Chapter 7

THE LAW

Lawyers correctly advise

clients on what they must do,
within the letter of legal
requirements, to defend
themselves in a court law.
Public relations advisers
counsel clients on not what
they must do but what they
should do to defend

Ideally, public relations

counselors and lawyers should
work together to achieve a
clients desired outcomes.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

THE LAW: An Uneasy
Alliance

In an organization, a smart
manager will carefully weigh both
legal and public relations counsel
before making a decision.
The relationship between the
law
and public relations.
The more prominent role the
law
plays in public relations
practice
and vice versa.

Legal Concerns of
Public Relations
Professionals Today:

1.First Amendment
2.Insider Trading
3.Disclosure Law
4.Ethics Law
5.Copyright Law
6.Internet Law

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

THE FIRST AMENDMENT
The First Amendment is the
cornerstone of free speech in
our society. This is what
distinguishes democratic
nations from many others.
Congress shall make no law..
abridging the freedom of speech
or the press.

One person's definition of

obscenity or divulging state
secrets may be someone elses
definition of art or freedom of
expression. Because the First
Amendment lies at the heart of
the communications business,
defending it is a front-line
responsibility of the public
relations profession.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

DEFAMATION LAW
Defamation is the umbrella term used to
describe libel a printed falsehood and
slander an oral falsehood.
1. The falsehood was communicated
through print, broadcast, or other
electronic means.
2. The person who is the subject of the
falsehood was identified or easily
identifiable.
3. The identified person has suffered
injury in the form of monetary losses,

Generally, the privacy of an

ordinary citizen is protected
under the law.
Care must be the watchword in
such public speech.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

INSIDER TRADING
Every public relations
professional should know the
laws that govern his or her
organization and industry.
Rule 10b-5 of the SEC Act
SEC prohibits the dissemination
of false or misleading information

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

DISCLOSURE LAW
In an environment of mergers,
takeovers, consolidations, and the
incessant rumors that circulate
around them, a knowledge of
disclosure law, a sensitivity to
disclosure requirements, and a bias
toward disclosing rather than
withholding material information
are important attributes of public

SEC in 2000 adopted Regulation

FD,
or fair disclosure.
To provide broad, nonexclusionary disclosure
information to the public.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

ETHICS LAW
In recent years, campaign finance
reform to limit if not eradicate
the acceptance by legislators of
favors and money from wealthy
interest groups has intensified.
With the reputation and public
approval of politicians, particularly
on the national level, at an all-time
low, congress had to focus on

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

COPYRIGHT LAW
Copyright law provides basic,
automatic protection for
writers, whether a manuscript
is registered with the Copyright
Office or even published.

Copyright Act of 1976, an original

work of authorship has copyright
protection from the moment the
work is in the following fixed form:
literary works
musical works
dramatic works
Pantomimes & choreographic
works
Pictorial, graphic or sculptural
works
Motion pictures

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

INTERNET LAW
The internet has introduced a new
dimension to the law affecting free
speech. The premise in American
law is that not all speech is
created equal.
Censorship
Intellectual Property
Cybersquatting
E-Fraud

Public relations people are paid to

advise their clients what is
the right thing to do.