Public Relations
and the Law
Chapter 12
There can be consequences!
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Public relations personnel must be aware
that they can be held legally liable if they
support or provide advice that involves
illegal activity of a client or employer.
Sampling of Legal Problems (p. 300)
A PR person can be named as a coconspirator with other organizational
officials if he or she:
PR co-conspirator examples
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Participates in an illegal
action such as bribing a
government official or
covering up information
of vital interest to the
public health and safety
Counsels and guides the
policy behind an illegal
action
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Takes a major personal
part in the illegal action
Helps establish a “front
group” whereby the
connection to the PR firm
or its clients is kept
hidden
Cooperates in any other
way to further an illegal
action
“Just doing my job” is no excuse
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The courts have ruled on more than one
occasion that PR firms cannot hide behind the
defense of “the client told me to do it.”
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the
power to file charges against PR firms that
distribute false and misleading information.
The FTC also has jurisdiction to determine that
advertisements are not deceptive or misleading
The FTC’s domain also covers news releases,
video news releases, brochures and other
publicity vehicles
Libel and Slander = Defamation
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Defamation is any false statement about a
person (or organization) that creates public
hatred, contempt, ridicule, or inflicts injury on
reputation
Libel/defamation are usually associated with
news reporting and publications/broadcasts
PR people can face libel suits for sending out
news releases that make false statements or
injure someone’s reputation
Organizational officials can get in trouble by
making libelous accusations during media
interviews
News Release Wording
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Releases need to be accurate and words must be
carefully chosen
Be careful, for example, when referring to how people
lose their jobs: safer to say “for personal reasons,” or to
“pursue other interests” than to divulge controversy
Be careful about making unflattering comments about
the competition’s products: “trade libel” and “product
disparagement” can be invoked when fair competition
lines have been crossed
“Puffery” is OK– you can say your product is the “best”
or “a revolutionary development” if the context is clear
that the communication is a statement of opinion
attributed to someone: “Four out of five doctors
recommend our product over our competitors…”
PR Privacy Issues
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Employee newsletters—
be careful not to have
anything that might
embarrass or subject an
employee to ridicule by
fellow employees
Photo releases– get a
signed release if an
employee photograph is
used in product publicity,
sales brochures, or
advertisements
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Product publicity and
advertising—get signed
permission and make it
clear to employees how
their names and images
will be used– paying the
employees can make for
a more binding contract
Media Inquiries about
employees—press
inquiries have the
potential of invading an
employee’s right of
privacy
Handling Media Inquiries
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In general employers
should give news
reporters only basic
information such as:
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Confirmation that the
person is an employee
The person’s job title
and description
Date of beginning
employment or, if
applicable, date of
termination
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Avoid giving media
information about an
employees:
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Salary
Home address
Marital status
Number of children
Job performance
Organizational
memberships
Media Handling Tactics
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PR person can contact
the employee (or
college student) and
have the person
speak directly with
the reporter (what
the employee/student
might tell the reporter
is then not the
company’s/school’s
responsibility)
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Biographical sheets
filled out by the
employee, which are
separate from job
applications, can be
provided to reporters
Copyright Law
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Defined: Copyright means protection of creative
work from unauthorized use
PR professionals need to be aware how they can
and cannot use the protected work of others
And also what organizational materials can be
copyrighted
Copyright material pertains to: literary works;
musical works; dramatic works; pantomimes
(related to theatre) and choreographic works;
pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works; motion
pictures; and sound recordings
Ideas Cannot be Copyrighted
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Copyright does not protect ideas, only the
specific ways in which those ideas are expressed
A product promotion idea cannot be copyrighted
for example
But the ways that a particular idea is expressed
can be: through brochures, drawings, corporate
slogans, animated cartoons, display booths,
news features, photographs, etc.
Fair Use versus Infringement
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Fair use is when part of a copyrighted article/book/film
may be quoted or used directly so long as it is brief in
relation to the length of the original work
But even in such small amounts, permission is needed
when used in advertisements and promotional brochures
Limited copying of work is allowed for purposes of
criticism, comment, research or education
Freelance photographers and writers hired for PR
publications have rights– so PR people must carefully
spell out how works will be used; and be clear who has
ultimate ownership of photos and articles
Internet Copyright Issues
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In general the same rules apply to cyberspace
as publications and other forms of sharing,
spreading information
A PR firm or department may use newspaper
clips to track publicity efforts
But it cannot distribute an article on its own
website or mass distribute the article without
first getting permission from the source
You may have to make royalty payments for the
right to do so
See copyright guidelines on page 312
Trademark Law
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Trademark is a word, symbol, or slogan, used singly or in
combination, that identifies a product’s origin
Trademarks are considered an indicator to consumers of
quality, a kind of shorthand for consumers to use in
recognizing goods in a complex marketplace
PR people should be familiar with registered trademarks
that are protected by law
Examples: Coca Cola, IBM, the Olympic rings
Organizations insist on proper use of trademarks in order
to avoid the problem of having a name or slogan
become generic– if happens, then any company can use
these names to describe a product
Examples of trade names now generic: aspirin,
cornflakes, nylon, yo-yo, thermos, xerox
Use tissue instead of Kleenex, copy instead of Xerox, and
soft drink or soda instead of Coke
Misappropriation of Personality
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This is a form of trademark infringement
Involves the unauthorized use of well
known entertainers, athletes, and other
public figures in an organization’s publicity
and advertising materials
The “right of publicity” gives entertainers,
athletes and other celebrities the sole
ability to cash in on their fame
Employee “Speech” in the Digital
Age
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Companies today, more than ever,
encourage a healthy atmosphere of
feedback and two-way communication
with their employees
But in this era of digital communication
and increased legal litigation organizations
are setting guidelines and monitoring what
employees do and say with their
computers on company time
Employees and Computers
(At work, assume you are being monitored!)
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Outbound employee e-mail is
monitored or audited by
almost 50 percent of large
companies today
32 percent have actually fired
an employee within the last
year for breaking e-mail rules
Company concerns over
liability is worker posts racial
slurs, dirty jokes, sex
harassment
Protect proprietory info
A number of court rulings have
reinforced employers’ rights
See examples p. 327
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Surfing the Internet– more
than 75 percent of U.S.
employers monitor personal
web surfing
25 percent have fired someone
for doing it
Employers are concerned
about loss of productivity
And they can and do get sued
for what their employees do
online
Examples: p. 327
Regarding employee blogs–
companies need to have clear
policies
Event Planning Liability Issues
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Plant Tours, Open Houses,
Promotional Events– Consider:
Hiring off-duty police for
security/traffic control
Arranging to have paramedics
and an ambulance on site
Making contractual agreements
with vendors selling
food/souvenirs
Arranging for extra liability
insurance
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May need extra restroom
facilities
Secure needed permits for
using city streets, locations,
liquor sales, health permits,
etc
Rock concert gone array
example– p. 330