Country specific legal requirements for footers?

Brass Contributor

We are working on updating corporate word templates and something that came up is the differnet legal requirements of what needs to go into those footers. 

 

Does anyone know of a source where you can get an overview of country specific requirments for these? 

 

Like in Germany you need to have the "Geschäftsführer", in the UK you need to add registration number and location. 

 

It would be very useful to get an overview of what they are.

1 Reply

That kind of thing needs to come from your Company's Legal Department.  After all, they have to take responsibility for these statements, and they have to stand up in court and defend them; so they are the only official source you should listen to.

 

In my various practices, I would expect to see the company name, the security classification, and perhaps a (c) copyright declaration. There's no point in putting more than one line of information in the footer: no human being will ever read it.  And ensure the page number is on the outside.

 

The security classification can be expected to vary with the content of the document; and there should be a tightly-defined policy and procedure in your company stating what the official classifications are, and when to assign each one.

 

Other information, such as the full legal name of the company, its registered address, the name of the ultimate holding company, the jurisdiction under which disputes shall be resolved, the document version number, and the name of the person to contact ab out the document should all go on the inside front cover.

 

In certain jurisdictions (e.g. the USA...) you need to register the document with the Library of Congress in order to be sure of having a valid copyright, in which case that registration number should also be included.  In other jurisdictions, an ISBN number is required for publications.

 

Some legal departments will insist on a disclaimer: ask yours if they want one.  If they do: inside the front cover, not in the footer: it's just a waste of space there.

 

Hope this helps