GIFs, Memes, Hashtags and Celebrities: What content can brands create and share and what should they avoid?

Using Google Images can cost you thousands of dollars. A Jewel-Osco ad about Michael Jordan results in a decade-long lawsuitand millions of dollars in legal fees and settlements. A Tweet triggers a $6M lawsuit. With every high-profile lawsuit, #socialmediafail hashtag, and cease-and-desist letter, we know our lawyers and general counsel become more and more likely to pull out the red pen and cut anything that could remotely be considered a legal gray area.

And so on we go, back to our desks to create content that will get approved. If it happens to also be funny, profound, engaging, or interesting, well, that’s just an added bonus. The most important thing is getting it past Legal, right?

PRSA Counsel made me remove this image of our lawyer writing “not approved” on a stack of papers I’d given him to approve.

How did we let things get to this point? How did we let lawyers gain so much control over what we do and the content we create? How they did go from “General Counsel” to “What I Say Goes”?

They’ve gradually taken on greater control over the content we create because they’re speaking a language that’s totally foreign to us. We accept whatever they say because we are completely and utterly unfamiliar with things like copyright laws, regulatory guidelines, and legal precedents.

You see, their job isn’t to create engaging content. It’s not to accumulate likes, shares, or follows. It’s not to make something go viral. It’s to protect the interests of their organization. That’s it. That’s what they care about. No lawyer has ever been fired for saying “no” to a Facebook post. So, put yourself in their shoes – what incentive do they have to let you take any risk?

That’s why it’s our responsibility to get more educated about what those risks actually are. I’ve worked with a lot of lawyers from a lot of highly regulated industries over the last ten years – from the federal government to healthcare to banking – and most of them have been more than willing to sit down and explain their points of view with me. But I had to be the one to ask.

That “no” we so often assume is written in stone is more than likely a “no” because they don’t have enough information or don’t understand it or don’t have the right context. That “no” can and should be looked at as a conversation starter, not a conversation-ended. But to have that conversation with the lawyer, you’ve got to be educated yourself. You’ve got to arm yourself with the knowledge about what is and isn’t allowed, what other brands have done, what the legal precedents are. You’ve got to be able to empathize with your lawyer colleagues and understand where they’re coming so they can do the same with you.

Let PRSA equip you with the knowledge and confidence to have your next conversation with your Legal team. Join us at the River’s Club on Wednesday, June 29 for our next event, “GIFs, Memes, Hashtags and Celebrities: What content can brands create and share and what should they avoid?”

Registration/breakfast will begin at 8am with a Q&A panel discussion from 8:30-9:30am. I’ll be facilitating a panel discussion featuring Cecilia Dickson, Christian Ehret and Chris Sherwin, all IP attorneys from The Webb Law Firm, to discuss the do’s and don’ts for creating, curating and sharing content. Here’s a small teaser of some of the questions we’ll be tackling, but we’ll also keep it pretty informal so please bring your own challenges and questions and we’ll address those too, either in person or via follow-up blog posts.

  1. Is it really verboten to use the #superbowl or #marchmadness or #olympics hashtags? Will I get sued if I use them? They can’t possibly be that restrictive, right?
  2. We can all agree that stock photos are terrible. So what photos are safe to use? Can I use Creative Commons photos? If so, under what conditions? How do I know if I’m in the clear or not?
  3. If someone shares a photo of my brand’s products on Instagram, do I really need to ask for permission if I just want to Tweet it out or Regram it?
  4. Do I really need to find everyone in this photo and get them to sign a photo release form?

This should be a really great event where you can ask your legal questions in a safe environment and get some talking points so you can turn that “no, you can’t use that photo” into a “sure, but make sure that you attribute it correctly” response.

Register Today!

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