Tag: social networking

Is “yes” to Instagram a “no” to Facebook privacy?

Posted on by TME in Information technology, Internet, Privacy, Social networking

Source: MSNBC Technology [Helen A.S. Popkin]

People are so steamed up about Facebook’s $1 billion purchase of Instagram that they are vowing to purge their smartphones of the old-timey photo sharing app.

“Facebook,” “Instagram,” and “uninstall” were the three words littering Twitter — the place where everyone posts their Instagram images — soon after news of the deal broke on Monday. 

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of FB, touted the many benefits of the acquisition. But less information was forthcoming about how location privacy would be handled (and by less I mean none).

Read the complete article about Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and what it means for FB user privacy.

Read the announcement posted by Instagram.

Has Facebook secured the right to exclusive use of “Book” thru its TOU?

Posted on by TME in Intellectual Property, Internet, Social networking, Trademark

Source: Lexology.com

Facebook login page

While FB may never secure a trademark on the word “book”, it appears to be attempting to secure its market position through its terms of use.

“Facebook has previously filed over 80 trademark applications on variations of its name and other terms such as “POKE”, “WALL” and “LIKE”. Facebook now seems to be attempting to claim some level of ownership/protection over the word “book” as well.

In a recent revision to Facebook’s “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities,” which is the agreement all users must accept when accessing Facebook, language was inserted which states (emphasis added) “[y]ou will not use our copyrights or trademarks (including Facebook, the Facebook and F Logos, FB, Face, Poke, Book and Wall), or any confusingly similar marks, except as expressly permitted by our Brand Usage Guidelines or with our prior written permission.”

Read the full article about Facebook’s trademark claims to “book”

Is Microblogging Protected by Fair Use? The 140 character Debate

Posted on by TME in Copyright

Are tweets and status updates protected by fair use? Because there is no set number of words or set amount of a copyrighted work that may be used in all cases without the owner’s permission, the answer is a lawyerly one — it depends.

Read the following article from Martindale.com for more information on the debate that rages on between the role of copyright protection and social networking.

Learn more about copyright, fair use and public domain.