You aren't in the business of intellectual property. You're not creating or inventing anything. So, you may not give much thought to legal issues or potential problems related to intellectual property.
That can be a big mistake. No matter what kind of business you have or run, our Chicago business litigation lawyer at Ellis Legal provides some common mistakes that businesses unknowingly run into—and which can end up costing your business a lot of money.
Using Music - If you're using or playing music on or on your property, you may need a license to use it—even if you're just playing your own music playlist or from your own Apple Music, Spotify, or other subscription service. And even if the music isn't the primary focus of the business (for example, if it's just "in the background").
Licenses can be obtained in bulk through licensing services like ASCAP or BMI. But don't get caught playing music in your business without a license.
Pictures Online – just because you can pull a picture off the internet doesn't mean it's yours to use. Almost every picture is owned by someone unless it's from a free library or a subscription service. If you're in a news business or giving critique or opinion on a picture, you have a bit more freedom. But generally, don't just pull a graphic or photo that you found online for your business use or materials.
Your Own Pictures – Yes, you can get in legal trouble for using pictures that you took for your business' promotional material. You will need a photo release from anybody—including your own employees—whose picture likeness or property you use on your marketing or business materials. Just because people work for you or were at a company function doesn't mean they give consent to use their picture on your next social media ad campaign.
Protecting Your IP – When you develop a logo, a saying, a design, or something else that's uniquely yours, it can have copyright or trademark protection. You should always register your IP, to give you greater rights to sue for infringement, and to make it easier to win damages against infringers.
And if you do register IP, you need to enforce your rights against infringers. Nobody likes to sue. But if you don't, you risk that your trademarks become "generic," and you could lose your valuable IP rights. When half the world is using your brand, color scheme, saying, or logo, it's hard to argue to a court that your trademark is uniquely yours.
Using Employees – it's easy and cheap to just give an employee an assignment to design a brochure or develop a saying or musical jingle. But who owns what the employee is creating for you and your business? You or the employee?
Generally, you, as the employer, do this under the work-for-hire doctrine. But it's best to get that in writing, especially when working with outside independent contractors, where ownership of IP created for your business can get a bit murkier.
Get legal help and avoid legal problems down the road. Speak with a Chicago business litigation attorney at Ellis Legal at (312) 967-7629 today.