Hi Reader! One myth that I try to dispel is that smooth working relationships are just plain luck. They are about putting the right guardrails in place, so your clients know what to expect and aren’t making assumptions about what you want/expect/need from them. Most clients aren’t bad. They just don’t know what “good” is to you. Which is why when I write contracts, I start our kickoff meeting with the question, In a perfect world, what’s the exact process someone would go through from the…

Hi Reader! This week, I met with a client who’s dealing with someone taking images from her e-commerce shop and using them to sell knockoff products on another site. As part of our conversation, I downloaded one of the images from her shop and noticed that she didn’t have the copyright information embedded in the metadata. And I suggested she change this ASAP. I suggested this because the removal or alteration of metadata copyright information is another available avenue for a lawsuit. And…

Hi Reader! This has been a busy week; Ozzy and I left Wyoming and are halfway south to Arizona for the winter. I got the chance to shadow some experienced pickleball referees at a tournament (where Ozzy and I also were able to cheer some of our friends on who were playing). Both Ozzy and I had our routine medical appointments. And I’m getting everything organized to host the Copy + Paste Legal Week again. It’s been a little hectic, to say the least. When things are busy like this, I am so…

Hi Reader! About a week ago, Rebecca asked if I’d break down the Washington Supreme Court case on Old Navy and their misleading email sale promo subject lines. This case opened a bigger can of worms than it closed. But it comes into play when crafting email subject lines, especially holiday promotions. As a reminder, the CAN-SPAM Act regulates email marketing in the U.S., but several states have stricter laws that must be followed if you are emailing people who reside in those states….

Hi Reader, First off, a huge thank you to the dozen of you that shared what you were stuck on, obsessed with, or curious about earlier this week. You sent some great ideas, and I’ve got lots to write about in the coming weeks. I’m starting with the challenge that Jane and Pam sent, because many of you might be in the same boat and are thinking about bringing on holiday help. For product-based businesses, the holiday season is crunch time, and when you make most of your sales. But that comes…

Hi Reader! This week, I heard from a friend who got a cease and desist letter. What did she get the letter for? Using an image on her blog that she had downloaded from a “free” stock photography site. Sites like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay are great. They provide access to free images for almost any use. But they come with one huge potential pitfall, and it’s a “scam” I’ve seen dozens of times over the years. (And I got a letter for this exact reason a few years back.) How this scam works…

Hi Reader! Today, I completed a task that I do every week: backing up all my files onto an external hard drive. (Of course, I also back up into the cloud daily.) While this might seem like overkill, it came in handy a few years back when my laptop died. If you don’t know, I live in my RV full-time. About a week later, I was near Tucson and able to get a new laptop. But, even with a speedy download, it would have taken HOURS to restore my data from the cloud. Enter my handy SSD drive, which…

Hi Reader! Before my mini-sabbatical week, a client and I were chatting about a new licensing deal she was exploring. As part of that discussion, we needed to know how to terminate another contract at the end of the existing term. (Because that licensing deal wasn’t profitable and the new company had expressed interest in taking over that product line when her old contract expired.) In many contracts, renewals happen at the end of the term in one of three ways: Automatic renewal without any…

Hi Reader! Almost exactly a year ago, I decided to take a pickleball lesson. I had played a few times for fun, and it piqued my curiosity. At the time, my only goal was to learn a little more about the game, since it’s a BIG social activity in both my summer and winter RV parks. I didn’t expect to get competitive or obsessed with the sport. Fast forward one year, and I now play almost every day. I’ve also played in multiple pickleball tournaments and won some medals. And last month, I started…

Hi Reader! 30 Rock is one of my comfort shows. I watch it when I want something playing while I’m knitting or sewing, or when I’m tired and don’t want to process anything new. This week I watched the episode called Problem Solvers. In it, Tracey mentions that at the beginning of his career, he signed a bad contract that requires him to promote “Wade Boggs Carpet World” five times every time he’s on camera. And this is exactly the kind of situation I’d tell Tracey to put in his “Sh*t I’ll…

Hi Reader! This week, I dropped the third installment of the quarterly creative business legal tasks. And I’m going to challenge you to do one of those tasks this week: deciding if you are currently in the sweet spot for trademark registration. So, how do you know you are in the sweet spot and it’s time to start the trademark registration process? The first way you know is that your name is eligible, but it’s not unique enough. And someone else might come along and use the same name. Like our…

Hi Reader! One of the tricky things about being friends with your clients is that they will sometimes just shoot you a text, rather than sending an email. This happened last week when a client got a fake-looking government notice in the mail and had a question about it. She sent me a photo of the notice and asked if it was something she needed to care about. I get it, sometimes it’s easier to send a text than an email. When I’m acting as your lawyer, our conversations are protected by…