Weblog legal issues

Catherine E. Reuben, partner, Robinson & Cole, LLP, offered some legal tips for both employees and employers:

Employee don'ts: Don't do it on company time, try not to reveal company name on your Weblog. Don't post stuff you wouldn't want potential employers to see. Don't just sign those form intellectual-property and confidintiality agreements you get when you get a new job - many are just too broad.

Dos: Read the company confidentiality and Internet-use policies. If you are a reporter or analyst, you need to get legal advice on what you can or cannot write about. The National Labor Relations Act offers some protection even to non-union employees - if what you write applies to a group. So don't write "the pay here stinks," write "WE think the pay here stinks." There may be legal ways to do this, but it is a fine line.

Employer do's: Do have a confidientiality agreement, but don't just use some form. State specifically what an employee can or cannot say about the company. Don'ts: Don't access private Weblogs under false pretexts; get counsel before you do something because of something you read on a Weblogs (for example, privacy, whistleblowing, discrimination and labor-relations laws might apply).

Denise Howell, of Reed Smith Crosby Heafey, LLP (her Weblog), said that as soon as a company puts up a Web site, you immediately become subject to all of the potential liabilities of being a publisher.

She said the rise of blogs means employees sometimes post things that the company would not want posted: "Businesses one way or another are going to need to take control of this."

Some particular issues include "misappropriation" of information online, including proprietary information inadvertently become public and posting the names and likeness of individuals. Privacy of visitors is also important, she said.

John Palfrey, executive director, Berkman Center for Internet and Society (his Weblog), said Weblogs are great, but that virtually any company with a Web presence has to worry about federal and state Internet laws. Unfortunately, he said: "U.S. law is a complete mess in the Internet space. ... All I have to say is hire a lawyer to think that through."

"My strong, strong, strong recommendation is to use a Creative Commons license wherever you can."

Some blogs may be considered advertising," and that has legal ramifications, said Maurice J. Ringel, founder and president of Ringel Law Group, PC. Consumer-protection and even election laws could apply. Financial, securities and pharmaceutical companies, along with licensed professionals of all sorts, might have specific legal requirements to adhere to, he said.