Legal aspects of online reputational risk

Online reputation risks, are risks that should be considered at the designing stage of a business. This is, of course, in an ideal world. As we live in the real world, the reality of reputational risk online is that it is something which is rarely being considered by the majority of the small and medium size businesses beyond the aspects of online marketing, promotions or online reviews. Legal aspects of reputation risks for most businesses often involve defamation, trademarks, online reviews, regulatory breaches, internal management and employment issues and isolated conduct by an employee. 

Reputation risk and defamation

Reputation risk and trademark

Reputation risk and employees

Reputation risk and defamation

Defamation is often considered, one of the most significant reputational risks where lawyers tend to get involved. Posting untrue statements online, investigative journalism and consumer television programmes often pose a risk to the good reputation of a business where the intervention of lawyers might be necessary to help manage either a forthcoming reputational risk or an ongoing situation where mitigation is required. 

Our lawyers have a huge amount of experience in advising and assisting businesses about reputational risks throughout the process of the creation and post broadcast creating, the broadcasting of documentaries and TV programmes by investigative journalists, such as Panorama, InsideOut and Dispatches as well as journalistic publications by the all the mainstream UK newspapers.

Reputation risk and trademark

Generally speaking, there are two opposite sides to reputational risk that trademark issues might pose. The first is where a company, intentionally or inadvertently misuses somebody else's trademark with the reputational risk of being called out by the lawful owners of the trademark. This could possibly result in serious reputational damage to the infringing company and to its own brand and, of course, it might lead to litigation and to financial losses and bad press.

Our reputational risk lawyers handle the misuse of trademark cases on a regular basis and will give you the advice you need in accordance with the specific circumstances of your case. The other side of trademark and reputational risk is a situation where you company becomes a victim of infringement.

This might happen where someone copies your website and fraudulently sells goods or services to unsuspected customers who believe they are buying from you. It is possible to minimise this type of risk in various ways and if the risk does materialise, to take steps which would mitigate any reputational damage.

Reputation risk and employees

Often, one of the most serious reputational risks comes in fact from within the organisation. Disgruntled employees who might or might not have a legitimate reason for a grievance, are a source of information which could cause significant reputational harm to the business.

From a legal perspective, this type of reputational risk can and should be managed by expert lawyers who should preferably get involved with reputational aspects of employment contracts and with any other employment law issue which may arise from time to time within the organisation.

Our reputational risk lawyers have deal with dozens of cases involving internal reputational risk and have successfully assisted large number of organisations with the successful management or such reputational risk.