How to Protect Your Business Legally So No One Steals Your Work
As you may know, there was a recent incident where someone copied my programs and sold them as her own. There has since been a LOT of discussion in the community about what you can do as a small business owner to protect your business legally in these circumstances.
And I certainly can NOT answer those questions for you, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging (leaving your own business vulnerable), so I hopped on Skype with a lawyer (and an entrepreneur!) to answer all your most burning questions.
Meet Kyle Durand of OurDeal.com. In this interview we go through copyright law (he’ll tell about some surprising things you probably didn’t know!), trademarking (and why it’s not as important as you might think), and contracts (why you need them and how you can easily implement them), as well as some other tips and tricks to protect your business as you grow.
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As long as you’re in business, you need to understand the laws. It doesn’t have to be scary and stressful though and Kyle makes it super easy to understand.
So without further ado – here is everything you need to know to get started with even starting to understand the legal stuff. Be sure to check out OurDeal for contracts and templates that make this shit EASY to implement.
What scares you MOST about being in business? Tell us in the comments!
Great topic! Great open conversation and clear cut answers. Has to be one of the best video blogs on the difficult subject of law and business! Thanks to both of you.
Hiya, great video! I am in the same exact position that Rebecca was a while back with someone ripping off nit only my main program, but my optin and most of my sales copy too. I already did all my due diligence with ToS (which specifically mentions they can’t copy, distribute, sell or loan etc etc my course materials). All of the materials are stamped with my copyright and I always stated ‘All Rights Reserved’ too. This didn’t stop them at all.
I have all the evidence for a Cease and Desist but the issue is that I am in the UK and they are in Asia (well technically I am in Asia now too, travelling, but my biz is in the UK and I am British). How hard is it to take down someone’s copies of my work when they are in a totally different country. They actually operate their business more towards USA (as do I ) and all her copy (I mean MY copy) is in English.
My other Q is if I am in the UK and my students and/or clients are in the USA should my contracts and ToS be written under UK or USA law?
Thanks, Star
Hey Star! I’m not a lawyer (as you know!) but often just asking the person to take it down and showing you have proof of copyright infringement is enough to have them do it without any legal action.
THANK YOU so much for doing this interview! Just watching this interview, I feel like a ton of weight is lifted off of my shoulders! I would also love to know Kyle’s view on liability insurance for Canadian coaches.
Hey Amanda! Kyle is US based so I’m not sure he is the best person to answer this. It would be best to talk with a Canadian attorney!
Thanks for putting this out there, sometimes we really take the legal aspects for granted
Very relieved to hear all of this, as I was also going down the path of trademarking and copywriting. Thanks for doing this interview (and love that he’s an entrepreneur first and a lawyer second!) This makes it so much easier.
This is excellent! I get these questions all the time too! Truthfully I didn’t even incorporate until 3 years into my business. I started the trademarking process for the tagline that’s turned into my overall brand *after* I saw it was viable in the marketplace. I think sometimes people just put the cart before the horse out of fear.