Recently, we saw a post in a Facebook group from a coach in the real estate industry who teaches in-house teams how to acquire more listings and buyers to grow their client bases.
She has a proprietary method that is part of her coaching program that team leaders and agents receive once they join her group, and the content is delivered over a period of three to six months, depending on the contract that is chosen.
However, she grew concerned when an influential team leader at a large brokerage joined her coaching program. She was worried that the leader would access her materials and then train everyone else inside of their brokerage without the help of the coach.
She wanted to know if there was anything she could do to protect her intellectual property should the team leader misuse her materials in this way and cut her out in the future.
Well, the answer to this question is YES, she can absolutely take steps as a coach to protect her intellectual property! If you are a coach, please know that we have an entire website dedicated to helping you shield your life’s work from this type of theft or misuse. You can access all of it at https://attorneyforcoaches.com/.
I do, however, want to give some general tips that may help in such a scenario. It may be wise to create “Terms and Conditions” as part of your coaching program that would be agreed to by members when they join. These would dictate who and how your materials are to be used and what happens when someone eventually leaves the program. This can all be clearly spelled out so that there are no gray areas or questions about what is or is not acceptable as part of the membership.
There also may be coaching content that you choose to copyright. For example, you may have training manuals or coaching modules that may be worth federally registering so that you are able to hold an infringing party accountable if your materials are used by someone else without permission. By federally registering your copyrights, you can go after the other party for monetary damages if they infringe on your rights.
These are just a few quick suggestions, and as we said, there are many more that we have to offer at attorneyforcoaches.com.
If you are a coach who is also concerned about protecting your intellectual property and the materials you are working so hard to create, please contact us. We are happy to meet with you to answer all of your questions. To schedule an appointment, simply call (888) 666-0062 or click here to schedule online.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney.
