11:30 am – 12:15 pm

Blogging Pitfalls: How NOT to Get Sued

What to say? What not to say? Dealing with legal and copyright issues.

Moderated by: Joseph Ferrara, Publisher, Sellsius

Panelists:

Ardell DellaLoggia, Author, RainCityGuide.com

Melanie Wyne, Senior Technology Policy Representative, NAR

Russ Cofano, Vice President and General Counsel, John L. Scott Real Estate

Todd Carpenter, Founder, Bizomi Consulting

Large companies should think about unintended negative consequences of sending a cease & desist letter. 

Best defense is not to get sued.

NAR:  Chances are that you do not know that you are violating

Joe, Moderator:  What about videos?

Russ:  If you post video on your site, and it is owned by someone else, you are violating copyright.  Just because something is on YouTube doesn't mean it isn't copyrighted.

Facts are not copyrightable.  The data itself is NOT copyrightable, the format is.

Russ's position is that the facts in the MLS are not copyrightable. NAR once argued that selling prices are not a fact, now it is not clear (NAR panelist will check current policy, may vary by MLS.)

Ardell:  We are in the business of not gettig sued.  When I right a blog post, I write "stream of conscience" but I

LAUGH METER: Ardell, I didn't know what POS meant.  Joe, POS means, "Parent over shoulder, right?" LOL Rating: ***

Don't name names, have to be generic.

CBA provides some

An interactive service provider vs content business (clarify)

Russ:  If someone responds to your post with a libelous or defamatory comment, and you don't edit it, you are not responsible.  If you edit it, and it is still libelous or slanderous, you may be liable yourself. 

Closing comments:

The more funny you are, it cures a lot of ills.

If you are about to say something that you are not 100%, be sure it is positive not negative.