What Is DMCA And Does It Apply To My Business?

What Is DMCA And Does It Apply To My Business?

If you are more or less aware of digital trends and developments, you have probably heard about the war that Taylor Swift declared on YouTube. This is one of the most prominent examples of a DMCA claim and its consequences.

To get a better idea of how DMCA applies to your business, it’s important to take a look at the definition and the current DMCA laws.

What is the DMCA: A Quick Overview

DMCA stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Enacted by Congress in 1998, the act was one of the biggest modifications to the US Copyright Act. Such changes were needed to protect intellectual property (copyright) in the face of new interactions stemming from the use of internet-based communication channels.

Having a DMCA policy on one’s website is a really good idea. Very often, it’s not featured individually but rather included in the website’s terms and conditions. (See here for questions about Website Terms and Conditions) The clause outlines how the company will respond to take-down notices for the removal of copyrighted material from the website.

Standard DMCA policies provide information about what a copyright infringement is, how a claim can be filed in the case of a DMCA violation, and what information a claim should include.

Protecting Your Own Copyrighted Work:

When looking at what a DMCA is, it’s also important to point out that it protects your intellectual property against copyright infringement. If you discover that somebody has been using your content without permission, you can file a DMCA claim. A DMCA notice needs to be filled out correctly in order to be valid. DMCA law suggests that the notice should feature the following elements:

The physical or electronic signature of the copyright holder
Identification of the copyrighted work and the infringement that has occurred, as well as the place where the copyrighted work has been published (a website, YouTube video, social media post, etc.)
The contact information of the copyright holder
A statement on behalf of the copyright holder that explains the respective use has not been authorized
A signed statement that the information included in the DMCA claim is accurate

The Importance of Ensuring DMCA Compliance:

Due to the fact that more and more online platforms allow for user-generated content to be uploaded, DMCA claims are proliferating. A part of the DMCA policy is to offer the platform protection against claims that result from content uploaded by a third party.

Take-down letters can still be sent to website owners for the purpose of removing the copyrighted material. The online platform, however, is exempted from liability whenever there’s no knowledge or intentional abuse that the material was copyrighted by someone else.

Both copyright owners and web service providers can find it difficult to navigate the DMCA clauses. In such instances, a consultation with an experienced legal professional will be of paramount importance. Through a legal consultation, both copyright protection and DMCA exemptions will be explained and understood much better.

If you don’t know how to address copyright issues or how to craft a DMCA clause for your website, get in touch with a lawyer that specializes in intellectual property. A single consultation will be sufficient to answer your most pressing questions.

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What Are Website Terms and How Do They Protect Your Business?

While most people will skim through terms and conditions (at best!), having such a page on your website is of utmost importance.

The specifics depend on the website niche, the types of information, and the functionalities that the website gives access to. Legally speaking, terms and conditions are rules by which website visitors have to abide in order to access the respective content or service.

Website Terms and Conditions: A Brief Overview:

So many website owners do not put a lot of thought into crafting the terms and conditions page. In fact, they opt for a generic template – a serious mistake. The respective page is important because it can limit your liability in case a visitor or a customer may be considering taking you to court. Its purpose is to also protect the content and suggest permissible uses. Whenever a legal issue occurs, a court will examine the content of the terms and conditions page to determine its comprehensiveness.

The content of the document will vary from one website to another. Some of the most common topics that website terms and conditions may cover include:

Content copyright information, a definition of misuse
A disclaimer of liability
A use clause
Privacy policy
Governing law under which the usage terms and conditions are crafted
A statement about accountability for online actions and behavior
Payment details (for memberships, services, in the case of an ecommerce website)
Opt-out policy

Reasons Why a Website Needs to Have a Terms and Conditions Page:

The biggest question here is whether website terms and conditions are enforceable. The answer is that it depends on the circumstances. A court will examine situations on an individual basis, which is why having detailed terms of service is always a smart thing.

The page is, in essence, an agreement. It establishes the rules that website visitors must follow when interacting with the respective online platform. When the rules are clearly outlined, abusive behavior can be sanctioned. Such abusive behavior could consist of spamming, posting racist content, copying content from the website, etc. On the basis of these rules, a website administrator can terminate accounts without prior notice. When a website visitor fails to follow the established protocol, the termination clause of the usage agreement can be invoked.

A Website Terms And Conditions Are Crucial For Limiting Liability:

A disclaimer typically states that the website owner cannot be held accountable for errors, outdated information, information published by website visitors, and readers taking information out of context to use it for a specific purpose.

To accomplish these goals, you cannot rely on generic terms and conditions, or on a text that is copied from another website (unfortunately, a common approach that many website owners adopt).

In order to experience the full range of protection, you need a page that is entirely crafted for the needs of your business and the purposes of your website. Working with a terms and conditions specialist attorney can give you peace of mind and the knowledge that all of the essentials have been covered.

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The Evolution Of The Legal Model: Why Billable Hours No Longer Work

The Evolution of the Legal Model: Why Billable Hours No Longer Work

Over the past few years, several reports have proclaimed boldly that the billable hour is dead in the field of legal services. Has this billing method really become obsolete, why and is there a better alternative out there?

Reasons Why the Billable Hour is Becoming Obsolete

In order to be profitable, a law firm has to discover the best way to bill clients for its services. The billable hour has been setting the standard for some time, but a number of issues stem from the use of this methodology:

Charging clients by the hour often leads to highly inflated prices. A client will be charged, whether the entire block of time is used or not.
The billable hour will often lead to client animosity. The client will get charged whether they get a positive or a negative outcome out of the interaction. In addition, the billable hour endangers the positive relationships that is so essential for building trust and forming a partnership between a lawyer and a client.
A client will find it difficult to come up with a preliminary and accurate estimate about what they’re going to be charged. Not knowing how much legal services will cost can contribute to a lot of anxiety and uncertainty.
Billable hours can also result in a lot of inefficiency inside the law firm itself. Prolonging litigation and inefficient practices can often be prioritized for the purpose of charging clients more. As a result, the overall reputation of the law firm will suffer.

What is the Alternative?

According to the Report on the State of the Legal Market, power dynamics are shifting. Clients today have higher standards and more demands. They insist on getting value for the money spent on legal services. As a result, billable hours don’t really make a lot of sense in a dynamic that is slanted towards the client (and rightfully so!).

Another factor is also pushing legal companies to offer both quality and cost-efficiency. The competition is higher than ever before. According to the American Bar Association, the total national lawyer population has gone up from 574,910 practitioners in 1980 to 1,022,462 lawyers in 2000 and 1,335,963 attorneys in 2017. Most of these professionals (about 74 percent) end up in a private practice. If a client in need of legal assistance is dissatisfied with one service, they will easily find a quality alternative that is much more cost-efficient.

The switch away from billable hours is an obvious one but which billing method can deliver better, more sustainable results?

Flat fees have more or less risen to popularity in the legal world. Whether an attorney needs five or 10 hours of work to complete a task for a client, the fee will remain the same. This model results in predictability and it makes it easier for clients to plan the process in advance.

Depending on the field of practice, outcome-based payments could also make sense. An attorney will get paid when they help clients get a positive result. Needless to say, this model provides additional incentives for legal professionals to offer their clients the most adequate and tailored assistance every single time.

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The Most Important Protections to Include in a Coaching or Consulting Agreement

Professional coaches and consultants have to hold a consulting agreement with clients before moving forward with service provision. This is one of the most important interactions because it will determine all other aspects of working together.

A well-written consulting or coaching agreement ensures easy conflict resolution and standardized problem addressing. Consulting agreements need to feature a couple of important protections. The International Coach Federation highlights a few of the essentials and today, we’ll take a deeper look at them.

Client Responsibilities:

Standard consulting agreements highlight the responsibilities of the client as a part of the relationship.

Such contracts state that coaching and consulting are not the same as going to a psychologist or a therapist. There will be no diagnosis or treatment of an underlying mental condition. In addition, the client understands that they will be responsible for incorporating different coaching principles in relevant aspects of their life – relationship, finances, professional development, education, etc.

Fees, Expenses and Payment Clause:

A consultant agreement should state clearly how much services will cost, whether clients could anticipate additional fees, and how the payment is going to be made.

This section could also feature a detailed schedule or a calendar of the session that will occur. The length of each meeting with the coach or consultant should be outlined so that both parties have a clear idea of the scope and duration of interactions.

A Confidentiality Clause:

Standard coaching and consulting agreements also feature a confidentiality clause. Good ethical practices necessitate the provision of such an article in the agreement.

All of the information shared between coach and client will remain confidential during and after the completion of the sessions. While relationships between coaches and clients are not considered legally confidential in the US, ethical practices established by coaching/consulting organizations necessitate the maintenance of privacy.

The confidentiality clause should also highlight when a breach of confidentiality may occur (for example, in the case of illegal activity on behalf of the client that has to be reported to authorities).

Rendering Services:

How exactly will coaching or consulting services be provided to the client? Face-to-face communication is no longer required in order to ensure the best possible outcome.

A coaching agreement should stipulate the manner in which clients will be given access to their sessions. Will consulting always take place in person? Will there be over the phone, online, or video chat sessions?

Depending on the communication medium chosen, additional terms and conditions may be introduced to ensure both the privacy and efficiency of the communication.

Cancellation and Termination Provisions:

It’s also a standard practice for coaching/consulting contracts to list cancellation and termination clauses.

Usually, clients can end their relationship with a consultant at any time. This part of the agreement will highlight the situations that enable a consultant to terminate the relationship with the client. Having a client missing multiple meetings, for example, could be reason enough for contract termination.

Speaking to a legal professional is always a good idea when considering protections to include in a consulting agreement. A tailored, personalized document is the one that will offer the highest level of security and ease of overcoming hurdles.