By Linda Forrest
Having previously worked in the music industry where copyright was king and the profligate flouting of said rights has resulted in that industry’s expected implosion, I feel especially passionate about the issue, as any of my close friends will tell you should they admit in my presence to illegally downloading music… But I digress.
Copyright is a relevant issue for PR professionals and for our clients alike, as highlighted in a recent article on Bulldog Reporter’s web site. In a nutshell, the article gives an overview of the reasons for the increased attention that we must pay to copyright and to outlets’ more stringent enforcement of their rights in the hopes of quelling infringement. This is a stance that may not be popular, but certainly one that I wholly endorse; unfortunately, movements such as these come too late for a dying music industry, but if other industries where copyright forms the backbone of the revenue model hope to survive, a tougher stance is indeed required.
That is not to say that media coverage is of no useful marketing value; quite the contrary. As in the entertainment fields where copyright infringement is rampant, it’s merely a case of the proper copyright owners receiving fair and appropriate a) recognition and b) restitution for their works.
The next time you are thinking about posting a clipping to your site or photocopying and distributing at a trade show that great article in which your company was mentioned, pay close attention to the guidelines set out in the Bulldog Reporter piece to ensure that you’re not illegally distributing copyrighted material. Your PR agency should be able to help you navigate these rules and guidelines and make recommendations to make certain you get the most value out of your clippings while staying on the right side of the law.
