You may know that “aspirin,” the word commonly used to describe acetylsalicylic acid, was once a trademark – i.e., brand name – for the acetylsalicylic acid made by one company: Bayer. The word “aspirin” lost its trademark status because the public came to use the word to mean acetylsalicylic acid made by anyone, not just
Books In the World of Google: Digitization Marches On
By David M. Kohane & David S. Gold on
Posted in Copyrights, Litigation
Google’s Library and Books Projects involve the digitization of complete copies of millions of print books without the authors’ or copyright owners’ permission. Google’s platform allows the public to search digital copies of the books and displays both titles and snippets of the works in the search results. On Friday, the Second Circuit Court of…
Social Media Promotion: Dos and Don’ts with Content Posted by Others
In this third and final blog of our series on social media promotion we are looking at use of content posted by others, particularly in the context of “linking” and “framing.”
“Linking” is a well-known method of providing an Internet user with the ability to jump from one site or page to another via hyperlink. The link may redirect the user to content posted by others with no connection to the host site. “Framing” is similar to linking but the user views the third-party content in a window or “frame” on the host site. This distinction may be significant because without redirection the user may be unaware that the framed content is being generated by a third party.
There are a number of legal issues that may be implicated by linking and framing, including contract, trademark and copyright law. Many social media providers include terms of use that place restrictions on the use of content available through their service. Linking or framing may violate those restrictions, which could lead to account deactivation and the like. Deactivation can be a significant problem for commercial users who use those sites for promotion and customer interaction.…
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The Second Circuit Weighs In On How Far Digital Databases Can Go
By David S. Gold on
Posted in Copyrights, Litigation
On June 10, 2014, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that the creation of a full-text searchable database of protected works constitutes fair use where: (i) the use of the database is limited to searching for terms contained in the works; or (ii) access to the full text of the works is limited to…
Is The Internet Safe For Google?
By David M. Kohane & David S. Gold on
In two closely-watched cases with potentially broad implications for the way businesses and individuals use the Internet, Google, Inc. suffered setbacks in the continuing battle over responsibility for intellectual property infringement. Both cases – one copyright and the other trademark – cast clouds over Google’s practices concerning its users’ employment of third parties’ intellectual property.…