I just cut a 15-second promo for Saturday's free copyright registration training (October 10, 10:00 AM CT). Watch it here, and share it with any author who needs to hear this: Whitney sang it, Dolly wrote it. Register for the free training: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Um7jCpYsQ0iPAoxAY9s-HQ

A group of YouTubers sued ByteDance, the company behind TikTok. They say ByteDance scraped millions of YouTube videos to train its AI video tool without permission. On October 2, a federal judge in California refused to throw the case out. The case moves forward. Here is the part that matters for you. ByteDance argued the videos were public, so taking them was fine. The judge said no. YouTube has safeguards against mass downloading, and the judge ruled those safeguards count as locked doors under copyright law. Breaking a locked door to get the work is its own violation, even if you could see the work through the window. What does this mean for creators? Courts keep drawing the same line. Your work has value. Taking it at scale to feed AI is not a gray area anymore. It is a lawsuit. The practical takeaway: before you create or build anything with AI, know what went into it. And for your own work, run the HOF Test (Human. Original. Fixed.). Did a human make the creative choices? Is it original to you? Is it fixed where people can see it? Then it can be owned. And owned work is work a court can protect. Question for you: if someone trained an AI on your videos or your book without asking, what would you want to happen next? Source: Bloomberg Law https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/bytedance-fails-to-escape-youtubers-ai-training-copyright-suit For education, not legal advice.

When you write a book or song, build an app, create a lesson, or record a training, you are not only making content. You may be creating property. A copyright interest is your ownership stake in that work. Think of a car. The owner decides who may drive it, whether it may be rented, and whether it may be sold. A home works the same way. The owner can use it, rent it, sell it, or leave it to family. Creative work can also carry rights that you control. Your manuscript may be copied, sold, licensed, adapted, displayed, or performed. Those choices may have value. That does not promise that every draft will earn money. It means your writing can be managed like an asset. This view changes how you work. First, keep your drafts. A dated copy can help show what you made and when you made it. Second, read every agreement. If a coach, editor, producer, designer, developer, or partner helps, the deal should say who owns the final words, music, art, code, audio, and video. Third, do not give away every right just because one person wants one use. A publisher may want print rights. A producer may want film rights. A course partner may only need permission to show one lesson. An app developer may need a license to use specific text, art, music, or code. These are different uses. Before you hire help, write a book or song, build an app, or create a course, ask: What am I creating, what do I own, and what am I agreeing to share? Your writing deserves more care than a file named FINAL on your laptop. Treat it as property from the start. Discussion question: What is one piece of writing or teaching content you now see as a possible asset?

October is National Book Month, so let's make it ours. Drop the title of the book you are writing this month in the comments. Finished draft, rough draft, or just an idea, all of it counts. All month long we are running the HOF Test together. Human. Original. Fixed. Your words, owned by you. For education, not legal advice.

Today’s Copyright Wake-Up Call is in the books. Thank you to everyone who showed up live. The big idea in one sentence: if you do not register your copyright, you leave your strongest protection on the table. Three things to act on: 1. Registration is what unlocks statutory damages and attorney's fees in court. 2. Your book, your songs, your course, and your app are all the same kind of property. Protect each one before you create or build. 3. Run the HOF Test (Human. Original. Fixed.) on everything you make with AI. Your one-page cheat sheet from today is attached below. Keep it where you write. Question for you: what surprised you most about copyright today? Drop it in the comments. I read every one. Want to keep going? Join us Monday at 10 AM CT for WRITE YOUR WORTH WITH AI. Bring what you are working on. Dr. Fred Jones, Esq. Protecting the Property of the Mind