Are you selling digital products but worried about the legal risks? 

You're not alone. 

From copyright infringement to liability issues, the world of digital sales can be a legal minefield. 

But fear not - in this blog post, we are going to cover how you can legally protect yourself and all of your hard work. 

1. Get Terms & Conditions - this is a contract with your customers

First thing you are going to want to have is Terms & Conditions that are posted at checkout. 

This lays out the foundation of how your digital product can be used along with your policies, such as:

• Refund policy, if any

• Cancellation policy, if any

• What happens if there is an error in your pricing? Include that

• Licensing - giving them a license to use the product for a particular purposes (for persona use only, detailing that they cannot resell it or copy it)

• Damages for copyright infringement

• Professional disclaimers

• Earning disclaimers

• And other disclaimers/disclosures

This is by far the most important legal thing that you want to protect your digital products.

2. Clickable Box at Checkout for your Terms & Conditions

To get these Terms to be binding on the purchaser, you need a clickable box or affirmative step where the purchaser consents to your Terms.

You want your terms to be binding on the purchaser and if they are able to bypass it without clicking or doing something that says they consent to the Terms, then they may not be binding on them. 

3. Add a copyright claim and disclaimers to the inside of your Digital Product.

Add a copyright claim to the inside of your digital product so purchasers know that you own the copyright. 

You can do this by adding the following:

© [year it was created] [Insert legal name]. All Rights Reserved.

Then, add the most important disclaimers/disclosures to the last page or first page of your digital product. 

For example, if you are in the health and wellness space, then you’ll want to highlight the health disclaimers (you know, that it’s not medical advice). 

4. File your work with the copyright office.

Within 3 months of creating your digital product, you will file an application with the U.S. copyright office. Or, figure out the time requirements for your country.  

In the U.S. this gives you the right to sue for copyright infringement and get statutory damages, which can be up to $150,000 per violation (without having to prove them!).  

For the U.S., go to copyright.gov to file that registration/application.

5. Takedown Requests

Now, you’re going to want to ask them to take it down - either informally or formally. You can send them an informal request or a more formal request with a cease and desist letter. If that fails, you can also send a takedown requests to the website host/platform.

RECAP:

5 Ways to LEGALLY protect yourself when selling DIGITAL PRODUCTS:

1. Get Terms & Conditions - this is a contract with your customers

2. Make your customer’s click a box or consent to your Terms at checkout

3. Add copyright to the bottom of your pages and add disclaimers to the actual product

4. File your work with your country’s copyright office

5. Send takedown letters (like cease and desist letters) to enforce your rights

👉🏻 And if you’re struggling with what to include in your Terms & Conditions:

Go grab our Terms & Conditions for digital products/courses: Learn more.

👉🏻 Ready to learn how to defend your digital products that have been copied, resold or stolen?

Go grab our Defend Your Digital Product: Training & Templates: Learn more.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this blog post is for informational and educational purposes only.  This is not a substitute for customized legal advice - if you need legal advice, please consult with an attorney.  This is not a law firm.

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