ExpertPreneurLaw℠ Blog

Are Bloggers Journalists?

In her "Writes like she Talks" Blog, Jill Miller Zimon writes about proposed federal legislation that provides "shield" protections to journalists and whether bloggers would or would not be included.

These "shield" protections deal with privileges afforded to journalists protecting them from having to divulge their resources,  among other things.

As the post points out, however, the crucial question is in how to define who a journalist is, for purposes of the law.

For example, would ExpertPreneur bloggers be included if journalism was not their main line of work?

Since an underlying concern of defining who is included as a journalist deals with comfort that they are abiding by professional ethics and codes of conduct otherwise followed by more mainstream journalists, the answer, as yet, is not clear.

The proposed bill is not the first stab at this subject, but it is the latest, dealing with federal cases. 

Prior versions sought to impose "financial gain" and "source of livelihood" requirements in order to be considered a journalist but that language is not yet in the current proposal.

The issue of journalist privilege for bloggers is just one of many shakeups in legal theory made necessary by the increasing prevalence and influence of blogs in today's World.

As an example of what rights and responsibilities ExpertPreneur bloggers may find themselves affected by, this legislation bears watching.

Intellectual Property Guidelines for New ExpertPreneurs - Part 1

By now, most ExpertPreneurs starting a new business know enough to consider whether they should form some type of entity to protect them from personal exposure, such as a corporation or a limited liability company. Most have even thought of a snappy name for their product or service.

Yet, even in the age of all things Internet, surprisingly few have adequately considered what might be one of the most important long term investments that they could make in their company, namely their intellectual property protection.

Like many fledgling small business owners that come to see us, you might think that intellectual property is an issue primarily geared to Internet firms or software companies or even big drug manufacturers, but the truth is that almost no business starting in today’s World, least of all that of an infopreneur or an ExpertPreneur, can afford not to think about and invest in establishing its intellectual property beach  head if it intends to stay in business or to grow it into a thriving enterprise.

The simple reason for this is that you, as an ExpertPreneurs need to have more than a good product or service. You need to be known for and identified as the go-to source of your product or service -- the Expert --, and to be able to demonstrate your goods and capabilities to inquiring audiences on the Internet, and to prevent  your ideas and innovations from being stolen.

Once you realize this, bringing in legal counsel that’s knowledgeable about intellectual property at the beginning of a company’s formation becomes an obvious and inevitable decision for you as a savvy entrepreneur looking for an edge.

( Part 2 tomorrow)

Anything you say in your Blog may be held against you

Any expertpreneur who follows trends in online promotion knows of the popularity of blogs as both a money making vehicle and a credibility enhancing device as well -- a forum to show what you know and to develop your online brand.

Yet, it's also become increasingly clear that expertpreneur bloggers are subject to the same potential for legal liability as others when they post things online that may amount to intellectual property infringement, defamation or other legal wrongs. 

A recent medical malpractice case in Boston shows yet another pitfall of blogging to which expertpreneurs must stay alert, the fact that whatever you say in your blog may be used against you in Court.

In Binns v. Lindememan, et al., the Defendant, doctor, who was accused of failing to diagnose a diabetic condition in a patient who later died from related complications, wrote an anonymous blog about the trial containing a link to a Power Point presentation that had once been given by the Plaintiff's attorney and that contained information from his own attorneys that jury verdicts mainly rose and fell based on an assessment of the Defendant's character.

The Plaintiff's lawyer was alerted to the Blog by a colleague and confronted the doctor on the stand, demanding to know if he was the anonymous blogger.

Can you guess how fast the case settled? According to the linked article from www.law.com , the very next day.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1181293541242

ExpertPreneurlaw?

    First, welcome to the Blog. Unless you've already heard the explanation,  the title of this post is likely the first question you're asking yourself.

    So let me tell you why this Blog is here and what it's all about.

    I'm a practicing lawyer and, after many years of practice, including long hours, weekends, hostile adversaries and growing children, I've been learning about the benefits of helping people in different and bigger ways than just one on one.

    This, to be sure, is not an issue specific to me or to my profession. In fact, based on my research so far, my intuition is strong that there are many more people than might be assumed who would love to find a different way to be of service in the World with the things that they know and learn.

    In any event, I'm one of them. Oh, I'm not dropping the shingle or anything, just looking for another outlet. Maybe you are too.

    So, I'm sure it won't come as a surprise to learn that there are legal issues that come into play in pursuing these types of opportunities.

    Some, of course, are obvious.  Intellectual property for instance. But there are others too. Everything from contracts to advertising to Internet regulation and more.

    Since these all don't fit neatly into one area of the law, I've decided to refer to the various legal disciplines that come to bear on budding and growing ExpertPreneurs as ExpertPreneurlaw.

    As time goes by, I'll be posting on legal developments from a variety of these areas to expose you to the different issues that I think ExpertPreneurs will need to keep in mind as they enter and progress in this field of endeavor.

    I hope you'll visit again and subscribe.