WHAT WE DO

It seems that everyone is a member of a social network these days. Whether you blog, tweet or text, social networks offer an impactful way to communicate and expand business opportunities.

However, social networks also come with inherent legal risks. Casually posted comments and opinions can raise issues with employee confidentiality agreements, privacy concerns, copyright infringement, libel and security breaches.

While properly drafted website terms of use and agreements with business partners go a long way to reduce risk, employees and employers alike should be aware of a number of potential issues when engaging in social networking:

• Inadvertent disclosure of confidential or sensitive information about their employers’ businesses
• Harassment/libel/slander of other parties leading to potential liability
• Intellectual property violations/copyright infringement through use of third party content, photos, graphics, etc.
• Disclosure of “insider information” for the purpose of manipulating stocks/market trends
• Reputational concerns stemming from vicarious online behaviour
• Reduction of productivity due to employee participation in social networks during office hours

With extensive experience in business law and intellectual property rights, Gowlings provides unparalleled insight and effective solutions to help companies create sensible and enforceable social networking policies.