Understanding the Legal Issues in Social Networking

Andrew J. Hollander is Of Counsel at K&L Gates LLP and concentrates his practice in intellectual property including online legal issues.

Mr. Hollander’s intellectual property experience includes assisting clients in all stages of growth in identifying, protecting and enforcing their intellectual property assets, including by registering and enforcing trademarks including clearing brand names, obtaining and enforcing patents, protecting creative works and enforcing copyrights, online and computer law, domain names, advertising law, and licensing agreements and other contracts.

Mr. Hollander advises on IP due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, as well as IP audits to identify and value one’s own IP. He is responsible for global trademark portfolios comprising thousands of trademarks in more than 140 countries. His diverse experience includes representing clients in the fields of computer software and hardware, online services, travel, health and beauty aids, consumer packaged goods, and financial institutions. He is registered to practice with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and prepares and files patent applications. Prior to joining K&L Gates, Mr. Hollander was chief intellectual property counsel of a $4 billion dollar global company.

Melissa Landau Steinman is a partner in Venable’s award-winning Advertising and Marketing Law practice group, focusing on advertising, marketing and new media, as well as distribution antitrust. She works with clients from every sector of industry at every stage of distributing consumer products and services, counseling some of the nation’s largest consumer products services companies on advertising and promotions, distribution, pricing, warranties, product safety and other matters. She has represented clients in both private and government litigation, and also has appeared before self-regulatory bodies such as the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureaus. Ms. Steinman has extensive experience in consumer promotions law, with specialized expertise in social media, gift cards, rebates, “free” gifts, and promotional sweepstakes and contests law. Ms. Steinman has worked on a diverse range of gaming issues relating to matters ranging from game shows to video gambling to social media and text messaging promotions. Ms. Steinman’s commentary on social media, sweepstakes and other promotional activities has appeared nationally in publications as prominent as the Los Angeles Times. Ms. Steinman wrote and edited the “Guide to Federal and State Regulation of Advertising,” a comprehensive two volume book/CD-ROM on the law of advertising and promotions.

David G. Mallen is the Deputy Director of the CBBB’S National Advertising Division (NAD), the investigative arm of the advertising industry’s self-regulatory organization and is responsible for the review of a broad range of national advertising campaigns in traditional and new media. In the course of analyzing legal, communication, and claim substantiation issues, he has resolved hundreds of advertising disputes and provided legal guidance to industry on the advertising of food and drug products, telecommunication services, computer and Internet technology, environmental claims and consumer household products. David is a popular public speaker and frequently lectures on advertising self-regulation, Green Marketing, scientific claim substantiation and sensory testing, international advertising issues and ethics. Before joining NAD, David practiced law at Kensington & Ressler L.L.C. in New York City, specializing in litigation. He graduated from Cornell University where he majored in Biology and Society and Albany Law School of Union University.

Justin Brookman is the Director for CDT’s Project on Consumer Privacy. Prior to joining CDT in January 2010, Mr. Brookman was Chief of the Internet Bureau of the New York Attorney General’s office. Under his leadership, the Internet Bureau was one of the most active and aggressive law enforcement groups working on internet issues, and Mr. Brookman brought several groundbreaking cases to protect the rights of online consumers. He brought the first regulatory actions against spyware and adware companies, as well as against the advertisers who funded those companies. He also brought several privacy cases against companies who misused or misappropriated consumers’ personal information, including the first enforcement of Gramm-Leach-Bliley’s restrictions on the use of consumer financial data. In 2009, Mr. Brookman brought the first case against a company for “astroturfing” — or seeding internet message boards and blogs with fake positive reviews. He also brought important actions to preserve free speech online and to preserve network neutrality.

Mr. Brookman previously worked as a litigation associate for six years at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in both its New York and Washington offices. He received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law in 1998 and his B.A. in Government and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in 1995.