Hello everyone, welcome to
this month's LinkedIn Live.
I do these every last
Wednesday of the month
at noon eastern, where I
answer your questions about
copyrights and contracts.
And so if you are listening
to this, um, there are Slides
that go along with this,
although you can absolutely,
get all the value from this
episode by listening to it.
But if you're curious, you
can see the slides on my
YouTube channel, or also
on my LinkedIn profile.
So this month, we are talking
about why copyrights are more
valuable than trademarks.
Now, this is my opinion.
Of course, I imagine a
trademark lawyer would
have a different opinion,
but my point of view is
specifically with respect to
the B2B professional services
provider who has corporate.
Clients, and so are concerned
a little bit different than,
say, a Pepsi or a FedEx
or even, an IBM, right?
we are going to talk about.
they are different how
they are same and how
they will work together.
So 1st and please feel free to
put comments in the, chat box.
if it doesn't throw me off
too much, I'll answer them.
But if not, I'll
wait until the end.
I've gone both ways.
so copyrights versus is
1 is if they're battling
against each other, but
aren't that was just.
Because I like the
image because they
really do work together.
As, you know, I'm a huge fan
of service based businesses of
experts, creating intellectual
property assets, because
they're very important value
builder in your business.
And so they, aren't
mutual exclusive.
We will have copyrights
and trademarks throughout
both in our businesses,
probably, but I will be.
Making an argument, of
course, that, the copyrights
are the more valuable
and the more essential
intellectual property
assets in your business.
1st, to talk about what
does copyright protect
versus what trainer.
Protects copyright protects
the original expression of
something intangible form.
what we write in a
book, what we paint on a
painting, what we record
in a song or on video, what
we create in a graphic.
So those things that we take
an original idea, and we make.
work out of it.
those things that have to be
human, of course, are eligible
for copyright protection.
you may know that copyright
protection attaches at
the moment that that
original work is created.
there is an extra step of
registration if you want to
enforce the copyright against
a third party infringers,
but you do have that
copyright protection from the
moment that it is created.
Trademark and copyright
very importantly does
not protect ideas.
Trademark protects our
reputation, our brand.
It tells, the world, the
consumer specifically.
What the origin of a good
or service is, I used
examples of IBM and FedEx.
When we see those
trademarks, we know
exactly who's delivering
our package or where our
office machine came from.
I don't know.
What does IBM do now?
and so it protects, names.
Logos, even protect colors
like u p s, brown, and even
sounds like the N B C, chime.
and so that tells the world,
so that protects the origin
of a good or service, but
it does not protect content.
And so I'm gonna talk about.
An example today, where you
are, we are an HR consultancy.
The name of our business is
diversity talent solutions.
And yes, I did get
that from chat.
GBT.
and we provide DEI training
to corporate clients.
And so when we
have this business.
What do trademarks versus
copyrights protect for us?
copyright that protects all
of our training materials, any
videos that we've recorded,
scripts for our trainers,
workbooks, worksheets,
um, you know, webinars
that we put on.
These are all works.
That when they are original,
and we've put them in
tangible form, they are
protected by copyright.
All of our marketing
materials, the podcast that
we go on the speeches that
we give our LinkedIn posts,
our newsletter, our website,
all of those materials are
protected by copyright.
Work product, let's say we
are engaged to create employee
workbook for 1 of our clients.
And so it is copyright law
that will determine the
ownership and the rights.
that client, will have in
using that employee workbook.
So it could be that, you have
1 that you're just licensing
to them and that they can't
use it for any other purpose,
or it could be that you're
creating an original 1, just
for them because there's
something unique about
their office environment.
And they had some specific,
requests but it is copyright
that will determine the
ownership and the use or
reuse, or the creation
of derivatives of that.
work product, and let's
say you are the client.
Let's say you have
engaged a 3rd party to
help create your course.
you are the expert
in issues, but you're
not a course designer.
You're not an educate.
I think they're called.
Education designers, perhaps.
And so you've engaged one of
them to help you, with the
user experience, the flow and
everything of your course.
So you hire them.
It is copyright law
that will determine your
ownership rights in the
deliverables that course
designer creates for you.
So that's copyright.
On the trademark side, what
does trademark protect?
It protects the name
of your business.
And so, we can see that
there is a little bit
of a lopsided there.
So we're going to talk about
the value of copyrights.
In your business and the value
of copyrights to your clients.
first, in the context
of maximizing the
value in your business.
I talk about exclusivity
and sustainability.
I have, talked a great.
Deal about it in the context
of creating a business
that you can sell someday.
But the things that help you
create a business that would
be saleable are the same
things that help you build
a business that is scalable
and therefore increase the
value in your business.
So the two main pillars we
talk about when we're talking
about service based business
and maximizing the value
of it are the exclusivity
and the sustainability
of the business.
and within exclusivity,
we'll, take each and turn
exclusivity and sustainability
with exclusivity.
We have the 2 pillars of
assets and positioning.
Now, positioning is
technically an asset as
well, but I've set it up
this way to think about,
because assets are more
kind of solid, even though
they're intangible, they're
more solid than positioning,
which is a little bit harder
to kind of grasp, um, asset.
on the asset side and also
on the asset side, these
are things that can be
pretty cleanly assigned
to a 3rd party or is
positioning may or may not
be assignable to 3rd party.
So, your assets, your
intellectual property, which
we've talked about, we've
talked about the things in
our HR consultancy business
in this example, that are
protected by copyrights
or by trademarks data.
Would be a valuable asset
if you have data or research
that you have databases are
protected under copyright
law and any insights
that you draw for them.
You take your data and you
analyze it and you draw
insights from it and you
publish white papers or
use it in presentations.
Those insights are
protected by copyright.
And then the things we
use within our business
to make us more efficient
to maximize the value that
we provide to our clients.
We develop tools
and processes.
We may have, a
library of resources.
We may have
templates or models.
We may have methodology
and frameworks that we use.
We may have S.
O.
P.
S.
and even, those employee
handbooks are important
to make sure that we're
all working together.
and so those may or may not
be, under copyright law.
Copyright does not
protect methodologies.
It does protect
the expression.
So someone can't
literally copy your S.
O.
P.
S.
but they can read them and.
use them as their own.
but still, these are assets
that provide value in our
business, depending on
how developed they are,
they would be protected
under copyright law.
they are not protected
under trademark law.
And then our positioning,
our expertise, know, what we
do, our niche, who we serve,
the thought leadership, where
we combine this to add value
to the conversation, about.
Who we serve and how we do
it and, of course, our brand
and our reputation, all these
combine to create our unique
position in the marketplace.
Excuse these are.
protected by a combination
of copyright and trademark,
you our thought leadership,
all the content we create
our presentations or speaking
gigs, all of that webinars
our thought leadership is
protected by copyright law.
And, of course, our
brand would be protected
with a trademark.
and we can, of
course, have both.
Of I've created a
copyrightable, work in the
form of this presentation.
And here I have, I don't know
if you can see it against
this light background, but
I have my copyright line
here, the C in a circle
2023, Aaron Austin Law, PLC.
the law firm is my official
business entity, but my
brand is think beyond I.
P.
and I have this little, I.
P.
guy in a box who is,
part of my, trademark
with think beyond I.
P.
Now, for me, personally,
I have not registered
a trademark, for think
beyond AP, we'll tell
you why in a minute.
And so that is
exclusivity pillar.
Sustainability is
the other pillar.
The ability to,
continue regardless
of what is happening
with you as the owner.
So, if you are the only
person who's driving sales,
driving revenue, doing all
the things, your business is
on the less sustainable end.
Versus if you have some
independence and there is some
independence in your business
from you for making sales,
for driving revenue, then
it becomes more sustainable.
And it is a continuum.
for those of you who have
questions about that,
I do have a assessment
about where you are on
that, sustainability,
to continuum 'em.
And, you can find
that on my website.
I'll have that at the end.
And so the things that would,
Promote sustainability are
leverage leverage is where
you have an input, but
that the output from it is
magnified from the input.
say, in making an investment
in creating a product, we
put in that investment in
the front end, but then we
can sell it multiple times.
And so its impact is
magnified from the input.
And so generally that involves
either, the creation of tools.
It doesn't have to be
something you sell.
It can be the creation
of tools to make
you more efficient.
and, something that's product
ties that you're doing over
and over again and again,
you know, you can continue
to create that value for your
client, less expensively and
then, Your business model,
do you have a 1 to 1 custom
business model, which hard
to create efficiencies or
do you have some variety
of your business model?
So you have some things
that are 1 to several,
like, a mastermind or
group program, or 1 to many
in the form of a course.
Or a book, you don't need
to have all those things.
And I don't want
anyone to think that.
but there's more than 1
way than just having 1
on 1 custom services to
create sustainability in
your business, even just
having a systematized,
service that you can help
peel off pieces of it.
Like, you know, that.
X needs to be done, or you
have a starting point from
a template, or, you know,
that there is this piece
that doesn't involve me.
I can use a contractor for
this, or I can even use
technology for this to help
make the delivery of that 1
on 1 service more efficient.
And then protection, that is
the form of our contracts.
are we using contracts
effectively so that when we
have deliverables from our
contractors, we have work
product we're delivering
to our clients that we
make sure that we're still
owning and controlling the
rights that flow from those
deliverables and again,
that is Copyright and that's
copyright protection that
you get with those contracts.
typically for the expertise
based business, there's
always going to be
exceptions, but these are
just the typical cases.
So that is the exclusivity,
sustainability to create
the most value in our
businesses for ourselves.
What about the value
to our clients?
I hate to call it this,
but it is a little bit,
the trademarks are a little
bit of a vanity piece.
Now it's not that it's
unimportant that your clients
not be able to tell you
apart from your competitors.
It is important that your
clients can tell you apart
from your competitors, but
is the value to your clients.
In your trademark, or is
the value to your clients
in the transformation?
You provide the outcome
that they get from you.
That doesn't come from your
trademark that comes from.
The training you provide the,
research that you have the
insights that you have the
process that you have all
those things that provide
the outcome that your clients
are paying you for that will
provide the outcome that your
clients will rave about that
will provide the outcome that
will cause your clients to,
refer you on to other people.
it is not.
The trademark and so making
sure we're focusing on the
outcome of providing to
our clients and not, know,
how cute our trademark
may or may not be.
would your client.
be just as happy with you
with a different name.
And I'm going to argue that
it would be now, even though
I have obviously come to the
conclusion that copyrights,
are greater than I don't
know if that's the right
thing, but copyrights have
more value in your B2B,
expertise based business.
When you have
corporate clients.
it doesn't mean
that trademarks.
Thanks.
Are unimportant.
They are important,
but they don't really,
challenge the value of the
copyrights in your business.
we want to be able to be
distinguishable from our
competitors, but that
shouldn't be because we
have such a cool trademark
that should be because
of the work we are doing.
In our industry, getting out
there, speaking, writing,
showing our expertise, having
satisfied clients, getting
those testimonials LinkedIn.
That's the way we
distinguish ourselves.
You know, having
the positioning.
I could go back to
the positioning slide.
Those are the ways
that we create.
our unique positioning
and the trademark is
the cherry on top.
I put it this way, like,
unless you have something
to rave about, trademark
doesn't mean anything because
the trademark just attaches
to the value of the result.
So, the value of the
result has to come before
the trademark, then the
trademark, of course, and
say, okay, the value comes
from this trademark, but 1st.
You have to establish the
value and so some of you
may have many resources.
If you have limited resources,
then make sure you're
focusing on copyrights.
and then the trademarks are.
nice to have, but
not a must have.
and, I am not a trademark
lawyer and I will say on
behalf of my trademark,
lawyer colleagues that they
will say this that if there
is a trademark that it would
just hurt you in your soul.
If somebody else got it
and took it from you,
then get it registered.
but if there is another
term that could.
work just as well, almost
always there is, then,
focus on making sure you're
creating value for your
clients, becoming the go
to person in your space.
if you are serving
corporate clients,
they know who you are.
They're not Googling you.
they're not going off of.
know, how many, SEO, right?
that's warm introduction
sales and all the things
that require, getting to
build your reputation.
So that is what I
have for you today.
I don't see any comments
in the comment box.
I'm happy to.
Take any questions
if you have them
and if you don't, you can find
out, some of the things that I
mentioned are things that are
probably copyrightable because
not everything that we create,
not all the content we create.
Is copyrightable and so I
have created an assessment, a
free assessment tool that will
determine whether or not your
expertise is copyrightable.
please feel free to go to
my website, thinkbeyondip.
com and there you can
sign up, for my newsletter
and for podcast updates.
And you will also get your
expertise copyrightable.
Assessment, thank you
all for joining me.
if you have any questions,
just shoot them to me, either
on LinkedIn or I think beyond.
I.
P.
Aaron, I think beyond.
I.
P.
dot com and I will hope
to address them in the
next LinkedIn live.
Thanks so much.