Vine’s Content and Brand Protection Challenges

Twitter’s new video feature, Vine, released on January 16th, was greeted with excitement and interest as the new feature promised to spark creative brevity once again and change the way we communicate. Vine is Twitters new system for video posts. It allows users to post 6-second videos to their Twitter feed. The Vine videos give users 6 seconds to tell a story, provide amusements, or show a product. It could be used much like Twitter was to broadcast real-time news clips or to simply showcase one’s desk at work. So far, the majority of posts have been people experimenting with the new system by taking videos of their desks at work.

However, Vine is also creeping up on some legal issues. As of late, Vine has been inundated with pornographic material. This problem was not unforeseen as Twitter’s history has shown a tendency for users to post inappropriate messages at times. So, how does Vine deal with the porn problem?

Vine users can flag inappropriate videos using the mobile app. If flagged enough times, the system adds a warning message to alert the user of inappropriate conduct. However, the company has stated that it is censorship-free except in cases of illegality.

Vine’s Terms of Service takes a backseat approach to the content posted and states that “under no circumstances will Vine be liable in any way for any Content” and that users “may be exposed to content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabeled or are otherwise deceptive.”

Social marketing can also have a future on Vine. As with Twitter, companies can use Vine to market their products by showing new products on the market, providing video of new stores, new displays, or even promotions.

“The unbridled posting of videos can certainly have legal implications for companies and their trademarks,” explained Darin Klemchuk, partner at Klemchuk LLP. “For example, users could potentially post videos about a product or they could simply post videos that have a particular brand visible in the background. What this means for brand owners, however, is that they have to be vigilant in how their products are displayed. Is their can of Brand X drink simply sitting on a desk or is there unsavory conduct related to or involving their product?”

Vine’s Terms of Service state that they have the right to remove content at any time. Users may not post content that “impersonates another person or entity in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse, or deceive others” or “violates the rights of a third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, and publicity rights.” Vine has put in place the standard DMCA copyright infringement notification system.

Source: http://www.wired.com/business/2013/01/experts-on-twitter-vine/ http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/27/twitters-vine-has-a-porn-problem/ http://vine.co/terms

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Klemchuk LLP is an Intellectual Property (IP), Technology, Internet, and Business law firm located in Dallas, TX.  The firm offers comprehensive legal services including litigation and enforcement of all forms of IP as well as registration and licensing of patents, trademarks, trade dress, and copyrights.  The firm also provides a wide range of technology, Internet, e-commerce, and business services including business planning, formation, and financing, mergers and acquisitions, business litigation, data privacy, and domain name dispute resolution.  Additional information about the IP law firm and its IP law attorneys may be found at www.klemchuk.com.

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