ABSTRACT
There is a school of thought that if you invent a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. This may be true of mousetraps, and (perhaps) some essential professional texts, but as a general rule most publishers find it pays to advertise. As a result, as anyone who picks up a copy of The Bookseller will know, advertising is as prominent a feature of the publishing world as it is of any other major industry – perhaps more so – and can range from the modestly factual to the glossiest forms of hype. It is not, however, without its legal risks. We considered some of the general risks, which accompany all published text, such as defamation and malicious falsehood, in Chapter 7. In this chapter we will take a look at the laws which particularly apply to advertising and promotional techniques, and which govern what you say in advertisements, and how you say it.
