If you plan to be a serious YouTuber, then you will need good internet law lawyers. As just one example, if you put copyright-protected images or videos in your YouTube uploads, you risk being accused of copyright infringement unless you have prior permission to use the material, have a “fair use” basis for the use, or can demonstrate the material is in the public domain. Obtaining permission or deciding what is “fair use” can be practically and legally complicated. Obtaining legal help and guidance from internet law attorneys — like those at Revision Legal — is important and enhances your chances of avoiding infringing the intellectual property of others.
In a similar manner, you will need legal guidance and assistance in protecting your own original content. Your original content is protected by copyrights. If others are using all or parts of your copyrighted materials, then you can send cease and desist letters, notices of infringement to the infringing party, takedown notices to the hosting platform, and/or potentially, sue for copyright infringement. If you are going to start litigation (or have to defend against a lawsuit), you will absolutely need the legal assistance of trained, experienced, and talented litigators.
Other types of intellectual property must be protected too. These include registering trademarks that identify your YouTube channel as a unique source of identifiable products and/or services and trademarks for logos, designs, words, phrases, etc. You may also have trade secrets that need legal protection. Good internet law lawyers can help with that too.
At some point, you may also need legal assistance with compliance with YouTube’s terms and conditions. To continue with our discussion of copyright issues, a copyright claim might be issued against one of your uploads. Worse, a copyright “strike” might be issued by YouTube against your channel. That can be dangerous and might lead to demonetization and/or cancellation. You will need to respond to a copyright strike and hiring a YouTube lawyer will help. Likewise, if your channel IS suspended, you will maximize your chances of winning an appeal by hiring good YouTube lawyers.
Aside from intellectual property and YouTube-specific legal issues, YouTubers may need legal assistance for other legal-related matters. For example, to protect personal and family financial assets, it may be useful to create a corporate entity — like a limited liability company. Corporate entities are “artificial” in the sense that they are created by filing papers with your local State government. The value of a corporate entity is that such entities provide a “shield” against creditors reaching your personal and family assets. If you are running your YouTube business as a sole proprietorship, there is no such shield.
Youtubers may need other legal services including:
- Review of policies and advice on labor law matters (if you have employees or independent contractors)
- Review/drafting of contracts such as work-for-hire agreements, licensing, use of IP, etc.
- Review/drafting of non-compete, non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements
- Review/drafting of vendor, supply, and other business contracts
- Assistance with compliance with advertising laws and regulations
Contact the Internet and YouTube Attorneys at Revision Legal For more information, contact the experienced Internet and YouTube Lawyers at Revision Legal. You can contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474.
