Archive for Employer/Employee Issues

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani]

I’ve posted a few times about the question of who owns the social media presence created or managed by an employee or business partner. There have been a few cases addressing the issue, but none of them leave us with much clarity. There have been a slew of situations where high-profile employees left a company, but very few disputes have actually gone to court. One of the more prominent examples involved ex-CNN anchor Rick Sanchez, who eventually took his Twitter account with him (although he re-named it).

The @OMGFacts case involves a dispute between two business partners over ownership of the wildly popular @OMGFacts Twitter account. There, the then-minor who created the account sued to invalidate an agreement relating to efforts to commercialize the account. The minor sued to “disaffirm” the account and the court hinted that he would be able to do so. (Here’s my post on the court’s latest ruling in that case: “Teen Who Created @OMGFacts Twitter Account Can Disclaim Agreement and Reclaim Control Over the Brand.”)

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[Post by Venkat Balausbramani]

Maremont v. Susan Fredman Design Group, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26441 (N.D. Ill.; March 15, 2011)

Employees increasingly promote their employers on Facebook and Twitter. As a result, there’s a fair amount of grey area around whether the employer or employee “owns” the account in question. One employer learned the hard way that it is risky to assume that the employer owns the employee’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. The employer accessed the employee’s Twitter and Facebook accounts without authorization, while the employee was in the hospital. As a result, the employee brought claims for impersonation and false endorsement. The court held that the claims could go forward.

As alleged in the complaint, Fredman is a prominent interior designer who runs the Susan Fredman Design Group (SFDG). SFDG also has an internet presence. Maremont is an interior designer that started working at SFDG in October 2005 (as SFDG’s Director of Marketing, Public Relations, and e-commerce). Read More…