Advertisers are increasingly turning to "buzz marketing" to communicate with today's consumers. These consumers are watching (and posting) videos on YouTube. They belong to social networking sites such as mySpace. They have avatars on Second Life. They have their own blogs. And, the theory goes, they are less susceptible to being influenced by traditional advertising campaigns. Read more.
January 26, 2007
Internet Law & Strategy published Sean Kane's article "Internet Gambling Banned, New Legislation Forces Online Gaming Sites to Decide When to Hold Them and When to Fold Them" was published in its November 2006 issue, Vol. 4, No. 11.
November 30, 2006
Smaller PR firms usually don't offer stock to employees because this raises complicated tax issues and minority ownership protection issues. It can also be costly to set up such a program. Also, PR firms may have to repurchase their own equity at a later date and take a financial hit. An alternative is "phantom stock" which lets employees share in the growth of a firm but eliminates the complications of actual stock. Read more.
November 8, 2006
E-Commerce Law & Strategy, Vol. 23, No. 4. published Sean F. Kane's article "New Kinds of e-Commerce".
August 31, 2006
Reacting to consumers' concerns about issues such as unemployment, the trade deficit, and world events, advertisers often want to market their products as have been "Made in the USA." If you’re planning to make patriotic claims for one of your clients, it’s important that you understand Federal Trade Commission rules on when you can say that a product is American-made. Read more.
August 17, 2006
Internet Law & Strategy published Sean F. Kane's article "Asset Creation, Seclusion And Money Laundering In The Virtual World".
July 31, 2006
The New Jersey State Bar Association published Sean F. Kane's article "Protecting Your Client’s Motion Picture Investment" in the "Business Law" section of its Vol. 30, No. 1 publication.
July 31, 2006
Technology has brought about many changes to the advertising industry. However, the provisions of the typical advertising service agreement have not evolved to accommodate these changes. In particular, the ownership, intellectual property and indemnification provisions of many agreements between agencies and advertisers have not been adapted to accommodate the change in the services that the agencies provide. View Article
July 24, 2006
The Deli Magazine published Christopher Chase's article "What's in a name?". Read more.
July 14, 2006
The makers of the "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" video game, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and Rockstar Games, Inc., recently settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceptively marketed the game by failing to disclose to consumers that it contained hidden content. FTC File No. 052 3158 (June 8, 2006). Read more.
June 16, 2006
The combination of ubiquitous online social networking and Web 2.0 is fueling the latest online intellectual property confrontation between content companies and internet users. In an interesting twist, though, this time the content is being created by the internet users themselves. Read more.
June 7, 2006
The National Advertising Division recently told Dr. Pepper Seven Up, Inc. that advertising for its 7UP PLUS soda, which is made with real fruit juice, was misleading because of the real fruit that was shown. Read more.
April 17, 2006
Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 3, No. 12 published Sean F. Kane's article "Can The Grokster Settlement Close Pandora’s Box?"
December 31, 2005
Gamasutra published S. Gregory Boyd's article "Nintendo Entertainment System – Expired Patents Do Not Mean Expired Protection". View Article
November 11, 2005
Entertainment Law & Finance, Vol. 21, No. 7 published Sean F. Kane's article "International Film Production Incentives".
October 31, 2005
Internet Law & Strategy, Vol. 3, No. 9 published Sean F. Kane's article "Virtual Worlds And Digital Rights, Can Stealing An Online Gamer’s IP Or Magic Sword Mean Real-World Legal Hot Water?".
September 30, 2005
Alka-Seltzer recently launched a remake of its famous "Try it, you'll like it" commercial from the 1970s. The new commercial takes the old favorite about a restaurant patron who was encouraged by the waiter to eat - "try it, you'll like it" - and updates it with "My Life on the D-List" star Kathy Griffin. We've had the "New Love Boat" and "Superman Returns," so why not bring back old favorites in the commercial world as well? Read more.
September 17, 2005
When developing advertising concepts, creatives get their inspiration from many sources. But when the inspiration comes from other creative works, such as a preexisting photograph or television show, there’s a risk that you may infringe upon the original creator’s rights. A recent decision by a federal court in New York illustrates just how easy it is to run into trouble. Read more.
September 16, 2005
Entertainment Law & Finance, Vol. 21, No. 4 published Sean F. Kane's article "A Primer On Protecting Investments In Motion-Picture Productions".
July 31, 2005
Being a plaintiff's class action lawyer can make you very rich, but no one ever said it was easy. You first have to find willing class representatives with a decent claim. But class representatives generally lack the resources to pay the enormous expenses of moving the case forward, so you have to fund the cases yourself or get other lawyers to help. Meanwhile, deep-pocket defendants often use their superior resources to turn the case into a battle of attrition. Read more.
July 28, 2005
Last month’s LegalEase discussed some of the mistakes that directors make when joining a production company. When negotiating with directors, production companies can make many missteps as well. Read more.
July 16, 2005
In addition to seeing some terrific work, the audience at SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase, held a few weeks ago at the DGA Theater in New York City, heard directors, production company heads, and others talk about the many challenges of building a new director’s career. Without a doubt, if you’re a director, building a reel, finding a production company, and getting good work isn’t going to be easy. Read more.
June 16, 2005
After years of litigation, California infomercial producer Modern Interactive Technology, Inc., along with its two principals, recently settled charges by the Federal Trade Commission that they participated in developing deceptive claims used to sell weight loss products. Read more.
May 15, 2005
Earlier this year, SHOOT reported that the AICP revised its Guidelines to address concerns in the production community about late payment by advertising agencies. The AICP now recommends that production companies assess finance charges on all payments that are more than thirty days overdue. Read more.
April 15, 2005
Responding to a complaint brought by Commercial Alert in late 2003, the Federal Trade Commission recently said that it has decided not to require advertisers to disclose product placements in television programs at the time that the product appears on screen. Read more.
March 5, 2005
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