Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50878
problem," Cameron says. That became clear in 2008, when a Texas woman sued Blockbuster over allegations it breached the U.S. Video Privacy Protection Act by acquir- ing her personal information through Facebook's Beacon Marketing program. Blockbuster eventually reached a settle- ment with the woman. In the employment context, Martin Kratz, an intellectual property and tech- nology law partner at Bennett Jones LLP in Calgary, urges employers to be upfront with job candidates. Many employers will mine social media to get a better glimpse at a candidate, without offer- ing notification. That can create privacy concerns, he suggests, urging companies to disclose their intention to do so. "That way it's a heads-up and a warning, and avoids many problems or conflict." Social media expert Mat Wilcox of the Vancouver-based Wilcox Group, stressed the need to be on the look- out for "brand squatters" to protect a company's reputation. She said a col- lege student set up a Twitter account titled "theBKlounge," using it to pose as a Burger King Corp. spokesman. He amassed 1,500 followers, and it took more than two months for the company to notice the imposter. When Burger King did uncover him, the company avoided a knee-jerk reaction. In fact, it put him on the payroll and encour- aged him to continue. "They figured, it's better to own the problem than to manage the problem," said Wilcox at the Faskens seminar. A long list of other major corpora- tions have lost control of their brands' Twitter presence, such as Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, Macy's, MasterCard, Sears, Nike, and Wal-Mart. "They're going to be relying on their legal counsel to try to get them back, and trust me on this, it is not an easy thing to get your brand back when somebody has taken it," said Wilcox. "It's a legal nightmare." The first step to avoid this is to log onto Twitter and claim accounts with your company's brands, and post updates often enough to avoid getting booted from the service for inactivity. Similarly, it's a good idea to be proactive and lay claim to your brands in all social media sites. Wilcox even suggested signing up for web domains, such as "yourcom- panysucks.com" and the like, to stem opportunities for future brand damage. "Consumers are now being swayed not by advertising anymore but by what is said in social media. So if you have the kind of company that relies on consum- ers to purchase your products, you better be on social media, and you better be doing a great job of it." IH Right-sized Thinking. It Fits. We are a law rm that combines leadership with teamwork, that aligns best practise with pragmatism, nds passion in expertise and exibility, and has an innate appreciation for your unique challenge. If this sounds like the right t for you, you've discovered Right-sized Thinking. Let us show you where it can lead. Your Authority For: Business Law • Commercial Litigation • Commercial Real Estate Construction • Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring Labour and Employment • Tax • Wills, Estates and Trusts Untitled-12 1 INHOUSE FEBRUARY 2010 • 8/24/09 12:51:23 PM 21