Yes, it’s the lazy way to do a post during the week before Christmas and New Year. In my next post, we will use this information to help predict the trends of legal issues for online media, marketing, internet law and start-ups for 2013.
1. SOPA The Debate in Plain English and the SOPA Update and Editorial
The two posts were actually numbers 1 and 3 respectively and if you click on the Update and Editorial, you can see the original post. The original post was done in December 2011, but as Congress debated the issue in early January 2012, the readers kept coming. These two posts were the most popular ever for this blog and there was a lot of angst about what Congress. As we sit here with three days before the end of 2012, it almost seems quaint that Congress fought about SOPA rather than a made up self-imposed fiscal cliff.
2. The Law of Using Images from the Web on Your Blog
This tells me there is a need for some Internet Law 101 type of information. On my list of things to do in 2013 is to put together a series of these types of posts for a more permanent placement. Should I self-publish an e-book?
3. City of Paris Ordered to Pay for Reverse Domain Name Hijacking
This was the most interesting litigation matter I worked on this year. If you are a domainer the decision was very important. Or, if you just think the French are rude or still don’t like Zinedine Zidane from his 2008 World Cup headbutt, you might just find this story interesting.
Please see video here.
Yes, that was a gratuitous French soccer snub. Now, to collect against the City of Paris in 2013.
4. The three-part series on online defamation that included (1) Protecting Yourself Online Does not Have to Include Legal; (2) How to Identify the Anonymous Online Defamer; and (3) Conclusion – Anti-SLAPP
This may have been popular because I often send potential clients there. If you think you have been wronged on a review site or by some blogger, read this series for a basic understanding of your options and the role a lawyer can play.
5. The Cost of Fake Online Reviews Goes Beyond Morality
This tells me businesses are really concerned about online reviews. The DMCA protects the review sites, but should there be changes to this law? Of course, the review site is protected, but you should know by now that if you provide the review and it crosses the line, you could be liable.
On an interesting note, just out of the top five most viewed posts in 2012 was a post I did back in 2009 entitled Online Harassment Becomes Law Today. That tells me not much has been written about the Texas law and it probably has not been used too often. I often tell potential clients about it suggesting they visit with a local D.A. about enforcing the penal provision. I’ve not had anyone come back and tell me the D.A.. agreed to prosecute.
