Last week, as I simultaneously used Chat GPT and Otter.ai for two unrelated projects, I also flagged copyright and intellectual property rules to a client. It dawned on me that the rules of engagement have been blurred with ownership of content falling into a murky grey area.
As someone who worked in the TV industry, at the very start of my career, when quality control was taken seriously for each and every minute of a TV programme – including logging every swear word and every minute of archive footage (yes, I had to do that painstaking work!) – the idea of less than quality original work sits uncomfortably with me.
Public Relations (PR) plays a pivotal role in shaping public perception, disseminating information, and building relationships between organisations and their audiences. While the industry’s reputation hasn’t always been squeaky clean, we need to uphold a level of quality control to ensure ethical considerations are accounted for, particularly regarding intellectual property (IP) and copyright. Especially in a landscape where press publications are struggling to stay afloat and responsible quality journalism is increasingly essential to support in the face of a torrent of insidious misinformation tactics.
In the UK, copyright laws are governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. PR practitioners and their clients need to be aware of these laws to stay within ethical guidelines. The National Licensing Agreement (NLA) and Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) licences cover newspaper and magazine content, allowing PR professionals to legally reproduce and distribute articles from these publications within reason. The NLA and CLA in the UK takes copyright issues very seriously with high fines doled out for those that break them.
Giving your article to a publication as an exclusive piece means they now own the IP. If you then repost the entire article in full, on your website or LinkedIn without a credit, that technically becomes stealing. It's crucial to respect the IP rights of authors and creators when sharing articles or press releases. Exclusivity agreements with publications must be honoured, and any subsequent use or distribution should adhere to contractual obligations.
Not unrelated are the issues surrounding generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is a major culprit for stealing work. For example, the current US writers strike has brought the issue of IP to the forefront. The two sides have been divided on issues of pay, the size of writing staffs on shows and the use of artificial intelligence in the creation of scripts.
Major media companies like Disney, The New York Times, and CNN have recently taken measures to block access to AI language models, including ChatGPT, due to concerns over misuse and the potential for AI-generated content to infringe on their intellectual property. This move underscores the ethical dilemma surrounding generative AI – which extends across copywriting, music, art and any other original creation. Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, can create text, images, and videos that mimic human-generated content. While this technology offers numerous advantages in terms of content creation and automation, it also raises ethical concerns.
To navigate these ethical complexities of PR, particularly in relation to intellectual property, copyright and generative AI, PR professionals should consider the following guidelines:
1. Respect IP Rights: Always respect the intellectual property rights of content creators or publishers. Seek permission when necessary, and honour exclusivity agreements with publications.
2. Understand the basic copyright laws in your local market. For the UK, they’re clearly outlined by the CLA and NLA.
3. Review AI-Generated Content: Ensure that AI-generated content undergoes human review to verify originality and compliance with copyright laws.
4. Monitor Developments: Stay up to date with changes in technology, how people and businesses are using them, as well as any changes in the rules around usage. Also keep informed about industry trends and disputes, such as studios blocking ChatGPT and the US writer’s strike, to make informed decisions.
In my view, ethics are the cornerstone of public relations, and respecting IP and copyright is paramount in maintaining ethical conduct. Quality newspapers and magazines are our bread and butter after all – and we need to help them protect their content.
It’s an ever-evolving landscape we must all tread across carefully. By staying up to date with technology and industry-wide changes, as well as adhering to basic IP and copyright rules we should also be able to navigate this terrain in a considered ethical way. PR professionals must navigate the complexities while upholding ethical principles.
In a rapidly evolving landscape, ethics remain the cornerstone of a successful and reputable PR profession, as a place to stay anchored to in the stormy sea of constant change, it’s a no brainer.
Victoria Fairclough is a PR & Communications Consultant at Fair Communications. For more information, please visit: www.faircommunications.co.uk
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