I was surprised to see a favorite non-profit had committed an illegal act. On the third page of a recent newsletter, they reprinted an item from Reader’s Digest. It was germane to their mission, and they kindly included a credit line. Still, they broke the law. Which law? Copyright law. Unless they formally obtained permission from … Read more
You’re responsible for your organization’s newsletter, and the other day, you read a great item in a magazine. It’s perfect for your organization’s audience, so you reprint it in your newsletter. If you didn’t get permission to do so, you’ve just broken the law. “Wait!” you protest. “I put the name of the magazine under … Read more
One of the most powerful forms of legal protection is also one of the easiest to obtain. Under federal copyright law, you can declare your ownership of an article, blog, website, or similar creation simply by affixing a legal copyright notice to it. (Mandatory legal disclosure: I am not an attorney, nor have I played … Read more
A common source of confusion for many company owners and marketers is the world of copyrights and trademarks. While I’ll never claim to be an attorney or an expert on intellectual property, working in the advertising and marketing industry for many years has given me a good practical education in these legal methods for protecting … Read more