Did you hear the roar? Opening Day is not until Friday in Baltimore, but Maryland’s film and television crew base and hundreds of small businesses are cheering the General Assembly for extending the film production the tax credit, and approving an additional $17.5 million in tax credits for eligible televison and film projects in 2014. The (...) [Read More]
Author Archives: Cynthia Sanders
Supreme Court: “first sale doctrine” permits sales of used foreign books in US without infringing US copyright owners’ rights
March 27, 2013
Under the doctrine of “first sale,” owners of objects are permitted to resell them without violating the exclusive right of distribution accorded copyright owners under US copyright law. Last week, the US Supreme Court, the court in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley found that the doctrine of first sale was not limited to US copyrighted works (...) [Read More]
Buying a Tweet ad? Avoid FTC scrutiny by following these 3 weird little #Ad rules
March 13, 2013
You may have heard this before, social media is not exempt from the ad rules regarding testimonials and endorsements. The FTC announced (again) that marketers placing short form ads in social media must comply with three basic truth-in-advertising principles: Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading; If the advertiser doesn’t have proof that the endorser’s (...) [Read More]
Distasteful criminal case sheds light on liability for violent user generated content
March 12, 2013
A New York court convicted the “Cannibal Cop” trial in for conspiracy to kidnap, murder and eat women for pleasure based on postings made by the defendant on darkfetish.net. The defendant intends to appeal. The question on appeal boils down to whether the defendant’s online fantasy role play provided the mens rea (criminal intent) to conspire (...) [Read More]
User help thyself! Take control of your privacy settings and don’t post private content online
January 5, 2013
Keeping your Facebook images private is a confounding problem. Ask Mark Zuckerberg’s sister Randi who couldn’t make sense of FB’s privacy settings. Kashmir Hill, a privacy commentator at Forbes posted a funny analysis of the Zuckerberg predicament and easy to follow directions on how to adjust your settings to keep family photos more private. The settings (...) [Read More]
Performance Artist FORCE Launches Spoof with Long Legs
December 18, 2012
A group of performance artists from Baltimore known as “FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture” took advantage of a much anticipated media event to bring attention to the importance of consensual sex. The VS All Access Victoria’s Secret fashion show is an such an event, gluing billions of eyeballs to its prime time telecast. For FORCE, the (...) [Read More]
Facebook gets a new groove: proposed updates to privacy and use policies
November 25, 2012
I guess we of Facebook Nation no longer “think” as one. Last week Facebook announced proposed changes to its Data Use Policy (explains collection and use of data) and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (terms of use). As of November 28, Facebook will be able to change its policies with seven days notice to users. (...) [Read More]
Collecting children’s data without their parents’ permission earns the FTC a cool $1M fine from Bieber Fansite
October 5, 2012
Websites should consider treating children as an attractive nuisance. Even consider putting up fences to keep them out. The FTC is monitoring many websites that attract children (even unintentionally) for COPPA violations. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, COPPA, requires websites to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from kids under age 13. (...) [Read More]
Can a celebrity’s post mortem right of publicity enter the public domain?
August 22, 2012
Banking on a dead celebrity’s right of publicity being public domain is an extremely dangerous advertising practice. Rights of publicity are a suite of legal rights that have developed from invasion of privacy and trademark law since the early 20th Century. There is a web of state and federal laws that can protect dead celebrities– even celebrities from (...) [Read More]
@FTC: Google pays $22M for (unintentional) misrepresentation of privacy practices – no intent required
August 17, 2012
The FTC hosted a super fascinating Twitter “conversation” following its announcement of the $22 million settlement with Google over its privacy violation in overriding the Safari browser’s privacy settings without notifying users. FTC Department of Enforcement staffers exchanged tweets with a few privacy-focused Twitter users. Many tweets focused on whether Google intentionally deceived users as to its (...) [Read More]
