What Are My Defenses to Copyright Infringement?

Welcome to Copyright Law Radio. We bring you the best in copyright news, legal advice and information. From copyright infringement claims and defenses to threat letter issues, DMCA takedown notice letters, copyright licensing, and legal analysis of the latest copyright law cases, we have a copyright attorney who can answer your copyright questions.

This is Brian Hall, a copyright attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm that represents copyright registrants, copyright owners, and those dealing with copyright infringement claims throughout the United States.  Today, I will be answering the question:  What are my defenses to copyright infringement claim? 

So, to begin, you may be put on notice of a copyright infringement claim either by having received a cease and desist letter, sometimes known as a threat letter, or by being named a defendant in a copyright infringement lawsuit.  Regardless of how you became aware of the alleged copyright infringement, you need to, first, identify what defenses you have available.  A qualified and experienced copyright lawyer will be the best person that can advise you as to this.   However, what I’d like to do is provide you with some of the most common defenses that arise when copyright infringement is claimed.

What Are My Defenses to a Trademark Infringement Claim?

Welcome to Trademark Law Radio, a top web resource on issues of trademark infringement, trademark licensing, trademark protection, and trademark registration.

This is Brian Hall, a trademark attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm representing trademark infringement plaintiffs and defendants in the United States.  Today, I will be answering the question:  What Are My Defenses to a Trademark Infringement Claim? 

You will know if you are being subjected to a trademark infringement claim if one of several things occurs.  More likely than not, you will receive what’s known as a cease and desist letter, sometimes also referred to as a threat letter.  That letter will set forth the sender’s rights in a trademark, identify your unauthorized use, and also set forth why they believe that you are infringing their trademark.  It is at this junction that it is important for you to retain legal counsel, preferably a trademark infringement attorney, who can advise you as to the defenses you have available.  Your failure to respond to a threat letter may result in them jumping to a lawsuit.  And once a lawsuit is filed, you are a named defendant and will have to respond and answer a complaint setting forth why it is not trademark infringement.

Internet Lawyer Tips For Dealing with Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act Claims

An Internet law lawyer can help you navigate the intricacies of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) on cybersquatting claims and defenses. 

The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) is a statute passed by the United States Congress in 1998 providing special trademark protection to domain names.  Most trademark infringement threat letters and lawsuits over domain name dispute issues involve claims of cybersquatting under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.  Alternatively, many trademark infringement claims and threat letters dealing with domain names are resolved under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). 

Is a Web Host Immune from Liability under the Communications Decency Act?

This is Brian Hall, an attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC, an internet law firm representing internet companies throughout the world.  Today, I will be answering the question:  Is a web host immune from liability under the Communications Decency Act?

So,  to start, the Communications Decency Act, sometimes referred to as the CDA, is a piece of legislation passed by congress in 1996.  It provides in the language of the Act itself that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.  What that means is that so long as the web host is merely providing the means by which someone can post content and display information to others on the internet, they will not be subject to liability in connection with claims related to, most importantly, defamation.

Drafting a Privacy Policy for a Website

Welcome to Internet Law Radio.  My name is Attorney Enrico Schaefer.  I specialize in internet law.  Other attorneys and I at Traverse Legal understand technology, the internet, the web and we specialize in internet law issues.  Today, we’re going to be talking about privacy policies.  Every website needs a privacy policy, and we draft a lot of privacy policies for clients who are launching new websites or looking to audit their current website or upgrade their website in some way. 

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With: Enrico Schaefer

Sponsored by: Traverse Internet Law

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Now, a lot of folks out there will simply go and cut and paste a third party privacy policy and put it onto their own website.  Well, this is a relatively common occurrence, it is really desolution to what could be a serious problem.   In order to effectively draft a privacy policy for your website, the first thing an internet law attorney is going to need to do is understand your business model.  There are a lot of variables that go into a well drafted privacy policy.  Let me just give you some examples so you can understand the types of issues that need to be addressed in your policy for your website. 

The first thing you need to understand is that a privacy policy is driven in several parts.  The first is that many states and federal governments, The United States, The UK, etc. have specific privacy requirements that you must comply with.  So, drafting an effective policy is a compliance issues first and foremost.

Privacy Policy Violation Alleged: Lessons from Facebook

Perhaps no privacy policy draws more attention than the ever-changing privacy policy by Facebook.  Many times, it doesn't matter what your privacy policy says.  Because compliance is different by country, and sometimes by state, even a well drafted privacy policy can still come under attack.  As an internet lawyer, we draft form and customized privacy policies for website clients all the time.  Our attorneys regularly hear: "Can I just copy a privacy policy, terms of service or terms of use policy from some other website?" Think about your privacy policy, and your other website agreements, as important protection for your company from liability, violations of law and as part of your customer service model.  You should be paying special attentions to your privacy policy and other website agreements as they are integral to your business success.  As an attorney who regularly represents the small business interests, I appreciate the fact that new and start-up companies need to save on costs and fees.  You can always start with a version 1.0 privacy policy or other website agreement and grow into more sophisticated policies over time. 

A Social Media Policy is Important from a Liability, Governance & Business Model Point of View

Welcome to Internet Law Radio. My name is Enrico Schaefer, and today we are speaking with Chris Boudreaux, and Chris runs an amazing blog called Socialmediagovernance.com.   He's an executive with Converseon, and he has got the number one database of social media policies on the web.   He's also an expert in social media policies and the governance side of corporations trying to implement social media within their operations.

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With: Chris Boudreaux

Sponsored by: Traverse Internet Law

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How to Choose an Internet Lawyer to Solve Your Internet Law Issue

Welcome to Internet Law Radio, my name is Enrico Schaefer, and today, we’re going to be trying to understand what a client should do in order to research their attorney if they have an internet law issue.  Obviously, most people have an attorney that they rely on for general matters.  If you have a problem that arises online, a problem that arises on the internet, you need an attorney who specializes in internet law.  You need an internet law attorney.  And here’s the reason why.   A lot of the different causes of action that arise on the internet, anything from trademark infringement, copyright infringement, internet defamation and a variety of other issues involve not only the general legal issues, but also the technical issues. 

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What is "Internet Law" Anyway?

Understanding Internet Laws:

Internet Law Attorneys Enrico Schaefer and Brian A. Hall discuss the specialized area of law known as internet law, and how traditional law legal principles and technology apply to the web.

• internet law is more than simply applying traditional laws and legal principles to the web and cyber law issues on the web. 
• Internet law is any legal issue which deals with the web, either because there are special statutes, case law interpretation of existing law, or technology related skills required of the internet lawyer in order to meet the client’s goals.
• It’s really about navigating the technologies that underlie these legal issues, understanding the new and ever-changing legislation that every internet law attorney should know, and educating judges, adverse counsel and others about these web laws.

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A Web Host Can Be Liable For Contributory Copyright and Trademark Infringement

Can a web hosting company be liable for user trademark and copyright violations posted on a website hosted by the company? 

As an internet lawyer, I see web hosting companies get dragged into all sorts of trademark, copyright, defamation and other litigation.  A good example of this can be seen in the recent contributory copyright and trademark infringement litigation case Louis Vuitton Malletier SA v. Akanoc Solutions, Inc., No. 10-15909 (9th Cir. Sept. 12, 2011) where a US-based web hosting company, Akanoc, was sued for hosting websites selling counterfeit Louis Vuitton goods and failing to comply with numerous takedown notices sent by Vuitton.