Intellectual Property for Business Owners – 10 Things You Should Know
Your business has intellectual property made up of your collective ideas, innovation, and intelligence. Your intellectual property can include trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and patents. There is no arguing the fact that intellectual property has value. A trade secret like the recipe for Coca-Cola can give a company a competitive advantage that lasts for a […]
Demystifying Copyright Symbols
Be confused no more! I’m about to take the guesswork out of how to create and use a proper copyright notice. You see copyright symbols all the time but may not be sure what the symbol really means. The copyright symbol, the letter C in a circle, or ©, may be used for any “original […]
Trademarks, Copyrights and Common Law: Possession is Only Nine-Tenths of the Law
There is a maxim that tells us, “Possession is 9/10’s of the law.” However, that doesn’t mean you can ignore the remaining 1/10. In fact, doing so when it comes to your trademarks and copyrights could cause irreparable harm to you and your business! For this concept to make sense, you need to understand how […]
5 Critical Social Media Marketing Copyright Rules
Whether you’re a social media marketing professional or a business owner active on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and so on to promote your business, there are critical copyright rules that you need to understand. The problem for most people is the complexity of copyright law. In fact, the ability of copyright law to effectively address the […]
What Are Copyrights and What Can You Copyright?
What are Copyrights? Copyright law gives people a way to protect the tangible expressions of their creative ideas, such as a writing (a blog, essay, book), a canvas, a sound recording, a photograph, a video game, and so forth. It also provides a set of rules that determine when a person can claim legal ownership […]
5 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know about Intellectual Property
I’m excited to announce the launch of my first free online course — 5 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know about Intellectual Property. As an intellectual property attorney, this topic is near and dear to my heart, but more importantly, it’s essential information for business owners in the digital age. In this course, I show you the […]
4 Things to do Before You Apply for Copyright Registration
You’ve created an original work and you’re ready to copyright it. It’s time to apply for copyright registration. Stop right there! Before you apply for copyright registration, there are some very important things that you need to consider and some information that you need to have on hand. To help you save time and reduce […]
The Getty Images Demand Letter – Copyright Bully vs. You
For over seven years, Getty Images’ high-priced law firm has been intimidating small businesses, website owners, bloggers, and more with heavy-handed copyright bullying tactics. Using its automated software (which ramped up in 2011 after Getty Images acquired PicScout for $20 million), images that appear to have been used without the publisher paying for the appropriate […]
Disney Sends DMCA Take-Down to a Facebook Page over Star Wars Toy Photo
Marjorie and Arnie Carvalho run the Star Wars Action News Facebook Page. They publish content about Star Wars collectibles, so you can imagine their excitement to share a photo taken at a Walmart store of a new action figure from the upcoming Star Wars movie. You can also imagine their surprise when they received a […]
Owner or Author – What’s the Difference?
Just because you wrote it doesn’t mean you own it. Just because you painted it doesn’t mean you own it. Just because you recorded it doesn’t mean you own it. This list could go on and on because copyright law views the creator of a work and the owner of the legal rights to the […]