QR Codes: Legal Risks & Mitigation in Marketing Motion Pictures

February 2024

Abstract

Increasingly, marketers use QR codes to promote, advertise and market goods. This article focuses on how QR codes are used in the marketing of motion pictures and some important legal issues that arise. The relevancy of QR codes increased substantially, since Denso Wave, a Japanese company, debuted the first QR code in 1994 . Smartphone manufacturers such as Apple integrating QR code readers into their devices’ built-in camera and contactless communication during the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the QR code’s ubiquitous use in today’s society. One common legal issue marketers face when using QR codes is the collection and processing of consumer data being compliant with consumer privacy laws. Consumer data can be collected from a QR Code when that QR Code drives the device reading it to a digital environment configured to collect cookies from that device. Responsible marketers will want to maintain the security, confidentiality, availability, and integrity of personal information and do their best to ensure that such data is not compromised by a QR Code scan. Another important legal issue relates to litigation stemming from patent infringement claims based on how businesses display and/or utilize a QR code.

Authors

Rey Rodriguez

Assistant General Counsel, The Walt Disney Company, USA

Rey M. Rodríguez is a twenty seven year veteran of The Walt Disney Company. As an attorney, Rey serves the global theatrical distribution arm of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, covering the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. He is fluent in Spanish, which has played an important role in managing issues and developing relationships in Latin America and Spain. Previous to his work at Disney, Rey was an attorney at Paul Hastings. In addition to his professional career, Rey feels an important obligation to give back to his community. He is a 20 plus year board member of Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission, a non-profit organization in East Los Angeles serving the needs of Boyle Heights. He is a board member of the Western Center on Law and Poverty, dedicated to advocating in the courts and through legislation for California’s poor. He is a member of the board of Family Foothill Services, which is a nonprofit that provides mental health services to needy families throughout the San Gabriel Valley. He was a member of Grupo Educa, one of the few Spanish language heritage schools in Los Angeles, dedicated to ensuring that subsequent generations of Spanish speakers retain their ability to speak, write and read Spanish. He has written extensively on the need for more Spanish language heritage schools to be established in Los Angeles and across the country. He has been published in UCLA’s Heritage Language Journal. Through the Disney Legal Department Pro Bono Program, Rey has provided legal services to two unaccompanied minors who ultimately received their permanent residency to study, work and live in the United States. Rey has achieved a bachelor of arts in economics from Cornell University, a master’s in public affairs from Princeton University and JD from University of California at Berkeley. He has climbed Mt. Whitney five times, each time in one day. He is a black belt in Aikido. He is blessed to be married to Vivian Rodríguez Godoy and has two boys, Diego and Pablo. He was born in El Paso, Texas, but grew up in Durango, Colorado.

Kisha Lyons

Associate General Counsel, Global Media & Commercial, NielsenIQ, USA

Kisha Lyons is an Associate General Counsel on the U.S. commercial legal team at NielsenIQ where she practices law in the areas of technology, advertising/marketing, intellectual property and contracts. Prior to her current position, Kisha worked at Walt Disney Studios in various legal roles where she provided legal guidance and support across marketing, rights management, production, and theatrical distribution. Prior to becoming an attorney, Kisha had an extensive media career in advertising/marketing, product and technology that included managing cross platform marketing campaigns for Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Line, and other Disney brands. Outside of her professional career, Kisha is passionate about giving back to communities having mentored young single mothers for the Gramercy Housing Group in Los Angeles, Habitat for Humanity, and the Innocence Project. Kisha is a graduate of UCLA having also achieved her J.D. focused on entertainment & media law from Southwestern Law School, and is double barred/admitted to practice law in California and Florida, U.S.A

Companies

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California

NielsenIQ

NielsenIQ (NYSE: NIQ) is a leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete and trusted understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. With operations in more than 90 countries, NIQ provides approximately 82% of the world's population and more than $7.4 trillion in global consumer spend. Through cloud-based platforms, advanced analytics and AI-driven insights, NIQ delivers The Full View™--helping brands and retailers understand what consumers buy, why they buy it, and what to do next.