Advertising and Marketing Law
What the U.S. Constitution Teaches About Drafting Social Media Policies
December 19, 2011I was a history major in college, and I learned to value lessons from our past. When I read that Supreme Court Justice Breyer was the first US Supreme Court justice to participate in a live streaming social media event this past July, I noted that one of our most historic institutions, the Supreme Court, was taking a giant step forward into the future. I was even more struck when I heard what the event was about. Justice Breyer was teaching Tunisian scholars about drafting a constitution for their fledgling democracy, and he was using the American constitution as the lesson book. Powerful lessons from history indeed!
Read More...Lessons from the FTC Settlement with Facebook
December 6, 2011Facebook and the FTC have announced a settlement over charges that Facebook’s 2009 retroactive changes of users’ privacy settings constituted deceptive behavior. Much of the settlement is a rehash of what we already know, namely that Facebook was pursuing aggressively the erosion of privacy and that the FTC wants companies to implement comprehensive privacy programs that are flexible as new business practices emerge. The most interesting aspects of the settlement are as follows:
Read More...Legal Requirements for Architecting a Social Media Marketing Plan
November 28, 2011In September, I met web strategist Jeremiah Owyang, Industry Analyst at Altimeter at FSMU 2011. Jeremiah and I recently discussed his KMWorld speech “Social Readiness: Architecting a Connected Enterprise.” I share five areas for questions and thoughts here.
Read More...What does the Possible FTC Settlement with Facebook Mean?
November 10, 2011The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the FTC is near settlement with Facebook over charges that its 2009 retroactive changes of users’ privacy settings constituted deceptive behavior.
Read More...A Menu of Intellectual Property Strategies–Restaurant Management
November 8, 2011I co-authored an article with Jess Collen, partner in Collen IP’s Restaurant and Food Services Group, on ways restaurants can use intellectual property laws to further their business interests. This article first appeared in the September 28, 2011 edition of rmgmtmagazine.com.
Read More...Online Marketers Need to Know about FTC Proposed Changes to Mail Order Rule
October 31, 2011If you follow advertising law, you know that the FTC is in the process of reviewing all of its agency rules and guides to conform them to modern marketplace realities. Earlier this month, the FTC announced proposed changes to the Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, and it opened the changes for public comment.
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