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Copyright Warning: One Wrong Move Could Ruin Your Business

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Let’s talk copyright.

As a fellow entrepreneur, I totally know how hard you work each and every day.

And as time goes onโ€ฆ you proudly realize:

YOU. DID. IT.

  • You are the go-to business in your field
  • New clients come your way EVERYDAY!
  • Youโ€™re featured on podcasts, news feeds, and radio shows.
  • You have a shelf overflowing with awards and accolades.

Your hard work, long hours and risks taken are paying off.

๐™„๐™ฉ ๐™จ๐™š๐™š๐™ข๐™จ ๐™ก๐™ž๐™ ๐™š ๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฉ๐™๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™˜๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™™๐™–๐™ข๐™ฅ๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง ๐™š๐™ญ๐™˜๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ข๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ.

YOU.ARE.LIVING.YOUR.DREAM.

Until you see those three little words that you never expected. 

COPYRIGHT CEASE AND DESIST

What?! You think to yourself.

You are being sued!

For HUGE amounts of MONEY!

Next thing you know your eyes glaze over.

What a disaster.

๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ฌ, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐›๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฃ๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐๐ฒ.

After taking some deep breaths you pick up the cease and desist letter to see what exactly it says.

Maybe this is all just a horrible prankโ€ฆ

But as you read the letter it all starts to come together.

You suddenly remember that cute โ€œHappy Holidaysโ€ post from December.

That little snowman and adorable reindeer picture you found online.

It was easy to download and repost.

That one click could cost you everything.

All for a couple of likes on Facebook.

WHAT DID YOU DO WRONG๏น–

You see, before downloading and using those online photos it is important to understand your legal rights and risks.

As my many clients do.

  • Copyright infringement is real.
  • Copyright infringement is a danger you must avoid.
  • It could happen to you.

When you are accused of copyright infringement, your business, your finances, and your reputation are jeopardized!

Is your heart pounding, trying to remember if youโ€™ve put yourself at risk?

So hereโ€™s the good news.

Youโ€™ve got me by your side.

And Iโ€™m here to help you reduce your risk.

Today weโ€™ll start with photos and images.


RIGHT NOW. RIGHT HERE.

FIRST LINE OF COPYRIGHT DEFENSE – USE YOUR OWN PHOTOS

Itโ€™s better to use your own photos even if you feel itโ€™s B+ material than to risk being sued by an A+ creator.

And donโ€™t forget to protect your own photos as well. (Thatโ€™s a discussion for another day.)

SECOND LINE OF COPYRIGHT DEFENSE- BE SURE YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO USE ANYONE ELSE’S CONTENT

โ€œI got it off the Internet.โ€

โ€œThe website said it was free.โ€

Does that sound familiar?

So hereโ€™s the deal: Just because itโ€™s easy to download and use does not mean you can. Just because it says itโ€™s free to use does not mean you can.

When you copy a photo or image, you MUST have permission from the owner.

You ALSO must have permission from any person and any brand in the copied image.

AND itโ€™s not always easy to tell who that owner is or if you have permission.

But you must.

THIRD LINE OF COPYRIGHT DEFENSE – IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM OR WHO OWNS IT – REMOVE IT.

Thatโ€™s right – remove it – delete it – from any and everywhere you used that photo.

Start with your social media and website.

Be sure you can identify the source of every image.

For anything that you arenโ€™t sure about, delete it.

Thatโ€™s right – delete the post – delete the photo – delete it all.

If you donโ€™t, you could be the next to receive a cease and desist letter for something you posted months or even years ago.

If you do, at least youโ€™ll minimize your risk.

Have I totally confused you? Made you nervous?

๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ž ๐ˆโ€™๐ฏ๐ž ๐ก๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ž๐ ๐ฆ๐š๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐ˆ ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ก๐ž๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ž๐œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐œ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐š๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐š ๐œ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐š๐œ๐œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.

Contact me here today.

About Sagacity Legal:
Sagacity Legal is a Florida-based firm that works with service-based small business owners, who want to minimize their legal risk so they can focus on achieving their full potential.

This article and all content herein is solely intended for general information purposes and should not be construed as legal advice in any manner. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing, or communication via email or other means does not establish an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship is only formed when a written engagement agreement is executed. We disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all the contents of this website to the fullest extent permitted by law. Do not act or refrain from acting upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel.

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