molly.com
Monday 31 August 2009
Welcome Guest Blogger, Attorney Claire Wudowsky
So my blog’s been suffering from needs a refresh, needs my attention, needs content syndrome, and I’ve been feeling really guilty about that. Fortunately, my good friend and IP attorney Claire Wudowsky has offered to step in from time to time with articles related to IP issues and the Web.
An area that clearly needs attention, here’s what Claire has been thinking:
“Hi, I’m Claire Wudowsky, Mols and I have spoken about me guest blogging on her site for a while, but every time I get started, something holds me back and I cannot finish. Maybe I am over thinking this, I do not know.
I am an Intellectual Property attorney and I have a pretty strong background in computers and online issues and technology – as Molly and I have been working online since before Al Gore invented the Internet (around 1989 or 1990). Do you remember GEnie? It was a bulletin board service (yes a BBS) operated by GE. It was a consumer service that piggy backed on their b-2-b service. Molly and I both ran forums on GEnie (we were called “Sysops” and the forums were called “Roundtables”) – in fact, that is where we met.
Molly helped me set up a site where I could blog about legal issues: Wudowsky.com. However, I got spooked after going to a CLE (Continuing Legal Education) program, where they warned us about the legal liability inherent in the blogging culture. It seems legal malpractice insurers worry that blog readers develop personal relationships with the blogger and the readers might not realize that the blogger isn’t speaking directly to each of them. So, when the reader reads a blog, he/she might rely on the legal information within and will not heed the warning that the following is not legal advise and further that the reader and the blogger have not entered into a lawyer/client relationship. This then leads to the reader relying to his/her detriment on a legal blog – which results in him/her feeling indignant and suing the legal blogger.
This caused me to become quite conflicted. I enjoy writing and reading blogs (I have one for a charity program run by a friend and I) and I believe blogging would definitely help me to grow my practice, but every time I tried to write a legal blog post, I worried that someone would sue me for it! I think you can all see how this might lead to some severe writers block.
I have decided, however, that readers of Molly’s blog a) have a relationship with her, not with me and b) are more intelligent and realistic than the average blog reader. So – I am dipping my big toe into this part of the blogosphere and offering up this post as my first guest post for Molly (furthermore, I am pretty sure no one can sue me for this one
) As I said earlier, I am an Intellectual Property attorney. I practice in the areas of trademark, copyright, computer (including open source) and online law. However, I am not a Patent attorney so I cannot really speak to the many current computer patent issues.
My next post here will be an IP law related post. If any of you have an issue you would like me to discuss, post your suggestions here.
And now, back to Mols.”
So there you have it! Got questions? Suggestions, the comment floor is yours!
Filed under: general
Posted by: Molly | 16:35 | Comments (16)
Comments (16)
Jacob Kaplan-Moss tried to ask a few questions about GPL (http://jacobian.org/writing/gpl-questions/), but it lead to more questions, few answers and attacks on Jacob as a person.
Could you say a few word about open sourcing code that rely upon other code under different licenses?
That’s a pretty broad question. What do you want to know about the new code?
Thank you for sharing a great site
Hi Claire,
One of the main concerns I have as an owner of intellectual property (in the form of a website that I designed and content that I wrote) is protecting my property from theft.
All too often I see people on forums, blogs complaining about people stealing their designs or content and using it on their own website. The first advice I always give is to send a DMCA notice to the host of the website which normally gets things quickly sorted. However, not all hosts comply with DMCA notices and legal action is difficult as hosts are scattered all around the world.
If I’m based in the UK and a US blogger steals content from my site, what can I do to get the issue resolved other than sending a DMCA notice. Legal fees for copyright cases across countries are extortionate and it’s often not even worth the hassle.
I look forward to reading your posts, as IP law is something I’m quite interested in, albeit in an unqualified capacity.
Dean –
Do you ever try to contact the infringer directly?
What stood out most in the post was the idea that blog readers develop relationships with the bloggers and rely on a blog for more than just a smarmy prespective on information, but along the same lines of what a bar-hopping frat boy would wish for his wingman to do. To get your back? To share the same ideals you do? To get advice on something in your life that to the writer of said blog, is purely coincidental?
When I first became a tech fan, Molly.com was a haven for me and in a sense a role-model. I thought she was the greatest thing (I was like 16 guys, really) since sliced bread, but had no idea who she was outside of her blog. Sure, she may know CSS, but what makes her tick?
But then is it healthy to find that in a blog? Not to say online friendships aren’t worthwhile, but when relaxin’ all cool with blogs, the present company is awfully one sided.
Have you finished the IP law article, would really like to read it.
If the domain name is registered before the registration of a trademark, who will have rights to the domain?
Tina –
I plan to write an article on trademarks and domain name registration.
The answer isn’t totally controlled by the trademark registration date. You have some rights in an unregistered trademark. There are other factors to evaluate such as whether the domain name owner registered the domain name in good faith.
Thank you for answer, Claire. When you will write an article, please note the next moment. Can owner of the domain name which is identical with the trademark avoid claim holder if he doesn’t get any profit from site and use it in other theme?
Thank you for support.
“This then leads to the reader relying to his/her detriment on a legal blog – which results in him/her feeling indignant and suing the legal blogger.”
What a sad world we seem to be drifting into where the majority, yet again, are deprived of your ideas and opinions because a card carrying member of the idiot class might find a lawyer willing to sue you.
“What a sad world we seem to be drifting into where the majority, yet again, are deprived of your ideas and opinions because a card carrying member of the idiot class might find a lawyer willing to sue you.”
Well said Roy.
Claire obviously has a valuable perspective to offer the blogosphere but we’re deprived of much of her input because of potential legal issues. How sad.
I’m amazed that general, well intentioned blog posts with disclaimers can turn into “I’m suing you because of poor or misleading legal advice on your blog regarding my specific circumstances”.
It is so very good to see Molly encouraging this sort of cross-pollination on her blog!
I do, incidentally, work in patents especially optical, telecommunication and computer matters. And an article on trademark and domain names would be great, Claire. Once already I have had an intent-to-use trademark come under dispute with a squatter that had no intent to use the domain to do anything other than to extort cash out of me.
For the interested, the case law on computer patents (i.e. software patents) has gotten VERY complicated re: what is patentable. It’s not all good news, even if you are in the ‘software patents are evil’ camp.
And Claire, I’ve avoided blogging about work for exactly the reasons you cite. My insurer popped a brain gasket when I said I wanted to put a newsletter online. “Is that like a blog because we can’t have that at all.”
Le sigh…
This is a really great idea.
I’d really like to see some general guidelines Web developers on fair use, copyright and trademark, especially for fan sites and sites that use APIs of commercial products (World of Warcraft, for example).
Thanks. All too often I see people on forums, blogs complaining about people stealing their designs or content and using it on their own website. The first advice I always give is to send a DMCA notice to the host of the website which normally gets things quickly sorted.
Congrulations for this nice web design..Usefull. I’m amazed that general, well intentioned blog posts with disclaimers can turn into “I’m suing you because of poor or misleading legal advice on your blog regarding my specific circumstances”.