NYT profiles first lawsuit re: ownership rights to tweets. Only surprise: this is the first suit of its kind that media is reporting..
"..In base economic terms, the value of individual Twitter updates seems to be negligible; after all, what is a Twitter post but a few bits of data sent caroming through the Internet? But in a world where social media’s influence can mean the difference between a lucrative sale and another fruitless cold call, social media accounts at companies have taken on added significance.
The question is: Can a company cash in on, and claim ownership of, an employee’s social media account, and if so, what does that mean for workers who are increasingly posting to Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus during work hours?
A lawsuit filed in July could provide some answers..."
Would be surprising if this were the first suit to be brought, but if so, ultimate court decision could prove to be a doozy..even it'll be appealed..No doubt there will be plenty of more suits to follow..with lawyers wearing them..
