June 24, 2025 • 28 mins
Feel free to leave us a review 🙂
In this episode, Tiffany A. Greenhood delivers an essential masterclass on intellectual property protection for authors and creative entrepreneurs, covering copyright, trademark, and wealth-building strategies.
• Copyright automatically belongs to you once your idea is put in tangible form (written down or recorded)
• Copyright protection lasts for your lifetime plus 70 years after death
• Register copyright at Copyright.gov for strongest legal protection
• Books, digital products, journals, social media posts, and graphic designs can all be copyrighted
• Trademark protects brand names, business names, podcast names, and event titles
• Book titles cannot be copyrighted or trademarked, but book series can be trademarked
• Registering an LLC does not protect your business name nationally—you need a trademark
• Trademark registration fees start at $250-350 per class when filing yourself
• Beware of companies claiming to "patent" your ideas—verify they specialize in the right intellectual property protection
Protect what you create: Copyright protects your work. Trademark protects your brand. IP builds your wealth.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stay tuned for Published in Black, the go-to
radio show for black authors,creatives and entrepreneurs
ready to turn their stories intosuccess.
Hosted by publishing expert andbrand strategist, tiffany A
Greenhood, each show willdeliver real talk, powerful
strategies and insider knowledgeon self-publishing, brand
building, wealth creation andmaking an impact with your voice
(00:22):
.
Whether you're writing yourfirst book, growing your
business or scaling yourinfluence, published in Black
will equip you with the tools,inspiration and unapologetic
confidence to thrive.
Listen now and be informed.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Hey, it's Tuesday, y'all, I am back.
Welcome to Published' Blackradio show.
I am your host, tiffany AGreenhood, and we are going to
dig in today, so last Tuesday,if you missed it, you can go and
listen to the replay on um.
You can actually go toPublishinBlackPodcastcom or you
(01:01):
can click onPublishWithTiffanycom.
Okay, either one of those willlead you to my link directly to
my podcast.
That is where I put all thelive radio replays on my podcast
, okay.
So if you missed the last fewTuesdays and you really want to
get it in because you know I'malways dropping those gems,
those things that you need, notjust for self-publishing but for
(01:24):
life, for business andeverything surrounding that Okay
, so we're going to hop right in.
Last Tuesday I talked about Ijust kind of talked about life,
okay, and I'm celebrating my50th birthday.
My birthday was June 14th, soit's been a major, major shift
for me and I'm very excited.
So I wanted to hop back in withsome amazing content for you
(01:48):
all.
So, if you are in a place whereyou can take notes, you
definitely want to take notes,because today we are talking
about protecting your genius,okay, copyright, trademark and
IP for authors Okay.
So this is just not for authors.
But you know, even if you're ina business owner, you don't
have a book.
This applies to you as well.
(02:08):
So let's get it right in, let'sget it in.
So today we're gonna talk aboutownership and protection,
ownership and protection.
So we talked a lot aboutpublishing a book.
We'll write my story, write mystory, but you need to also own
it as well.
Not that you don't already ownit, but there are different um.
What am I trying to say?
(02:29):
There are different umregistrations.
You can register your trade,your um not trademark your
copyright for your book um, inaddition to you already being
the um copyright.
So let's just break it down.
So, once you write your book,okay, once you take an idea from
your head and you write it on anapkin, a paper towel, a piece
(02:51):
of paper, it can be that simple,right.
Once you do that, you are thecopyright owner.
Okay, in photography, once youtake the photo I have 17 years
in photography, y'all Copyrightis strong.
I know a lot of people aredoing trademarks now and that's
amazing too, but let's notforget about copyright.
(03:14):
Let's not forget that copyrightis still strong and holds a lot
of weight, okay, so, like Isaid your book, your idea, once
you put it on paper, tangiblepaper, okay, that copyright
belongs to you.
So every photo that I havetaken with my camera meaning I
(03:37):
push the button on the cameraGuess what that made me the
copyright owner of every imageI've taken.
And let me tell y'all somethingI used to do weddings.
I love, I still love weddings.
Um, so what does that mean?
Yeah, so I charged.
I charged brides and groomsthousands to take their wedding
(04:01):
photos.
However, um, it doesn't matterwhat they paid you, it does not
matter.
You know anything else, you arestill the copyright owner.
The only way copyright can betransferred is in writing.
Okay, it's in writing, andcopyright stands up in the court
(04:24):
of law.
Okay, so I need for you to knowthat.
Okay, so you need to make surethat you are copywriting your
stories, your books, whetherit's a book, a journal.
I have journals that I havepublished, that I created
strictly from scratch.
I have journals and plannersthat I use templates, in that
those copyrights are owned bysomeone else.
(04:45):
Right now, I have the, thelegal, I have the legal right to
resell those, but the copyrightdoesn't belong to me, right?
But then I have journals andplanners and workbooks that I've
created from scratch.
Yes, you can take those and youcan copyright them.
(05:06):
They belong to you.
Okay, so it's so much I want toget in today.
So I need for you to know thatyou can go to copyrightgov is
the website and you cancopyright your book, your
journal, your story, your blogposts.
I got a whole list that I'mgoing to give you guys that.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Facebook.
Okay, I'm, so I'm live onFacebook and on Tik TOK.
Um, if you are already on myFacebook, then you can, you know
, click on the lab and followthere and then I am black writer
space on um, tik TOK.
So just FYI.
But, yes, you can go tocopyrightgov and you can
copyright your book, yourjournal, workbook, all of that.
(05:51):
So even on a napkin.
Yes, that's crazy, isn't it?
But it's real.
So, um, just to just to giveyou a little list of certain
things that you can copyright.
So you copyright books, fiction,non-fiction, children's story,
poetry, whatever your book isabout, don't matter, it can be
copywritten.
Okay, you are the copyrightowner automatically when you
(06:12):
write it.
But you want to go tocopyrightgov so you can have
that backup protection?
Okay, that's, that's whatthat's about.
It's not that the copyright onyour own and I know people still
walk around talking about theum, the, uh, poor man's
copyright, oh, you can mail itto yourself.
I don't know if that stands upin court, but I know this.
(06:33):
Do so, just what I'm tellingyou even get your backup and go
to copyrightgov, pay the fee andthey will send you.
When it's approved, they willsend you a um certificate.
It'll be a copyrightcertificate.
That's when you know youofficially the owner.
Okay, so don't do that.
I mean don't, don't, don't passthis up, don't like forget to
(06:54):
do this, don't like set it tothe side because it's very
important.
So, when somebody try to copyyour stuff or resell your book,
that's your proof, hey, rone,that is your proof that you, um,
are the owner.
So don't, don't, please, don't,just skip over this.
This is very important.
This is probably like one ofthe most important um teachings
(07:16):
I've done since I've been onhere.
So, yeah, copyrightgov, okay,let it become your best friend.
Pull up, you don't know how toit.
Pull up every.
There's a video for everythingon YouTube.
Ok, so don't go there.
All right, so you do books,e-books, ok.
Digital products all yourdigital products.
I'm heavy on digital products.
Don't skip over those.
(07:37):
Yes, copyright them.
I don't care how simple it is,how basic the information may be
, whatever Copyright it, itbelongs to you.
Journals, workbooks, courseguides, manuals, blog posts.
Did you know that you couldcopyright and they just added
this on within the last threeyears you can copyright your
(07:58):
social media posts.
I bet you didn't know that.
I bet y'all did not know that.
Yes, you can copyright socialmedia posts.
Get out of here.
Yes, and I know I didn't put somuch content on social media
you can copyright that stuff.
Yes, people cannot just copyyour stuff and it's like no, no,
there is protection out here.
(08:18):
And let me just tell you,copyright lasts from um as long
as you live, right?
So so let's just say me, mybook, I copyright my book.
Right, my copyright lasts aslong as I live, plus six, 70
(08:39):
years after I'm gone.
That's powerful.
After I'm gone, that's powerful.
And that's why, if any of y'allever went in um Walgreens and
try to print out old pictures,try to make copies, they will
not let you because they knowthe copyright laws period and
you'll be like but this, oh this, and that you got to understand
(09:00):
it has to be 170, some yearsold, almost 200 years old, and
nobody lives that long.
That's why they automaticallyknow no, you cannot, you cannot
copy this, you cannot makecopies, you can't scan it, none
of that, because they will getsued.
So just understand, it'scopyright is the bomb, okay.
(09:20):
So um, even um.
Audio and visual content,podcasts, episodes and scripts,
recorded speeches and sermons,recorded video content, audio
books, voiceover recordings,graphic design you got shirts.
I just bought me a heat press,all right, so I'm making shirts
and stuff and people, steady,keep hitting me up for orders.
(09:40):
Guess what you can copyrightyour T-shirt designs.
Yes, keep in mind, it lasts aslong as you live in 70 years
after I.
Please write this stuff down,okay?
So, um, what else we got hereoriginal illustrations or
artwork, book cover designs.
Hello what?
(10:02):
I'm a book cover designer.
I design book covers for people.
I've never had a client ask fortheir book cover design to be
transferred over to them.
So what?
That means Tiffany.
That means I own all the bookcover designs that I did.
Hello, yes, it is rewards forbeing a creative artist.
(10:26):
Ok, so, yeah, you got to do yourhomework.
You got to do your homework.
You got to know you're not justout here just doing stuff and
then once they pay you, it'sover.
No, if you created it, if it'syour creative design from your
brain, you're the copyrightowner period.
Your brain, you're thecopyright owner period.
So we got originalillustrations, book cover
(10:47):
designs, custom graphics forbranding website, even a website
copy on your website.
You ever wonder why I saycopyright at the bottom of a
website?
Because it's copyrightprotected.
Come on.
We didn't know that.
Yes, yes, educational andbusiness content, online course
content, workshop materials,lesson plans, educational
(11:10):
curriculums Y'all see this, andI printed out this stuff so I
wouldn't miss anything.
What you cannot copyright.
Now let me break this down foryou.
There are certain things youcannot copyright, and we're
going to go over certain things.
You cannot trademark either.
So what you cannot copyright?
You cannot copyright booktitles, and I know you probably
(11:32):
didn't know that, but let metell you something.
This is why this is why you areable to um, have, you are able
to publish a book that alreadyhas the same title.
That's why.
That's why you see movies withthe same titles, cause you
cannot trademark or, um, youcannot no copyright, not
(11:56):
trademark.
You cannot copyright booktitles or movie titles and
things like that, so that's whyyou kind of see them duplicated
a lot of times.
It could be the same exactmovie title and be two
completely different movies.
One could have been, uh,released 30 years ago, right?
So so it's so much Copyright Ineed for you to know.
(12:18):
Copyright is strong and youneed to exercise your ownership
and your rights for your booksand your creations.
Okay, and I'm gonna go take abreak and I'll be right back,
okay.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
You can turn it on or off.
It's hard to understandSometimes.
Is there a master plan?
How do I make sense Ofeverything?
Is there a master plan?
How do I make sense ofeverything going to you?
(13:12):
Maybe it's not ours to know, sowe have to learn to let things
go and simply try to make themost of every day and have the
faith that somehow we will findthe way.
So count it on your faith.
All that you're going through,even when you're feeling down,
(13:39):
count it on your mind.
Each moment's a gift to you.
So turn it all around and evenin the darkest night, if you
look hard enough, there's atrace of sunlight.
Waiting there, yes, waitingthere for you, waiting for you.
(14:09):
Been searching everywhere tofind that rainbow in the air.
Rainbow, whenever I came close,just seemed to disappear.
I had to change my point ofview.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I had to change my point of view.
Start looking at myself.
I can't believe I never knew.
Hey, count it all joy.
Y'all, count it all joy.
When you are gettinginformation like this, you
better be applying it tosomething, because now you don't
have an excuse.
(14:57):
See, when you start to get thetruth and the truth is being
exposed to you now you got somedecisions to make, because you
can't walk around and say, well,I didn't know, I didn't even
know that.
Now you know now.
So now it's time to make somehard decisions.
Okay, because you can't sitaround like you know what to do,
because you can't sit aroundlike you know what to do.
All right, we're going to talkabout trademarks, trademarks,
(15:19):
trademarks.
Now I hear a lot of peoplethrow the word around patent.
You know, every time you sharean idea with somebody or
something, it could be a familymember, friend.
I've heard this so many times.
Even people have told it to me.
Oh, you can patent that.
You can patent that they don'teven be doing what they're
(15:40):
talking about.
Okay, I tell y'all aboutstarting listening to people.
Um, thank you so much.
I see y'all comment on facebookand I see y'all coming in on
tiktok.
Um, you have to be careful whoyou listen to, okay, because
people just throw stuff outthere and it usually be
something they just heard of andthis, and that they don't know
what they're talking about.
I had a friend call, uh, textme and she said I just got my
clothing line patent and I knewinstantly she don't even know
what she's talking about,because you can't have no
(16:00):
clothing line like what.
Yeah, do your research y'all.
I'm gonna need y'all, do y'allresearch.
Okay, you can talk to ai, aiwill break it all the way down
for you.
Um, google, look up stuff.
It's videos on YouTube.
Yeah, so trademark, trademark,trademark, trademark y'all.
The website to trademark.
(16:21):
I'm getting ready to tell youeverything you can trademark,
but the website is USTPOgov,ustpogov.
That is where you register yourtrademarks, all right, and so
what you can trademark?
So you can trademark your brandname, business names.
(16:45):
Let me clear something up,because a lot of people think,
because they registered theirLLC, that their name is
protected.
So I've heard that for years aswell from clients, and you know
whether I was working with them.
And I've heard that for yearsas well from clients and you
know whether I was working withthem or not.
I've heard business owners saythis so much and I don't know
where they got this from.
But you are not protected.
Your business name is notprotected.
(17:07):
Okay, for a trademark, it's notOkay.
It's only protected when youtrademark it.
Okay, it's not okay, it's onlyprotected when you trademark it.
Okay.
So just because you create, youregister your business and you
know which, or because, let's bereal, when you register your
business you're registering itwith the state that you live in,
(17:28):
or a state you're registeringat state level, okay, um, and so
that does not mean that it'sprotected.
That means that no one else canget that name.
They cannot register anotherbusiness in their name in your
county has nothing to do withanother county, another city,
another state.
Ok, so you're not protected,and it's such a misconception
(17:50):
with this.
So here's the deal If you have abusiness name and I don't use
the term business name too much,but if you have a brand, I like
to call it a brand because youwant to be building a brand,
because it expands so much more.
So if you have a brand, youwant to trademark your brand
name.
So what is a brand?
Tiffany, let's go.
Walmart, target, right, best.
(18:13):
Chipotle, that's my favoritespot, right.
So those are brands, okay.
And so brands buildrelationships and this and this.
But they lock down Target.
They lock that name down, okay,so it belongs to them.
It's federally protected.
That's a whole differentprotection.
So you can trademark yourbusiness name or brand.
(18:37):
I say brand.
You can trademark your brandname.
So, just because you set upyour LLC and you think you know,
oh, they can't use that becausethat belong to me, it don't
belong to you.
And they can go and they cantrademark it.
And then guess what, you'll belooking crazy because they went
and trademarked it.
So if somebody, y'all havebusiness similar or y'all got
(19:00):
the same business name and theygo trademark it before you guess
what, it's probably going toget approved.
So, hey, you've got to be ontop of your game in business.
Okay, you cannot walk aroundsaying what you don't know.
Um, so you can trademark yourbusiness name, brand, brand name
, author, imprints, you know,publishing brand, podcast name.
(19:23):
You can trademark that.
If you have a conference andyou had this event, if there's
an event that you have everyyear, yes, you can trademark
that.
Yeah, I would advise you totrademark it because you never
know who's coming to.
People are just as you are, um,igniting your businesses and
your brands.
Somebody's somewhere sittingthinking about the same thing,
(19:45):
so everything is not so uniqueall the time.
Sometimes a lot of other peoplethinking about it too, and they
may just go ahead and just lockit down, and so what that
happens is, if they lock it down, then they can send you a cease
and desist.
You got to take all your stuffdown and this may be a business
that you've been building for 15years.
No, you can't do nothing aboutit.
(20:06):
So the thing is is to go andstart studying trademark.
Now most people go through anattorney.
Me personally, I'm not goingthrough no attorney.
I'm doing mine myself.
But if you feel like you, youknow you feel better protected
with an attorney do that.
But make sure you use anattorney that specializes in
trademark, not just that they anattorney, because this
(20:29):
attorneys out here that do otherstuff, they may be a criminal
attorney.
And if you come in there for atrademark and they say, oh yeah,
we could do it, I've seen I'msaying all this because I've
seen clients who have paidattorneys and law firms that did
not specialize in trademarks todo them wrong.
(20:49):
To do them wrong.
Yes, that means that.
You know.
I it's just one girl.
She's in indiana, she has,she's a publisher, she do a lot
of stuff.
She trademarked a brand nameI'm not gonna say the brand name
and she has on her website thatit's a coaching program.
(21:11):
She trademarked it.
But whoever she had trademarkedit, they put it in the category
of apparel.
That's totally off.
Why chill y'all out here payingto do stuff?
I know we assumed that becausepeople got titles and they've
been to school, all thesedegrees and stuff, that they
know what they're doing.
A lot of times they don't.
And I've seen that withtrademark um, people who have
(21:34):
gotten things trademarked thatthey're getting them, they're
not doing them right, they'repaying attorneys and they're not
being done right.
Ok, so you really want to doyour research and get somebody
who specialize in trademarks?
If you're going to pay someoneto do it for you, ok, so, so you
can trademark your conferencenames.
You can trademark your, yourpodcast name, your radio show
(21:56):
title, youtube show, sky's thelimit.
Now, when it comes to books,you cannot.
I told you you cannot copyrightyour book title.
You cannot trademark a booktitle either.
Here's the deal, unless it's abook series.
If you have a book series, orit's volume one or volume two,
(22:16):
you can trademark a book series.
If you have a book series, soit's volume one, volume two, you
can trademark a book series.
So, for example, I cantrademark my magazine name
because it's a series.
I put out issues one afteranother.
That's considered a series.
So you understand what I'msaying.
So if it's just one book you'rewriting a book about your life
(22:38):
you cannot copyright ortrademark that.
Now, if the same name of yourbook is your brand name, go
ahead and trademark the brandname.
Okay, and so it may not stopanyone from buying, from
publishing a book with that sametitle, even if you trademark
(23:00):
the brand and it shares the sametitle as your brand name.
I hope you're following meright.
It still may not be protected,but you have the, you will have
the brand trademarked, okay, andthat's only if you're building
a brand.
So, um, so, yeah, so uh,workshop names, conference names
(23:20):
, tour titles, summits orretreats, apparel lines.
You know that's what my friendshould have been saying when she
called and said she had herthing patented.
She didn't even know, and soI'm assuming that she probably
went through one of themcompanies on TV they say, oh,
patent your idea, don't becalling them folks, because they
know y'all don't know nothing,and so they will take your money
(23:43):
and you think you protect it.
Because she came back and saidI ain't say too much, you know,
because people, you know theydon't trust nothing that you're
saying.
You might have everything thatthey need, but they'll trust
some whack company like that.
So it's just like.
It's just like, it's just likethat.
So.
But she came back and shementioned, um, something about
she couldn't.
(24:03):
Oh, they say I can't sellonline.
And I'm like what she said allthe wrong information.
I ain't say nothing, I'm justlike lord, thank you, thank you
for making me smart, thank youfor making me brilliant.
And you know, I go and I do theresearch and I read and I see
the truth right in my own face.
You know what I'm saying.
Yeah, so be careful out here.
(24:23):
So go and study trademark andtrademark and copyright so you
can start to protect yourcontent.
That was my whole purpose forbringing this in today, because
it's important and we can't beout here lost like this, you
know.
Oh, and so the fees.
Let me get y'all the fees realquick.
So, trademark fees um, now,when you go to an attorney, you
(24:46):
know some of them charge 2,000,2,500, 3,500, whatever they fee
is, but if you are going to doit yourself, the fees start at
250.
They have 250 and 350 per class.
Okay, so you, so you can doyour homework, you can find out
what class you need to beregistering your trademark in
(25:07):
and then you go from there.
Again, the information is outthere for you to do this
yourself, or make sure you findan attorney that is specialized
in trademarks.
Okay, I'm going to take a quickbreak.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Some days it seems like it'd be easier to just let
go.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
I know you're praying for a change, to see a sunny
day.
Nothing good has come your wayfor so long.
You need someone to understandthis place your heart is in.
You just want to dream againand believe.
Your skies may look dim andgray, but know your
(26:14):
breakthroughs not far away.
So hold on tight.
You are too close to give up.
That's what we want you to do.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
You have so much to live for.
Remember what you prayed foryes, don't give up.
It's no matter what you'regoing through right now.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Okay, so I dropped a lot of heavy stuff today.
Again, if you need to listen tothe replay, you want to go to
publishingblackpodcastcom andyou can hear this whole episode.
Then you know, get yournotebook, take notes.
Okay, so I'm gonna leave youwith this.
Copyright protects your work.
Trademark protects your brand.
Ip builds your wealth if youare creating it.
(27:04):
You need to own it.
Okay, we need to own what wecreate.
Okay, stop sitting around likeyou don't know nothing and go
learn something.
See y' you next time.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You have been listening to, Published in Black
with publishing expert andbrand strategist, Tiffany A
Greenhood.
Listen next week for real talk,powerful strategies and much
more.
Again, we thank you forlistening.
Did you enjoy this radio show?
Well, you too can have your ownradio show right here on
Rejoice 1023 to promote yourbusiness or ministry.
(28:00):
For more information on how youcan have your own radio show or
advertise.
Stay tuned for Published in Black, the go-to
radio show for black authors,creatives and entrepreneurs
ready to turn their stories intosuccess.
Hosted by publishing expert andbrand strategist, tiffany A
Greenhood, each show willdeliver real talk, powerful
strategies and insider knowledgeon self-publishing, brand
building, wealth creation andmaking an impact with your voice
(00:22):
.
Whether you're writing yourfirst book, growing your
business or scaling yourinfluence, published in Black
will equip you with the tools,inspiration and unapologetic
confidence to thrive.
Listen now and be informed.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Hey, it's Tuesday, y'all, I am back.
Welcome to Published' Blackradio show.
I am your host, tiffany AGreenhood, and we are going to
dig in today, so last Tuesday,if you missed it, you can go and
listen to the replay on um.
You can actually go toPublishinBlackPodcastcom or you
(01:01):
can click onPublishWithTiffanycom.
Okay, either one of those willlead you to my link directly to
my podcast.
That is where I put all thelive radio replays on my podcast
, okay.
So if you missed the last fewTuesdays and you really want to
get it in because you know I'malways dropping those gems,
those things that you need, notjust for self-publishing but for
(01:24):
life, for business andeverything surrounding that Okay
, so we're going to hop right in.
Last Tuesday I talked about Ijust kind of talked about life,
okay, and I'm celebrating my50th birthday.
My birthday was June 14th, soit's been a major, major shift
for me and I'm very excited.
So I wanted to hop back in withsome amazing content for you
(01:48):
all.
So, if you are in a place whereyou can take notes, you
definitely want to take notes,because today we are talking
about protecting your genius,okay, copyright, trademark and
IP for authors Okay.
So this is just not for authors.
But you know, even if you're ina business owner, you don't
have a book.
This applies to you as well.
(02:08):
So let's get it right in, let'sget it in.
So today we're gonna talk aboutownership and protection,
ownership and protection.
So we talked a lot aboutpublishing a book.
We'll write my story, write mystory, but you need to also own
it as well.
Not that you don't already ownit, but there are different um.
What am I trying to say?
(02:29):
There are different umregistrations.
You can register your trade,your um not trademark your
copyright for your book um, inaddition to you already being
the um copyright.
So let's just break it down.
So, once you write your book,okay, once you take an idea from
your head and you write it on anapkin, a paper towel, a piece
(02:51):
of paper, it can be that simple,right.
Once you do that, you are thecopyright owner.
Okay, in photography, once youtake the photo I have 17 years
in photography, y'all Copyrightis strong.
I know a lot of people aredoing trademarks now and that's
amazing too, but let's notforget about copyright.
(03:14):
Let's not forget that copyrightis still strong and holds a lot
of weight, okay, so, like Isaid your book, your idea, once
you put it on paper, tangiblepaper, okay, that copyright
belongs to you.
So every photo that I havetaken with my camera meaning I
(03:37):
push the button on the cameraGuess what that made me the
copyright owner of every imageI've taken.
And let me tell y'all somethingI used to do weddings.
I love, I still love weddings.
Um, so what does that mean?
Yeah, so I charged.
I charged brides and groomsthousands to take their wedding
(04:01):
photos.
However, um, it doesn't matterwhat they paid you, it does not
matter.
You know anything else, you arestill the copyright owner.
The only way copyright can betransferred is in writing.
Okay, it's in writing, andcopyright stands up in the court
(04:24):
of law.
Okay, so I need for you to knowthat.
Okay, so you need to make surethat you are copywriting your
stories, your books, whetherit's a book, a journal.
I have journals that I havepublished, that I created
strictly from scratch.
I have journals and plannersthat I use templates, in that
those copyrights are owned bysomeone else.
(04:45):
Right now, I have the, thelegal, I have the legal right to
resell those, but the copyrightdoesn't belong to me, right?
But then I have journals andplanners and workbooks that I've
created from scratch.
Yes, you can take those and youcan copyright them.
(05:06):
They belong to you.
Okay, so it's so much I want toget in today.
So I need for you to know thatyou can go to copyrightgov is
the website and you cancopyright your book, your
journal, your story, your blogposts.
I got a whole list that I'mgoing to give you guys that.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Hey.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Facebook.
Okay, I'm, so I'm live onFacebook and on Tik TOK.
Um, if you are already on myFacebook, then you can, you know
, click on the lab and followthere and then I am black writer
space on um, tik TOK.
So just FYI.
But, yes, you can go tocopyrightgov and you can
copyright your book, yourjournal, workbook, all of that.
(05:51):
So even on a napkin.
Yes, that's crazy, isn't it?
But it's real.
So, um, just to just to giveyou a little list of certain
things that you can copyright.
So you copyright books, fiction,non-fiction, children's story,
poetry, whatever your book isabout, don't matter, it can be
copywritten.
Okay, you are the copyrightowner automatically when you
(06:12):
write it.
But you want to go tocopyrightgov so you can have
that backup protection?
Okay, that's, that's whatthat's about.
It's not that the copyright onyour own and I know people still
walk around talking about theum, the, uh, poor man's
copyright, oh, you can mail itto yourself.
I don't know if that stands upin court, but I know this.
(06:33):
Do so, just what I'm tellingyou even get your backup and go
to copyrightgov, pay the fee andthey will send you.
When it's approved, they willsend you a um certificate.
It'll be a copyrightcertificate.
That's when you know youofficially the owner.
Okay, so don't do that.
I mean don't, don't, don't passthis up, don't like forget to
(06:54):
do this, don't like set it tothe side because it's very
important.
So, when somebody try to copyyour stuff or resell your book,
that's your proof, hey, rone,that is your proof that you, um,
are the owner.
So don't, don't, please, don't,just skip over this.
This is very important.
This is probably like one ofthe most important um teachings
(07:16):
I've done since I've been onhere.
So, yeah, copyrightgov, okay,let it become your best friend.
Pull up, you don't know how toit.
Pull up every.
There's a video for everythingon YouTube.
Ok, so don't go there.
All right, so you do books,e-books, ok.
Digital products all yourdigital products.
I'm heavy on digital products.
Don't skip over those.
(07:37):
Yes, copyright them.
I don't care how simple it is,how basic the information may be
, whatever Copyright it, itbelongs to you.
Journals, workbooks, courseguides, manuals, blog posts.
Did you know that you couldcopyright and they just added
this on within the last threeyears you can copyright your
(07:58):
social media posts.
I bet you didn't know that.
I bet y'all did not know that.
Yes, you can copyright socialmedia posts.
Get out of here.
Yes, and I know I didn't put somuch content on social media
you can copyright that stuff.
Yes, people cannot just copyyour stuff and it's like no, no,
there is protection out here.
(08:18):
And let me just tell you,copyright lasts from um as long
as you live, right?
So so let's just say me, mybook, I copyright my book.
Right, my copyright lasts aslong as I live, plus six, 70
(08:39):
years after I'm gone.
That's powerful.
After I'm gone, that's powerful.
And that's why, if any of y'allever went in um Walgreens and
try to print out old pictures,try to make copies, they will
not let you because they knowthe copyright laws period and
you'll be like but this, oh this, and that you got to understand
(09:00):
it has to be 170, some yearsold, almost 200 years old, and
nobody lives that long.
That's why they automaticallyknow no, you cannot, you cannot
copy this, you cannot makecopies, you can't scan it, none
of that, because they will getsued.
So just understand, it'scopyright is the bomb, okay.
(09:20):
So um, even um.
Audio and visual content,podcasts, episodes and scripts,
recorded speeches and sermons,recorded video content, audio
books, voiceover recordings,graphic design you got shirts.
I just bought me a heat press,all right, so I'm making shirts
and stuff and people, steady,keep hitting me up for orders.
(09:40):
Guess what you can copyrightyour T-shirt designs.
Yes, keep in mind, it lasts aslong as you live in 70 years
after I.
Please write this stuff down,okay?
So, um, what else we got hereoriginal illustrations or
artwork, book cover designs.
Hello what?
(10:02):
I'm a book cover designer.
I design book covers for people.
I've never had a client ask fortheir book cover design to be
transferred over to them.
So what?
That means Tiffany.
That means I own all the bookcover designs that I did.
Hello, yes, it is rewards forbeing a creative artist.
(10:26):
Ok, so, yeah, you got to do yourhomework.
You got to do your homework.
You got to know you're not justout here just doing stuff and
then once they pay you, it'sover.
No, if you created it, if it'syour creative design from your
brain, you're the copyrightowner period.
Your brain, you're thecopyright owner period.
So we got originalillustrations, book cover
(10:47):
designs, custom graphics forbranding website, even a website
copy on your website.
You ever wonder why I saycopyright at the bottom of a
website?
Because it's copyrightprotected.
Come on.
We didn't know that.
Yes, yes, educational andbusiness content, online course
content, workshop materials,lesson plans, educational
(11:10):
curriculums Y'all see this, andI printed out this stuff so I
wouldn't miss anything.
What you cannot copyright.
Now let me break this down foryou.
There are certain things youcannot copyright, and we're
going to go over certain things.
You cannot trademark either.
So what you cannot copyright?
You cannot copyright booktitles, and I know you probably
(11:32):
didn't know that, but let metell you something.
This is why this is why you areable to um, have, you are able
to publish a book that alreadyhas the same title.
That's why.
That's why you see movies withthe same titles, cause you
cannot trademark or, um, youcannot no copyright, not
(11:56):
trademark.
You cannot copyright booktitles or movie titles and
things like that, so that's whyyou kind of see them duplicated
a lot of times.
It could be the same exactmovie title and be two
completely different movies.
One could have been, uh,released 30 years ago, right?
So so it's so much Copyright Ineed for you to know.
(12:18):
Copyright is strong and youneed to exercise your ownership
and your rights for your booksand your creations.
Okay, and I'm gonna go take abreak and I'll be right back,
okay.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
You can turn it on or off.
It's hard to understandSometimes.
Is there a master plan?
How do I make sense Ofeverything?
Is there a master plan?
How do I make sense ofeverything going to you?
(13:12):
Maybe it's not ours to know, sowe have to learn to let things
go and simply try to make themost of every day and have the
faith that somehow we will findthe way.
So count it on your faith.
All that you're going through,even when you're feeling down,
(13:39):
count it on your mind.
Each moment's a gift to you.
So turn it all around and evenin the darkest night, if you
look hard enough, there's atrace of sunlight.
Waiting there, yes, waitingthere for you, waiting for you.
(14:09):
Been searching everywhere tofind that rainbow in the air.
Rainbow, whenever I came close,just seemed to disappear.
I had to change my point ofview.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I had to change my point of view.
Start looking at myself.
I can't believe I never knew.
Hey, count it all joy.
Y'all, count it all joy.
When you are gettinginformation like this, you
better be applying it tosomething, because now you don't
have an excuse.
(14:57):
See, when you start to get thetruth and the truth is being
exposed to you now you got somedecisions to make, because you
can't walk around and say, well,I didn't know, I didn't even
know that.
Now you know now.
So now it's time to make somehard decisions.
Okay, because you can't sitaround like you know what to do,
because you can't sit aroundlike you know what to do.
All right, we're going to talkabout trademarks, trademarks,
(15:19):
trademarks.
Now I hear a lot of peoplethrow the word around patent.
You know, every time you sharean idea with somebody or
something, it could be a familymember, friend.
I've heard this so many times.
Even people have told it to me.
Oh, you can patent that.
You can patent that they don'teven be doing what they're
(15:40):
talking about.
Okay, I tell y'all aboutstarting listening to people.
Um, thank you so much.
I see y'all comment on facebookand I see y'all coming in on
tiktok.
Um, you have to be careful whoyou listen to, okay, because
people just throw stuff outthere and it usually be
something they just heard of andthis, and that they don't know
what they're talking about.
I had a friend call, uh, textme and she said I just got my
clothing line patent and I knewinstantly she don't even know
what she's talking about,because you can't have no
(16:00):
clothing line like what.
Yeah, do your research y'all.
I'm gonna need y'all, do y'allresearch.
Okay, you can talk to ai, aiwill break it all the way down
for you.
Um, google, look up stuff.
It's videos on YouTube.
Yeah, so trademark, trademark,trademark, trademark y'all.
The website to trademark.
(16:21):
I'm getting ready to tell youeverything you can trademark,
but the website is USTPOgov,ustpogov.
That is where you register yourtrademarks, all right, and so
what you can trademark?
So you can trademark your brandname, business names.
(16:45):
Let me clear something up,because a lot of people think,
because they registered theirLLC, that their name is
protected.
So I've heard that for years aswell from clients, and you know
whether I was working with them.
And I've heard that for yearsas well from clients and you
know whether I was working withthem or not.
I've heard business owners saythis so much and I don't know
where they got this from.
But you are not protected.
Your business name is notprotected.
(17:07):
Okay, for a trademark, it's notOkay.
It's only protected when youtrademark it.
Okay, it's not okay, it's onlyprotected when you trademark it.
Okay.
So just because you create, youregister your business and you
know which, or because, let's bereal, when you register your
business you're registering itwith the state that you live in,
(17:28):
or a state you're registeringat state level, okay, um, and so
that does not mean that it'sprotected.
That means that no one else canget that name.
They cannot register anotherbusiness in their name in your
county has nothing to do withanother county, another city,
another state.
Ok, so you're not protected,and it's such a misconception
(17:50):
with this.
So here's the deal If you have abusiness name and I don't use
the term business name too much,but if you have a brand, I like
to call it a brand because youwant to be building a brand,
because it expands so much more.
So if you have a brand, youwant to trademark your brand
name.
So what is a brand?
Tiffany, let's go.
Walmart, target, right, best.
(18:13):
Chipotle, that's my favoritespot, right.
So those are brands, okay.
And so brands buildrelationships and this and this.
But they lock down Target.
They lock that name down, okay,so it belongs to them.
It's federally protected.
That's a whole differentprotection.
So you can trademark yourbusiness name or brand.
(18:37):
I say brand.
You can trademark your brandname.
So, just because you set upyour LLC and you think you know,
oh, they can't use that becausethat belong to me, it don't
belong to you.
And they can go and they cantrademark it.
And then guess what, you'll belooking crazy because they went
and trademarked it.
So if somebody, y'all havebusiness similar or y'all got
(19:00):
the same business name and theygo trademark it before you guess
what, it's probably going toget approved.
So, hey, you've got to be ontop of your game in business.
Okay, you cannot walk aroundsaying what you don't know.
Um, so you can trademark yourbusiness name, brand, brand name
, author, imprints, you know,publishing brand, podcast name.
(19:23):
You can trademark that.
If you have a conference andyou had this event, if there's
an event that you have everyyear, yes, you can trademark
that.
Yeah, I would advise you totrademark it because you never
know who's coming to.
People are just as you are, um,igniting your businesses and
your brands.
Somebody's somewhere sittingthinking about the same thing,
(19:45):
so everything is not so uniqueall the time.
Sometimes a lot of other peoplethinking about it too, and they
may just go ahead and just lockit down, and so what that
happens is, if they lock it down, then they can send you a cease
and desist.
You got to take all your stuffdown and this may be a business
that you've been building for 15years.
No, you can't do nothing aboutit.
(20:06):
So the thing is is to go andstart studying trademark.
Now most people go through anattorney.
Me personally, I'm not goingthrough no attorney.
I'm doing mine myself.
But if you feel like you, youknow you feel better protected
with an attorney do that.
But make sure you use anattorney that specializes in
trademark, not just that they anattorney, because this
(20:29):
attorneys out here that do otherstuff, they may be a criminal
attorney.
And if you come in there for atrademark and they say, oh yeah,
we could do it, I've seen I'msaying all this because I've
seen clients who have paidattorneys and law firms that did
not specialize in trademarks todo them wrong.
(20:49):
To do them wrong.
Yes, that means that.
You know.
I it's just one girl.
She's in indiana, she has,she's a publisher, she do a lot
of stuff.
She trademarked a brand nameI'm not gonna say the brand name
and she has on her website thatit's a coaching program.
(21:11):
She trademarked it.
But whoever she had trademarkedit, they put it in the category
of apparel.
That's totally off.
Why chill y'all out here payingto do stuff?
I know we assumed that becausepeople got titles and they've
been to school, all thesedegrees and stuff, that they
know what they're doing.
A lot of times they don't.
And I've seen that withtrademark um, people who have
(21:34):
gotten things trademarked thatthey're getting them, they're
not doing them right, they'repaying attorneys and they're not
being done right.
Ok, so you really want to doyour research and get somebody
who specialize in trademarks?
If you're going to pay someoneto do it for you, ok, so, so you
can trademark your conferencenames.
You can trademark your, yourpodcast name, your radio show
(21:56):
title, youtube show, sky's thelimit.
Now, when it comes to books,you cannot.
I told you you cannot copyrightyour book title.
You cannot trademark a booktitle either.
Here's the deal, unless it's abook series.
If you have a book series, orit's volume one or volume two,
(22:16):
you can trademark a book series.
If you have a book series, soit's volume one, volume two, you
can trademark a book series.
So, for example, I cantrademark my magazine name
because it's a series.
I put out issues one afteranother.
That's considered a series.
So you understand what I'msaying.
So if it's just one book you'rewriting a book about your life
(22:38):
you cannot copyright ortrademark that.
Now, if the same name of yourbook is your brand name, go
ahead and trademark the brandname.
Okay, and so it may not stopanyone from buying, from
publishing a book with that sametitle, even if you trademark
(23:00):
the brand and it shares the sametitle as your brand name.
I hope you're following meright.
It still may not be protected,but you have the, you will have
the brand trademarked, okay, andthat's only if you're building
a brand.
So, um, so, yeah, so uh,workshop names, conference names
(23:20):
, tour titles, summits orretreats, apparel lines.
You know that's what my friendshould have been saying when she
called and said she had herthing patented.
She didn't even know, and soI'm assuming that she probably
went through one of themcompanies on TV they say, oh,
patent your idea, don't becalling them folks, because they
know y'all don't know nothing,and so they will take your money
(23:43):
and you think you protect it.
Because she came back and saidI ain't say too much, you know,
because people, you know theydon't trust nothing that you're
saying.
You might have everything thatthey need, but they'll trust
some whack company like that.
So it's just like.
It's just like, it's just likethat.
So.
But she came back and shementioned, um, something about
she couldn't.
(24:03):
Oh, they say I can't sellonline.
And I'm like what she said allthe wrong information.
I ain't say nothing, I'm justlike lord, thank you, thank you
for making me smart, thank youfor making me brilliant.
And you know, I go and I do theresearch and I read and I see
the truth right in my own face.
You know what I'm saying.
Yeah, so be careful out here.
(24:23):
So go and study trademark andtrademark and copyright so you
can start to protect yourcontent.
That was my whole purpose forbringing this in today, because
it's important and we can't beout here lost like this, you
know.
Oh, and so the fees.
Let me get y'all the fees realquick.
So, trademark fees um, now,when you go to an attorney, you
(24:46):
know some of them charge 2,000,2,500, 3,500, whatever they fee
is, but if you are going to doit yourself, the fees start at
250.
They have 250 and 350 per class.
Okay, so you, so you can doyour homework, you can find out
what class you need to beregistering your trademark in
(25:07):
and then you go from there.
Again, the information is outthere for you to do this
yourself, or make sure you findan attorney that is specialized
in trademarks.
Okay, I'm going to take a quickbreak.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Some days it seems like it'd be easier to just let
go.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
I know you're praying for a change, to see a sunny
day.
Nothing good has come your wayfor so long.
You need someone to understandthis place your heart is in.
You just want to dream againand believe.
Your skies may look dim andgray, but know your
(26:14):
breakthroughs not far away.
So hold on tight.
You are too close to give up.
That's what we want you to do.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
You have so much to live for.
Remember what you prayed foryes, don't give up.
It's no matter what you'regoing through right now.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Okay, so I dropped a lot of heavy stuff today.
Again, if you need to listen tothe replay, you want to go to
publishingblackpodcastcom andyou can hear this whole episode.
Then you know, get yournotebook, take notes.
Okay, so I'm gonna leave youwith this.
Copyright protects your work.
Trademark protects your brand.
Ip builds your wealth if youare creating it.
(27:04):
You need to own it.
Okay, we need to own what wecreate.
Okay, stop sitting around likeyou don't know nothing and go
learn something.
See y' you next time.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You have been listening to, Published in Black
with publishing expert andbrand strategist, Tiffany A
Greenhood.
Listen next week for real talk,powerful strategies and much
more.
Again, we thank you forlistening.
Did you enjoy this radio show?
Well, you too can have your ownradio show right here on
Rejoice 1023 to promote yourbusiness or ministry.
(28:00):
For more information on how youcan have your own radio show or
advertise.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!