Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality / Mixed Reality

Immersive forms of digital expression are poised to reshape society as thoroughly as the internet did twenty years earlier. Our team includes the first lawyer to blog on AR-related legal issues (since 2011, before hardly anyone outside the industry had heard the term “augmented reality”), the first to write articles and books on the subject, and the legal team responsible for the first constitutional challenge to a law regulating AR content. Several of our team members are also steeped in traditional media law and litigation, providing a broader context for understanding the legal doctrines that govern newer media as well. We thoroughly understand these new media, the technologies behind them, and the many legal issues they raise. Even the U.S. Congress sought our advice on the subject when preparing to hold its first hearings on AR. We are uniquely equipped to help content creators and manufacturers in these burgeoning fields secure their rights and minimize their exposure to liability.

Drones

The drone industry is rapidly growing and with it, new regulations are emerging to govern drone usage for both business and recreational purposes. As new laws take effect and others adapt in this exciting industry, our attorneys remain on top of laws that may impose limitations on drone applications. In addition, our expertise in becoming certified drone pilots ourselves provides the intimate knowledge we need to guide you through the safety risks and potential liabilities. Drone operators and manufacturers must carefully consider the types of exposure that go along with drones, such as privacy concerns, legal liability, physical damage or product liability. Insurance coverage is also an important consideration, as many standard policies do not keep up with technology and gaps in coverage can occur. At Warner Norcross, we’ll address your unique concerns related to drones and work with you on policy applications. We’ll provide upfront counseling on risk management, exposure and claims-specific strategy, including litigation, so whatever issues arise, you’ll have the solutions you need to achieve your goals.

Internet of Things / Wearable Technology

Our clients include the designers and manufacturers of industry-leading wearable devices that scan, record, and contextualize users’ environments in savvy and cutting-edge ways. Still other clients employ location-aware technologies to deliver content and marketing to their clients’ customers in real time, or to track products and industrial processes. With billions more internet of things-enabled devices scheduled for release each year, we understand the economic importance of the IOT ecosystem. By combining our experience in such legal disciplines as privacy, cybersecurity, product liability, and commercial contracting, we offer a well-rounded perspective for helping you avoid the often-murky legal issues surrounding the internet of things.

Social Media

Over the span of merely a decade, online social media websites have evolved from frivolous distractions to a medium so important to commerce and communication that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared access to social media to be a fundamental constitutional right. Many companies and employees still wrestle with the thorny legal issues these ever-evolving platforms inject into employer-employee relations, intellectual property, advertising, defamation, and other fields. What is more, the rapid pace of technological change means that companies have difficulty keeping current with what “social media” even means, much less how to adapt their policies and processes to it. We’ve been advising dozens of companies through these matters since social media first appeared, and we stay on top of each change in the landscape because we use these platforms ourselves. All of this makes us well-positioned to guide your company through the legal minefields surrounding online digital communication platforms.