Copyright, Free Speech, and Democracy:Eldred v. Ashcroftand Its Implications for Technical Communicators

Legally Minded Technical Communicators: A Case Study of a Legal Writing Course

“…After the turn of the century, Lipus (2006) detailed processes for writing effective instructions for global audiences. Five years later, a special issue of Technical Communication Quarterly investigated the interstices of the law and technical communication, taking up issues such as legal literacy (Hannah, 2011), privacy (Markel, 2011), copyright and free speech (Herrington, 2011), and the discourses of transparency (Andrus, 2011). Taken together, these scholarly works pointed TPC to the many areas of the legal process that connect with technical communication and exposed students and practitioners to some challenges they might face on the job and how they should more efficiently design communication.…”

“…Discussions about the law and its implications for the practice of technical communication have been widespread in technical and professional communication (TPC) scholarship for more than two decades (Andrus, 2011; Bailey, 2007; English, 1995; Hannah, 2011; Helyar, 1992; Helyar & Doudnikoff, 2003; Herrington, 2003, 2011; Lipus, 2006; Markel, 2001, 2011; Porter, 1987,1997; Ross, 1981; Smith, 1990; Smith & Shirk, 1996). This scholarship has often emphasized the need for technical communicators to be mindful of how their work might trigger litigation in organizational contexts (see Bailey, 2007; Smith & Shirk, 1996; Walter & Marsteller, 1987) or liability issues for those who compose documents (Helyar, 1992).…”