Internet Law Firm

Dozier Internet Law Firm

The Dozier Internet Law Firm is the largest law firm in the world specializing exclusviely in the law of the Internet. With offices in Virginia, the firm provides services across the US and around the world to businesses. The founder of the firm, John W. Dozier Jr., is licensed to practice in Virginia and is rated by other lawyers and judges as having reached the height of professional excellence and the highest levels of skill and integrity (AV rating), is a "SUPER LAWYER" (Law and Policy Magazine), and is a "legal elite" among Virginia attorneys for 2007 in intellectual property, all selections based upon peer review processes.

Here are some of John Dozier's thoughts on website liability:

Copyright infringement can occur when someone posts the creative works of another (an image or text are most common). The site owner often has no way of knowing that the content posted is the copyright- protected works of a third party. Congress, recognizing that copyright infringement liability arises for a website owner even if he has no knowledge or intent at all, passed a "safe harbor" law creating immunity from such claims under certain circumstances. The important thing to note is that if you do certain things (register an agent and follow the law on DMCA take-down notices) then you have no liability. This assumes, of course, that you are not knowingly facilitating copyright infringement.

Along a similar vein, Congress passed an immunity provision protecting websites from defamation claims arising out of third-party postings. The reasoning was that an "interactive service provider" should not be liable for publishing defamatory statements it knew nothing about and over which it had no control. Consider, though, that you have no immunity if your site is an "interactive content provider" for purposes of the posting. The difference between a service provider and a content provider is tied into the amount of editorial control you use. The more you edit, the greater the likelihood you will lose your immunity. So, don't think you can fix all of the potential problems by simply removing posts whenever someone complains.

Congress and the Department of Justice have created an entirely new risk that most companies would never consider. Known as "2257" to the adult industry, it is a law (with many and recent amendments) and a series of regulations attempting to clamp down on the porn industry. Basically, it creates civil and criminal liability under the child pornography laws if your site has "sexually explicit material" without mandated notices and records, and it is clear that this term does not necessarily require nudity. So, if someone posts such an image in your forum, in your blog or on your site, you could have major problems. Lawsuits have been filed and courts are ruling on the constitutionality of the regulations. At the same time, Congress just passed a stronger bill and the Justice Department is drafting new regulations.

Congress has so far stayed away from passing the proposed new trademark law. The best high level advice I offer is to understand how to handle a trademark infringement cease and desist letter. Proactive defensive options are very limited.

Clients turn to The Dozier Internet Law Firm for a robust audit program to evaluate and assess such risks.

Internet Law Firm for Web Business

Dozier Internet Law is a pre-eminent and top rated (AV) Internet law firm and is the largest Internet law firm in the world specializing exclusively in the law of the Internet. As an Internet law firm we represent Internet business interests. The Dozier Internet Law Firm has handled hundreds of Internet disputes. When you need a top rated Internet Law Firm please visit us and consider calling.

CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. The information on this site is not intended to constitute legal advice and communication via email, telephone, or in writing with an attorney does not constitute the creation of an attorney-client relationship until a formal, written legal retainer agreement is signed. We rarely set forth case results on this site because of lawyer ethics considerations. Sometimes we will link to a decision involving our law firm. Whatever the reference to legal results in a particular matter, please understand that case and matter results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each such case or matter, and prior case or matter results do not predict or guarantee a similar result in future cases or matters. John W. Dozier, Jr. is the responsible attorney for this website, which is Attorney Advertising. A legal ethics requirement is that we state the following: CASE RESULTS DEPEND ON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE, AND PRIOR CASE RESULTS DO NOT PREDICT OR GUARANTEE A SIMILAR RESULT IN FUTURE CASES. Our refund policy is to refund all remaining fee deposits at the end of the month of a file closing.

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