Publishing, Advertising & Content Vetting

A legal review (sometimes called a legal read or content vetting) identifies potential risks in a manuscript before publication, including defamation, invasion of privacy, contempt of court, obscenity, hate speech, sedition, and infringement of third-party IP or personality rights. The consequences of publishing legally problematic content can include injunctions preventing distribution, criminal prosecution, damages claims, and reputational harm to both the author and the publisher. A pre-publication legal review is significantly cheaper than defending a lawsuit after the book is in the market. We conduct legal reads for publishers and authors across fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and investigative journalism.

The primary risks are defamation (statements that damage the reputation of an identifiable person, even in fiction if the character is recognisably based on a real person), invasion of privacy (disclosing private facts about an identifiable individual), contempt of court (prejudicing pending proceedings), obscenity (under Section 292 of the BNS), copyright infringement (reproducing third-party text, images, or other works without permission), and personality rights violations (using a person’s name, image, or likeness without consent). Non-fiction, memoir, and true-crime genres carry higher risk because they involve real people and events. Fiction is not immune, particularly when characters are clearly based on identifiable individuals.

The author is the first owner of copyright. A publishing agreement typically involves the author licensing or assigning certain rights to the publisher for a specified term, territory, and set of formats. The scope of rights transferred depends entirely on the agreement. Some agreements grant the publisher broad exclusive rights across all formats and territories. Others are narrower, covering only print rights in specific markets. Authors should pay close attention to the term of the licence or assignment, whether it covers digital and audio rights, whether translation and adaptation rights are included, and what reversion provisions apply if the publisher fails to exploit the rights or the book goes out of print.

A publishing agreement should address the grant of rights (which rights, which formats, which territories, exclusive or non-exclusive), the term and reversion provisions, the advance and royalty structure (including different rates for different formats), accounting and reporting obligations, publication timelines and the consequences of delay, editorial and design approval rights, copyright registration and credit, warranty and indemnity provisions (where the author warrants that the work is original and non-infringing), and termination rights. For digital and audiobook rights, the agreement should specifically address platform distribution, pricing, and whether the publisher can sub-license to third-party platforms.

If your book discusses real, identifiable people, you need to assess risks across defamation, privacy, personality rights, and contempt of court. Factual statements must be true and provable. Opinions must be clearly framed as opinions and made in good faith. Private facts require the individual’s consent or a strong public interest justification. Photographs or extensive quotes from the individual’s works require separate clearances. If the person is involved in ongoing litigation, you need to avoid prejudicing those proceedings. We review non-fiction manuscripts to identify specific risk areas and recommend edits, disclaimers, or additional clearances where needed.

Marketing material and advertising collateral carry legal risks that are often underestimated. Claims about a product’s performance, origin, composition, or superiority can attract action under the Consumer Protection Act for misleading advertisements. Comparative advertising that disparages a competitor can lead to trademark infringement or defamation claims. Use of third-party images, music, fonts, or content without proper licences creates copyright and IP risk. Endorsements and testimonials must comply with ASCI guidelines on disclosure and substantiation. Packaging claims must meet Legal Metrology and FSSAI requirements where applicable. We review advertising campaigns, packaging, social media content, and promotional materials for brands, companies, and advertising agencies before they go to market, identifying and addressing legal risks at the creative stage rather than after a complaint is filed.

Advertising agencies face risks on multiple fronts. Comparative advertising must be truthful, substantiated, and not disparaging. Celebrity endorsements require proper agreements and disclosures, and the agency and brand can be held liable if the celebrity makes unsubstantiated claims. Use of stock images, music, and third-party content must be properly licensed for the specific media and territory of the campaign. Campaigns directed at children face additional restrictions under the Consumer Protection Act and ASCI guidelines. Digital advertising must comply with influencer disclosure requirements, dark pattern prohibitions, and platform-specific advertising policies. We work with agencies to vet campaigns during the creative process, ensuring that the final output is legally defensible before it reaches the public.