5 Easy Ways to Legally Protect Your Digital Products - Amira Irfan

Selling digital products like courses, templates, downloads, or memberships? Then you must know how to legally protect your hard work and income. In this session, business lawyer and entrepreneur Amira will walk you through five simple but powerful legal steps every digital creator should take—without the legal jargon or overwhelm.

Work with me: https://aselfguru.com/work-with-me/

Subscribe to my YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aselfguru

Website: www.aselfguru.com

[00:00:00]:
Hi guys. Welcome to this video lesson on the five easy ways to legally protect your digital products. So whenever there's someone who sets up a coaching call or an online business consult with me or even in my Facebook group, do you know the most important question or the common question I get is about digital products. Like they will always ask me how to protect their digital products, whether it's crafts, printables, ebooks, coloring books, courses, templates or anything else. So this video lesson is going to be super helpful for you if you also would like to learn more more. Now before we get started, if there's nothing else you remember from today's lesson, I want you guys to remember that legal is the glue that holds your business together. And I put together this quote myself because I watched my own dad's business get sued for $90,000 and it could have been avoided if my dad had used a proper legal contract with the person that he had hired. So that's why I became a lawyer.

 [00:01:00]:
Because I wanted to help other entrepreneurs like my dad avoid making legal mistakes. Stay tuned till the very end of this lesson because I have a free legal guide as a gift for you which I will show you how to grab. Now a little bit about me. My name is Amira Irfan. I'm the business lawyer, entrepreneur and coach behind aselfgrew.com you can learn more about me by simply visiting my website right here, aselfgrew.com I've had the honor of being featured on more than 200 plus media outlets and also I've helped 50,000 some entrepreneurs in my 13 plus years of working as a lawyer. I'm also really honored to have 200 plus 55 star customer reviews and it just warms my heart and makes this whole process and this whole business worthwhile when we receive a customer love note, which we do very frequently. So I started my online business while working full time as a lawyer and now I basically coach other entrepreneurs and show you guys how to keep your business legal and how to make money online. And this is me on TV on Ticker News also sharing the five things to keep businesses safe online.

[00:02:13]:
Now raise your hand if you've ever felt confused, frustrated or intimidated by the legal side of your business and you have no idea how to legally protect your digital products or business. You're not alone. This is why I put together this lesson because you will learn the five easy ways to legally protect your digital products. We're going to cover cover important things like a privacy policy. Why it's a Must a digital piracy, which is what it is, and copyright law, copyright notice that you should be giving in your digital products, disclosures, disclaimers, terms and conditions for your digital product and some bonus legal tips like having to do with Americans with Disabilities act and how to ensure compliance, whether it's your website or your digital products. And then kind of the reasons why you need to have all these documents in place and some common legal misconceptions. And last but least, I will show you how to create these legal documents by using legal templates that I put together to give you complete protection and peace of mind. Now why is this important? Well, obviously, you know, to avoid lawsuits, right? Because it's really disturbing that according to the Small Business Administration survey, 53% of businesses owner, business owners face a lawsuit every year.

[00:03:28]:
And I believe that because, you know, I saw my dad's business get sued. I've been working as a lawyer for over a decade and I've seen so many hundreds and thousands of entrepreneurs getting into legal issues. So it's very disturbing that about approximately 12 million lawsuits are filed against small business owners. And a typical liability lawsuit will cost you more than $50,000. And in our case, it cost my dad $90,000. So it's so important for you to take legal steps and have to protect yourself and anything that you create. Now I also have to give you my legal disclaimer and we'll kind of go into disclaimers a little bit later in the lesson that why they're so important. But all of the information that I'm going to share is for your informational educational purposes only.

[00:04:20]:
It doesn't constitute legal advice. Even though I'm a lawyer, I'm not your lawyer. So let's now get into the actual lessons. Right? So also I'm going to cover some mistakes that you should avoid. The first mistake that I see a lot of entrepreneurs making with their digital business is not having a privacy policy on their website or on the sales page that they're using to sell digital goods or products. So a privacy policy is a legal page that informs the people who purchase from you, your customers or the people that visit your site, what information you will collect from them and how you're going to use it. So for example, I sell legal templates. So in order for me to sell that digital product, I need your name, your email address, your credit card information.

[00:05:08]:
Right? So in other words, all of that stuff that I'm collecting from you is considered personal information. So the law says that I must now give you A privacy statement, a notice letting you know what I'm going to do with that information. Otherwise you risk getting into audits, fines by the Federal Trade Commission. And I've also shared some examples that if you just simply click on their website you will see all these small to big business owners that have gotten in legal trouble for not complying with the different privacy laws out there. So there's quite a few to worry about. But in a nutshell, you know we have the toughest privacy law in the world, which is General Data Protection Regulation GDPR that we all have to comply with whether we're in the European Union or not. And there are serious hefty penalties for non compliance. We're talking millions of dollars or 4% of your revenue.

 [00:06:01]:
We also have a recent regulation, California Consumer Privacy Act. So if you have customers from California purchasing from, or you have just simply even have visitors from California visiting your website, for example, then you need to give them special rights that they're afforded under the law. Otherwise you also risk getting fined or sued for, you know, more than thousands of dollars here. So the takeaway here is, and the common question I get is like, where do I post the privacy policy? Well, if you have a website, post it on your site and in the footer section of your website and if you have a sales page for your product, then definitely posted in the sales, on the sales page in the footer section. Now let's talk about digital piracy and copyright law. So under the US law copyright protection is automatic. So it means that anytime you create a product, digital or physical, in a tangible form, you have right away copyright protection and you can take legal action against someone who infringes upon your work or uses it without your authorization. Right.

[00:07:10]:
So if you register with the copyright office, then that gives you some more protection because now you can sue the person, the infringer for damages and get lots of money. So for example, let's say you created a craft, right or something that you can file for copyright protection and protect it from unauthorized, you know, copying or use. Now what is digital piracy? So it's a really common issue obviously where you know, someone will steal your content, someone will use, use your product. So in other words, if someone is unauthorized and they're using your copyright materials, whether it's your crafts, your printables, your music, your films, your, your software, anything else that you created without your permission, they're copying it, they're stealing it, or even distributing it or selling it again, that all kind of runs into all of those violations Right. So, for example, I sell legal templates. Since they're my original work, they are protected under copyright law automatically from the time that I created them. So in other words, you cannot copy them without my permission. Now, if you do, then you obviously risk facing a copyright infringement lawsuit and you will end up paying a lot of legal damages.

[00:08:24]:
So another thing is that why when somebody purchases from you, you can give them a license to use that product however they wish, or you can put some restrictions on it. So for example, if purchases the legal templates from me, then they get the one license to use those, that template for their particular business, and then that doesn't result in copyright infringement. So I just wanted to clarify that, that as the copyright owner, you can give legal rights to how you want your product or your, you know, specific services even to be used by others. And the other thing you have to do is. Well, before we get into that, let's quickly talk about what's protected under copyright law, because that's another common question. Get. So a lot of different things are protected. So anything in the original work of authorship is protected.

 [00:09:13]:
So we're talking books, blog posts, scripts, poems, musical compensations, paintings, drawings, industrial designs, computer software. Now, another thing to keep in mind is that when it comes to crafts, it's important to remember that it does not protect the functional object, but only the artistic expression, the design. Right? So, for example, you have a T shirt and there's a design that you created, it's unique, and you didn't copy anybody else, then that's protected under copyright, but the T shirt itself is not. Okay, so copyright also does not protect ideas, names or titles or slogans or short phrases for the titles and the names and things like that. You need trademark protection. Now, another common question I get is, can I sell things with popular characters on it, such as Disney, right? Or any, any of the other characters? Well, that's a big, big, big no. Do not sell crafts that feature any other person's character, image or logo without first reviewing their intellectual property terms and conditions. So all of these copyright owners, they get to decide how they want their products to be used, and they'll have their own terms and conditions.

 [00:10:28]:
So you never want to assume that you could just use them. Don't use Disney's logos or images, for example. Well, I'll even share a lawsuit where Disney's pursuing a business owner for using their, their stuff. So make sure that all your designs that are, that you are creating are original works, right? You're not using someone else's Photos, graphic design elements, or copying another artwork. Also, if you're selling on Etsy, for example, then Etsy will also take this stuff very seriously. They will remove or ban you if you sell a product that infringes upon somebody else's intellectual property. So as a matter of fact, I had somebody set up a call with me last week and she was selling on Etsy and she had faced that situation, but she also wanted to know how she could avoid copyright infringement and how she could get like legal rights to use somebody else's intellectual property. So this thing came up very recently and that if you're also wondering the same thing, then this is what you would need.

[00:11:29]:
You would need what's called a license agreement. So let's say you wanted to use somebody else's design or an element of a design or anything like a photo, log, logos, or, you know, videos even. You would use what's called a license agreement to obtain legal rights to use somebody else's intellectual property. You may have to pay them a fee or may not, depending on your negotiations. So I have that template in my legal store if you would like to get it, in case you need that. And also if you're not sure about any of this stuff always, you can book a call with me and I'm happy to guide you because I know when it comes to intellectual property, it can be complicated and it's not always easy to understand another party's terms and conditions. A lot of times people will book a call with me because they're not clear about like, hey, can I use this website's photos a certain way? Or can I do this or can I not do that? And that's where a lawyer can really help because we review these things day in, day out. And I can guide you as to what you can and cannot do.

 [00:12:29]:
Now, what happens if somebody steals your content? So you have a couple of options. The first is you can send them a cease and desist letter that will basically make it very clear to them that they violated your copyright. And then you give them the opportunity to take that content down, remove it, Right? So if you need that template, I give it to you for free. If you simply visit the freebies page on my website, you can download that template absolutely free. Because I know that that's an issue that can come up sometimes. The other thing is, if it's a website, for example, that's cop your content, you can also do what's called a DMCA takedown notice. So there's a, you know, copyright Act, Digital Millennium Copyright act, that allows you to contact the online service provider, such as the website host or search engine, and let them know that your copyright material has been infringed upon. You would provide some information, like right here, the name, the URL, the proof, and then the service provider will then take the necessary steps to get that content removed from the website.

 [00:13:36]:
Now, another mistake that you want to avoid as a creator, right? So if you have a digital product, it's your legal responsibility to put people on notice letting them know that, hey, they can't copy your stuff. Don't assume somebody to just like right away know all this stuff, because not everybody understands copyright law. So you must give what's called a copyright notice in your digital products. So you should have a copyright page. It's an absolute necessity. It basically tells your customers, your readers, if you have a website, that you are the sole owner of your work, that you're sharing, that they're not permitted to reuse or publish it without your explicit written consent. So this stops people from copying your digital products and profiting from your hard work. And now another common question I get is what to include or how to write this language or what language do I need to post, right? So I've given you an example.

 [00:14:33]:
So this is how the language would look. You would have the copyright notice itself, right? And then the symbol, the publication year, your, the business name, and if you have, and the All Rights Reserve statement right here, which explains that they cannot reproduce the work as their own. And if it's a book, for example, you want to also include the ISBN number, any other legal permissions or rights that you're giving to them, your trademark notice, if you have a trademark, and then your contact information. So let's say somebody does want to use your information or somebody does want to use your design, at least give them the opportunity very clearly in that copyright notice to be able to contact you by email and so forth. So this is like the very basic language. I actually have a template which is the copyright notice and disclaimer template for digital products for everything that we just discussed. You know, printables, ebooks, courses. So you're welcome to take a look at that, which kind of gives you the exact language that you should have in your digital products.

 [00:15:36]:
The bonus legal tip I have for you is use watermarks. So this is another good way to protect your digital products. And it will make it harder for somebody to steal your work because they won't be able to use it without the watermark. And this just Kind of, you know, prevents other people from copying your work without your permission. Now, the third mistake that you want to avoid, and I see some entrepreneurs making, is that not having a disclaimer to limit your legal liability. Remember how we started this video lesson with me giving my legal disclaimer to you guys? Same thing. So no matter what kind of content that you're sharing, you should always have a disclaimer page to limit your legal liability. If it's your website or if it's your digital products.

 [00:16:21]:
It basically lets people know, your customers or your readers, like what information, anything that they're getting out of that product is at their own risk, right? So this way what happens is that if somebody relies on the information that you're sharing and they suffer a negative consequence, they can come after you for legal damages. It could be like, for example, an affiliate product that you're recommending where you're earning a commission, it's a third party product. The next thing you know, somebody doesn't like that product or there's a harm or some kind of a negative consequence to that person, they can come after you for legal damages if you don't have these disclaimers in place. So make sure to tailor it to your niche. And, and also, under the Federal Trade Commission rules, you must disclose your affiliate relationships, right? So you are legally required to, you know, give what's called an affiliate disclosure if you are going to be sharing affiliate links. Sometimes, you know, you create a course or you create an ebook and you want to share all these helpful affiliate products, you know, so what you want to do is you always need to give an affiliate disclosure. And here's a sample language that you're welcome to use. So if it's, for example, a printable course or ebook and you're sharing affiliate links, where you're going to earn a commission from, you need to let people know that, hey, I will earn a small commission if you purchase through my link.

 [00:17:43]:
Please see Full disclosure for more information. And this is where, if you have a website, you need to link to the full disclaimer page on your website so that people can read the whole policy. And again, if you need any of these legal documents, you're welcome to take a look at my legal bundles and my templates to get done with all of this. It's pretty easy. I made the whole process seamless and very quick for you. So if you don't have a disclaimer or disclosure, then once again, you could get sued, you could get audited, fined by the Federal Trade Commission. And this has happened frequently to a lot of people. So make sure you follow the rules.

 [00:18:21]:
And also if you don't give a disclaimer, then you're just honestly opening yourself to bad possibilities, right? Because there's no reason not to include one. And especially it makes you look like a professional because you'd be so surprised. Like so many times, like, it gives me so much joy when I'm doing a website legal audit for a customer. And, and at the same time, it breaks my heart when I'm doing this audit and I see absolutely no disclaimer. And then other times I will see a disclaimer, but it needs a little more work. So that's where I can help you. But if you have nothing, then obviously I have to give you the whole template. But it's just, you know, it's just something that you just want to avoid, right? Like you want to make sure from the very beginning, do things the right way, look like a professional, not an amateur who doesn't take his work or her work seriously.

 [00:19:09]:
So make sure that you always have a disclosure, disclaimer statement and you can have it all on one page. So next thing is that, do I need a disclaimer on my website and in my digital products? So yes, if you have a website, you should always have it on your site and also in your digital products. And in addition to that, if you have affiliate links that you're sharing, then you need to give the affiliate disclosures as well help. Now, any questions so far? You're welcome to let me know or reach out. So the next mistake I want to talk about is, and this one is really important and pay attention please, is not having terms and conditions for your digital products. So terms and conditions are a legal contract with your customers. So guys, take them seriously and they will help you prevent all kinds of situations. They will help you fight chargeback situations.

[00:19:59]:
They will. They're like your best friend. Okay? So they're also referred to as terms of use, terms of service, End User Agreement. If you're selling digital products such as software, artwork, photographs, anything, crafts, anything, it's important to use what's called End User License Agreement. So these agreements let your customers know how they can use your product and they also protect against unauthorized user distribution. They also protect your intellectual property from being stolen. And this is the area where you include the governing law provisions like where and how legal disputes will be resolved. So sometimes, you know, somebody could get, you could get into an ugly dispute with a customer over your refund policy.

 [00:20:43]:
You want to be able to let them know where which laws are going to govern, Right? And this legal page also outlines your refund exchange policies. So keep in mind that without proper terms and conditions on your site, you have no legal recourse if there's a dispute between you and your customer. So they're important to avoid legal disputes, protect your intellectual property from being stolen, clearly outline the expectations of both parties, and avoid refunds and exchanges. So I'll give you another example. So in my terms and conditions, since I have my customers who can become affiliates and earn a generous 40% commission, I make it very clear to my customers or my affiliates in my terms and conditions that they're allowed to use my photos, but my product photos only, strictly for the affiliate marketing purposes. So these are the kind of things that legal rights or grants that you can give right. And every business is unique. You may allow your customers to use your product a certain way.

 [00:21:41]:
You may allow them to print them but not sell them, whatever it may be. You can kind of have a custom tailored, you know, terms and conditions where your customers are very clear about what they can or cannot do you. The next most important step, and this is another one that entrepreneurs often miss, is that it's not enough to just have these terms and conditions, you also need to have your customers click to accept them before they make a purchase from you. So that here's a sample of what that looks like. So in other words, at the checkout process, you would have them click here to accept your terms and conditions in order to be legally bound. And again, you can use this later on as evidence to fight a chargeback situation or anything else. But you need this now. Bonus Legal tip.

[00:22:27]:
If you have a website or you have digital products like videos where you, you know, courses or anything like that, you want to always make sure that you're making them accessible to people with disabilities, right? So whether it's the Americans with Disabilities act, the ADA, or international accessibility laws, they basically tell you that you cannot discriminate against people with disabilities. So you want to make sure your content is meeting those standards. These are international standards and guidelines that we all have to comply with. And unfortunately, in the last couple of years, as a lawyer, I've seen a huge like double the amount of lawsuits being brought against people and business owners and website owners that just simply don't comply with this law and they don't make any effort to make their products or their site accessible. So you want to avoid all of that and to learn more, simply look into My legal bundle for ADA website compliance, that gives you everything that you need. But you know, just make sure that your products, like, if it's a video, add captions. If it's like a picture, you know, add the alt text on your site, things like that. But those are just scratching the surface.

[00:23:35]:
Again, to learn more, simply, you know, visit my site where I kind of walk you through more information as well as I give you the legal bundle that you need. Now, to recap, you need all these legal protections. Why? Because, number one, to avoid lawsuits, comply with the laws, whether it's privacy laws, Federal Trade Commission laws, you know, to protect your intellectual property, outline your terms and conditions for how your product should be used, disclose affiliate relationships, and as I keep referring back to this theme of looking like a professional and being a professional, right? So now let's talk about some legal misconceptions that people have. Sometimes I hear I'm not making any money from my business, so I don't need a privacy policy. Listen, guys, the law doesn't differentiate between you making money or not making money. Just like taxes, right? Like we all have to pay taxes. So it's the same concept here. So you need a privacy policy on your site for your digital products, whether you are making money or not.

 [00:24:36]:
That's just a legal requirement that you have to fulfill, otherwise you risk getting into legal trouble. And we shared those cases with you here. The second thing is like, I'm just a small fish who's going to sue me. That's another big misconception because I'll again refer back to my dad's story because it's near and dear to my heart. He got sued when he was only in his second year of business. He wasn't even making $90,000 when he got sued for $90,000. And his personal assets were at risk. So you know, the loss.

 [00:25:08]:
So again, it can. Lawsuits come in all shapes and sizes. Even the last lawsuit. When I was working for my law firm, we helped settle a client for half a million dollars because our intellectual property was compromised again, used by somebody else. Same same situations that we just covered. And we had to go after and sue the infringement infringer for copyright infringement. Another client I know, she made the legal mistake of just grabbing an image from Google and posting it on her site. And guess what? She ended up paying $8,000 in damages for that.

 [00:25:39]:
Another one paid like $5,000 because she didn't have a refund or exchange policy. And her customer and her got into a really nasty legal dispute. And here's another example of Disney. You know, they're cracking down on copyright infringement. So they are also going after a business owner who basically copied, you know, they started selling like mouse eared and other Disney items on Etsy, ebay, Amazon. So again, you just never ever know when you get into a legal problem. So how do you create legal documents? So first thing is that you could always work with a lawyer like me. This is one of the services that I offer where right, a custom, you know, privacy policy, terms and conditions for your products, your disclaimers that you need, copyright notice disclaimers, anything that you need basically tailored to your specific business to give you complete peace of mind.

[00:26:33]:
The second option which you can also do is you could purchase legal templates from a lawyer. Right? So I also sell legal templates. You have that option. You could easily grab my copyright notice disclaimer template for digital products and get the same lawyer level protection without the hefty, you know, legal fees. So you have both options. Now let's talk about the free gift that I have for you as promised. If you want to avoid more legal mistakes, costly legal mistakes in your business, then please go ahead and download the free legal guide that I have put together for you and learn how to avoid those mistakes. Now lastly, I want to thank you for being with me here today.

[00:27:13]:
Take a moment to give yourself a pat on the back because now you know how to protect your business and your digital products. And sign up for my free legal guide to avoid more costly mistakes in your business. And I can't wait to see you as a legally protected entrepreneur. If you have any other questions, please reach out. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel here where I share more business legal tips as well as some personal insights on my Instagram and my Facebook group here. And thank you so much for being with me here today. I will see you guys next time.