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Have a great weekend.

Nor are we talking about helping a bud roll one.

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We’re talking about when at least two people work together on a creative project.

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Unfortunately, “inadvertent” joint authorship happens all the time.

Here’s the analysis:

1.  A work is “jointly authored” automatically upon its creation if:

1) two or more authors contributed material to the work; and

2) each of the authors prepared his or her contribution with the intention that it would be combined with the contributions of the other authors as part of a single unitary work.

2. Intent AT THE TIME THE WORK IS CREATED is the controlling factor.

3. The contributions do NOT have to be equal.

4. IN the ABSENCE of a Collaboration Agreement or agreement otherwise:

• Joint authors have undivided interest in the ENTIRE WORK.  (that means even-Stephen for all the authors, even if they didn’t contribute equally.)
• Each joint author has the right to exploit the copyright, without the other’s consent.
• Each joint author has the right to license the joint work, without the other’s consent.
• Each joint author has the right to transfer their share of the ownership without the other’s consent.
• The ownership interest does NOT revert to the joint author upon one author’s death, it goes with the estate.
• Both authors have a duty to account for profits – each joint author has to pay the other the appropriate share of profits.

So, what this means to you is that before entering into any collaborative creative project, you should create a “Collaboration Agreement” that irons out the details of the project and relationship.

A collaboration agreement should include at least:

1. Description of the project
2. What each person will contribute
3. Ownership %
4. Authorship credit
5. Control of use – decision making

There are a bunch of other things your lawyer will help you with, but the things listed above are the key relationship issues to keep in mind and bring to the meeting with your attorney.

Please understand that I’m not saying “don’t collaborate” because collaborations can be incredibly powerful.  I’m saying get the deal in writing before you begin the work, even if you’re sure everything will be swell.

Things happen.

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While the CBL program was small, I knew the attorneys in the program were on to something powerful. They were on the way to changing how lawyers work with entrepreneurs from the old lose-lose hourly rate model to a model that empowers both the attorney and the client and forms a true “Trusted Advisor” (go read the book) relationship. I couldn’t give that up.

But, I couldn’t just take what I was doing with the CBL program and slap a different name on it. While I could do that legally, it didn’t feel “right.” If I was going to do my own program for small business attorneys, it needed to be the type of program I would build without the influence of someone else’s vision, style, and habits.

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I’ve kept a journal since the day my dad passed on way back on Memorial Day, 1991. My journal entry dated 7/7/09 includes a description of an organization that helps foster the spirit of creative business. I called it “The Space Between Center for Creative Spirit in Business” and I kept coming back to the concept over and over.  It would keep me awake at night.

Last week, I had a choice to make: was it time to bring The Space Between Center to life?

So, I thought about it for a little while.  Then it hit me… I could build my program for small business attorneys as the first initiative of The Space Between Center. It had been waiting for months for the right time for action.

Every day at least a few emails came in from attorneys around the country continuing to encourage me to start my own program. If you’re and entrepreneur, you shouldn’t ignore customer demand.

I formed The Space Between Center LLC last Friday. It felt REALLY GOOD!

Since then, I’ve been defining what my program would look like, how it would operate and what partners I will bring in to make it all come together. The idea is too big for me to implement alone. I found the right partners. They’re on board and almost as excited as I am.

And, inquiries from business lawyers keep coming in…

As of NOW I don’t have to say “wait just a few days.” Now I can say “go to www.spacebetweencenter.com and sign up for a free informational/introductory call on Friday, March 19^th at Noon Eastern.”

There will be other initiatives of The Space Between Center, but for now we’re focused on helping small business attorneys develop win-win relationships with clients. The program based in part on the success I’ve had implementing my flat monthly fee model over the last year. This model changed my life almost overnight.

My clients love it.

The members of the Creative Business Lawyer were having success with it in less than two months.

So, I want to share it.

I’m keeping a few new benefits of the new program secret until the call. These new elements will go beyond just learning the business model and provide some tremendous value to the members.

In case you’re wondering – no, it’s not some kind of “private coaching” scheme.

If you are an attorney and want to know what’s going on, join the call. It’s free, so it won’t hurt you to listen in.  Oh, and my friend, attorney, and marketing consultant Ben Glass will be co-hosting the call.  Ben is NOT associated with the program financially, so you know he’ll keep it real.

If you are an entrepreneur, tell your lawyer about this and ask them to listen in on the call.  If you don’t have an attorney using a flat fee monthly model, then we’ll just have to do something about that soon…

Now back to work.

Thursday, March 11th, 12 Noon to 1pm
Art Lab Fort Collins, 239 Linden St. (next to Cozzola’s Pizza)

Grab Your Brown Bag Lunch and join your marketing, design, and web friends for an informative yet entertaining lunch learning session:

Kevin Houchin, Creative Business Lawyer, presents the first in this series:

No Lame Names.

Help yourself and your clients create brands for their companies, products, or services that will be both MARKETABLE and PROTECTABLE.

Before going to law school Kevin was a graphic designer. He wasn’t one of those people who would just buy a Mac and some software from Adobe and then call himself a designer.He spent 4 years at a top university and have a BFA in Graphic Design. He started his career in the design department of a Fortune 500 company and then built an Art Department in a small advertising agency. He built his own design studio, worked as Vice President of Marketing and Internet for a retail software company, and finally provided large-scale branding and communications consulting for colleges and universities all across the United States.

Kevin has designed dozens of logos and branding systems and supervised the design and implementation of dozens more.

The hardest part of those jobs: lame names.

This session walks you through the discussions Kevin has had with his clients. If you attend the session and then follow the steps in his FREE ebook (available free at www.houchinlaw.com – just input your email address) you will understand how to help yourself and your clients create brands for their companies, products, or services that will be both MARKETABLE and PROTECTABLE. It’s not easy. It can be frustrating, but the right name is the hub of your brand and few businesses or products will succeed in today’s market without a great name.

So, what’s the problem?

The problem is that most of us don’t have data to state what the Generally Expected Performanc Results ARE.

We’ve never done the research.

Now we must.

I was approached by Michelle DeKinder-Smith with an opportunity to co-affiliate the Site Compliant program, including the FTC Toolkit with her professional market research services. You wouldn’t guess it from first glance, but Michelle has over 20 years of consumer product market research experience – including projects for some brands that you would easily recognize.

Michelle was the first market research pro to understand the implications of the new FTC rules.  We immediately hit it off and saw a way to help each other out.

The first thing we did was a survey of the people who had purchased or otherwise indicated an interest in the Site Compliant LLC products including the FTC Toolkit. I don’t know how many of you have ever worked on a market research project, but let me tell you that working with Michelle was PAINLESS, EFFICIENT, and effective.

We found out great information about the products and services we’re offering through Site Compliant – including ways to improve the offer.  We also found out that 8-10 customers though the FTC Toolkit was a great value for their money!

Now we’re ready to take it (and you) to the next level.  Michelle has created a couple solutions to help people gather and analyze customer data so that YOU CAN use your wonderful testimonials again.

REMEMBER, the NEW FTC GUIDES require the disclosure of Generally Expected Performance Data when using testimonials – especially testimonials of the “aspirational” nature.  IF YOU USE atypical/aspirational testimonials without this GEP data disclosure, your aspirational (and completely truthful) testimonial will be interpreted as a statement of generally expected performance results, likely subjecting you to accusations of “deceptive advertising” from the FTC.

Michelle and I will be doing a FREE WEBINAR on the topic of Generally Expected Performance Results and the Market Research you need to back up your claims TOMORROW at 2pm EASTERN.

Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/667018355

Again, the webinar is free, will only take an hour, and will be hugely informational and helpful if you want to use those great aspirational testimonials again.

OK, it’s time to register now.  Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/667018355

Share the word.

Again, that’s Wednesday, December 16th at 2pm Eastern. (TOMORROW!)

I’ve been doing Webinars, Blogtalkradio shows, phone interviews, magazine interviews (no TV appearances yet, but amazingly the national TV media doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to this yet…). I am also a co-creator of the new FTC Toolkit and Site Compliant program and expect to see you using the new Site Compliant Trust Seal right away.  Here’s mine:

One question has been coming up over and over – especially for bloggers.

Do I have to put a disclosure next to every affiliate link or can I do one blanket disclosure?

Based on the new rules and the interviews with FTC officials that I’ve been reading, I think you need to do BOTH. So, I set up this site as an example.

Here’s what you’ll find:

1. A Disclosure Page

Some things you’ll notice about this page:

• First, it makes the required disclosures of material connection with each organization or entity that pays me a commission for links.
• Second, it makes the statement that I intend to be compliant with the FTC rules.
• Third, it gives my contact information.
• Forth, it tells people how I’m going to disclose material connections on my site.
• Fifth, it turns the disclosure page into another marketing page by including examples of all the affiliate links!  (I think this is brilliant…, but it’s 3:49am on Thanksgiving for Pete’s sake.)
  

2. Affiliate disclosures next to every element that visitors might not think I have a material connection with.

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We’ll be posting this disclosure form to the membership area at www.sitecompliant.com for members to use as part of their membership. Yes, I know it’s short and easy enough that plenty of people are just going to steal this and use it without permission.  I can live with that if it helps a few people, but I also sincerely hope that most people will do the right thing (and find an incredible value) by going to www.sitecompliant.com, purchasing the FTC Toolkit and getting their 60-day free membership in the Site Compliant program and start using the trust seal on their site too.

YOU SHOULD BE PART OF SITE COMPLIANT starting NOW.

Is your site compliant?
Don’t risk it. Get The FTC Toolkit now! (I’m an affiliate and co-owner)

OH! And I hope you have a GREAT Thanksgiving, 2009. We all have a great deal to be thankful for.

I’ve been working on this day and night since the new rules were released on October 5^th. And, I’m not alone–I put together a full team of legal, editorial, marketing, and technical pros to bring this product and system together as quickly as possible, with the most thorough tools and systems as we could in time for people to implement our recommendations before the new FTC rules become effective 21 days from today on December 1, 2009.

This has really been a ride, and I hope it’s a ride that is just starting to gain speed.

It came together like this.

On Monday, October 5, 2009 – just 5 weeks ago, the FTC released the new rules. Joel sent me a quick email as he was getting on a plane to return from London after a speaking gig saying that when he got back into the office that Wednesday, he was going to have questions about how the rules were going to affect his information product business. On Tuesday the 6^th I downloaded and did a quick review on the rules. Joel and I had some brief conversations on Wednesday.  That night, the 7^th, I got home and felt something I can only describe as a “vibration.”

I was vibrating inside, kind of out of sync, excited and a bit off balance. I knew something was about to happen and as soon as I identified that my vibrating had something to do with the FTC rules (but not what yet), I knew I had to clear my schedule on Thursday the 8^th and really engage my full attention on the rules.

So, I cleared my schedule to the best of my ability on Thursday the 8^th, dug in, and wrote my initial blog post with analysis of the major issues that affect the businesses of my information entrepreneur clients. I sent the draft essay to a friend to proof-read before I posted it. The 8^th was my daughter’s 6^th birthday, so I knocked off work early to cook her favorite dinner (my famous garlic roast chicken and mashed potatoes). While cooking I came up with the idea to expand (greatly) on the essay and create a product with analysis, standard disclosures, forms, stock agreements, enforcement letters, etc to help every marketer understand the rules, bring their marketing into compliance, and remain compliant as enforcement actions by the FTC clarify the rules through real-life actions instead of the hypothetical examples included in the rules.

I emailed my friend Joel Rothman with the idea because I knew it was too big of a task to do on my own. Joel Rothman is a leading attorney in the area of nutritional supplements law (a major area/target of the FTC with these rules), and an intellectual property litigator. Rothman and I met and became friends when I needed back-up on the iFart v. Pull My Finger iPhone trademark litigation.  I knew he would be interested and be the perfect lawyer to bring into the team. Rothman and I scheduled a call for Monday the 12^th to discuss working together on the project.  I went back to cooking and had a great birthday celebration with the most incredible little girl on the planet.

The next morning the edited version of my essay came back and I posted it to my blog and shared it with Joel Comm to see what he thought.  My blog traffic was spiking to an all-time one-day high in unique visitors, then Joel asked if he could post it to his blog at www.joelcomm.com as a guest blogger.  Of course I said “YES” because Joel’s blog is one of the most-visited and most respected internet entrepreneurship blogs on the planet. Traffic spiked again.  I knew this was going to be something big because my body and spirit started vibrating again. I was already getting blogtalkradio.com guest requests.

Monday came. At about 2pm I had the conversation with Joel Rothman. He introduced me to Hugo Ottolenghi, a very experienced business journalist and editor. We decided to work together to put together the “FTC Toolkit” product. I decided to bring in another lawyer friend, Julie Yates, to help craft the standard disclosures, agreements, and policy documents. The legal authoring team was in place. I left the office to pick up my kids.

While I was running an errand with the kids on the way home my cell phone rang. It was Joel Comm, my internet marketing client. Joel said “this FTC thing is big, how about we do a paid conference call where you answer some questions for everyone?” I replied “how about I let you know Rothman and I are putting together an info-product on that topic.” Comm replied “you’re thinking big, how about we do a joint venture and run this though my team and go big.”  I said “sure” and we scheduled a meeting on Wednesday morning in Joel Comm’s office, with his marketing and technical team in the room and my legal writing team on the phone. (Rothman and Ottoleghi are in Florida.)

On the morning of Wednesday, October 14^th, the team met and the FTC Toolkit and the Site Compliant program and trust seal were born. Then we went to work. We knew we had to move fast, but be thorough. After all, there was a lot of analysis that needed to be done, and we had to have the product ready to launch well BEFORE the rules go into effect on December 1, 2009. We set what is normally considered a VERY aggressive launch date: November 10, 2009, with a pre-launch Webinar on November 9^th.

Now, the Webinar is only a few hours away and almost all the seats are spoken for. The days and weeks since that meeting on October 14^th have been intense with early mornings, late nights, and weekends of working on the project. (and trying to serve clients during the day too…).

Tonight the energetic vibration I felt on October 7^th manifests as the launch of the FTC Toolkit and the Site Compliant system. This project is motivated by an intention to serve as many people as we possibly can. I believe in helping small businesses (and large businesses) reach their potential. I think the creativity found in small business is divine. Helping businesses understand these FTC rules and stay out of trouble is an opportunity that came out of the blue, but I feel the idea was inspired, and so was the action, or else the team would not have been able to put such a comprehensive system together so quickly. Honestly, I hope a lot of people invest in the Toolkit and join the Site Compliant program, but even if they don’t, I’m still incredibly proud of the work we’ve done in the last few weeks and look forward to seeing how the next chapter of this adventure unfolds.

Later this week I get to travel to Reno, NV to present to Continuing Legal Education workshops at a bar association event. Thursday morning I lead a session based on my book Fuel the Spark: 5 Guiding Values for Success in Law and Life, and that afternoon I do a session on Social Media for Attorneys.

Big week.  Wish me luck.

I’ll be leading a Webinar with my friend, marketing partner on this project, client, and internet marketing Guru, Joel Comm next Monday, November 9^th at 6:00pm MOUNTAIN time. The Webinar is free, but space is limited. You can sign up HERE.

Again: sign up for the free Webniar Here.  Do it now.  Space will fill up quickly.

The new rules go into effect December 1, 2009.  Yes, in only a few weeks.  So are you ready?

Do you even know where to begin?

No?

I didn’t think so.

Well, don’t feel like the Lone Ranger. Most people don’t – and it’s not your fault because the new guidelines were just released a few weeks ago and they are subject to some different interpretations.

Joel and I will be discussing many of the implications of the new rules and introducing the project, product, and system that I’ve been working on almost non-stop ever since the new rules came out. Really, I’ve been dreaming about this stuff. Just ask my wife and friends – they’re sick of listening to me talk about this. Of course as a co-author of this product I’m hugely invested and probably a bit biased, but I’m convinced this is really going to help a lot of people quickly figure out what they need to do.

The product is a guide to the new rules we’re calling the FTC Toolkit. It is a thorough guide to the new rules including analysis, self-assessment checklists, sample disclosures, sample agreements, and sample policies. Incredible stuff here because I’ve not been working on this alone. I’ve assembled a team of lawyers, marketers, and communications professionals with over 75 years of combined experience in the relative material to develop the Toolkit.

We haven’t stopped there, because the FTC isn’t stopping there. These rules are going to evolve as the FTC starts enforcing the rules against people who don’t comply. So, people who purchase the FTC Toolkit will be able to join the Site Compliant(tm) program and receive ongoing updates to the Toolkit content and other timely information as the FTC begins enforcement.

And, we didn’t stop there. Members of the Site Compliant(tm) program will also be able to apply for and be able to use what we believe is the Internet’s first compliance “Trust Seal” that they will be able to proudly display on their site as a signal to consumers and to the FTC that they, as a member of the program, are taking a proactive and affirmative approach to being and remaining compliant.

This has taken a lot of work by a bunch of people over the last few weeks. If you were going to invest in this content from a lawyer on your own you would be need to budget at least $50,000 in legal fees, because my team has at least that much otherwise-billable time invested in this product.

Join us on the free Webinar to learn more. Again, that’s THIS MONDAY, November 9th at 6:00pm Mountain. Sign up HERE.

Remember to sign up NOW because space on the Webinar is limited.

… Then Vladeck (speaking of David Vladeck, Director of the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection) turned to the new FTC Endorsement Guides.  Everyone held their breath.

Before I go further it is important to remember that Vladeck comes from a consumer protection background.   He led the Public Citizen Litigation Group for 20+ years.

On the endorsement guides Vladeck’s message was clear:

1. Disclaimers like “results not typical” are useless and will be attacked by FTC.

2. Advertisers who make claims “will be held responsible for their claims.”

3. If your promotion relies only on testimonials “you will have a problem with us.”

Vladeck described this area for the FTC as a “target rich enviornment” in which they intend to pursue violators using all the resources at their disposal.  And when the 1000+ enforcement personnel at the FTC run out, FTC plans to call on the state attorneys’ general.  When the AG’s are too busy, Vladeck says that they will do as the FDA does and publish warning letters on the internet in order to “bully companies into compliance.”

Despite the backpeddling FTC has done in the media recently, Vladeck made it clear that he will enforce Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the endorsement guides.  It was as if Vladeck was drawing imaginary targets on foreheads around the room…

I spoke to several attorneys and CEOs at the reception that evening about the regulatory problem the enforcement guides present and everyone agreed that the problem is very serious.  One observed, candidly, that the problem was that “you never know what marketing is doing until it is too late.”

After all, lawyers and regulatory execs are considered “sales killers.”  We are never consulted by marketing in advance of a promotion for fear we will put the kibosh on the latest profitable social media marketing strategy.

So what’s next from the FTC?  Who knows.  After all, it’s a “target rich environment.”

For the full article. Visit Joel’s blog HERE.

Joel and I are working together on a new product and program to help companies of all sizes and in all niches become and remain compliant with the new rules. I should have more news about that to share with you on Thursday or Friday of this week.  If you are interested in helping promote this product, email me.

Last night it was featured on The Daily Show.

What does all this prove? It proves that a laugh is worth at least a buck. iFart Mobile sells for $0.99 on the App Store. I don’t know the exact sales numbers, but I’m betting over 500,000 people have purchased the app by now.

A LAUGH IS WORTH A BUCK.

It also shows that when you become wildly successful with a creative endeavor, there is going to be something that comes along to complicate the success. In this case it was a competitor. It seems like there is always some price for success.

Here’s the segment: (evidently I’m not a “Real” lawyer… )  :-)