| A Blog is short for Web Log and has become a new | | | | problem. |
| and exciting form of communication. It is like a diary | | | | Although, it is not necessary for a lawyer to review |
| or a journal personal or corporate that is posted on | | | | every blog, some precautions won't hurt. Run it past |
| the Internet for public viewing and updated from | | | | by a lawyer, add appropriate disclaimers and ensure |
| time to time. It enables people to publish comments, | | | | that your bloggers are reliable. Another thing that you |
| ideas and opinions for others to read. Besides being a | | | | can do to avoid unnecessary claims is to have a |
| personal from of expression, corporate blogs offer a | | | | policy for your own company blog and one for how |
| platform for marketing new ideas, communication | | | | you deal with employees who have their own. |
| channels between management and employees, | | | | Given the fact that a blog contains text, images, |
| discussion of industry and media trends, news | | | | hyperlinks and even music or video files one must be |
| coverage and even political expressions. We also | | | | aware of the intellectual property matters applicable |
| have law blogs, school blogs and marketing blogs. | | | | to blogs. Issues include ownership of content, person |
| Although blogs have now assumed importance a | | | | liable for infringing material, trademark issues as well |
| being a part of the contemporary social and | | | | as the potential disclosure of trade secrets by |
| corporate lifestyle, like all other forms of published | | | | employees or third parties. |
| expressions, blogs can be harmful. As blogs gain | | | | Typically, the person creating the content and |
| popularity as marketing tools, lawyers say companies | | | | posting it to the blog will own the copyright. In the |
| have to consider the legal issues associated with | | | | case of a company, it owns the content posted by |
| them. Just like printed published materials, blogs have | | | | an employee and has the right to redistribute or |
| raised many challenging issues and are open to | | | | reuse it for other purposes. The company may also |
| copyright infringement, defamation suits and privacy | | | | acquire the copyright for the content. |
| issues. This has necessitated companies to be aware | | | | If the infringing content is posted to a corporate blog |
| of the legal phenomenon involved and establish | | | | that is operated by an employee then both, the |
| ground rules to avoid lawsuits and other legal | | | | business and the person posting the content could be |
| troubles. | | | | held liable. However if the content is on a personal |
| However, law on blogs and laws on blogging still | | | | blog, the risk to the company is minimal. |
| remain a gray area and there is little legal precedent | | | | Just as with other publish material, the title of the |
| for a company planning a blog site. It is only in the | | | | blog may be in question if it copied form another |
| very recent past that courts across the country | | | | trademark. Additionally, the use of the company's |
| have started addressing this issue and applying the | | | | trademarks or the trademarks of other companies in |
| current framework of law to blogs. Courts may soon | | | | blog posts could also give rise to liability. It would be |
| decide whether bloggers are immune from | | | | better for the person initiating the blog to clear the |
| defamation suits under the Communications Decency | | | | trademark issues beforehand so as not to cause |
| Act. Although, slow in coming, blogs are not entirely | | | | infringement problems. |
| without legal frontiers and are slowly getting | | | | Confidential issues and trade policies should be strictly |
| conversant with the blogging problems. In the | | | | kept off blogs. Employees should be warned of public |
| meantime blogs are multiplying and changing the way | | | | disclosure of sensitive information as well as made |
| people communicate. Until the law is clarified, bloggers | | | | aware of intellectual property rights. Posting of such |
| should know they are potentially liable for any false | | | | information may create liability issues and strict |
| and defamatory speech they post online. | | | | policies regarding these should be laid down from the |
| The first concern that comes to mind is that of libel | | | | beginning. |
| and whether the company will run into legal problems | | | | When advising clients, lawyers should emphasize the |
| if they start blogging. By virtue of blogging being | | | | use of common sense and the application of existing |
| easy to publish and correct, it is also easy for a | | | | legal rules and corporate policies to business and |
| blogger to fix the information that may be damaging | | | | employee blogs. This strategy should go a long way |
| or false. If you are quick enough to correct the | | | | toward protecting the business that ventures into |
| mistake in your blog, libel, typically will not be a | | | | this new medium. |