A Legal Checklist For Launching Your First Digital Product
So, you’ve decided that you want to launch a digital product for your business – YIPPEE!
Digital products are a great way to diversify your offer suite in the online business world and can help you generate passive income, grow your email list, and position you as a valuable resource in your industry.
I’m always on board with business owners creating digital products, but like anything in the business world, I want to help you make sure you’re doing it legally!
Regardless of the type of digital product you choose to create – whether it be templates, e-books, courses, etc. – there’s a few things you must do to keep your operations running smoothly and protect yourself legally.
And trust me I get it – your to-do list is probably already overflowing and adding more things to it is probably the LAST thing you want to do. I hear you!
Which is why it’s my goal to make this as easy as possible for you, so that the digital products you put out there can actually serve you well.
Otherwise, without implementing these things now you might find yourself in some legal hot water down the road… which is the last thing you want.
So go ahead and take the time to implement these things NOW – you won’t regret it!
7 Legal Policies To Implement When Launching a Digital Product
Digital Product Terms of Purchase
When launching a product or service of any kind, including a digital product, one of the first legal policies you’ll want to implement is a Terms of Purchase Agreement!
Terms of Purchase are often referred to as Terms and Conditions and essentially outlines the specific terms of a transaction and covers policies that are a part of the purchase process, such as refunds, chargebacks or cancellations.
Your Terms of Purchase will often include your Terms of Use as well, which outlines the rules and guidelines that users must adhere to while using the product or service, including restrictions on usage, intellectual property rights, user-generated content policies, privacy practices, disclaimers of liability, and any other terms relevant to the user's interaction with the product or service.
Both of these are legal agreements that can directly protect you and your products if or when you’re ever in an instance like I described above where someone is copying or straight up stealing your work to pass off as their own!
The KEY with both of these is that you make them incredibly clear when someone purchases from you, by going beyond the typical checkbox that you see at checkout.
While a clickwrap IS important to include, I suggest taking it a step further by including a downloadable PDF or something similar with the Terms of Use with every purchase, clarifying that the work cannot be resold or redistributed!
Ultimately, your Terms of Use aims to protect you as the creator or provider of the digital product. By clearly outlining what is permissible and what is not, you can mitigate legal risks.
For a closer look at the hardest working clauses in your Terms of Purchase for digital products specifically, click here!
Privacy Policy
Next up, a privacy policy is KEY! And although the term “privacy policy” might sound like some scary legal jargon, I promise you it’s really not that complicated.
A privacy policy is simply a detailed notice that is published on a website, typically found in the footer, that outlines how that specific website collects, uses and manages a user’s personal information.
When you are handling personal information, privacy concerns are HUGE. When users are visiting a website, they typically understand that their information is being tracked, since this is a common scenario in the online world, but they ultimately want to know HOW it’s being used.
A website privacy policy is the thing that assures users that you are not improperly using their information and that you are being up front and honest about how it’s being used.
Website Terms of Use
A Website Terms of Use agreement is what dictates how your consumers interact with your site and is the first layer of protection for your content that essentially says, “Hey! You can’t steal my stuff and here’s how you can use my website.”
This is a legally binding agreement between you and ALL of your website visitors that typically covers topics like if or how they can use your website images (including your logo), how they can backlink to your website and even how they can quote your blogs.
This agreement also helps limit your liability for any possible errors, such as typos or technical glitches.
Similar to your Privacy Policy, your Terms of Use Agreement should be displayed in the footer of your site so that it populates on every single page.
Without a Terms of Use Agreement on your website, you run the risk of people stealing your content or misusing your website and you’re left with no legal leg to stand on.
This is a SUPER common issue for those in the online business world, so take the necessary steps to protect yourself and avoid yet another legal headache.
Digital Product Copyright Statement
When you’re launching anything into the online space, it’s important that you recognize the fact that you’re putting your work out there publicly and unfortunately that means it does run the risk of being stolen.
As crazy and unethical as it may sound, it happens far more often than you might think ESPECIALLY in the digital product space.
The best way to protect yourself from copycats is to simply copyright your content and make sure it’s displayed everywhereeee!
And yes, I truly mean everywhere, including your downloadable PDF’s, your Google Doc templates, on your workbooks, slide decks, training videos, etc.
Basically any kind of digital asset (free or paid!) needs to display a copyright notice that essentially says, “hey! I’m claiming the rights to this, so if you infringe my stuff, you’re doing it willfully.”
If you provide a copyright notice on your assets and someone does steal the content, that means they’re doing it willfully, which means YOU are entitled to greater damages (aka you can take real legal action and it could cost them big time).
WITHOUT including that copyright notice on your course materials, proving that the person stealing your work knew it was yours and not in the public domain or “fair use”, now becomes another element that you have to prove, meaning more work for you.
If you’re not sure how to implement a copyright notice on your digital products, CLICK HERE for a free guide.
Watermark Your Digital Content
In addition to copyrighting your content, you can also take the extra step of watermarking your work!
Most of us are used to seeing watermarks on content from photographers, graphic designers, or other creatives who create visual content, but ANYONE can do this!
Adding a watermark is one of the most simple and straightforward ways to protect your work and can easily be done by using editing software or even platforms like Canva to embed a semi-transparent logo or your business name on your content.
For PDF style content, you can consider a watermark on each page or a header/footer that includes your copyright information.
Coaching Agreement or Membership Terms (if applicable)
If your digital product is going to include a coaching component or a membership structure, both of those things will need their own set of terms and conditions as well!
When coaching people 1:1, it’s important that you protect yourself and your work while also setting and maintaining boundaries with your clients from the start. This template helps ensure you and your clients are on the same page while proactively protecting your IP and payments.
If you’re going the membership route, you’ll want to have terms in place that clearly communicate what your membership provides, how it will be delivered, as well as setting expectations regarding communication and protecting your membership content right from the start.
Disclaimers
Lastly, depending on your industry, you’ll want to consider any necessary disclaimers!
Disclaimers are statements that aim to limit the liability of you as the product creator and are particularly important for digital products that provide information, advice, or recommendations.
A disclaimer informs users that the information provided is not guaranteed to be accurate, complete, or suitable for any particular purpose.
If you’re not sure if your industry has a specific disclaimer that you should be using, typically a General Disclaimer will do the job!
Overall, disclaimers are essential in protecting you from legal claims. By explicitly stating the limitations of the product and the responsibilities of the user, disclaimers can reduce the likelihood of your audience or customers taking legal action based on perceived damages or misinterpretations of the product’s content.
Launch Your Digital Product With Confidence
Overall, the digital product space can be a great space to be in as a business owner or simply as someone who’s looking to make some extra money in a fun way, but when you’re selling anything – whether it’s online, offline, physically, or digitally – you must take the necessary steps to protect you AND your creations!
My hope is that this checklist gives you everything you need to launch your digital product with confidence, but in case you're in need of some other resources, I’ve got you covered there too:
⭐️ Understanding Digital Product Licenses
⭐️ Legally Protect Your Business Against Chargebacks in Your Digital Product Based Business
⭐️ Download the free Digital Product Legal Policies Checklist!
And if you want the ultimate legal toolkit for coaches, course creators, and anyone selling digital products online, Landing Sales Legally is for YOU!
This mini course teaches you how-to set up a legally compliant sales funnel that brings in the dough AND keeps you out of hot water. 🥵 From lead magnets to landing pages, sales copy to checkout - you’ll learn everything you need to know to protect your profits!
But no-one needs just another course. You'll also receive all the legal templates you need to protect your digital products and your profits, including most of the ones mentioned above!
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If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, hey I’m Amber – not a regular lawyer, but a cool lawyer that helps online business owners sell without getting sued.
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