Tag: McDonough Law LLC

Publish Don’t Perish Tip #10: TAKE A BREAK

Tip #10 in the Publish Don’t Perish Series is — TAKE A BREAK, when you need one. Sometimes the process of making lemonade from life’s lemons requires a break for whatever reason. When it comes to the life of an author, sometimes a break will do wonders for writer’s block. However, sometimes different aspects of our lives must take a priority, whether it’s children, your spouse/significant other, day job, a family member who needs assistance, or …

The last post

Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer

The last post I published was the last Thursday in April, thanks to Candee Fick. The last post I wrote, was two weeks prior. Friends, I took a break from writing. Not all writing, I am an attorney with the law firm of Karen VDH Fischer LLC and I write legal documents all day, whether for businesses, estate planning, probate, Employee Handbooks, or … . I took a break from writing my articles and working on my book, Search Beyond Lies. That break is over, and I am charging forward.

Search beyond lies

My latest novel (a work in progress) is titled, Search Beyond Lies. It’s very important to me, as it was inspired by my son’s close friend and mentor, Brian Perri, who lost his life on Mount Meeker on June 30, 2018 and those who would not give up on his search — my son, J.C. and Brian’s close friend from his army days, Kimo, who is now a part of our family. Although inspired by these incredible people, the book is a work of fiction and will have a happy ending.

Brian Perri

An inspiring rare friendship

After the 3-week search for Brian, I wrote an article titled, An Inspiring Rare Friendship. Although I posted this article on my website, it was subsequently lost when my website “crashed” and a number of published articles could not be recovered. Next week, I will republish this article, as it will be instrumental for the next tip.

Take a break

Take a break with a culinary work of art.

Take a break if you need it, and please don’t feel bad about taking it. Do something fun if you can or a task you enjoy, perhaps painting, gardening or culinary works of art, whatever your pleasure (mine is culinary since I have no talent with a paint brush or with the garden — although I enjoy others’ creations). These are unprecedented times and it’s important to take care of yourself.

© 2020 Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer

Writers Beware of the Legal Pitfalls: Defamation, Privacy, and Publicity

A general challenge of publishers (which definitely applies to Indy publishers) originates from the changing boundaries of the laws of publicity, libel, and privacy. Contracts typically contain indemnification clauses protecting the publisher’s interests in this regard.

Mourning Candle

If you publish statements that are false and defamatory, or even private facts that are embarrassing to someone, you can be sued. In this litigious and highly proprietary time, more and more references to individuals (deceased or living) are bringing claims of breach of privacy, defamation, or violation of publicity rights.

These issues primarily face nonfiction publishers, but that doesn’t prevent those publishing fiction to be affected. Let’s take a look at each of these areas.

Please use this article as an educational resource only, it is not meant to provide legal advice.

Defamation

Scorned or Ridiculed

Generally “defamation” is a false statement of fact
about a living individual (though in certain jurisdictions it may apply to deceased individuals and, periodically, to corporate entities) that holds the person up to scorn or ridicule. Note that the law allows more leeway when discussing public figures.

Privacy Rights

An individuals’ privacy rights is a related issue. Typically, this area is more of a challenge to magazine and newspaper publishers because of the nature of the fast paced reporting which may cause the re lease of facts that should not be made public, including financial, medical, or other highly personal information.

Fast Paced Reporting

The reality is that all publishers of nonfiction must be wary of disclosing personal information of a sensitive or embarrassing nature. (And this is in the United States, where the rules are relatively liberal; beware of disclosing personal information about foreigners or about Americans in works published outside the United States.) Where any such information is about to be published, consult with your lawyers to be sure you aren’t at risk of violating a criminal or civil statute here or abroad.

Publicity Rights

Mona Lisa

Publicity is closely related to the right of privacy. (This is technically a subset of the “right of privacy” which, in legal terms, incorporates four related rights: publicity, intrusion, privacy, and false light.) Generally, the right of publicity prevents the commercial exploitation of the value of an individual’s likeness and name. Not only are celebrities protected by this right, but it protects others whose appearances and names have real commercial value. It also prevents the use of anyone’s likeness or name in trade or advertising without their permission.

Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer

Are you with a traditional publisher or are you Indy? If you’re with a traditional publisher, check your contract. If you are an Indy publisher, what steps do you take to protect yourself?

Next month we’ll take a look at negligent publication.

(C) 2018, 2019 Karen Van Den Heuvel Fischer