Intellectual Property Rights and Internet Law, Social Media, and

Privacy

Chapter 8 & 9

Intellectual Property• Property resulting from intellectual, creative

processes—the products of an individual’s mind.

• Laws protecting patents, trademarks, and copyrights are designed explicitly to protect, nurture, and reward inventive and artistic creativity.

• The owner of the intellectual property typically will be paid a royalty on all sales of goods manufactured or sold pursuant to the license.

Trademarks• A distinctive mark, motto, or device that a

manufacturer stamps, prints, or otherwise affixes to goods so that they may be identified on the market.

• Federal law protects infringement as well as dilution. (Can be online ie. Candyland.com)

• Owners may register a mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office pursuant to the Lanham Act or with one or more states.

TrademarksVarious marks have been protected: • Coca-Cola• Kleenex

Other items have lost protection due to becoming generic terms:

• Aspirin• Thermos• Escalator

Cyber MarksTrade marks also have protection on the

Internet: • Holders of registered trademarks now have

protection in usage as domain names• Prohibition of “cybersquatting” in 1999

amendments to Lanham ActUse of trademarks as meta tags on websites

can be OK as nominative use.

Patents• An inventor’s right to make, use, or sell his

or her invention for a period of time.• Obtained for a product, process, or design.• Inventor must convince the U.S. Patent and

Trademark Office that it is genuine, novel, useful, and not obvious in light of current technology.

Patents• The patent owner may grant exclusive or non-

exclusive licenses to others to enable them to make, use, or sell the patented product, process, or design.

Copyrights• The exclusive right of an author to publish,

print, or sell a product of his or her intellect for a certain period of time.

• A copyright grants its holder the same monopolistic control over his or her creation as a patent or trademark.

• May be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Copyrights• “Fair Use” Doctrine - statutory defense to

claim of infringement– criticism,– commentary, – news reporting, – teaching, – scholarship, or – research.

Copyrights• Copyright protection also extends to

computer software.– Software code is deemed a “literary work”– Courts generally do not protect “look and feel”

of various programs

Copyrights in Digital Information

• Based on the Copyright Act of 1976.• Infringement may occur when a song (or any

part of it) is copied or downloaded into a computer.

Copyrights in Digital Information

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act.–Provides civil and criminal penalties to

circumvent encryption software (like DVD).

–Limits ISP liability for subscriber acts.–‘Fair Use’ Exceptions for Libraries,

universities and others.

Trade Secrets• A trade secret is information or a process

that gives a person or business an advantage over competitors who do not have access to the information or process.

• Trade secret protection is almost exclusively a matter of common law - not a matter of any state or federal agency.

Trade Secrets• Examples:

– customer lists, – pricing information, – marketing techniques, – research and development, – production methods,– etc.

Internet Law

• Spam: unsolicited “junk” emails with ads, solicitations, and other messages.– State Regulation of Spam.

• Thirty-six states have legislation requiring an “opt out” of further email ads.

Internet Law

• Spam: unsolicited “junk” emails with ads, solicitations, and other messages.– State Regulation of Spam.

• Thirty-six states have legislation requiring an “opt out” of further email ads.

Social Media• Legal Issues.

– Does infringement occur if a Facebook user posts copyrighted material? Is there a fair-use exception? What if the material is only for comment or discussion, not for profit?

Social Media• Legal Issues.

– Discovery in litigation almost always includes social media content.

– Criminal Investigations.– Administrative Agencies.

Social Media• Legal Issues.

– Employers’ Social Media Policies.• If employee violates company policy on social media

(during work), the employee may be disciplined.

Social Media• Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

– Prohibits interception of any wire, oral, or electronic communication.

– Also prohibits the intentional disclosure of said information.

Social Media• Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

– Exclusions: what employer authorizes in the “ordinary course” of its business.

– Stored Communications: prohibited, provides for both criminal and civil penalties.

Social Media• Protection of Social Media Passwords.

– 2013: four states have passed laws to protect users from disclosing passwords (including virtually any online storage – iTunes, icloud, etc).

Intellectual Property Rights and Internet Law, Social Media, and

Privacy

Chapter 8 & 9