COM215
Taejin Jung, Ph.D.
Week 5: PR & The Law
Overview
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First Amendment
Corporate Political Speech
Lobbying
Copyright & trademarks
Defamation
Privacy
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Security & Exchange Commission (SEC)
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What is law?
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Law vs. Ethics?
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Who makes the law and who interprets law?
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Law is hierarchical?
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Criminal court vs. Civil court?
First Amendment
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Prevents government restriction of five separate right (1791)
- Speech
- Press
- Assembly
- Petition
- (Religion)
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“Marketplace of ideas”
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Political expression
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Exceptions:
- Hate speech; Fighting Words Doctrine
- Fire! in a crowded theater
- Defamation
- Invasion of privacy
PR Access to Mass Media
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First Amendment Protection
- Press right: Journalists can choose whether or not they will use a
particular press release, interview, or print letters to the editor.
- Commercial right : Mass media company have the choice to publish or not
publish a particular category of advertisement.
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Principles of fundamental fairness
- Journalist must keep the promises they make to their news sources
- “Shield Law?”
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Freedom of Speech
- Broadcast media < Cable systems < Print Media < Internet
- “The 1997 Supreme Court decision (Reno vs. American Civil Liberties
Union)” over “the Communication Decency Act of 1996”
Corporate Political Speech
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US Supreme Court decisions render corporations some of the same legal
rights as individuals.
- Case1: First National Bank of Boston vs. Bellotti
- Case 2: NY Public Service Commission vs. Consolidated Edison Company
(Freedom of Speech vs. Fear of corrupting influence of business)
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Four areas of federal legislation limiting corporate speech
- Political elections (e.g., soft money)
- Lobbying
- Labor organization communication with management
- Securities trading
Labor Relations
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The employer is free to take any side on a controversial labor
issue
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However, management cannot,
- threaten to fire or punish employees because of union activities
- Make promise of special benefits to influence votes
- Spy on union meetings
- Call employees separately to discuss the union
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Collective bargaining
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National Labor Relations Board (http://www.nlrb.gov)
Investment Relations
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Security Exchange Act of 1934…
- Restricts corporate communication before and during the period of
securities offerings
- Requires periodic reporting “adequate and accurate information” about a
company (e.g., press release, draft speeches, annual reports)
- Created the independent, federal SEC (Security and Exchange
Commission)
- Requires that companies provide “material information (e.g., financial
history or prospect)” for new security offering
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The investment relations practitioners…
- Prepare management policy proposals
- Publish proxy statements
- Organizing and conducting the annual meeting
- Provide “current report” within 15 days of any material change
Lobbying
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Lobbyist (Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995)
- Someone employed or retained by a client
- Spend at least 20 percent of his/her time during six-months
- Try to influence legislation through direct communication with Congress person.
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Fear that lobbyists for groups could corrupt the lawmaking process
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“Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946”
-Required to register with Congress
-File financial statements on income and expenses
-Report any articles or editorials
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Lobbying does not include,
- Grassroots lobbying
- Testimony before a committee of Congress
- Magazines and newspapers
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Nonprofit organizations engaging in lobbying are prohibited from receiving
federal grants, awards, contract, and loans.
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“Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA)”
- All PR practitioners working for “foreign principals” must register
Copyright © 2007 by Taejin Jung
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“Original works” of authorship “fixed in any tangible medium” of
expression…from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise
communicated.
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Neither “registration” nor “publication” is required for a copyright to be valid.
- Individual works: Life of creator + 70 years
- Corporate works: 95 years from publications
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Five rights;
- Reproduction rights
- Adaptation rights
- Display rights
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- Distribution rights
- Performance rights
Who owns the copyright ownership?
- “Work for hire” → Employer
- “Work specially ordered or commissioned” → Depends on contract whether
“employee” or “independent contractor”
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When “infringement”, the copyright owner show three elements,
- Originality of the work
- Probable access by the infringer
- Substantial similarity of the unauthorized work to the original
Trademarks
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Words, names, and symbols used by companies to
identify and distinguish their goods or services from
those of another.
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Processes for creating trademark right
- Filing written application to “US Patent & Trademark Office” → Review by
“commercial research firm” → Approval
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Treble compensation for infringement
- Three times the infringer’s profit or three times any damage by the legal
owner
- Attorney’s fees
Defamation
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Libel
- Dissemination of “false”
information (“fact”, not
opinion)
- Hurts someone’s
reputation
- Published written
information
- When its spoken, it’s
slander
- Plaintiff has the burden of
proof
◙ A person filing a libel suit
must prove that:
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The false communication was
communicated to others through
media
The person was identified or is
identifiable
There is actual injury in the form
of money loss, loss of reputation,
or mental suffering
The person making the statement
was malicious or negligent
(The Fair Comment Defense)
Invasion of Privacy
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Dissemination of “true” information
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Right “to be let alone” truth not a
defense
-Intrusion on plaintiff’s solitude or
seclusion (e.g., phone
solicitations during dinner)
- Public disclosure of plaintiff’s
private facts (e.g., newspapers
publishing minors in sex
crimes, intimate medical
information)
- Plaintiff held in false light in public
eye (e.g., published photos that
create mental anguish,
embarrassment)
- Appropriation of plaintiff’s name,
likeness (e.g., advertiser using
celebrity photo w/o permission)
Public Relations staff should be
cautious,
(1) Employee newsletter
- “Company newsletter” vs. “news
media” in terms of First Amendment?]
- Keep the focus on organizationrelated activities.
(2) Photo release
(3) Product publicity and advertising
- “Get permission”
(4) Media inquiries about employees
- Release only “basic information” or
information in “biographical sheet”
Case Activities: What Would You do?
Expresso Unlimited, a chain of coffee shops, has hired you as a director of
public relations and marketing. Some of your ideas include
(1) a series of advertisements showing pictures and quotes from
satisfied customers; (2) hiring a freelance photographer to build up a
photo file for use in possible magazine articles, brochures, newsletters,
and advertising; (3) reprinting and distributing various magazine
articles that have written about the company; (4) starting an employee
newsletter with emphasis on employee features and “personals”; (5)
including in the newsletter and advertisements cartoons about coffee
drinking from various publications, including the New Yorker; (6) citing a
government study that rates the quality of coffee beans from around
world, and pointing out that Expresso Unlimited uses only the highestquality beans; (7) writing a news release that quotes a survey showing
that eight out of 10 serious coffee drinkers prefer Expresso Unlimited;
(8) creating a home page on the Internet that would include pictures of
famous people drinking a cup of coffee.
Prepare a memo outlining the legal and regulatory factors that should be
considered in implementing the above activities.