Posts Tagged: "Social Media"

USPTO Steps Into Social Media Controversy

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) doesn’t often get much action on social media, but last week, five days before the U.S. Presidential election, the Office came under fire for its social media posts touting the United States’ record on intellectual property under the Trump Administration. The posts featured the following quote from USPTO Director Andrei Iancu: “Just a reminder, under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. intellectual property ecosystem ranks #1 in the world, according to the 2020 International IP Index.”

How to Trademark Hashtags in Australia

A hashtag is a useful way to promote your brand on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. When the name of a brand, a tagline or catchphrase is hashtagged in a post, other users of the platform can find the hashtag easily by simply searching for that particular tag. It’s become an essential part of every brand’s social media marketing strategy. It can be used to attract new customers and engage with them. IP Australia updated the Australian Trade Marks Office Manual of Practice and Procedure in 2016 to include a definition for a hashtag and offers some guidelines for businesses to follow. It also lists examples of what could be seen as ambiguous cases, which you can look at to see if they could also relate to the eligibility of your brand.

The Right to be Wrong: Public Opinions, Private Data and Twitter’s Proposed Flagging Policy

Twitter officials recently announced they’ll begin placing a notice over tweets that violate their standards regarding abusive or bullying behavior, but that they still deem to have some public value.  Users will have to click through the notice in order to view the original tweet, and also see a link to the following message: “The Twitter rules about abusive behavior apply to this Tweet. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain available.” On the surface, this may not seem significantly different from the motion picture industry’s rating system or the advisory notices posted prior to most on-demand programming.  But dig a little deeper and what makes Twitter’s proposed flagging policy particularly unsettling is their intention to apply it very selectively.

Spilling the ‘Detox Tea’: Are We About to See More FTC Action on Social Media Influencer Advertising?

In a recent letter, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action against makers of “detox teas” for engaging in “predatory” and misleading marketing tactics on social media platforms, targeting primarily young adults (and young women in particular). Taking aim at the Instagram idol Kim Kardashian, Senator Blumenthal pointed out that influencers earn up to “six figure sums” for a single social media post promoting detox tea products without any expectation that the endorsers personally use the products and expose themselves to the alleged health risks associated with the teas.    

IP and Innovation on Capitol Hill: Week of March 18

This week in Washington, D.C., Capitol Hill is silent due to district work periods for the House of Representatives and state work periods for the Senate. However, the nation’s capital is still very busy with a collection of think tank events related to innovation and technology. A pair of events at New America looks at how technology and social media can stem the tide of extremist ideologies or how advances in DNA testing can help solve cold cases. Cybersecurity challenges at the next Summer Olympic Games are the topic of discussion at the Wilson Center. The Heritage Foundation also hosts a pair of events looking at how the Constitutional Framers viewed property and issues with China-based Huawei’s dominance in 5G. Closing out the week is a Friday event at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation exploring challenges to the U.S. Postal Service in the e-commerce era.