Twitter has long had problems with the issue of fake accounts created by celebrity impersonators. The latest victim in this case was Tony La Russa, a well known manager for Major League Baseball who currently manages the St. Louis Cardinals. On May 6, 2009, Mr. La Russa filed suit against Twitter in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, claiming that someone was using a false account under his name to post updates, known as "tweets," containing comments which he alleged were false, derogatory and demeaning. He further alleged damage to his reputation, the goodwill in his mark, and mental anguish and emotional distress.
The Complaint includes a screen shot of a tweet stating “Lost 2 out of 3, but we made it out of Chicago without one drunk driving incident or dead pitcher… I’d call that an I-55 series."
While there sometimes is little a company can do to prevent unauthorized user accounts, the legal risk can be mitigated by implementing a policy to deal with unauthorized accounts. This policy can be detailed in the company’s terms of service. Further, the company should adhere to its policies in response to any complaints.
Allen M. Lee Mr. Lee’s practice focuses on business, corporate and intellectual property matters, including the creation, protection and exploitation of intellectual property assets. He counsels clients on business formation, general corporate matters, trademark, copyright, trade secret, patent, licensing, internet and domain name issues, among other things. For more information contact: Allen M. Lee, a Professional Law Corporation, Tel: (650) 254-0758, Fax: (650) 967-1851, Email: allen@allenmlee.com, Internet: www.allenmlee.com.
Subscribe