June 30th 2009
Why should speech traveling down Comcast’s wire to my computer enjoy better protection than that arriving via the same wire to my television? Consider this fact pattern: A group of consumers, looking to stop GM from using bankruptcy to escape current and future product liability claims, seeks to make its cast to the administration via […]
June 29th 2009
In May, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa filed suit against Twitter in California Superior Court, essentially claiming that someone using his name was posting comments that damaged his reputation and caused emotional distress. The suit also claims damage to La Russa’s trademark rights. Ordinarily, I would have thought little about the case, believing […]
June 25th 2009
The Republican Governors’ Association has launched an attack website against Democrat New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. The site, called the Corzine Times, is formatted to resemble the New York Times. The grey lady has sent a cease and desist letter to the Republican governors. The demand letter claims trademark infringement, claiming that similar logos and formats […]
June 23rd 2009
Censorship it easy to spot when China or Iran simply turn off media channels. However, in the US, well-meaning local agencies are also advancing censorship. Want a job? Give us your social media passwords. The City of Bozeman, Montana, has a long-standing policy of requiring job applicants to provide usernames and passwords for “any and […]
June 23rd 2009
When we’re not talking about online marketing and the law, we discuss Star Trek ethics, right? Rebecca Tushnet raises this question in her 43(b)log related to the latest Star Trek movie. She points out that Spock is an instructor at Starfleet Acadamy, and apparently has had a relationship with Uhura, who was at one point his […]
June 18th 2009
Jammie Thomas, a young mom who has become the Joan of Arc of file sharing, was found guilty of violating 24 song copyrights, and fined 1.92 million dollars, yep, about 80k per tune. Justice? Ars Technica The jury found Thomas-Rasset’s conduct to be willful, which means that statutory damages under the Copyright Act can range […]
June 16th 2009
Capgemini and the “Big Reveal” Professional services is a staple of airport advertising. But having seen this one at least one thousand times I still don’t understand how it sells Capgemini. Is the blue-suited lady the consultant, and is she inspiring her clients to disrobe? Or are the super hero-suited businessmen the consultants, and she’s […]
June 11th 2009
Last night, Jeffrey Hayzlett, Kodak’s Chief Marketing Officer, received the Business Marketing Association’s Marketer of the Year Award. Besides being a force in Kodak’s increased focus on business customers, he’s been a long-term contributor to the BMA and other associations that help elevate marketing. Though this was shot from a few rows back, I hope […]
June 10th 2009
At the Quad Cities Ad Federation in Moline we discussed how sometimes related drivers combine to precipitate market trends, and ended up with a diagram that I’m calling a “bankshot.” The general pattern is that a predictable driver causes a predictable outcome, and a modifying outcome builds on that to create a second condition, which […]
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