There is no point in putting all the work into your online content, course, or event only to leave the door open to thieves who count on you not having your business in order. Protect your passion and profits before it’s too late.

Answer these four questions and see if your content and courses are protected from copycats:

1.Have you told attendees not to copy or share your content?

You are ultimately making your content to be seen and used, but not copied. And It is up to you to put people on notice about how they can and cannot use the worksheets, videos, pictures, and other downloadables you are using to provide your services/products online

A fair amount of copying and sharing happens when someone sees content that is useful and wants to share the wealth. But of course there are those down right unbelievable instances of people swiping your content and attempting to resell it thinking there will be no consequences.

This notice needs to be bold, in caps, and visible at multiple points of entry for your audience.

You need language that clearly tells people that by coming to your site they agree to abide by these rules or else you will enforce your legal rights (i.e. copyrights).

More than half the battle against thieves is setting up simple deference mechanisms like this. Letting thieves know clearly and unmistakably you will protect your intellectual property will slow a number of copycats in their tracks because they are LAZY which is why they are steal in the first place.

Show them you know your value, you know your intellectual property rights, and will protect it boldly and in print across your site in crystal clear language.

GET READY TO USE LEGAL LANGUAGE FOR YOUR ONLINE CONTENT HERE

2. What and where is your return policy?

One of the newest tactics online thieves are using is to actually purchase your course or ALL of your courses and then record them, download all your materials, and then demand a refund before selling them at a cheaper price.

First make sure you have your terms of use in place warning against copying, THEN double check that you have a CLEARLY STATED return policy on your sales pages that has the correct language terms and conditions that are specific to your products/services. A link to the same policy should appear on any checkout page and also in any confirmation email that provides login information or content downloads.

Having a clear and visible return policy will help you in case someone FILES A DISPUTE with PayPal, Etsy, or whatever other platform you are using to demonstrate the customer was aware BEFORE and at the time of purchase what the refund policy was and eliminate any argument they were blindsided by your refusal to provide a refund.

But this won’t necessarily help you if they claim you falsely advertised results your products didn’t actually achieve?

3. Do you have a disclaimer for any testimonials, advice, or advertised results?

A disclaimer is going to be your best friend in enforcing your refund policy. This is especially true if you used client testimonials when selling your products. You want to have clear language that states you cannot guarantee anything. Nothing in this world can be guaranteed!

Similar to your return policy and language regarding unauthorized copying you want to have your disclaimers visible when you utilize testimonials, share results of previous clients, or provide any kind of online coaching, consulting, or advise.

(See my legal notice here that clearly states information in this blog is not individualized legal advice)

4. Are you prepared to actually enforce against thieves and copycats?

So now you have all your policies up and in the right places. Are you prepared to actually enforce against copycats? Do you know how to submit a takedown notice? Do you have a cease and desist template you can quickly fire off? Most, importantly do you have your content registered with the copyright office?

I know the process can seem daunting but it is well worth it to have your ducks in a row when someone steals your stuff. Without a registered copyright you have no legal standing in court against thieves. Without a registered copyright the takedown process is much more difficult than if you are easily able to show legal ownership.

There is no point in putting all the work into your online content, course, or event only to leave the door open to thieves who count on you not having your business in order.

Protect your passion and profits before it’s too late with this digital protection package that has everything you need put to copycats on notice, sell with confidence, and partner with affiliates while protecting your business.

BONUS CONTENT: Did you know you could be blocked from mailchimp or FB ads by not having a privacy policy?

Learn why on Episode 12 of the podcast:

PODCAST SUMMARY:

[2:00] Limiting Copycats with Terms of Use

[6:30] How Sharing Emails Can Get You Blacklisted off MailChimp

[8:40] The 3 Places Your Refund Policy Needs to Be

[12:00] The Disclaimers You Need that all the Big Guys Use

[15:00] How to Enforce a Take Down or Cease & Desist