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Sweat the Small Print: Instagram Revises Terms of Service After Public Backlash
January 3, 2013
One need look no further than the recent Instagram controversy to realize that Terms of Service are not just legalese, but crucial contracts and statements to the public about businesses' products, services, and policies. Instagram, a popular online photo sharing company, faced a storm of public backlash in December 2012 after announcing the following proposed language for its new Terms of Service…

NAD Asks GreenPan to Discontinue Deceptive Green Claims
January 3, 2013
The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD) recently entered a decision against GreenPan, Inc., asking the company to discontinue many of the environmental benefit claims it was making about its products. The challenge was brought against GreenPan by its competitor, E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), makers of Teflon® brand products. The challenged claims included claims that GreenPan’s cookware was "healthy, eco-friendly," that it contained "no potentially dangerous chemicals," and that the cookware was PTFE and PFOA free.

Who Owns Twitter Followers and What Are They Worth?
December 14, 2012
Many employers, particularly in the entertainment and media industries and word of mouth marketing (WOMM) companies, encourage or require their employees to obtain and actively use Twitter accounts to communicate with customers or users or potential users of a company’s products or services. But what happens to those Twitter accounts and their followers when employees leave and go work for a competitor or start their own competing business?

Data Security & Privacy

FTC Releases Revised COPPA Rule
December 21, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission recently released its revised rule implementing the provisions of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (commonly referred to as the "COPPA Rule", which will go into effect on July 1, 2013. COPPA applies to web sites that are targeted at children under the age of 13 and which are collecting information from those children ("covered website").

California AG Sues Delta Over Mobile App
December 20, 2012
California Attorney General Kamala Harris recently filed her first privacy suit against a mobile app developer since launching her major push for mobile apps to provide adequate privacy notices. As you may recall, the California Attorney General has been actively enforcing California’s privacy laws and has entered into an agreement with major app platforms to require app developers to provide consumers with links to their privacy policies.

Fashion & Entertainment

Kardashian Khroma Beauty Line Faces Trademark Infringement Claims
December 18, 2012
Boldface Group, Inc. (Boldface), which sells the makeup line Khroma Beauty by Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, is currently involved in two federal trademark infringement lawsuits before the US District Court for the Central District of California.

More Than Family Secrets: Fashion Designer Tory Burch Sues Ex-Husband for Trade Secret Misappropriation
December 6, 2012
Former husband and wife team and cofounders of Tory Burch LLC (the Company), Tory and J. Christopher Burch, are currently involved in a trade secret and misappropriation case before the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.

Hot Topics

This month, we wanted to bring your attention to two interesting articles, one related to Title VII Protection and the other to National Labor Relations Act violations:

Is Being Vegan Grounds for Title VII Protection? One Court Says It May Be
January 4, 2013
In a recent decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, a hospital employee who was fired for refusing to accept a flu shot on the grounds that she is vegan was permitted to proceed with a religious discrimination claim against the hospital. Chenzira v. Cincinnati Children’s Hosp. Med. Ctr., No. 1:11-CV-00917, 2012 WL 6721098 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 27, 2012).

NLRB Holds Employer Unlawfully Discharged Employees Due to Critical Facebook Posts
December 28, 2012
In a recent 3-1 decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) ruled that a nonprofit employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) by discharging several employees who posted critical comments about a coworker on Facebook. Hispanics United of Buffalo, Inc., 359 NLRB No. 37 (Dec. 14, 2012).