Swan TurtonSwan TurtoniCrossing, Brighton

SOCIAL MEDIA & THE LAW

21 April 2010

Tom CowlingTel: 020 7520 9561

Email: tom.cowling@swanturton.com68a Neal Street, London

WC2H 9PA

Lawyers are human too!

The Law & Social Media

• Complex, dangerous environment

• Broad legal rights and obligations

• Traps & pitfalls

• Invest in knowledge & understanding:• Cohesive image and brand enhancement• Reduced exposure• Harness the power of Social Media

• Competitive advantage

The Law & Social Media

• Some useful resources:• www.ipo.gov.uk• www.own-it.org• www.wipo.org• http://www.creativecommons.org.uk/• http://www.ico.gov.uk/• http://asa.org.uk/

The Law and Social Media

• 4 sections:• Contractual Rights• Laws and regulations• Third party rights• Conclusion

Contractual Rights

• “Not tonight son…!”

Contractual Rights

• Prominence & accessibility• Home page & other• Plain English

• Dovetail where appropriate

• 3 main documents:• T&C’s• Privacy Policy• Disclaimer

T&C’s

T&C’s

• Identity & contact details

• Participation conditional on acceptance

• Eligibility (eg 18+)

• Term

• Registration

• Acceptable use

• Right to suspend or terminate

• Jurisdiction

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

• Date of Policy

• Identify yourself as the Data Controller

• Scope & nature of information

• How is the information dealt with:• Published• Moved abroad/outside of EU• Sold to third parties

• Users’ use and access rights

Disclaimers

Disclaimers:

• Because shit happens…

• Part of T&C’s or, better, keep separate

• Damage limitation you won’t regret

• Exclude eg loss of profit, damage to reputation

• Indemnity from user (better than nothing)

Laws & Regulations

• Data Protection Act

• Gambling Act 2005

• Protection from Harassment Act 1997

• Racial, sexual and age discrimination legislation

• Obscenity Publications Act 1959• “…obscene if it is intended to corrupt or

deprave persons exposed to it”

Laws & Regulations• The Terrorism Acts 2000 & 2006

• Money Laundering Regulations

• CAP Codes & the ASA• Transparency and Honesty• Careful with trans-national campaigns

• Consumer Protection from Unfair Commercial Practices Regulations 2008 (CPR’s)

• Contempt of Court

Third Party Rights

Copyright

Copyright• No Registration• Originality and degree of skill, labour or judgment• No copyright in an idea only in the expression of

that idea• Internet ≠ copyright free!• Life of author plus 70 years for most works• Owned by creator of the work (except employees

in the normal course of their employment duties)• Restricted acts = copying of the whole or any

substantial part of a work

Copyright

Copyright

Trade Marks

GOONER

Trade Marks• Registration required• 45 classes of goods & services• Infringement but:

• not when used to identify goods etc• Comparative advertising

• Use of ® or ™ symbol• False endorsement / Passing-off

Defamation

• Words which “lower the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally”

• Libel v slander

• The rule against repetition

• Godfrey v Demon Internet 1999

• Jurisdictional exposure

• Complaints & take-down procedures

Conclusion

• Look before you leap:

Conclusion

• Invest in:• Good, robust contractual protection• Knowledge & understanding of threats

• Know what’s on your and your employees’ platforms

• Implement take-down policies

• Impose sanctions for breaches

TOM COWLING

Tel: 020 7520 9561Email: tom.cowling@swanturton.com

68a Neal StreetLondon

WC2H 9PA

LinkedIn: ww.linkedin.com/in/tomcowling