Attended a great social media event this morning hosted by Cincinnati Social Media Breakfast at the Merchantile Library downtown.  The event was sponsored by CincyTech and featured Graydon Head & Ritchie’s Jack Griener speaking on Intellectual Property Law.

Some insights I walked away with:

• Information put up on public sites – i.e social media sites like Twitter & Blogs is fair game. If it’s out in public it’s all good. In other words, you cannot claim right to privacy if an employer or potential employer finds questionable content.
• Content – It’s OK to use excerpts and link back to original content, it’s not OK to cut-n-paste entire article, etc.
• Photo Rights – Stating where the photo is from is not enough. Make sure if the photo is copyrighted that you get permission in writing from the owner.
• Employers have every right to check your work computers, work email, etc.
• An employer has liability if your blog is part of your job.
• You can be held libel if you intentionally use, link to or promote pirated work.
• If you are online, you need to check out the Communications Decency Act.

Want more information on Intellectual Property Law? Jack’s presentation is posted to Graydon Head & Ritchie’s web site HERE. Also you can visit the site and sign up for their bi-weekly e-newsletter, InfoLaw, on the topic.