Negotiate first

For these reasons, always start by negotiating. There are degrees of getting things wrong, of course, and these will help to determine the course of the negotiation.

For example, if there has obviously been a straightforward misunderstanding, or even an unfortunate typographical error, suing everyone in sight clearly isn’t the best way forward. Instead, phone the editor. Calmly point out that there seems to be an error in his latest issue, and quote chapter and verse. You’re not going to throw a hissy fit over this, but could something perhaps be done to put things right? How about some positive editorial in his next issue to counterbalance it? And, er, it just so happens that we are even now writing a really interesting article about...

We’ve used this method with some success. But even if the offence is a lot more serious than a misunderstanding or a misprint, don’t deploy the Weapons of Mass Destruction just yet – there are still diplomatic options to explore.