Assess, Influence & Evolve

Social Media is akin to the e-mail era:  it is so convenient that it will not fade away and social media law must follow the pace of  social media. The varying forms of social media communication may differ in popularity on and off, but the existence of the social media mediums must become of paramount concern to businesses as they move forward.  Effective corporate communication must incorporate social media, and here are 3 simple steps to help ensure that your company’s social medial lawyer can help you responsibly embrace advances in social media based communication:

(1) Assess

The first step of responsible corporate communication through the social media medium is the involvement of a corporate attorney to understand and analyze the risks to your company through the usage of social media.  Without the involvement of a legal entity, the risks will not be apparent.  A corporate attorney with an understanding of social media related law & risks must assess: (1) how does this company use social media?  (2) do company employees using social media on a personal level create a risk to the company? (3) do company managers create a risk to the company through social media usage? (4) how can the company develop policies and monitoring strategies to avoid potential risks?

(2) Influence

Upon developing a thorough understanding of a company’s social media usage and therisks involved, a social media lawyer would help companies develop a place to influence the company’s social media usage.  Much like the usage of e-mails and instant-message type online discussions, social media usage can be monitored by companies when used on company laptops.  Develop a written company policy that outlines the use of social media through company computers, and by those claiming to represent the company in the online world.

Encourage your employees to be responsible when using social media such as Twitter, Yammer, or Facebook to name a few.  Read through blogs discussing your company or written by your employees.  Comment on interesting blogs or Twitter posts about your company.  Influence the online conversation on various social media platforms.  Embracesocial media by participating in it.

(3) Evolve

Remember that social media is an evolving platform, as are the risks.  With new additions to the social media world, new risks will inevitably arise.  Your company must evolve with these advances and fads, while having a well-hashed out written policy on social media as a whole.

It is critical to evolve while developing a strong and resilient social media policy.  But if you decided to assess, influence, and evolve – your company will benefit from the world of free social media publicity and corporate communication.

By: Benish Shah, Esq. & Sheheryar Sardar, Esq., Sardar Law Firm LLC

For more information, contact:  Sardar Law Firm at sardar@sardarlawfirm.com.

Follow Sardar Law Firm on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sardarlawfirm

Buying off Potential Patent Infringers?

The second circuit in In re Tamoxifen Citrate Antitrust Litigation allowed the maker of a patented drug to pay off an alleged infringer, settling the suit outside of court.  Unlike most settlement agreements, where an injured parties receives monetary compensation, this type of settlement provides a pay day to the infringing party, causing more harm to the injured patent holder.  Furthermore, it often allows the infringer to walk away from the matter without much harm.

This matter is again up in front of the second circuit.  Read more information on this issue here.

Follow Sardar Law Firm on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sardarlawfirm

Think Before you Tweet

Tweeting has largely replaced “talking” in many forms. Companies communicate with clients and potential clients through Twitter, and employees often rely work-related stress to friends and follower through their constant Tweets.  But in this jump into social media, no one has stopped to think:  this is social media, but it’s still media. How can this effect me, my business, or my job?  That’s why lawyers are called in by companies – to assess the risk before it develops.

There is no question that social media outlets such as Twitter are dominating the online community.  A 2009 study conducted by Nielson found that two thirds of the world’s Internet users partake in some form of social media, spending more time on these sites than on e-mail.  So what are some of the risks associated to popular social media such as Twitter?

Before putting your thoughts – especially your company’s thoughts – on the Internet, consider these factors:

Negative Publicity. Not all publicity is good publicity and negative publicity reaches customers and potential investors/employees much faster.  And those negative comments also get re-tweeted!  What can you do as a company: read more here.

Benish Shah, Esq.

Attorney, Sardar Law Firm

bshah@sardarlawfirm.com