What's the legal definition of PR?: An analysis of commercial speech and public relations

This paper addresses how the law defines public relations under the First Amendment. The United States Supreme Court's denial of certiorari and California Supreme Court's decision in Nike v. Kasky (2002, 2003) categorized PR as commercial speech, which is subject to the same regulations as advertising. In the twelve years since those decisions were issued, federal and state appellate courts have re-interpreted Nike v. Kasky (2002, 2003) in a variety of ways. This study found that since 2003 courts have consistently held that PR is not always commercial speech. From this analysis a legal definition of public relations is presented, and implications for PR practitioners are discussed.