Internet Law – The Business of Creativity

Yes, I’m Still Helping Creative Business Clients

It’s been a busy couple of years. I’m still working with ACT, Inc. (You probably know ACT as the college testing company). I’m in the National Programs group and help create and manage large-scale collaborations.

Every week I am asked if I’m still taking on legal work. Most of the time, I have to say “not that type” and refer the work out to other attorneys. But I do say “yes” to some projects. Those projects tend to be trademark, copyright, and creative businesses that are doing something that interests me. The trademark and copyright projects are usually handled project-by-project. But the creative business relationships (formation, consulting, contracts, etc.) are being limited to the clients who want to work on my year-long flat monthly fee basis.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions or need to see if I’m available to help.

-Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.

kevin.houchin at houchinlaw.com

Trademark Infringement & Brand Launch

– Comments Welcome.

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Have a great weekend.

Joint Works (copyright)

No, we’re not talking about creativity that originates from prison.

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:

Description of the project
What each person will contribute
Ownership %
Authorship credit
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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Introducing The Space Between Center for Creative Spirit in Business

Last week I announced that I had resigned my working relationship with Alexis Martin Neely and the Creative Business Lawyer (CBL) program. Immediately, business attorneys from all over the country asked me if I was going to start my own program, because if I did, they wanted to know about it. I was very proud of the work I was doing as part of CBL, but it became apparent that progressing down that path was not a good fit for me. I sincerely wish Alexis and the members of the CBL program the best as they move forward.

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.

No Lame Names (FREE) talk in Fort Collins

Refresh NoCo Power Lunches begin in March

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.