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AbstractLegal Considerations When Consumer Opinion Websites Parody Companies or BrandsYoon, Tae-Il / Doctoral Candidate, School of Journalism, University of Missouri-Columbia
As the Internet has become a modern symbol of the classical market of ideas* consumer opinion sites that parody companies or brands become popular in the cyberspace. This article examines various legal issues and law cases that might be applicable to consumer parody sites in the light of copyright laws, trademark laws, libel laws, and service provider liability. Some crucial concepts such as ‘fair use’, ‘like- lihood of confusion’, ‘actual malice’, and ‘strict liability’ were analyzed in the context of U.S. legal cases. Looking at a possibility that consumer parody sites can lie in the tension between free speech rights, intellectual property interests, and libel issues, this article discusses how consumer parody sites can function as an interactive communication channel between consumers and companies by avoiding legal pitfalls.
key word : parody, consumer opinion site, freedom of expression
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