21/08/2008

Francis Shennan picked his words carefully on Tuesday evening while speaking on the legal pitfalls of public relations.

The journalist and law lecturer was the guest presenter at an event being staged by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and beforehand he had the radio station, Classic FM, enquiring about a tease question in his pre-publicity.

In a flyer he helped to prepare, Glasgow-based Shennan asked: “Why did the wrong movement hit Classic FM with a copyright claim from beyond the grave?” Cue a phone call from Classic FM asking him what he was referring to.

The purpose of the question was to remind PR agencies that  whenever they commission anything - whether research, writing, photography or design - it is necessary to ensure all copyrights are fully bought, especially if there are plans to sell some of that material on.

In Robin Ray v Classic FM in March 1998, Ray - a broadcaster and music expert - successfully brought an action regarding a playlist he had compiled for Classic FM. While Classic FM was able to use the playlist, the court ruled it could not extend its use to other stations. That Ray died before the case was settled did not prevent it reaching its conclusion.

As it turned out, neither Classic FM nor Shennan actually spoke to each other; the best they were able to do was leave messages on each other’s answer machines.

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