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Monday, March 30, 2009

Seven Legal Tips

When starting a t-shirt business you might come across confusing legal issues. The legalities of business can't be over looked. A lot of the legal info you find while conducting your research might seem confusing, so we're gonna break some of it down so it's easier to understand. Make sure you know your stuff before you get into legal trouble!

Copyright and trademarks- A copyright is the right to copy and gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, financially benefit from it, and other related rights. A trademark is a type of intellectual property, and typically a name, no win no fee compensation phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements. You should copyright your t-shirt designs and trademark your label name to protect them legally. But, don't worry about copyright and trademark too early. Until your work is being widely purchased or distributed, copyright may not even be necessary to launch your t-shirt business.

Images from the internet- Don't use 'em without permission. Images from the internet are copyright, unless you took them, in which case you own the copyright. There are ways of beating the system though: If you use a basic, generic picture, for example, one of a dog, you'd probably get away with it in some cases. Is there is nothing peculiar about the picture you use and it looks like something you could very well have taken, most likely the copyright holder won't really be able to distinguish the image and wouldn't waste time trying to hunt you down. On the other hand if you use a picture that's very specific or complex, for example, a picture of a white pit-bull with black spots wearing a football helmet, you'll get caught easily.

Famous quotes- When using quotes in t-shirt designs you should quote the person who originally said it. Don't pretend like you made it up. Just give them their credit, even if it's in super tiny print. You definitely wouldn't like it if you said something funny one day and saw it on a bunch of t-shirts the next, without any recognition for it.

Popular characters- Never use them unless you have a license to do so. Just make up your own characters or get someone else to. Simple as that. Using popular characters in an attempt to sell quick is just plain lazy and uncreative.

Writing and signing contracts- Learn the ins and outs of contracts before writing or signing them or you'll get screwed. Also, don't sign a contract for anything until you've weighed out the options of having the contract signed or not, as well as how you'd feel about your decision to sign when a few months go by. Find some sample contracts online or in books so you get an idea of how they should be formatted.

Parodying familiar figures and icons- It's allowed thanks to the right to parody. Just don't get too crazy with it. When your parodying becomes overly offensive you may get attacked and or kidnapped by the entourage of figure you're parodying. Just beware.

Political figures- In most cases they can be used. It's no wonder there are so many political t-shirts on the market. The only situation you wouldn't be safe using them is if you find a famous photo of a political figure. The photo would most likely be recognized as x photographer's famous photo, so you'd be in hot water. In addition to political figures you can also use flags, coat of arms, and national symbols.

WHAT LEGAL ISSUES ARE YOU COMING ACROSS?

t-shirtmagazine.com">T-ShirtMagazine.com = T-Shirt Madness

Insurance - Cash Value Or Replacement Cost

Ask 10 people which coverage they have, and 5 will probably say they don't know. If you are one of the latter, read your policy or call your insurance agent to determine whether you have cash value or replacement cost coverage. Payment from the insurance company will vary widely between the two.

No matter what type of insurance you have, if you can provide a list and photographs no win non fee accident property inventory) of your belongings, you'll receive a greater settlement than if you have no documentation to support your claim. In fact, the first thing you'll need to do is create a list for the insurance adjuster, usually room-by-room, of everything that was damaged, destroyed or stolen, plus when it was purchased and what it cost.

This information will be used to determine the amount of payment you'll receive from your insurance provider.

REPLACEMENT COST
If you have replacement cost coverage, then you should have a favorable settlement when you file a claim. The insurance company will provide payment for the actual cost of purchasing a new, identical or similar item. They will REPLACE the item (once you provide them with a list itemizing your losses).

One exception to this statement is if you reached the limit of your policy. For example, your policy has a limit on many categories of items. Most have a jewelry limit of between $1000 and $3000. If you have a theft of $5000 worth of jewelry, your payment would max out at $3000 unless you have a rider on your policy to cover the additional amount.

Another exception would be if it costs less than the original purchase price to repair or replace the item. This is typical with electronics. A CD player that was purchased when they first hit the shelves cost a great deal more than what you would pay for one now. Your payment would be for the amount that one costs today, not what you paid for it.

CASH VALUE
Also known as fair market value, the actual cash value takes depreciation into consideration. Most often the insurance company will use a formula to determine your settlement, based on the replacement cost less depreciation. Sometimes these numbers are also based on a combination of the adjuster's opinion after seeing the item (or a photograph) and/or assumed wear and tear.

To explain the depreciation formula further, let's consider the family room sofa, which has a 10-year life. You purchased it 5 years ago for $1000. A tornado destroyed your home and all the contents in it. Since the sofa is 5 years old, it has a depreciated value of $500 (50% of the expected life of this piece of furniture = 50% of the purchase price). This is the amount you'll receive when you submit your insurance claim. However, when you buy a like-quality sofa, let's assume it now costs $1300. Upon submitting your receipt to the insurance company, they will pay you an additional $800 ($1300 less the $500 you already received for the depreciated value).

Policies are different from company to company, and even from person to person. So, check with your agent to make sure you understand what type of coverage you have, and make changes accordingly.

Cindy Hartman is President of Hartman Inventory, a woman-owned business. Visit her website at href="HartmanInventory.com">HartmanInventory.com to discover more reasons you need a business or home inventory. Also view the Turnkey page to learn about the Hartman Inventory Systems, a complete turnkey business package; start and grow your own personal property inventory service. Cindy's blog, at href="HartmanInventoryBlog.com">HartmanInventoryBlog.com - discusses marketing, management, entrepreneurship and asset inventories.

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