Does the “general public” include business entities?

Question

Specifically regarding securities laws in the United States, there is often terminology that says:

... must not be marketed to the general public...

The definition of "marketed" I understand and believe it has more to do with financial security markets as opposed to brochures and other common-parlance examples of "marketing" as a part of communication.

But specifically I would like to know if "general public" is limited to individuals, or if there is legal precedent to expand the definition to corporations, partnerships, etc.

Answer 1

My experience has been that in the context of securities laws, the term general public includes but is not limited to business entities of all types.

If you reason it through, you should agree that this must be the case. This is because, as a practical matter, there is no way to separate business entities from individuals when it comes to marketing and solicitations. This is because one person can be a business entity (corporation, LLC, etc.)