This document outlines five major legal concerns for communication professionals, including the use of individuals' likenesses, trademarks, copyrighted materials, FTC guidelines, and other legal issues. It emphasizes the importance of obtaining permission, understanding fair use, and adhering to disclosure requirements to avoid legal trouble. The document advises consulting legal resources and being cautious in commercial communications to prevent potential legal issues.

1. Disclaimer: This is not legal advice; always consult an attorney if you have a legal issue
© 2015 Michael Crane Michael.Crane@CraneInfoLaw.com
Concern # 1: Using the Name, Image
or Likeness of Individuals
What is it? State right of publicity laws protect against the
unpermitted commercial use of an individual’s name, image or
likeness.
CAUTION!: Be careful using the name or picture of any person
(especially celebrities) in any communication that could be
considered commercial, including ads (of course) and social
media.
How to Avoid Trouble? Get permission! For celebrities, this
typically requires a detailed endorsement agreement. For
consumers, a simple release or use of clear terms & conditions
may be sufficient.
Typical Pitfalls: Assuming your use isn’t commercial or that it
won’t be objected to; using non-standard method to obtain
permission, such as relying upon a posted sign. Another risk is
imitating a celebrity’s identity, likeness or characteristics.
Concern # 2: Using Trademarks
of Other Companies
What is it? Federal and state laws protect brand names
(“McDonalds”), slogans (“Just Do It”), logos and other source
indicators .
CAUTION!: Be careful using the trademarks of others in any
communication that could be considered commercial, including
ads (of course) and social media.
How to Avoid Trouble? Don’t use trademarks of others without
permission. There are limited uses that may be acceptable,
known as “nominative uses,” including using the trademarks of
others for comparative advertising (“Our product outperforms
Company X’s”) or to show compatibility (“Our app works on iOS
and Android”), but always check with your legal or compliance
department prior to using someone else’s trademark without
permission..
Typical Pitfalls: If you have permission, you may still encounter
trouble if you use the other company’s trademarks outside of the
scope of the agreement. If you don’t have permission, you may
encounter trouble: (1) using more of the other company’s
trademarks than necessary to ID them (never use more than you
need to; be especially careful using logos and slogans), (2)
implying affiliation or sponsorship with the other company, or (3)
otherwise misrepresenting something in the communication.
LOGO
5 L e g a l C o n c e r n s f o r C o m m u n i c a t i o n s P r o f e s s i o n a l s

2. Disclaimer: This is not legal advice;
always consult an attorney if you
have a legal issue
Concern # 3: Using
Copyrighted Material
What is it? Federal law protects against the copying
and distribution for literary, musical, dramatic,
pictorial, graphic, sculptural, motion pictures and a/v
works, sound recordings and certain other works.
CAUTION!: Be careful using any materials that could
be subject to copyright, including pictures, movie
clips, TV, or other video, and music or other audio.
Also be careful using artwork or copying printed
materials.
How to Avoid Trouble? While free royalty-free
pictures and other materials are widely available, it
can be difficult to determine the true owner and
such sites generally don’t indemnify/insure against
charges of copyright infringement. Best practice is to
only use pictures licensed from a reputable source.
Keep in mind that license terms vary widely and that
costs depend upon your use and scope – and that
popular music or clips of movie or TV shows can be
prohibitively expensive.
There are exceptions to copyright protection for “fair
use” and materials in the public domain. It can be
difficult, though, to accurately verify whether
materials are within the public domain and
determining the scope of fair use can be difficult (and
it typically is found not to apply to commercial uses).
Typical Pitfalls: Using “free” unlicensed materials
from the Internet; licensing materials from
questionable websites; using materials outside the
scope of your license.
Concern # 4:
FTC Guidelines
What is it? The Federal Trade Commission is a federal
agency that has issued guidance covering commercial
communications in a number of areas, including
requiring the use of disclosures in social media (the
“.com disclosures”) and disclosures necessary when
bloggers talk about your products after being given
something (the “Endorsement Guidelines”).
CAUTION!: Not all social media (and other) channels
work for every type of communication; if you need to
make a required disclosure that is lengthy, for
example, Twitter may not be a good choice. Also,
make sure that if you’ve compensated and/or given
anything of material value to a blogger or other
person talking about your company and its products,
that he/she clearly discloses the relationship with
your company. Employees that blogs about your
company should also disclose their association.
How to Avoid Trouble? You should familiarize
yourself with the FTC website and its guidance on
communications. The FTC has rules that cover many
common communication situations, such as disclosure
requirements for when you ask consumers to post
pictures in response to a contest or other
inducement.
Typical Pitfalls: There are numerous areas where
companies can run afoul of FTC guidelines. Common
trouble areas, however, include not disclosing
important information to consumers clearly and
conspicuously, and failing to require people
communicating on your behalf to disclose their
relationship with your company.
Concern # 5:
Everything Else!
This list is only the beginning;
there are numerous other
potential legal concerns with
commercial communications,
including slander and libel,
“green claims,” and industry-
specific rules, such as those for
the banking, brokerage, and
pharmaceutical industries. To
avoid problems, make sure that
you’re aware of – and comply
with – all industry specific rules,
avoid any communications that
could be considered unfair or
deceptive and and only make
statements that you can support
and substantiate.
5 L e g a l C o n c e r n s f o r C o m m u n i c a t i o n s P r o f e s s i o n a l s
© 2015 Michael Crane Michael.Crane@CraneInfoLaw.com
For More Information…
www.uspto.gov/trademark
www.copyright.gov
www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-
center/advertising-and-marketing