ADPR 3850 First Edition Lecture 10 Outline of Last Lecture I Persuasion Outline of Current Lecture II Ethics and the law III Theories of Ethics IV Obligations and businesses V Trademark Copyright Infringement Current Lecture Lecture 10 Ethics and the Law What does it mean to be ethical Answers questions of what is right and what is wrong Normative o Provides an ideal for what should be o Guides us in what we ought and ought not to do Social constructs defined by o Culture Local national global norms o Context Situational differences Ex Is it right to steal things Typically no But say a wife is dying of cancer and insurance won t cover is it wrong for a husband to steal the medicine Maybe maybe not o Conscience Individualized guidelines Everyone has a different opinion on what is right and wrong These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Law o Minimum standards for behavior o Purpose is to maintain stable society Resolve disputes Protect property Preserve government o Always enforceable o Prohibitory or mandatory Based in musts Problems for PR Ethics can be a problem for public relations partly because the overwhelming societal idea is that PR spins stories etc Practitioners lack understanding of ethics o How can we be the corporate conscience Practitioners have inaccurate understanding of law and job of lawyers o Lawyers know our business pretty well People think that PR is supposed to act as the corporate conscience because of notion of boundary span PR is about negotiating relationships between different groups Why Ethics are Important Build needed trust between organization and its publics Limit government regulation and interference Provide greater autonomy for businesses o Conduct my affairs in a way I see fit because no one is mad at me if I built reputation as being ethical over time and I do make a mistake people will be more likely to be more forgiving Grand Theories of Ethics Utilitarianism o Ends based Looking at the outcome of the action did it result in good or evil Evaluating if it was ethical o Greatest good for the greatest number o Considering potential consequences How intense is the good How long will the good last How certain am I How likely will this act beget acts with similar results How many people will it benefit Deontology o Means based How did I create this what was my intention using this to judge ethics o Some actions are good in and of themselves o Considering certain rules Any act that should not be practiced commonly should not be practiced at all i e universalized People must be respected and never treated solely as a means to an end Ethical considerations for PR Obligations to many groups o Clients o Organizations o Employers o Colleagues o Profession o Society o Yourself Conundrums How can a PR practitioner be an ethical advocate o How is it ethical to tell someone what to do Do I assume that I know what is best for you When do you dissent with a management decision o How do you do this When do you tell a client no when do you say I don t do that What are you willing to do for a client o Engage in something unethical like bribing Codes of conduct PRSA Code of Ethics o 6 core values Advocacy Honesty Expertise Independence Loyalty Fairness Criticism of Ethical codes o Too general to provide meaningful direction o No guidelines for resolving conflicting interests o Lack of enforcement Ethical advocacy gudielines for ethical persuasion Evaluation o Is persuasion warranted Priority o Client comes firs t Sensitivity o Balance needs of client with societal responsibilities Confidentiality o Respect to client Veracity o Must be truthful Reversibility o Put yourself in audience s shoes Validity o Provide sound argument Visibility o Clearly identify client in all communications Respect o Treat audiences fairly Consent o All parties involved must accept persuasion as justified Obligations of Businesses Profit maximization o Acting ethically can help here Social responsibility o Don t intentionally harm public o Ideally try to benefit public Act within confines of the law Defamation and Libel Plaintiff s Burden of Proof All or Nothing o 1 A false statement was communicated in a fixed form o 2 The person claiming to be libeled was identified or identifiable o 3 Actual injury occurred o 4 The person making the statement was negligent or malicious negligence for private persons actual malice for public figures which includes corporations o Must be able to prove all of these if defendant only need to prove 1 of these Defenses You only Need One o Statute of limitations Usually 1 to 2 years from publication o Truth o First Amendment Defense Vague statement Exaggerated statement o Privilege Absolute Qualified o Consent Copyright Protects original works once fixed in tangible medium o Don t need to register Gives more legal resource o Doesn t apply to ideas o Doesn t apply to raw facts Duration of protection o For individuals life of creator 70 years o For organizations 95 years from publication date Ownership typically belongs to creator o 2 exceptions made during course of regular employment contracted to be made Implications for freelancers o Usually own copyright unless otherwise negotiated o Organizations must seek permission to use work in ways not contracted Infringement I own it o Use the copyright symbol with the date and author s name o You don t o You used it without permission Fair use horrible legal defense 4 part test o 1 Character of the use commercial use is generally not fair use o 2 Nature of the work o 3 Amount of the work used o 4 Effect of the use on market value trademark trademarks are registered words names symbols or devices used to identify a product protecting trademarks o always capitalized o never used as nouns trademark infringement o downside for corporation whose trademark becomes too commonly used aspirin thermos yo yo etc Cant exploit another s trademark for commercial gain