PRSA to Address Intellectual Property Protection

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February 8, 2010

Last week, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) took a tough stance on protecting the intellectual property of agencies in new business proposals. The 4A’s contacted agency search consultants and recommended that search agreements explicitly stipulate that the rights to intellectual property created by agencies remain their property until the prospective client hires the agency or agrees on an equitable payment arrangement.

The 4A's letter to these consultants reflected frustration at the practice of issuers co-opting creative content presented in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP).

This same dynamic is occurring in public relations, and PRSA's Board of Ethics and Professional Standards has taken up the issue for discussion and resolution on behalf of the profession. To address the situation, PRSA is currently working on an official statement and a Practice Service Advisory (PSA) update to its Code of Ethics.

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Comments

Dan Keeney, APR says:

Bravo. This is a much-needed reminder to organizations that it is wrong to steal ideas and creative solutions. If you like an idea, hire the firm or at least negotiate compensation for the concept.

February 22, 2010

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