By Dan Schwartz, Connecticut Employment Law Blog

Blogging is, by its very nature, a public activity. So, if you’re blogging, you open yourself up to criticism and comment by the public. In a lot of ways, it’s like opening up a mom-and-pop store on Main Street. Once you hang your sign outside, you have to take the good with the bad.

And there’s probably nothing worse for a blogger than having a process server show up at your doorstep (probably right after dinner) with a lawsuit in hand.

Other than not writing at all, there is no way to eliminate the potential for lawsuits arising from blogs. But there are ways to reduce your exposure. Understanding a few basic laws and taking steps to comply with them, will help you reduce the changes a process server will visit. Here are four short tips:

1. Don’t Copy

Do you know what “fair use” is in the United States? Learn about it. Copyright laws prevent people from copying other people’s work. But in general, short quotes from another blog or website are fine. The Copyright Act says that “fair use…for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” So if you are commenting on or criticizing an item someone else has posted, you have a fair use right to quote.

You may hear that the about “transformative” uses, which allow users to take existing work into a new context. But be careful about this. It’s not as clear-cut as it seems. Instead, try to see if the blog’s author has given you rights through a Creative Commons license, so you should check for that as well.

And whatever you do, cite to the prior source. It’s not a sign a weakness to attribute a quote to someone else; instead, it’s a sign of confidence. And most of the time, other people will be happy to be cited.

Takeaway: Cite to your sources. Use only small snippets. Check licenses. And don’t copy someone else’s work without their permission.

2. Don’t Defame

Do you know what “defamation” is? Learn about it. There are a variety of claims that people associate with defamation, such as libel, slander, false light and invasion of privacy, but the general premise is that you are not allowed to make a false statement (express or implicit) that gives a person, product or company, a negative image.

Framing something as “your opinion” may help in some circumstances, but you can’t dress up a fact as opinion and hope for the best. In other words, you can’t say “I believe John Doe molests children” and just call it your option. Truth is, of course, an ultimate defense for most defamation claims, but if you are invading someone’s privacy, then it’ll be of no help.

There are of course, certain other defenses or “privileges” that give you a right to publish information, particularly about public figures, but always check your sources.

Takeaway: Don’t publish rumors. It really is more important to be right than first. If the person that you’re writing about isn’t a public figure, ask yourself why you’re writing about it in the first place. Public figures have less protection but you can’t write maliciously about them.

3.Don’t Write About Your Employer

As an employment lawyer, this is a little self-referential, but writing about your employer is one area that gets bloggers into trouble with increasing frequency. It’s certainly not a new phenomenon.

Why do employers care so much? Well, think of this way. Would you like your cousin writing about what a slob you are or how stingy you were with your holiday gifts? I thought so. Companies view their reputations like you view your reputation: As a valuable commodity. Anything that diminishes it (particularly by showing up in a Google search) is something to be attacked.

As an employee, you have to first and foremost abide by company policies. So do it. Many companies have started forming corporate blogging policies. And if you do have to write about your workplace, never disclose confidential or proprietary information. It may be illegal in some circumstances and regardless, will bring out the full force of the company’s lawyers.

Takeaway: Write on topics other than your employer and customers. If you do write about your employer, try to set some boundaries. Better yet, try to seek your company’s approval of some content or offer to help set up their corporate blogging guidelines. Regardless, never disclose confidential or proprietary information.

4.Don’t Violate Trademark Laws

Companies spend a lot of time and money building up their trademarks (think: Kleenex etc.) So, you can’t use someone else’s trademark to sell your product or service. Thus, try to refrain from naming your blog “The Original Kleenex Blog”.

But it doesn’t stop you from using the trademark in reference. This is a similar concept of “fair use” which allow you to refer to the trademark or its owner to comment or criticize. In other words, if you criticize Kleenex for its box design, you’ll probably be ok.

Basically, if using the trademark is necessary to identify the item you’re talking about and you are not suggesting that the company endorses you, you’ll be fine. For example, the WSJ Law Blog often uses logos of companies in their blog posts to identify the company.

Takeaway: Don’t use trademarks for your own personal gain. Use them only when needed help explain a concept and be sure to indicate that you are not implying endorsement.

Obviously, this is only a brief summary and there are lots of laws out there about blogging. Fortunately, there are a several resources out there that can help give you more information. One source is the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s “Bloggers’ Rights” pages. Take a look and learn more about the rules that apply. And if all else fails, there’s always bloggers’ insurance.