Who’s the Copyright Owner: How To Track Down a Copyright Owner

05 November 2021||Jenn McNeely||Branding,Intellectual Property,Small Business,Tips and Tricks

Hi Legacy Builders! Welcome back to the second lesson in the OPIP I Other People’s Intellectual Property chapter of the IP for Business Blueprint Course. I’m Jenn McNeely with JWM Designs and Marketing, and in this video lesson, I’m going to share with you my process for finding the owner or owners of copyright materials. Before you get into this lesson, make sure you review your notes on the prior lessons, where I discuss the basics of copyrights, trademarks, and fair use.

In the last lesson, I explain the importance of getting permission to use other people’s intellectual property and the potential consequences for failing to do so. Before you can get permission, you need to know who owns the rights to the intellectual property that you want to use. This is usually a fairly easy process and can be done simply by looking at the copyright notice that accompanies the work. Unfortunately, you can’t always count on there being a copyright notice attached to the work because the notice is not required for works published after March 1, 1989. Another challenge that may arise in the search for a copyright owner is when there are multiple owners of the work. In those situations, you will need to get the permission of all the owners to use the work. As you’ve probably guessed by now, there are times when you will have to do some serious detective work to find the owner. Remember, under certain circumstances, the author of a work may not have the authority to grant permission to use the work and any permission they give you could be worthless when defending yourself in court. In situations where you can’t readily identify the copyright owner simply by looking at the copyright notice, you can follow the steps in this lesson to find the owner and get the proper permissions you need for every project.

What You Can Expect: Each week I will post a new chapter on my blog and my YouTube Channel. Be sure to download the e-notebook for this course. It is packed with so much information and with space for you to take notes.

Link to e-notebook: https://bit.ly/2SIufR8

Jenn McNeely

Since I can remember, I have always enjoyed challenging myself to never be confined to one industry or career. Stepping out of my comfort zone and pushing myself to learn new skills has been a staple of my personality and my approach to life. My absolute favorite part of what I do is interacting with new people and learning more about their businesses and interests.

I help clients do more than set up a website. I help them launch their businesses. I am there for my clients before, during, and after the launch to be a resource to them. My goal is for my clients to see a return on their investment of time and financial resources. It is not enough for me to create a beautiful website for my clients. My costs are directly related to what I believe it will take to reach my client’s goals. This may mean that companies like [insert low-cost company name here] will undercut me with lower prices, but I’m okay with that. Often times their fees eventually surpass mine once you add in all the elements that I provide wholesale.

Growing your online presence from scratch takes time but when done correctly will generate great returns. I am a firm believer in transparency with my clients and want them to truly understand what it means to work with me. So, here’s to trusting the process and taking client’s businesses to the next level.