Public Relations and the Law

Chapter 12

There can be consequences!

   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 co conspirator with other organizational officials if he or she:

PR co-conspirator examples

  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    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

    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

    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

    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

  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   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

 In general employers should give news reporters only basic information such as:   Confirmation that the person is an employee The person’s job title and description  Date of beginning employment or, if applicable, date of termination  Avoid giving media information about an employees:   Salary Home address     Marital status Number of children Job performance Organizational memberships

Media Handling Tactics

 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)  Biographical sheets filled out by the employee, which are separate from job applications, can be provided to reporters

Copyright Law

    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

   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

    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

     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

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Trademark Law

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

   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

  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!)       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       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

     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    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