Are You Creating a Lasting Legacy?

• Have you legally registered and protected your products? Know the basics of copyright and trademark law. File the appropriate forms. Consult with an intellectual property lawyer if necessary.
  
  
• Are your contracts with suppliers and collaborators legally prepared or reviewed? Avoid future legal battles over who owns what by having clear and solid contracts with editors, designers, illustrators, translators, co-authors, contributors, and others.
  
  
• Do you understand each clause of your contracts? Know what rights you own and what you may be signing away. For example, do you have a contract with your publisher that grants them full audio and electronic rights to your print book?
  
  
• What happens if you are hit by a bus tomorrow? Would you want someone to continue development of any products in progress? Would you want someone to continue selling your products or to withdraw them from the market? Would you feel OK about having the new copyright holder make changes to your material, or create additional products in a series you started?
  
  Make sure your will includes mention of your intellectual property so that it passes to the person or people you wish to own it. Also create a manual on how to continue or shut down your information product empire, according to your wishes. Make sure at least one person is familiar with the manual's contents and have them keep an extra copy.
  
  
• Can you live with the reputation you are creating? Take a hard look at the products you are creating and the way you promote them. Are they in line with your core principles and beliefs? Will you be happy if they are a permanent record of your career?