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In My Humble Opinion – IMHO or I.M.H.O. or even IMO

Happy New Year! We are inaugurating a new feature of Legal Bytes—a category of blog postings entitled “In My Humble Opinion,” or IMHO for short. The first such posting will be up momentarily, but here’s what to expect.

Every once in a while a legal issue or something trending in the legal world catches our fancy. Perhaps it’s not an event or a decision or an article, but just a growing sense something is happening.

In our endeavor to not just report on news or noteworthy occurrences, and in our attempt to enlighten as well as inform—these pieces are intended to stimulate your thinking and share some of mine. I might produce two in a week or none for a month—I don’t know. It’s part of my own evolution as editor, publisher and chief bottle washer for Legal Bytes—but it’s worth a try.

As always, even though we don’t provide for interactive dialog or chat on this blog, I do read every piece of email (can you actually have a piece of email, or do I digest every electron?), and I do value your comments and feedback.

Buckle up folks. Another ride is coming your way. Let me know what you think of IMHO as it unfolds. Thanks for reading.

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Looking Ahead to 2011: If Brevity Be the Soul of Wit

A line recited by Polonius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1602) comes to mind today. It’s the phrase "since brevity is the soul of wit . . . I will be brief." FYI, Polonius is a windbag in the play. There is also another phrase, often wrongfully attributed to Franz Kafka, that goes something like "lawyers are the only creatures that can write 1000 pages and call it a brief."

Well, here we are at the end of 2010. Those of you who have been reading faithfully know that each year, I create a Legal Bytes piece with no hypertext links to distract you; no citations; no dazzling factoids; and no breaking news stories. This time, I’ve decided to do something different. I am going to be brief. Instead of philosophy or predictions, I’m going to give you 10 words I believe may stimulate YOUR thinking about 2011. That’s it. I trust you. Most of you are sharper than I anyway.

You don’t have to buckle up or fasten your seat belts. Pull up a chair, open your BlackBerry, Kindle, Droid, iPhone, PC, Laptop, Netbook, Web-TV, PDA, Tablet or whatever your favorite Legal Bytes’ reading device might be; grab an espresso, a glass of tea (or whatever your liquid of choice might be); sit back and enjoy. Here goes:

  1. Mobile
  2. Behavior
  3. Privacy
  4. Social
  5. Cloud
  6. Neutrality
  7. Monetize
  8. Consolidate
  9. Engagement
  10. Global

That’s it. Oh, there is another word – profile – but that’s the subject of my first Legal Bytes blog for 2011. You will just have to come back for it!

 

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for 2011!

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Change May or May Not Be Good, But It’s Always Difficult

Our Light Byte yesterday was from the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, talking about the difficulty of change – something I suspect we have all heard and felt ourselves. Lest you think the subject and issue is a new one, here’s a quote from Niccolo Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) that may make you pause a minute and recognize that "change" is a subject that has been around for a while. He noted:

It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institutions and merely lukewarm defenders of those who would gain by the new ones.

 

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Pardon Me, Your Name is Showing (Perception or Reality?)

Before we moved online to a blog format, from 1996 through the end of 2008, Legal Bytes was published as a one-page, monthly newsletter. But even then we had Useless But Compelling Facts, a feature our readers tell us they like! That said, the threads of continuity continue to haunt us. Witness the following:

In March 2004, the Useless But Compelling Fact question asked how “The Doors” got its name. The answer was that Jim Morrison decided to call his band The Doors after reading The Doors of Perception (1954), a novel written by Aldous Huxley about his use of hallucinogens. Huxley was made famous by his 1932 novel, Brave New World.

Although Legal Bytes was not yet a blog back in 2008, we have digitized and uploaded Legal Bytes material from as far back as 2004! Why is this relevant? Because in 2008, Legal Bytes published a short article entitled "The Doors of Perception Can Sometimes Lead to Harsh Reality," about a false advertising case involving the use of Jim Morrison’s name, likeness or other distinctive characteristics, in advertising by a concert band that included two former members of the original The Doors. Now it seems that Jim Morrison’s fans, followers, administrative agencies and regulators continue to seem intent on protecting and restoring Mr. Morrison’s good name.

There is a joke that goes something like, “if you remember the 1960s, you probably weren’t there.” For those of you who do recall, you will remember Mr. Morrison was convicted of profanity and indecent exposure stemming from allegations he exposed himself during a concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami in 1969. At the time of his trial, other band members insisted he never actually exposed himself, but fans offered conflicting versions of what happened and he was ultimately convicted. That conviction was being appealed by Mr. Morrison at the time of his death in Paris in 1971.

Well a few days ago—more than 40 years from his conviction and at the request of outgoing Florida Governor Charlie Crist—the Clemency Board in Florida unanimously voted to pardon Mr. Morrison (posthumously) for his conviction. Rest in peace.

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Advertising Across the Pond – In Case You Missed It

In case you missed Rimon’s Columbus Day seminar, presented by Rimon partner Marina Palomba, you can read and download a copy of the presentation right here: “A Global View on Advertising Law from the Other Side of the Pond.” The presentation covered four main areas: green claims, on-line behavioural and location-based advertising, the extension of self regulation of advertising to promotional messages on the Internet, and ambush marketing and the 2012 Olympics. Need to know more? Want to appreciate how regulation and the legal framework apply to any or all of these areas in your business? Feel free to contact Marina Palomba directly or the Rimon lawyer with whom you regularly work.

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Mid-Term Elections 2010 – Internet Privacy Implications

Rimon attorneys Judith (“Judy”) Harris and Amy Mushahwar were recently interviewed by The Washington Post about the 2010 mid-term election results and how the results might affect the legislative agenda and policy-making in Congress with respect to Internet privacy. Judy and Amy also explain what to expect over the next few years in terms of internet privacy trends and legislation.

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Advertising Across the Pond – Don’t Miss This

If you haven’t already, please register for “A Global View on Advertising Law from the Other Side of the Pond” presented by Rimon partner Marina Palomba with an introduction from Doug Wood. Don’t miss this exciting and timely presentation. Follow this link to obtain more information and register: http://guest.cvent.com/d/vdqvn3/4W.

You won’t want to lose the opportunity to gain valuable insights; besides, if the economy continues to deflate the U.S. dollar and inflate the value of British Pound Sterling, Marina has intimated that the United Kingdom may attempt to simply buy the United States and make it a colony again.

Hope to see you at the seminar.

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Viacom Appeals YouTube Copyright Ruling

The U.S. Media & Entertainment Newsletter of the International Law Office (ILO) has published an adaptation of the original Legal Bytes posting by Joseph I. (“Joe”) Rosenbaum discussing the appeal by Viacom of the ruling in favor of YouTube and Google in the billion-dollar case brought by Viacom. You can download or view a copy of the ILO publication, "Viacom appeals Google/YouTube ruling", and you can view the original Legal Bytes posting, Viacom Appeals Google/YouTube Ruling.

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What Every Litigant Should Know About Social Media Channels

On September 8, 2010, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. (ET), Joseph I. ("Joe") Rosenbaum will be presenting on social media for a web cast entitled "What Every Litigant Should Know About Social Media Channels: Their Impact on Discovery and at Trial." 

This program will address social media channels from several key perspectives for litigants: (1) understanding what social media channels are and what information they contain; (2) how social media channels figure in the discovery process, as to the preservation, collection and production of the information they contain; (3) what courts have held regarding the admissibility of evidence from social media sites at trial; and (4) what types of policies and procedures organizations should adopt around social media tools. As part of the overall presentation, Joe’s discussion will center around understanding the distinctions that online social media present, looking at the issues of social media in the judicial process (e.g., can judges have "friends"?), and corporate policies designed to guide employees and prevent litigation disasters before they occur.

The Knowledge Congress is producing the event and Rimon has secured a special discount of $50 off the registration fee for this program. Click to Register and enter code mith6874 for your discount.

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Social Media in Action – International Law Office

On June 24, 2010, the Media & Entertainment – USA newsletter published for the International Law Office (ILO) exclusively by Rimon, highlighted an article authored by Douglas J. Wood, Stacy K. Marcus and Anthony S. Traymore, entitled “Social Media in action in advertising and marketing (.PDF).”  If you want to read or download the entire Social Media white paper released by Rimon’s Social Media Task Force, go to the Social & Digital Media White Paper section on Legal Bytes.