Illinois Law
Illinois Advertising & Media Law
Advertising & Media Law
Advertising
Advertisements are announcements that goods are available and offers from the public are solicited. Advertisements can raise liability issues in several different ways. Both the state of Illinois and the federal government have laws regulating advertisements.
Illinois Law
Under the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a person may engage in a deceptive trade practice in advertising goods or services. Under the Act it is unlawful, for example, to:- Pass off one's goods or services as the goods or services of another
- Cause confusion or misunderstanding about one's goods or services, such as the source of the goods or the affiliation of services with those of another
- Deceptively represent geographical origin in connection with goods or services
- Represent that goods or services have something they do not have, such as sponsorship or approval
- Represent that used goods are new
- Disparage another person's goods, services, or business
Federal Law
There are several federal statutes that regulate advertising. It is unlawful under federal law for a person, partnership, or corporation to disseminate any false advertisement, or to engage in unfair or deceptive acts. For example, under the federal Lanham Act, a person who uses any word, term, name, symbol or device or any false designation of origin likely to cause confusion or deception, in connection with the sale of goods or services, is liable for civil damages. Also, a person can be liable for damages if his or her commercial advertising or promotion misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographical origin of goods, services, or commercial activities. Advertising agencies have been held liable simply by participating in the creation, development, or propagation of a false advertising campaign. Advertisements also may cause copyright infringement claims, as noted above.Media Law
Defamation
Freedom of speech is not absolute. Defamatory speechspeech that negatively reflects on someone else's reputationis one type of speech that is limited. The two kinds of defamation are libel (written defamation), and slander (spoken defamation). In order to win a defamation suit, a plaintiff must prove that the information was false. The courts treat private persons differently than public figures in defamation cases. A public figure plaintiff must prove not only that the information is false, but that the speaker or publisher either knew the words were false, or spoke or published the words with a reckless disregard for whether they were false or not. Furthermore, a person must be identified in order for defamation to have occurred. The identification occurs either when a person is directly named or when he or she is described so specifically as to be recognizable.There are two principal defenses to defamation: truth and consent. Generally, if a statement is true, it is not actionable as libel or slander even though it may have harmed someone's reputation. A statement of opinion ordinarily cannot be the basis of a libel suit, but a false statement that hurts the reputation of a business, accuses someone of a crime, or impugns chastity is likely to be found to be defamatory. Clearly, the safest approach in publishing or broadcasting negative information about someone else is to make sure it is factually accurate. Any person who offers his or her consent to the transmission or publication of defaming information also faces a defense of consent in a libel or slander suit. In addition, people who are not in the public spotlight, whose livelihoods do not otherwise depend on a favorable public perception, or who are deceased cannot generally be greatly damaged by defamatory remarks.
In determining damages awards, courts tend to take into account the number of people who heard or read the defamatory information. The greater the number of people, the greater the damage award. State and federal laws almost never allow courts to prevent libel or slander from occurring. That is, one cannot go to court and use libel law to prevent someone else from publishing a defamatory book. But because defamation law does allow for civil action after the libel or slander has occurred, many times the subject of the potentially defamatory material is successful in preventing the defamation by threatening to go to court if the material is published.