Blogging Legally 101

Ruth is a licensed attorney in the state of Arizona but is not your lawyer. As always Mat and Dave are not lawyers. In short, we suggest you contact your own lawyer or hire one if anything we talk about scares you or sparks your interest!

For those that blog, create content of any type, post content on social networks, or really have a business - we suggest you give a listen and look at the resources.

IP Assignment - Intelectual Property Assignment is something you should look into if you are hiring writers, graphic designers or any other content creator that doesn't work for you. It is a type of contract that gives you IP over some content that was created for you. Some examples would include a blog post, photo or logo.

Using Photos and IP - if you think you can use any image you find online for your business, please think again. The same goes for using music and politicians - in recent years there have been a number of times when a party (red or blue) used music from an artist without their permission.

Ruth's Rules - Think about what you are going to post before you post it. Give yourself 24 hours to calm down before posting something while angry. Or else you may be an example of How Your Brand Can Reduce the Risk of Reputation Nightmares in the future.

Is a custom logo a trademark? It depends is, of course, the answer but likely it isn't as original as you think.

Lastly, per Ruth, she shares her two rules that anyone and everyone should follow.

Dont post something online unless you would be okay with it on the front page of the newspaper.

Always assume that anything you post online is going to be seen by the following four people - your best friend, your mom, your boss, and your worst enemy. Do you feel comfortable with all of those people reading it?

Episode 75 Mentioned Tools & Resources

How Your Brand Can Reduce the Risk of Reputation Nightmares

Being a Legal Author: When the Publisher Drops Your Book

Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement