Episode 77

E77: Safeguarding Your Business Assets: Copyright, Contracts, and Intellectual Property Protection

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Listen to an eye-opening episode of the Hourly to Exit podcast with Erin, where she dives into protecting your expertise through copyright registration and contracts.

Key Takeaways:

1. Copyright registration isn't just a formality โ€“ it's essential for protecting your valuable assets such as training materials, presentations, videos, and workbooks. This alone can make a significant impact on maximizing the value of your intellectual property.

2. When it comes to safeguarding your intellectual property rights, clear contracts with clients and contractors play a vital role. It's all about ensuring that the ownership, use and re-use of your proprietary materials are clearly outlined and protected.

If you're looking to safeguard your expertise, this podcast episode is a must-listen! Check it out for more valuable insights into turning your expertise into recurring revenue. #IP

Connect with Erin to learn how to use intellectual property to increase your income and impact. hourlytoexit.com/podcast.

Erin's LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaustin/

Hourly to Exit is Sponsored By:

This weekโ€™s episode of Hourly to Exit is sponsored by the NDA Navigator. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are the bedrock of protecting your business's confidential information. However, facing a constant stream of NDAs can be overwhelming, especially when time and budget constraints prevent you from seeking full legal review. That's where the NDA Navigator comes to your rescue. Designed specifically for entrepreneurs, consultants, and business owners with corporate clients, the NDA Navigator is your guide to understanding, negotiating, and implementing NDAs. Empower yourself with legal insights and practical tools when you donโ€™t have the time or funds to invest in a full legal review. Get 20% off by using the coupon code โ€œH2Eโ€.  You can find it at www.protectyourexpertise.com.

Think Beyond IP YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVztXnDYnZ83oIb-EGX9IGA/videos

Music credit: Yes She Can by Tiny Music

A Team Dklutr production

Transcript
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Imagine a clothing store

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with untagged garments

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stacked up in the back room.

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How would you know if

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you have a size in stock?

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How would you

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determine if there's

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an

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inventory loss?

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How would you know what to

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charge to make a profit?

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Every day that you don't take

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inventory of your assets is

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like that clothing store.

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You might be in breach

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of client agreements.

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With non compete provisions,

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are subcontractors

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taking your IP with them?

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Once your confidential

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information is shared

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without an NDA in place,

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there's no going home again.

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Do you even own what

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you think you own?

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I posed these questions in the

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last episode where I covered

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the importance of auditing

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the assets in your business.

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It is the first step in

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the three part framework

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to turn your expertise

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into recurring revenue.

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Audit, protect and

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leverage this week.

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We're talking about

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protecting your expertise.

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Once you have a clear

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understanding of your assets,

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it's time to protect them.

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There are 2 key methods

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for safeguarding the most

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valuable intellectual

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property in your business.

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Copyright registration.

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and contracts.

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We're going to dive into

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the importance of copyright

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registration in preserving

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your valuable assets,

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how contracts can either

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protect or jeopardize your

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intellectual property, and

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crafting client and contractor

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agreements to secure your

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rights and limit your risks.

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First copyright registration.

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So why am I talking about

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copyright registration?

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And you'll never

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hear me talking about

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trademark registration.

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Just as a quick reminder,

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what are copyrights?

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So copyright protects original

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works created by a human that

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contain a minimal amount of

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creativity that's fixed in a

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tangible medium of expression.

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When you are the.

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owner of copyrights, you

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have the exclusive right to

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reproduce the work, to make

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derivative works based on that

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work, such as modifications

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or adaptations or new uses,

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their exclusive right to

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distribute copies of the

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work, either publicly, for

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sale or to license it and the

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exclusive right to perform

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or display the work publicly.

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So, when we think about

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protecting our work.

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And we're worried about

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competitors or former

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clients stealing our stuff.

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What are we talking about?

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Everyone talks

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about a trademark.

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Do I need a trademark

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to protect my ideas?

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But contrary to popular

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belief, it's not trademarks

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that are going to protect

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your most valuable work.

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If you want to protect

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those valuable assets, if

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you want to protect your

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money makers, copyright

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registration is what you need.

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Here's a little example.

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Let's say you have an

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HR consultancy and it

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is called DiverCity and

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that's C I T Y, DiverCity.

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It's a little play

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on words there.

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Talent Solutions and it has

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a trademark registration and

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DiverCity, Talent Solutions

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provides DEI training

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to corporate clients.

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Trademark protects the

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business name DiverCity

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Talent Solutions.

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What does the

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copyright protect?

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It protects the training

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materials, the videos,

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your presentations, the

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workbooks, the guides.

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All those things are

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protected by copyright.

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Which one?

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Provides the most

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valuable to your clients.

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Well, which one provides

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any value to your clients?

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In other words, which of

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those assets does your

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client pay you money for?

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Do they pay you money

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for your trademark?

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Or do they pay you

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money for those trading

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materials for those videos?

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It's the assets that are

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protected by copyright that

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they're paying you for.

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Your corporate

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clients care about the

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transformation you provide.

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If you're going to, turn

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their disgruntled employees

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to a well oiled machine.

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That's what they're

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paying you for.

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And they don't get that

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from your trademark.

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They get that from your

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copyrighted materials.

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So that's what we

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want to focus on.

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now that we've settled on

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copyrights over trademarks.

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Why register the copyrights?

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as we know, copyright

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protection happens

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automatically at the time

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that it is put in that fixed,

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tangible form of expression.

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So, yes, it is automatic,

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but there are significant

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benefits to registering

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the work with the U.

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S.

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Copyright Office.

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And there are even greater

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benefits if it is registered

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before it is published,

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it's considered published

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after you make it available.

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It's offered to the

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public in some way.

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So what extra protection do

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we get from registration that

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we don't get automatically

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under copyright law.

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One, it enables you to file

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a lawsuit to enforce the

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copyright in federal court.

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If you want to.

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use the court system to get a

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remedy against an infringer.

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It must be registered.

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Also, when you have it

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registered, it's evidence that

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you have a valid copyright.

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Let's say somebody

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infringes your work, they

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steal your work, and they

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claim that they have the

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valid copyright, not you.

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If it's been registered,

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well, that's a non issue.

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And of course, it puts others

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on notice that the work

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is protected by copyright.

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That you are the copyright

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owner, and that you take your

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rights in those materials.

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Seriously, we don't register

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everything, you you probably

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wrote something today that you

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posted on LinkedIn or are some

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blog post or something that

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you probably won't register.

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And we'll put our C in

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a circle, we'll use the

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copyright notice of a C in

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a circle on there, but we

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don't register everything.

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We want to register our

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moneymakers because we want

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to be able to enforce our

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rights against infringers.

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So what is the big

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benefit that we get from

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registering our copyright?

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it is statutory damages.

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So what are statutory damages?

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They are a form of damages

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that a court can award In

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a lawsuit, but the damages

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are set forth in by law,

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like in the statute.

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That's why it's called

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statutory damages.

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And so instead of trying

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to figure out what the

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actual harm is, what

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profits were lost?

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What are my actual damages?

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That's a whole

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separate process.

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But when you have

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access to statutory

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damages, it's basically

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like preset penalties.

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And so when someone infringes

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your work, you can just

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look at the statute and say,

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this is what they owe me.

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It makes it much simpler

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to get a remedy, much less

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expensive since using lawyers

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of course is expensive.

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And much greater

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deterrent because it's.

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Kind of difficult sometimes

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to approve actual damages,

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but when you have statutory

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damages, you don't have

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to bring that proof.

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And that means that it is

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much, easier for you to

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get a remedy and therefore

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a greater deterrent to

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potential infringers.

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So, to be clear.

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You can still protect your

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work against infringement.

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You can still go after

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someone for damages.

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if it's not registered

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before publication.

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So, if you have something

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out there, that's already

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been published and it

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hasn't been registered,

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but it is something that.

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You would hire a lawyer to

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protect your rights against an

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infringer in a court of law,

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then those are the things that

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you want to have registered.

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But you would have to

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prove actual damages.

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You'd have to say, I was

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selling, 10 copies of this a

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week at 500 a pop, and they

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have been ever since they,

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infringed it and, and started

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selling it on their own.

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I haven't had any sales

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and therefore this is

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what my damages are.

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It's a little harder to prove

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that than to be able to look

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to the statute and just say,

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they sold 50 copies of my

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work and therefore these

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are what my damages are.

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So, what are those

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statutory damages?

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Well, it depends on

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the gravity of the

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infringement as well as

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the infringer's intent.

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So, for innocent

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infringements, like, sometimes

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we still things we don't even

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realize That does happen.

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Unintentional infringement.

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We're our subconscious

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remember something we think

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it's original, but it is

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actually infringement.

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So, if you can show

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that you weren't aware.

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had no reason to believe

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that wasn't infringement.

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then the damages can be as low

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as 200 per infringing, work.

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but it can go up, if you

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should have known, it

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can go up from 750 to,

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000 per work infringed.

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And if it was willful

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infringement, you absolutely

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know, someone steals

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your entire website.

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And they start selling

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it as their own.

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And when you tell them

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to stop doing it, they

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don't stop doing it.

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It's a willful infringement.

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The damages can be as up to

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150, 000 per work infringed.

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So those are

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statutory damages.

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And these are some of

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the benefits that you get

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under intellectual property

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law when you register

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a work, as copyright

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registration with the U.

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S.

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Copyright Office.

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My contracts is the other way

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that protect our copyrights

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registration that helps us and

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takes care of infringers, but

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you know what, mostly people

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don't just steal our stuff.

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The number 1 way that

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we lose rights in our

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intellectual property is

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by not using contracts.

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Or signing contracts that

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we do not understand.

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All right.

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So.

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Intellectual property law

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takes care of infringers,

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but, most people don't

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lose rights in their I.

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P.

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because of, infringers.

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It's more likely that we

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will lose control over

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intellectual property.

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Because we are not using

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contracts or we're signing

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contracts that we do not

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understand, and that is

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just a self inflicted wound,

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unlike physical assets,

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ownership of intellectual

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property has nothing to do

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with possession or whose idea

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was, or even who paid for it.

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If we want to make sure we

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are maximizing the value of

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our assets, we need to use

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our contracts in order to

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make sure that we control

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that use and get paid for it.

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Choose.

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So we cannot skip

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the contracts step.

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We need contracts with

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our clients to limit

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their ability to reuse.

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Or even distribute our

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proprietary materials, and

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we need contracts with our

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contractors to make sure that

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we have rights and everything

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that they deliver to you.

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So, when we think about our

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client contracts, if you're

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regularly signing contracts

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provided by your corporate

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clients, those agreements will

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absolutely have language about

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who owns the deliverables and

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you want to make sure that

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there is language in there.

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So that you retain rights in

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your preexisting property, if

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they're coming to you, chances

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are you have preexisting

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property that they value.

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What is the distinguisher

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between you take

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the HR consultant?

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The difference between you

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and another HR consultant will

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probably be your preexisting

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materials you have workshops

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that you've developed

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trainings that you've

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developed guides that are more

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effective than the next guys.

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And that's why

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they're coming to you.

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And we want to make sure

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that you are preserving

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the rights in those works.

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And if you're signing a

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standard client agreement,

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then you are endangering

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your rights in those works.

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Also, with our contractor

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agreements, agreements that

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we signed with people when

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we are the client, we want

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to make sure that we have the

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rights, the ownership, and all

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the things that they do for

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us in the absence of a written

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agreement that is signed and

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not by email, but actually

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signed, can be, you know, an

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a signature, but something

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that is enforceable signature.

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Okay.

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If we don't have that in

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place, then the human who

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created it still owns it.

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So if someone is creating

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something for you that you

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will be, using with your

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client, or you'll be using it

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in your business to build some

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assets on, you want to make

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sure you own those things.

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We want to make sure you

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have contractor agreements

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in place that are signed.

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Signed agreements are the.

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Only way to overwrite the

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default provisions regarding

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ownership and licenses under

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intellectual property law.

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So, if you don't have

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signed agreements with your

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clients, then your clients

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may have an unlimited license

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to use your preexisting

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materials, if not own it.

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So, those are the 2,

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dangers and no agreements

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with your contractors.

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They may own some

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very important piece.

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Of your methodology or

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framework now in an AI

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world, we have even more

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risks associated with oral

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or unsigned agreements.

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And again, I'm

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including email in that.

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If we don't have signed

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agreements, we can't get

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assurances regarding the,

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work that is delivered

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by our contractors.

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We want to make sure that

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we have representations from

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our contractors regarding

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the originality of what

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they're delivering to us,

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and that it does not infringe

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any 3rd parties rights.

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So, in our standard,

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Contractor agreement, you will

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want to have language that

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says that contractors work

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is original unpublished and

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solely their own work product.

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And that as delivered to

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you and used by you, it

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will not violate any laws

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or violate any 3rd parties

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intellectual property rights.

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When we have someone using

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AI, we don't get any of those

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assurances when you use AI.

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That is, know, buyer

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beware, user beware

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with regarding anything

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that is generated by AI.

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So if you have a contractor

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where you care about

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the originality and that

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you have full ownership

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of those deliverables,

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you want to have.

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The contractor agreement

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in place, and you want

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to have language in there

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about whether or not they

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can use a, if you don't

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want your contractor to

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use make sure the agreement

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says that if you're okay

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with the contractor using

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some AI, so long as, it's

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disclosed to you, then.

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Make sure that's

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in the agreement.

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And most importantly,

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always be mindful of how a

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deliverable from a contractor

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will be used so that you can

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make sure that that agreement

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includes all of those rights

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that you have in there.

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let's say you have an

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agreement with a contractor

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and they have language that

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says I'm going to be using

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my pre existing framework.

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And it will say you as

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the client can use it, but

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you cannot, sub license

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it to any third party.

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But your intent was for

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this to be used with

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your own end client.

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You have to make sure

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that there's language

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in there about that.

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So the end result is.

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Some we really want to make

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sure that we don't end up on

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the receiving end of a cease

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and desist letter because

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we don't get all the rights

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from our contractors that

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we need, that we don't end

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up at the receiving end of a

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cease and letter because we

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have granted exclusive rights

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and materials to one client

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that we need to use with

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other clients and, at best.

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I wasted money.

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Maybe you need

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to refund money.

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And at worst, you could end up

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with an infringement claim and

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you could have some permanent

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damage to your reputation.

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Certainly if you turn

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in something to a client

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that turns out that it was

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created by AI, that could

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be a real mess for you.

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So we want to make sure

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that that doesn't happen.

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IP is everywhere

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in particular, your

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IP is everywhere.

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So we want to make sure that

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we use copyright protection

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and we're using, contracts

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to make sure that you own

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it and that you control it.

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So that brings us to the

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third and final leg of

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building a scalable and

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saleable expertise based

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business that is leverage.

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So leverage means increasing

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profitability, not just

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increasing revenue.

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what does that mean?

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We have leverage

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in our business.

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If we can.

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Increase our revenue without

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increasing the cost to get

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that revenue that increases

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profitability, or we can

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decrease cost without also

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decreasing the revenue or both

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in the best of both words.

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that means we are applying

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leverage so that we have a

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more profitable business,

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meaning there's more distance

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between revenue and costs.

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and yes, you can have

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leveraged one on one services.

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So if you want to find out

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more, make sure you check

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out the next episode of

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the hourly exit podcast.

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Thank you ladies.

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And remember, IP is fuel.

About the Podcast

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Erin Austin

Meet Erin Austin, a Harvard Law alum with over 25 years of copyright and contracts experience. As the go-to advisor for professionals with corporate clients, Erin empowers entrepreneurs to be their own advocates, standing out for her commitment to transforming expertise into empires through the creation, protection and leveraging of intellectual property assets. Explore her blend of legal expertise and entrepreneurial insight on ThinkBeyondIP.com and the "Hourly to Exit" podcast. Off the clock, you'll find Erin in the great outdoors or connecting with business coaches to elevate 6-figure consultants into 7-figure powerhouses.