Legal Question in Business Law in California

I think it will depend upon what you mean by "publicize." There are many published directories and on-line links which contain simple listings of businesses, and I don't believe these require permission from the listed business. Going further, there are rating services such as Yelp! and TripAdvisor that both list and comment upon businesses, and they seem to be able to list both favorable and unfavorable comments, without permission. On the other hand, businesses do have certain rights to control use of their names and identifying information such as trademarks and trade dress, and can and do sue to protect those rights. A lawyer specializing in intellectual property could advise you more accurately upon seeing exactly what you are doing, or proposing to do, in the way of publicizing other peoples' businesses.

It all depends on what you mean by "publicize" and what information is made public. There are a lot of "if's" and's" and "maybe's." To that extent, you should consult with an intellectual property attorney in your area for specifics, given your situation.

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney