|
Think about TV ads. Analyze. Ask questions. |
Consider these ideas for your own compositions. |
||
 |
 |
||
| WHAT
ARE THE LEGAL LIMITS?
|
WHAT
ARE YOUR LEGAL LIMITS?
|
||
|
U.S. laws about advertising usually relate either to buyer/seller issues (including deception and fraud) or to competitor issues (copyright, trade mark, brand name, slander and libel). Historically, problems always existed between buyers and sellers: the ancient Roman slogan was "caveat emptor" (buyer beware). But, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, hard-core fraudulent ads ("snake oil," "medicine shows," cancer cures) had increased so much that the legitimate business community got Congress in the 1920s to enact federal laws to prohibit "unfair and deceptive" ads, and to assign the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate them. Until the 1960s, the FTC focused on such hard-core fraud. Then, the "consumer movement" brought new laws and widened the scope of the FTC to protect consumers from some advertising abuses (including many "borderline" cases) of corporations. Today, most politicians agree that laws are needed
against hard-core fraud. Scattered laws and regulators (FTC, FDA) operate today, and some self-regulation (NARB, BBB) is found within the ad industry, but no coherent overall plan exists because of these great ideological conflicts. For specific laws, current controversies,
see:
|
Legal limits are usually not common problems in student writing, except for a few situations: plagiarism, copyright violation, and libel. Plagiarism is a common form of cheating: stealing the writing, using the words of another person without giving credit. Online plagiarism. Obviously, anyone downloading term papers from online sources (or from fraternity files, and so on) knows that they are doing something dishonest and illegal. Yet, students who are trying to be fair and honest, sometimes worry about the use of source material. Most teachers will cite guidelines or style sheets from the major academic organizations. The basic guideline is that you can include anything as long as you cite it correctly. Quotation marks should be used to indicate whenever the exact wording is used. Paraphrasing should summarize in your own words and sentence structure. Both quotes and paraphrases should cite the original author. "Common knowledge" doesn't need to be documented, but if you have any borderline worries, ask a teacher or a librarian. Be honest to your audience. Be fair to the original writer. Copyright laws are designed to protect the intellectual property of the creator from unauthorized commercial exploitation by others. The main copyright problems today relate to pirated DVDs, videotapes, audiotapes, music downloads, and photocopied reprints of texts. "Fair use" provisions of the law allow all students and scholars to photocopy single copies of written work for their own research, but not multiple copies for re-sale. Libel and slander laws protect the individual from attacks damaging one's reputation. Young people are often zealous in their criticism and attacks (e.g. in student newspapers); reckless charges are sometimes made. Basic guideline: you insult
people at your own risk. Conflicts will always exist in a free democratic society which values diversity and free speech. We need to encourage a "civil tongue," to know how to disagree or criticize without invective, libel, or slander.
|
||
| | Welcome | Purpose | Audience | Limits | Structure | Attention | Confidence | Explicit | Implicit | Response| Omission | |
