Weekly IP Buzz for week ending April 13, 2018
The "Browser" Act and Facebook; Copyright Protection for YouTube Content Creators; The Internet of Things
Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending April 13, 2018.
The “BROWSER” Act Explained and Implications for Facebook
In light of the recent scandal regarding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, the general public has been up in arms about the protection of their personal data. A recent survey found that less than half of Facebook users trust Facebook to comply with American privacy protection laws. As such, last year’s Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly (“BROWSER”) Act has been come under renewed scrutiny. Originally introduced in 2017, the BROWSER Act requires both internet service providers (“ISPs”) and content providers (e.g., mobile apps, Facebook, Google, etc.) to obtain opt-in consent from users before sharing the user’s personal information with third parties. Currently, it is common practice for content providers to not only collect a user’s personal data (e.g., email address, location, etc.) but to pass it along to third-party marketing agencies or similar businesses. Read more about online privacy.
[This Title is No Longer Available Due to a Copyright Claim]: YouTube to Update Content ID in an Effort to Protect YouTube Content Creators and Increase Copyright Protection
Since 2007, YouTube’s automated Content ID system has been helping the company catch potential copyright violations that occur on the site to aid copyright protection. Copyright owners, such as music producers or movie studios, will upload content to the system where they will then be assigned a digital identifier that will help to identify any content uploaded on to the site that infringes their copyright. Once Content ID flags a video for violating existing copyrights, the copyright holder will be notified of the violation and will have the option to either have the video removed or earn advertising revenue generated by the infringing content. Read more about copyright violations.
Does the Internet of Things Need a Moral Compass?
As we have often discussed, the Internet of Things (“IoT”) has become the next iteration of the Internet. IoT refers to the connection of everyday devices to the Internet. This connectivity allows previously “dumb” devices to transmit and receive data via the Internet in order to transform these run-of-the-mill devices into “smart” devices. By 2020, experts estimate that IoT has the potential to generate more than $300 billion dollars in revenue. But as the reality of IoT looms ever closer, many experts in the field have begun to question whether IoT’s prevalence in our daily lives will raise ethical and moral implications. Read more about the IoT.
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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.
Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.
