Many of the Nissenbaum Law Group's
clients are Internet-based, e-commerce
companies or additional companies
that utilize websites. Internet companies
present unique legal challenges: drafting
electronic contracts, protecting against
universal jurisdiction, addressing
privacy issues and attending to distinctive
intellectual property concerns. The
firm routinely advises clients with
regard to these legal matters. Nevertheless,
in the final analysis, an online business
is still a business; it has similar
corporate, employment and intellectual
property concerns as a traditional
brick-and-mortar entity. The firm
endeavors to tailor its representation
to address the standard legal challenges
that all businesses face, while at
the same time meeting the unique needs
of online commerce.
High technology law is a related
practice area. The firm has significant
experience representing software development
and technology companies. In addition,
it has represented companies that
sell computer-based technology worldwide.
The firm has handled international
legal matters, such as software development
projects in Europe, as well as the
sale of high technology in Europe,
the Middle East and Asia.
The firm's practice in the Internet
and technology areas include:
- Formation of online businesses
such as limited liability companies,
corporations and non-profit companies
- Legal disclaimers for websites,
including terms and conditions,
privacy policies and online sale
or license agreements
- Domain registration disputes
- Intellectual property filings
to protect a website, including
copyright registration and trademark/tradedress
registration for protectable aspects
of the website
- Custom software development and
licensing agreements
- Legal aspects of online marketing
- Issues related to the Communications
Decency Act and the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act
- Online copyright and trademark
infringement
- Cybersquatting and other domain
name disputes
- Online defamation and First Amendment
rights
- Compliance with 18 U.S.C. 2257
and 28 C.F.R. 75
- Technology joint venture agreements
- Software consulting agreements
- Intellectual property filings
to protect software, including the
underlying source code
- Purchase, sale or license of
proprietary technology
Please click on the following items
to learn more about these sub-sections
of the firm's practice:
Copyright
Registration Copyrights
protect the expression of an idea.
That can be anything from the words
used in a website to its colors, graphics
and pictures. We prepare and file
copyrights with the United States
Patent and Trademark Office for our
clients, providing them with national
protection.
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Trademark
and Servicemark Registration
A trademark applies legal protection
to the words or picture associated
with a given manufacturer or source
of a product, and a servicemark protects
the words or picture associated with
a service. A good example is a logo
that is stamped on a product or a
name used to identify the product
or service in commerce. We routinely
file trademark and servicemark applications
with the United States Patent and
Trademark Office. We also address
objections to the application by the
Federal government and seek to obtain
registration for our clients, subject
to them. We also represent clients
in litigation and enforcement pertaining
to online infringement of trademarks
and servicemarks.
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Computer
Hardware and Software Sale, Lease
and License Agreements
We have formed many companies that
create, sell and/or license software.
We have negotiated such agreements
for both the buyer and the seller
(in different transactions). Our practice
also involves reviewing and preparing
terms and conditions for the purchase
of computer hardware and software.
There are very important clauses that
must be included in a software license
agreement; there is no such thing
as a "standard" contract.
Each matter raises its own unique
issues.
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E-Commerce
We are fully familiar with the various
laws and statutes that govern e-commerce,
and what is needed to help protect
and run an online business. In fact,
some of our clients conduct transactions
solely over the Internet. We advise
clients as to the development of online
purchase order terms and conditions,
privacy policies, website advertising
and online content.
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Website
Disclaimer
Every website should include some
levelof disclaimer language. This
is important for such things as preventing
the owner of the website from submitting
to the jurisdiction of other States
and to disclaim liability for representations
made on the website. We have very
affordable web site disclaimers that
we can tailor to the needs of our
clients.
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Cybersquatting
Law The Federal Cybersquatting Law,
15 U.S.C Section 1125
, seeks to prevent people from utilizing
Internet domains that dilute or otherwise
infringe on the intellectual property
of others. We can help our clients
comply with that law, and we can also
bring claims on behalf of our clients
against people who do not comply with
its requirements. [click here to return
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Child
Protection and Obscenity Enforcement
Act (18 U.S.C. Section
2257 and 28 C.F.R. 75) This law was
originally struck down as unconstitutional
by the United States Supreme Court.
It was rewritten by Congress to address
the problems of the original version.
In 2005, it became binding law. It
requires any person that posts an
adult website to take precautions
to ensure that no underage persons
are depicted. The requirements of
the law are complex, and they mandate
that certain identifying information
be maintained with a custodian or
records. In appropriate circumstances,
our firm will advise clients as to
compliance with this law.
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Federal Trade Commission Guide Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising As of December 1, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Guide Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising “(Guide”) will be effective. The new FTC Regulations will regulate advertisers, including websites, that provide testimonials and representations about products or services. For example, “Mommy blogs” and Açaí berry sites (and their affiliate sites) would likely be directly affected because they can contain reviews or endorsements of products or services. The regulations can be accessed at 16 CFR Section 255.2 and the applicable statute is 15 USC Section 55. The regulations are divided into the following categories: Consumer Endorsements 255.2, Expert endorsements 255.3, Endorsements by organizations 255.4 and Disclosure of Material Connections 255.5.
The old regulations have changed so that simply providing a disclaimer is not sufficient anymore to provide a safe harbor preventing the site from being deemed to have violated the regulations. Now, the content of the endorsement or testimonial needs to be inherently non-misleading, regardless of whether a disclaimer is included. Simply stating “results not typical” will not prevent liability. Material connections and paid endorsements must be disclosed. Celebrity endorsements and expert endorsements are particularly important since they have a higher capacity to mislead the public. We anticipate that the regulations will highlight the need for changes to terms and conditions and privacy policies; upgraded affiliate agreements; changes to website disclaimers; and indemnification provisions for celebrity or expert endorsement agreements.
Articles:
We invite you to view the following two minute videos
that will provide an overview of each of the
firm's major business law practice areas. 