Did you think Facebook was just for “likes” and “status” updates? Think again! A federal district court in New York recently tackled the issue of service of process via social media head on, permitting service via Facebook as a backup means of service for serving foreign defendants. In the case of Federal Trade Commission v. PCCare247, Inc.,… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: twitter
Upcoming Webinar: Employee Privacy and Social Networking – Can Your Trade Secrets Survive?
Posted in Social Media, Trade SecretsIn Seyfarth’s third installment of its 2013 Trade Secrets Webinar series, on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at 12:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, Seyfarth attorneys Gary Glaser, Scott Schaefers, and Jessica Mendelson will address the relationship between trade secrets and social media. The Seyfarth panel will specifically address the following topics: What’s are “Trade Secrets” and… Continue Reading
Federal Court Rules That Twitter Invites and Facebook Posts Do Not Constitute Impermissible Employee Solicitations
Posted in Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Social Media, Trade SecretsOn January 22, 2013, United States Magistrate Judge Steven Shreder of the Eastern District of Oklahoma issued a report and recommendation, following Plaintiff Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.’s motion for preliminary injunction against its former employee Todd Cahill, concerning whether certain social media communications constituted impermissible employee solicitations in violation of a restrictive covenant agreement. Pre-Paid… Continue Reading
2012 Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud, and Non-Competes Webinar Series – Year in Review
Posted in Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Computer Fraud, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Data Theft, Espionage, Legislation, Non-Compete Enforceability, Practice & Procedure, Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionThroughout 2012, Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes Practice Group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant issues facing clients today in this important and ever changing area of law. The series consisted of eight webinars: 1) Employee Privacy, Social Networking at Work, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse… Continue Reading
Former PhoneDog Employee Off the Hook in Closely Watched Trade Secrets Spat
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Jessica Mendelson and Joshua Salinas We previously blogged about the case of PhoneDog v. Kravitz, a Northern District of California case that called into question the ownership of Twitter followers on an employee’s professional account following the employee’s departure from the company. After over a year and a half of litigation, the parties have… Continue Reading
What Employers Need to Know About California’s New Social Media Law
Posted in Data Theft, Legislation, Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Robert Milligan, Jessica Mendelson, and Joshua Salinas On September 27, 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills, AB 1844 and SB 1349, into law, making California the third state in the country – Maryland and Illinois are the others – to regulate employers’ ability to demand access to employees’ or prospective hires’ personal… Continue Reading
Proposed Social Media Legislation On California Governor’s Desk
Posted in Legislation, Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Jessica Mendelson and Grace Chuchla On September 12, 2012, California Assembly Bill 1844 was enrolled and presented to Governor Brown. This bill is the counterpart to the Social Media Privacy Act (SB 1349), which was approved by the California State Senate in August 2012. AB 1844 is the work of Assemblywoman Nora Campos (D-San… Continue Reading
Summary of the 2012 IP and the Internet Conference Presented by the State Bar of California
Posted in Data Theft, Espionage, Legislation, Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionOn September 14, 2012, the State Bar of California Intellectual Property Section presented its 2012 IP and the Internet Conference. The conference featured high level experts from companies such as Twitter, Yahoo!, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Salseforce.com, True Religion Brand Jeans, and Autodesk, who covered emerging issues and hot topics in intellectual property and Internet law…. Continue Reading
Facebook Fans For Piggy Paint Not A Business Expectancy, Michigan Federal Court Dismisses Tortious Interference Claims for Facebook Page Takedown
Posted in Trade Secrets, Unfair CompetitionOn August 9, 2012, a district court for the Western District of Michigan dismissed counterclaims of tortious interference with a business expectancy and conversion brought after the removal of a company’s Facebook page and the alleged loss of its more than 19,000 “fans.” (Lown Companies LLC v. Piggy Paint LLC, No. 11-cv–911 (W.D. Mich., Aug…. Continue Reading
Illinois Becomes Second State In Nation To Bar Employers From Obtaining Access To Employee Social Networking Pages
Posted in Computer Fraud, Legislation, Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsBy Ronald Kramer On August 1, 2012, Illinois became the second state in the nation to adopt a law prohibiting employers from seeking employee or prospective employee passwords to access their non-public portions of their social networking sites. The Illinois’ law, an amendment to the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act that will become… Continue Reading
Hey Lumbergh, You Don’t Own My Facebook Account: Maryland Passes Legislation To Protect Employee’s Social Media Accounts
Posted in Practice & Procedure, Trade SecretsRecently the legality of requiring prospective hires to hand over social networking usernames and passwords received national attention when New York Sen. Charles Schumer and Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether the practice violates federal laws. Although federal legislation has yet to be passed, state legislatures have begun to… Continue Reading
Access To Social Media Accounts In The Hiring Process And Employer Ownership Of Trade Secrets Or Confidential Information Contained In Social Media Accounts: Legislation On Horizon?
Posted in Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Trade SecretsOn Monday March 26, 2012, Senators Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) and Chuck Schumer (New York), called for federal agencies to determine whether requiring prospective hires to hand over social networking usernames and passwords violates federal law. Blumenthal and Schumer called on the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to investigate whether such practices violate federal… Continue Reading
Protecting Trade Secrets and Confidential Information In The Social Media Generation
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Robert Milligan and Jeffrey Oh Over the past decade, no avenue has had a bigger impact on society and the ways in which people interact than social media. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, which traffic in information shared on its servers, encourage users to publish every detail of their lives. For employers, the reality of social… Continue Reading
Court Allows Employer’s Interference With Prospective Economic Advantage Claims To Survive In Lawsuit Claiming Employee’s Theft of Twitter Account
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Robert Milligan and Gary Glaser A California federal district court denied a former employee’s motion to dismiss his former employer’s claims for tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and negligent inteference with prospective economic advantage Monday in a closely watched lawsuit concerning the interplay between social media, trade secrets, and employee mobility. We previously wrote about this case from the United States… Continue Reading
Social Media and Trade Secrets Collide: Whose Twitter Is It, Anyway?
Posted in Trade SecretsBy Gary Glaser The United States District Court for the Northern District of California recently ruled that PhoneDog, an “interactive mobile news and reviews web resource,” could proceed with its lawsuit against Noah Kravitz, a former employee, who it claims unlawfully continued using PhoneDog’s Twitter account after he quit. PhoneDog v. Noah Kravitz, No. C11-03474 MEJ, 2011… Continue Reading