy established theMurphy Law Firm in 1995. He gradu-ated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, and hasalways focused his practice on thewidely varied issues facing all busi-nesses. Mark is licensed in Missouriand Kansas.

Sheila M. Thiele is a recent graduateof the University of Missouri-KansasCity School of Law, and joined theMurphy Law Firm as an associate in2006. Prior to law school, she was alegal affairs reporter for The DailyRecord in Kansas City. Sheila islicensed in Missouri.

Meet the Murphy Law Firm

for sterilization of breast pump kit parts. The room alsoutilizes technology in two ways: Entry to the space is bysecurity card access only and PSFS women may scheduletime in the Mothers' Room through an on-line reservationsystem. As anyone who has ever pumped "on the sly" canattest, all of these features provide peace of mind to thoseusing the Mothers' Room.

An informal poll reveals that several other area law firmsand businesses, including but not limited to, Shook, Hardy& Bacon, Blackwell Sanders, Stinson Morrison Hecker,Sprint, Hallmark and H&R Block have also set aside spe-cific rooms for their breastfeeding employees. In addition,sources indicate that the new Federal Reserve Bank ("FRB")building, which is presently under construction at 28th andMain Streets, will feature a room dedicated to use bybreastfeeding bank employees. Through the use of priva-cy screens, the FRB mothers' room will apparently servemore than one mother at a time.

Employer support for breastfeeding employees should

come as no surprise to attorneys attuned to legislativetrends. As of November 2006, forty-six out of 50 states hadenacted legislation regarding breastfeeding. Eleven ofthose forty-six states have enacted legislation relatedspecifically to breastfeeding in the workplace. Althoughneither Missouri nor Kansas are among those eleven states,they do have relevant legislation, which offers some guid-ance on the states' positions with respect to breastfeeding.In Missouri, "a mother may, with as much discretion aspossible, breast-feed her child in any public or private loca-tion where the mother is otherwise authorized to be."R.S.Mo. § 191.918. In Kansas, breastfeeding mothers areexempted from jury duty. K.S.A. § 43-158(e).

For information on how to rent your own hospital gradebreast pump, consider contacting Breast Pump Services atSt. Luke's: 816-932-6007. The Medela web site is also help-ful for those preparing to work outside the home who wantinformation about working and breastfeeding:www.medela.com.

Mothers’ Room, continued from page 1

March 2007 the AWL link 5

What’s going on ...

/ View

From the B

ench ...

By Lauren E. Tucker McCubbinPolsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus PC

Though Judge Robert E. Larsen is aMagistrate Judge at the United StatesDistrict Court for the Western District of

Missouri, he is, at heart, a teacher. JudgeLarsen has a passion for the art of trial advoca-cy. In pursuit of his passion, Judge Larsendonates countless hours of his personal time toeducating law students and young attorneysand has authored a number of instructionaltexts on trial technique.

When he is not hearing cases, Judge Larsenis an adjunct professor at UMKC Law Schoolwhere he has taught, pro bono, for severalyears. He currently teaches two courses:"Advanced Writing in Criminal Cases," which he teaches solo,and "Criminal Trial Techniques," which he teaches with JimWyrsch and J.R. Hobbs of Wyrsch Hobbs & Mirakian, P.C..

Judge Larsen is also a Master at the Ross T. Roberts Inn ofCourt and is in charge of Division I, the first year of the two-year program. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Inn ofCourt program was designed to promote excellence and civili-ty in trial advocacy through a series of monthly sessions duringwhich young attorneys, or "Barristers," are instructed on thebasic elements of trial practice by experienced judges and attor-neys. At each session, several of the Barristers conduct ademonstration of the trial technique that is the subject of the les-son, and, at the end of the term, the Barristers put on a mocktrial before judges.

In addition to facilitating monthly lessons for Barristers,Judge Larsen also hosts a lunch session the week prior to themonth's lesson, where he offers his personal insight on the topic

about to be covered, as well as assistance to theBarristers who will be giving the demonstra-tion. In conjunction with these lectures, JudgeLarsen has created outlines for each of the stepsin the trial process called "Trial Do's and Don'ts."Judge Larsen is also always willing to meet withany Barrister who has questions or would likemore information about a trial technique.

Judge Larsen has incorporated his knowl-edge about trial advocacy into several writtenworks as well. His most recent piece,Navigating the Federal Trial, from WestPublishing, provides practical guidance aboutconducting the six major components of a trial:jury selection, creating and presenting an open-ing statement, conducting the direct and cross-examination of lay and expert witnesses, laying

the evidentiary foundation for exhibits, and preparing for anddelivering the closing argument. The text is easy to use - it iswritten in question/answer format - and offers step-by-stepinstructions for litigators.

Judge Larsen's expertise is the result of his own educationand experience as a trial lawyer. He is a graduate of RockhurstCollege and the University of Missouri, Kansas City LawSchool. Judge Larsen began his legal career as a staff attorneyin the Criminal Division of the United States Department ofJustice in Washington, D.C.. In 1976, he transferred from MainJustice in Washington, D.C., to the United States Attorney'sOffice for the Western District of Missouri as an AssistantUnited States Attorney. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, JudgeLarsen represented the federal government in both criminaland civil cases pending before the Western District of Missouriand the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Larsen wasappointed as a U.S. Magistrate in 1991.

Beyond the Bench…Getting To Know United States Magistrate Judge Robert E. Larsen

Bower Belancio, LLC recently cele-brated the milestone of its oneyear anniversary with an Open

House on February 1, 2007. It is a twolawyer firm run by Brandee Bower andMichael Belancio. Both are AWL mem-bers and have been actively working oncases together since they were associatesat Foland, Wickens, Eisfelder, Roper &Hofer. They have very different styles ofpractice, which lends itself to a synergis-tic effect where the whole is greater thanthe sum of its parts. As a result, theydecided to open their own firm, and didso on February 1, 2006.

Bower Belancio's first year was filledwith some wonderful achievements,such as both of them being named Bestof the Bar in the Kansas City BusinessJournal, being appointed as part of a cap-ital murder defense team, and gainingyet more jury trial experience. Above,the term "milestone" was used, and it

was not done so lightly. Despite theirsense of accomplishment, the past yearhas been quite a change for Brandee andMichael, transitioning from a medium-sized defense firm, where they wereemployees, to a small plaintiff's firm,where they are the owners. After walk-ing a mile (or year in this case) in plain-tiff's attorney's shoes, they have a newfound respect for those on this side of thefence, and for how much work goes intoprosecuting an effective plaintiff's case.In addition, the change from employeeto owner brings with it a whole new setof challenges; managing employees,paying bills, and taking administrativetime away from practicing law to do thesame. On the whole, the good far out-weighs the adverse, and they are gladthat they took the leap of faith and decid-ed to open their own firm.

Brandee spends the majority of herpractice working on plaintiff's cases.

This is a great change from her prioryears spent working at defense firms. Inher free time, Brandee enjoys runningmarathons and serving on severalBoards of Directors, such as AWL andKCMBA. She is also actively involvedwith First Downs for Down Syndrome,and was recently asked to become part ofthe Kansas City Chief's Red Coaters.

Michael's time is divided betweenappellate, criminal defense, and plain-tiff's §1983 cases. He grew up inPennsylvania and attended law school inBoston, and started his career in KansasCity by clerking for The HonorableCharles Atwell. Michael is a member ofseveral organizations, including theBoard of Directors of Missouri ParentsAct (MPACT). This is a non-profitorganization that strives to ensure thatall children with special needs receive aneducation, allowing them to achievetheir personal goals.

Bower Belancio Celebrates One Year

The Hon. Robert E. Larsen

6 the AWL link March 2007

2006

Ann

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,Ju

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22000066 AAnnnnuuaall MMeeeettiinngg aanndd JJuuddiicciiaall RReecceeppttiioonn HHeellddThe Association for Women Lawyers

of Greater Kansas City held its AnnualMeeting, Holiday Party, and JudicialReception at the home of PastPresident, Nancy Kenner, on December12, 2006.

The 2007 Board of Directors waselected at the meeting. PresidentJaneen deVries was honored by AWLwith the Woman of the Year Award.

Past President Denise Henning, MiraMdivani, and Molly Williams receivedthe President's Award for their out-standing work for AWL over the year.The Honorable Elena M. Franco, TheHonorable Michael McAdam, and TheHonorable John B. Williams receivedthe Judicial Recognition Award for vol-unteering their time and courtrooms forAWL's Women in Shelter Step-Up

Program. Hovey Williams LLP wasnamed Firm of the Year for its regularsupport of AWL throughout the year.

Attendance at the Judicial Receptionwas the best ever, as was the food!Sheffield Place was thrilled with all ofthe toys donated at the Holiday Party,and they have thanked AWL profusely.

Thanks to everyone for their gen-erosity and a great party!

March 2007 the AWL link 7

An Intellectual Property Checklist for WebsitesBy Cheryl BurbachHovey Williams LLP

With the ever-expanding presenceof commerce on the Internet,businesses should be aware of

the potential legal liabilities and issuesinvolved - including those concernedwith intellectual property law. The fol-lowing is a brief "checklist" of intellectualproperty issues that may arise, along withpractical suggestions to consider.1

Trademark InfringementThe unauthorized use of another’s

trademark on a website may provide thebasis for liability under the Lanham Act,15 U.S.C. 1051 et. seq. For instance, a cur-rent legal issue is the use of trademarks ofothers in hidden “metatags” (internalwebsite programming code that isaccessed and utilized by many Internetsearch engines). This conduct can exposea website owner to trademark infringe-ment under both federal and state laws.

Additionally, the registration of domainnames that allegedly infringe on existingtrademarks of others - or cybersquatting -can subject a website owner to liability fortrademark infringement and for damagesunder the Anticybersquatting Act, as wellas state and common law. A trademarkowner may also initiate an arbitrationproceeding to resolve a domain name dis-pute.

Copyright InfringementThe use of copyrighted materials of

another on a website may provide thebasis for a copyright infringement claim.Forethought must be exercised in assur-ing that the text and pictures posted eitherare internally created, or were commis-sioned by another under an appropriatecontract (as a “work made for hire”), orthat permission has been obtained fromthe copyright owner.

Recent Internet-specific copyrightclaims included unauthorized “framing”(the creation by one site of an on-screenborder that stays constant even as a visi-tor jumps to other sites) and unautho-rized linking to specific sub-pages inanother’s site (bypassing the latter’shome page and other material, includingadvertising). Exercising caution andobtaining appropriate advance consentsare advised.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act(DMCA) can provide specific protectionfor copyrighted works on the internet,networks or computer systems. TheDMCA makes it a crime to circumvent

anti-piracy measuresbuilt into most commer-cial software and out-laws the manufacture,sale, or distribution ofcode-cracking devicesused to illegally copysoftware.

Importantly, someworks may not be pro-tectable by copyright,i.e. data or factual infor-mation. As such, web-site owners that providedatabases of informa-tion (such as inventoryor pricing) or other confidential informa-tion through its website will want to con-sider protecting its trade secret informa-tion through the use of passwords andclick-wrap agreements. Such measurescan provide a contractual legal basis toprotect against the stealing of proprietaryinformation, when copyright or otherintellectual property laws may not apply.

Contracts with Content ProvidersIt is critical that a website operator

enter into written contracts with outsideauthors and other content providers.Such contracts should include a variety ofadditional provisions such as representa-tions and warranties by the creator, thatthe material is the creator’s sole work,that it contains no material that is libelousor which infringes the rights of others oris unlawful, and that it is accurate; indem-nification of the publisher against claimsrelating to the content (the value of thismay be limited by the “shallow pockets”of many authors); and the right of theoperator to edit or otherwise change thework.

Contracts with Website DevelopersMany are unaware that the lack of a

website development agreement canresult in the loss of valuable copyrights.Without an express agreement to transferthe copyrights to the website owner, awebsite developer, as an independentcontractor, is an author of the copyrightsin the website. As an author, the develop-er may use, copy, and/or make derivativeworks of the website or the art containedtherein. Thus, a website owner shouldseek a written agreement before retaininga website developer.

Violation of Advertising LawsCompanies must make sure they com-

ply with all applicable advertising,“deceptive practices,” and “unfair com-

petition” laws and regula-tions, given the possibilitythat a website may beviewed in whole or part asan advertisement. Ofcourse, statements on com-pany websites may also becited by plaintiffs in sup-port of traditional fraud orbreach of contract claims.The use of disclaimers andqualifying language,expressly affirming nowarranties are being madeand denying any liabilityfor damages, plus specifi-

cation of the other terms and conditionsunder which the site and its informationare being made available may provideadditional insulation to reduce liabilityexposure. Website owners may also wantto consider a “click-through” agreementfrom users before proceeding further ontothe site.

Tortious InterferenceA plaintiff may claim that statements

appearing on a website have wrongfullyinterfered with the plaintiff’s contractualor business relations with another, caus-ing the plaintiff harm. An example mightbe a statement on a product manufactureror service provider’s website improperlyadvocating that consumers not use theproducts or services of a competitor,which allegedly causes a customer tocease relations. Website owners shouldbe cautious to avoid making such state-ments.

LinkingA plaintiff may allege that a company’s

link to another’s website makes the com-pany responsible for the content of thatother site. To minimize the risk of such aclaim, any linking to third-party sitesshould be accompanied with a notice dis-claiming responsibility for and affirma-tively denying any endorsement of prod-ucts, services, or information containedon that outside site.

Should operators of other sites wish tolink to your company’s site, counselshould consider requiring that such oper-ators enter into a website linking agree-ment, an increasingly-popular tool settingthe requirements with which to the oper-ators must comply. As a business matter,however, such precaution should beweighed against the downside of poten-tially reducing the frequency of desirablelinking.

Cheryl Burbach

Substantive Law

Update:

Intellectual Property ...

continued on page 8

Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas CityP.O Box 414557Kansas City, MO 64141

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PRESORT STANDARDUS POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT #5640

KANSAS CITY, MO

Statements/Materials Posted By OthersIf an operator allows statements or materials by others to be

posted on its website through uploads or “chat room”exchanges, a plaintiff might argue that the operator is responsi-ble for or has “republished” such matter. Courts looking atsuch situations have sometimes been more inclined to find lia-bility where the site operator has exercised some degree of edi-torial control over such matter. Although the legal issues in thiscontext have not been fully resolved, the prudent course is toexercise caution in the decision whether to allow any third-partypostings.

Performing a thorough audit of a website can reduce thepotential risk of legal liability, and assist businesses in protectingtheir own intellectual property.

1This list is not exhaustive and does not include other issues or potential liabilityissues that could arise from a website, such as privacy, libel, or defamation con-cerns. Due to the specific nature of a business, such as a financial institution, itmay be governed by other applicable laws not addressed here.

Websites, continued from page 7