Episode 77
E77: Safeguarding Your Business Assets: Copyright, Contracts, and Intellectual Property Protection
🎙️ 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 – 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 week’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 don’t have the time or funds to invest in a full legal review. Get 20% off by using the coupon code “H2E”. 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
Imagine a clothing store
Speaker:with untagged garments
Speaker:stacked up in the back room.
Speaker:How would you know if
Speaker:you have a size in stock?
Speaker:How would you
Speaker:determine if there's
Speaker:an
Speaker:inventory loss?
Speaker:How would you know what to
Speaker:charge to make a profit?
Speaker:Every day that you don't take
Speaker:inventory of your assets is
Speaker:like that clothing store.
Speaker:You might be in breach
Speaker:of client agreements.
Speaker:With non compete provisions,
Speaker:are subcontractors
Speaker:taking your IP with them?
Speaker:Once your confidential
Speaker:information is shared
Speaker:without an NDA in place,
Speaker:there's no going home again.
Speaker:Do you even own what
Speaker:you think you own?
Speaker:I posed these questions in the
Speaker:last episode where I covered
Speaker:the importance of auditing
Speaker:the assets in your business.
Speaker:It is the first step in
Speaker:the three part framework
Speaker:to turn your expertise
Speaker:into recurring revenue.
Speaker:Audit, protect and
Speaker:leverage this week.
Speaker:We're talking about
Speaker:protecting your expertise.
Speaker:Once you have a clear
Speaker:understanding of your assets,
Speaker:it's time to protect them.
Speaker:There are 2 key methods
Speaker:for safeguarding the most
Speaker:valuable intellectual
Speaker:property in your business.
Speaker:Copyright registration.
Speaker:and contracts.
Speaker:We're going to dive into
Speaker:the importance of copyright
Speaker:registration in preserving
Speaker:your valuable assets,
Speaker:how contracts can either
Speaker:protect or jeopardize your
Speaker:intellectual property, and
Speaker:crafting client and contractor
Speaker:agreements to secure your
Speaker:rights and limit your risks.
Speaker:First copyright registration.
Speaker:So why am I talking about
Speaker:copyright registration?
Speaker:And you'll never
Speaker:hear me talking about
Speaker:trademark registration.
Speaker:Just as a quick reminder,
Speaker:what are copyrights?
Speaker:So copyright protects original
Speaker:works created by a human that
Speaker:contain a minimal amount of
Speaker:creativity that's fixed in a
Speaker:tangible medium of expression.
Speaker:When you are the.
Speaker:owner of copyrights, you
Speaker:have the exclusive right to
Speaker:reproduce the work, to make
Speaker:derivative works based on that
Speaker:work, such as modifications
Speaker:or adaptations or new uses,
Speaker:their exclusive right to
Speaker:distribute copies of the
Speaker:work, either publicly, for
Speaker:sale or to license it and the
Speaker:exclusive right to perform
Speaker:or display the work publicly.
Speaker:So, when we think about
Speaker:protecting our work.
Speaker:And we're worried about
Speaker:competitors or former
Speaker:clients stealing our stuff.
Speaker:What are we talking about?
Speaker:Everyone talks
Speaker:about a trademark.
Speaker:Do I need a trademark
Speaker:to protect my ideas?
Speaker:But contrary to popular
Speaker:belief, it's not trademarks
Speaker:that are going to protect
Speaker:your most valuable work.
Speaker:If you want to protect
Speaker:those valuable assets, if
Speaker:you want to protect your
Speaker:money makers, copyright
Speaker:registration is what you need.
Speaker:Here's a little example.
Speaker:Let's say you have an
Speaker:HR consultancy and it
Speaker:is called DiverCity and
Speaker:that's C I T Y, DiverCity.
Speaker:It's a little play
Speaker:on words there.
Speaker:Talent Solutions and it has
Speaker:a trademark registration and
Speaker:DiverCity, Talent Solutions
Speaker:provides DEI training
Speaker:to corporate clients.
Speaker:Trademark protects the
Speaker:business name DiverCity
Speaker:Talent Solutions.
Speaker:What does the
Speaker:copyright protect?
Speaker:It protects the training
Speaker:materials, the videos,
Speaker:your presentations, the
Speaker:workbooks, the guides.
Speaker:All those things are
Speaker:protected by copyright.
Speaker:Which one?
Speaker:Provides the most
Speaker:valuable to your clients.
Speaker:Well, which one provides
Speaker:any value to your clients?
Speaker:In other words, which of
Speaker:those assets does your
Speaker:client pay you money for?
Speaker:Do they pay you money
Speaker:for your trademark?
Speaker:Or do they pay you
Speaker:money for those trading
Speaker:materials for those videos?
Speaker:It's the assets that are
Speaker:protected by copyright that
Speaker:they're paying you for.
Speaker:Your corporate
Speaker:clients care about the
Speaker:transformation you provide.
Speaker:If you're going to, turn
Speaker:their disgruntled employees
Speaker:to a well oiled machine.
Speaker:That's what they're
Speaker:paying you for.
Speaker:And they don't get that
Speaker:from your trademark.
Speaker:They get that from your
Speaker:copyrighted materials.
Speaker:So that's what we
Speaker:want to focus on.
Speaker:now that we've settled on
Speaker:copyrights over trademarks.
Speaker:Why register the copyrights?
Speaker:as we know, copyright
Speaker:protection happens
Speaker:automatically at the time
Speaker:that it is put in that fixed,
Speaker:tangible form of expression.
Speaker:So, yes, it is automatic,
Speaker:but there are significant
Speaker:benefits to registering
Speaker:the work with the U.
Speaker:S.
Speaker:Copyright Office.
Speaker:And there are even greater
Speaker:benefits if it is registered
Speaker:before it is published,
Speaker:it's considered published
Speaker:after you make it available.
Speaker:It's offered to the
Speaker:public in some way.
Speaker:So what extra protection do
Speaker:we get from registration that
Speaker:we don't get automatically
Speaker:under copyright law.
Speaker:One, it enables you to file
Speaker:a lawsuit to enforce the
Speaker:copyright in federal court.
Speaker:If you want to.
Speaker:use the court system to get a
Speaker:remedy against an infringer.
Speaker:It must be registered.
Speaker:Also, when you have it
Speaker:registered, it's evidence that
Speaker:you have a valid copyright.
Speaker:Let's say somebody
Speaker:infringes your work, they
Speaker:steal your work, and they
Speaker:claim that they have the
Speaker:valid copyright, not you.
Speaker:If it's been registered,
Speaker:well, that's a non issue.
Speaker:And of course, it puts others
Speaker:on notice that the work
Speaker:is protected by copyright.
Speaker:That you are the copyright
Speaker:owner, and that you take your
Speaker:rights in those materials.
Speaker:Seriously, we don't register
Speaker:everything, you you probably
Speaker:wrote something today that you
Speaker:posted on LinkedIn or are some
Speaker:blog post or something that
Speaker:you probably won't register.
Speaker:And we'll put our C in
Speaker:a circle, we'll use the
Speaker:copyright notice of a C in
Speaker:a circle on there, but we
Speaker:don't register everything.
Speaker:We want to register our
Speaker:moneymakers because we want
Speaker:to be able to enforce our
Speaker:rights against infringers.
Speaker:So what is the big
Speaker:benefit that we get from
Speaker:registering our copyright?
Speaker:it is statutory damages.
Speaker:So what are statutory damages?
Speaker:They are a form of damages
Speaker:that a court can award In
Speaker:a lawsuit, but the damages
Speaker:are set forth in by law,
Speaker:like in the statute.
Speaker:That's why it's called
Speaker:statutory damages.
Speaker:And so instead of trying
Speaker:to figure out what the
Speaker:actual harm is, what
Speaker:profits were lost?
Speaker:What are my actual damages?
Speaker:That's a whole
Speaker:separate process.
Speaker:But when you have
Speaker:access to statutory
Speaker:damages, it's basically
Speaker:like preset penalties.
Speaker:And so when someone infringes
Speaker:your work, you can just
Speaker:look at the statute and say,
Speaker:this is what they owe me.
Speaker:It makes it much simpler
Speaker:to get a remedy, much less
Speaker:expensive since using lawyers
Speaker:of course is expensive.
Speaker:And much greater
Speaker:deterrent because it's.
Speaker:Kind of difficult sometimes
Speaker:to approve actual damages,
Speaker:but when you have statutory
Speaker:damages, you don't have
Speaker:to bring that proof.
Speaker:And that means that it is
Speaker:much, easier for you to
Speaker:get a remedy and therefore
Speaker:a greater deterrent to
Speaker:potential infringers.
Speaker:So, to be clear.
Speaker:You can still protect your
Speaker:work against infringement.
Speaker:You can still go after
Speaker:someone for damages.
Speaker:if it's not registered
Speaker:before publication.
Speaker:So, if you have something
Speaker:out there, that's already
Speaker:been published and it
Speaker:hasn't been registered,
Speaker:but it is something that.
Speaker:You would hire a lawyer to
Speaker:protect your rights against an
Speaker:infringer in a court of law,
Speaker:then those are the things that
Speaker:you want to have registered.
Speaker:But you would have to
Speaker:prove actual damages.
Speaker:You'd have to say, I was
Speaker:selling, 10 copies of this a
Speaker:week at 500 a pop, and they
Speaker:have been ever since they,
Speaker:infringed it and, and started
Speaker:selling it on their own.
Speaker:I haven't had any sales
Speaker:and therefore this is
Speaker:what my damages are.
Speaker:It's a little harder to prove
Speaker:that than to be able to look
Speaker:to the statute and just say,
Speaker:they sold 50 copies of my
Speaker:work and therefore these
Speaker:are what my damages are.
Speaker:So, what are those
Speaker:statutory damages?
Speaker:Well, it depends on
Speaker:the gravity of the
Speaker:infringement as well as
Speaker:the infringer's intent.
Speaker:So, for innocent
Speaker:infringements, like, sometimes
Speaker:we still things we don't even
Speaker:realize That does happen.
Speaker:Unintentional infringement.
Speaker:We're our subconscious
Speaker:remember something we think
Speaker:it's original, but it is
Speaker:actually infringement.
Speaker:So, if you can show
Speaker:that you weren't aware.
Speaker:had no reason to believe
Speaker:that wasn't infringement.
Speaker:then the damages can be as low
Speaker:as 200 per infringing, work.
Speaker:but it can go up, if you
Speaker:should have known, it
Speaker:can go up from 750 to,
Speaker:000 per work infringed.
Speaker:And if it was willful
Speaker:infringement, you absolutely
Speaker:know, someone steals
Speaker:your entire website.
Speaker:And they start selling
Speaker:it as their own.
Speaker:And when you tell them
Speaker:to stop doing it, they
Speaker:don't stop doing it.
Speaker:It's a willful infringement.
Speaker:The damages can be as up to
Speaker:150, 000 per work infringed.
Speaker:So those are
Speaker:statutory damages.
Speaker:And these are some of
Speaker:the benefits that you get
Speaker:under intellectual property
Speaker:law when you register
Speaker:a work, as copyright
Speaker:registration with the U.
Speaker:S.
Speaker:Copyright Office.
Speaker:My contracts is the other way
Speaker:that protect our copyrights
Speaker:registration that helps us and
Speaker:takes care of infringers, but
Speaker:you know what, mostly people
Speaker:don't just steal our stuff.
Speaker:The number 1 way that
Speaker:we lose rights in our
Speaker:intellectual property is
Speaker:by not using contracts.
Speaker:Or signing contracts that
Speaker:we do not understand.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:Intellectual property law
Speaker:takes care of infringers,
Speaker:but, most people don't
Speaker:lose rights in their I.
Speaker:P.
Speaker:because of, infringers.
Speaker:It's more likely that we
Speaker:will lose control over
Speaker:intellectual property.
Speaker:Because we are not using
Speaker:contracts or we're signing
Speaker:contracts that we do not
Speaker:understand, and that is
Speaker:just a self inflicted wound,
Speaker:unlike physical assets,
Speaker:ownership of intellectual
Speaker:property has nothing to do
Speaker:with possession or whose idea
Speaker:was, or even who paid for it.
Speaker:If we want to make sure we
Speaker:are maximizing the value of
Speaker:our assets, we need to use
Speaker:our contracts in order to
Speaker:make sure that we control
Speaker:that use and get paid for it.
Speaker:Choose.
Speaker:So we cannot skip
Speaker:the contracts step.
Speaker:We need contracts with
Speaker:our clients to limit
Speaker:their ability to reuse.
Speaker:Or even distribute our
Speaker:proprietary materials, and
Speaker:we need contracts with our
Speaker:contractors to make sure that
Speaker:we have rights and everything
Speaker:that they deliver to you.
Speaker:So, when we think about our
Speaker:client contracts, if you're
Speaker:regularly signing contracts
Speaker:provided by your corporate
Speaker:clients, those agreements will
Speaker:absolutely have language about
Speaker:who owns the deliverables and
Speaker:you want to make sure that
Speaker:there is language in there.
Speaker:So that you retain rights in
Speaker:your preexisting property, if
Speaker:they're coming to you, chances
Speaker:are you have preexisting
Speaker:property that they value.
Speaker:What is the distinguisher
Speaker:between you take
Speaker:the HR consultant?
Speaker:The difference between you
Speaker:and another HR consultant will
Speaker:probably be your preexisting
Speaker:materials you have workshops
Speaker:that you've developed
Speaker:trainings that you've
Speaker:developed guides that are more
Speaker:effective than the next guys.
Speaker:And that's why
Speaker:they're coming to you.
Speaker:And we want to make sure
Speaker:that you are preserving
Speaker:the rights in those works.
Speaker:And if you're signing a
Speaker:standard client agreement,
Speaker:then you are endangering
Speaker:your rights in those works.
Speaker:Also, with our contractor
Speaker:agreements, agreements that
Speaker:we signed with people when
Speaker:we are the client, we want
Speaker:to make sure that we have the
Speaker:rights, the ownership, and all
Speaker:the things that they do for
Speaker:us in the absence of a written
Speaker:agreement that is signed and
Speaker:not by email, but actually
Speaker:signed, can be, you know, an
Speaker:a signature, but something
Speaker:that is enforceable signature.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:If we don't have that in
Speaker:place, then the human who
Speaker:created it still owns it.
Speaker:So if someone is creating
Speaker:something for you that you
Speaker:will be, using with your
Speaker:client, or you'll be using it
Speaker:in your business to build some
Speaker:assets on, you want to make
Speaker:sure you own those things.
Speaker:We want to make sure you
Speaker:have contractor agreements
Speaker:in place that are signed.
Speaker:Signed agreements are the.
Speaker:Only way to overwrite the
Speaker:default provisions regarding
Speaker:ownership and licenses under
Speaker:intellectual property law.
Speaker:So, if you don't have
Speaker:signed agreements with your
Speaker:clients, then your clients
Speaker:may have an unlimited license
Speaker:to use your preexisting
Speaker:materials, if not own it.
Speaker:So, those are the 2,
Speaker:dangers and no agreements
Speaker:with your contractors.
Speaker:They may own some
Speaker:very important piece.
Speaker:Of your methodology or
Speaker:framework now in an AI
Speaker:world, we have even more
Speaker:risks associated with oral
Speaker:or unsigned agreements.
Speaker:And again, I'm
Speaker:including email in that.
Speaker:If we don't have signed
Speaker:agreements, we can't get
Speaker:assurances regarding the,
Speaker:work that is delivered
Speaker:by our contractors.
Speaker:We want to make sure that
Speaker:we have representations from
Speaker:our contractors regarding
Speaker:the originality of what
Speaker:they're delivering to us,
Speaker:and that it does not infringe
Speaker:any 3rd parties rights.
Speaker:So, in our standard,
Speaker:Contractor agreement, you will
Speaker:want to have language that
Speaker:says that contractors work
Speaker:is original unpublished and
Speaker:solely their own work product.
Speaker:And that as delivered to
Speaker:you and used by you, it
Speaker:will not violate any laws
Speaker:or violate any 3rd parties
Speaker:intellectual property rights.
Speaker:When we have someone using
Speaker:AI, we don't get any of those
Speaker:assurances when you use AI.
Speaker:That is, know, buyer
Speaker:beware, user beware
Speaker:with regarding anything
Speaker:that is generated by AI.
Speaker:So if you have a contractor
Speaker:where you care about
Speaker:the originality and that
Speaker:you have full ownership
Speaker:of those deliverables,
Speaker:you want to have.
Speaker:The contractor agreement
Speaker:in place, and you want
Speaker:to have language in there
Speaker:about whether or not they
Speaker:can use a, if you don't
Speaker:want your contractor to
Speaker:use make sure the agreement
Speaker:says that if you're okay
Speaker:with the contractor using
Speaker:some AI, so long as, it's
Speaker:disclosed to you, then.
Speaker:Make sure that's
Speaker:in the agreement.
Speaker:And most importantly,
Speaker:always be mindful of how a
Speaker:deliverable from a contractor
Speaker:will be used so that you can
Speaker:make sure that that agreement
Speaker:includes all of those rights
Speaker:that you have in there.
Speaker:let's say you have an
Speaker:agreement with a contractor
Speaker:and they have language that
Speaker:says I'm going to be using
Speaker:my pre existing framework.
Speaker:And it will say you as
Speaker:the client can use it, but
Speaker:you cannot, sub license
Speaker:it to any third party.
Speaker:But your intent was for
Speaker:this to be used with
Speaker:your own end client.
Speaker:You have to make sure
Speaker:that there's language
Speaker:in there about that.
Speaker:So the end result is.
Speaker:Some we really want to make
Speaker:sure that we don't end up on
Speaker:the receiving end of a cease
Speaker:and desist letter because
Speaker:we don't get all the rights
Speaker:from our contractors that
Speaker:we need, that we don't end
Speaker:up at the receiving end of a
Speaker:cease and letter because we
Speaker:have granted exclusive rights
Speaker:and materials to one client
Speaker:that we need to use with
Speaker:other clients and, at best.
Speaker:I wasted money.
Speaker:Maybe you need
Speaker:to refund money.
Speaker:And at worst, you could end up
Speaker:with an infringement claim and
Speaker:you could have some permanent
Speaker:damage to your reputation.
Speaker:Certainly if you turn
Speaker:in something to a client
Speaker:that turns out that it was
Speaker:created by AI, that could
Speaker:be a real mess for you.
Speaker:So we want to make sure
Speaker:that that doesn't happen.
Speaker:IP is everywhere
Speaker:in particular, your
Speaker:IP is everywhere.
Speaker:So we want to make sure that
Speaker:we use copyright protection
Speaker:and we're using, contracts
Speaker:to make sure that you own
Speaker:it and that you control it.
Speaker:So that brings us to the
Speaker:third and final leg of
Speaker:building a scalable and
Speaker:saleable expertise based
Speaker:business that is leverage.
Speaker:So leverage means increasing
Speaker:profitability, not just
Speaker:increasing revenue.
Speaker:what does that mean?
Speaker:We have leverage
Speaker:in our business.
Speaker:If we can.
Speaker:Increase our revenue without
Speaker:increasing the cost to get
Speaker:that revenue that increases
Speaker:profitability, or we can
Speaker:decrease cost without also
Speaker:decreasing the revenue or both
Speaker:in the best of both words.
Speaker:that means we are applying
Speaker:leverage so that we have a
Speaker:more profitable business,
Speaker:meaning there's more distance
Speaker:between revenue and costs.
Speaker:and yes, you can have
Speaker:leveraged one on one services.
Speaker:So if you want to find out
Speaker:more, make sure you check
Speaker:out the next episode of
Speaker:the hourly exit podcast.
Speaker:Thank you ladies.
Speaker:And remember, IP is fuel.
