1. If your publications are contentious, get the content checked by a specialist lawyer.
Defamation lawsuits are extremely expensive; you don’t want to get caught up in a legal battle with a third party. By just changing a few words or phrases, the legal professional may be able to retain the creativity and originality of your work without causing a third party to be aggrieved by your publication. If your publication is contentious in anyway professional legal advice can in invaluable.
2. Use Google
Google can be a great resource for checking intellectual property and copyright. It is NOT a fail-safe. But even before you think about publishing content, it is worth checking whether anything similar has been previously published. Accidents happen, it’s easy to sub-consciously believe your idea/content is unique.
3. Check with the third party
If your publication is about a third party or references a third party, it may be possible to check with that third party that your comments are valid. We appreciate that in some cases this may not be possible, especially if you content is critical of that third party. If you can check, do so.
For more information about insurance for publishers, please call 01206 765680 or email matt@whinneyinsurance.co.uk.
