More on Protecting Your Intellectual Property
ByOne of my clients is getting a new site ready for launch.
It’s quite unique, and I know it will help a lot of people.
One thing of prime concern for her is security. She’s had someone blatantly rip off her material before, and wants to do all she can to protect this new content (which is audio).
As well she should.
But it’s not that easy to do these days.
Without setting up one location where customers have to log in to access what they’ve paid for, and only allowing ONE USER to access it via that login info, you subject yourself to “Download Fraud” and “Refund Fraud.”
Let me explain…
Many authors and entrepreneurs who sell information online are making the mistake of choosing the wrong method to deliver their products.
Because of this people are passing around the download link to those who haven’t paid plus they’re asking for a refund and yet still accessing your product (and that’s just the beginning).
So how do you prevent this from happening?
By setting up a protected download area.
One location where your customers have to login in order to access what they’ve paid for.
That way you can control who can come in and out and if they ask for a refund, you can cut them off.
There are many other benefits to this as well because you can also begin to build a “community” of people who know and love your product.
You’ll quickly find that these customers can (and will) bond with each other making support easier for you as well as dramatically decreasing the chance that they’ll ask for a refund.
But I know what you’re thinking…
Can’t they still just pass their username and password to someone else?
They can.
But if you use the right software, you can prevent this from happening with “IP login security”.
This basically limits the number of logins from the same username.
That way only one person can use the same login info.
There are SO many more advantages of creating a protected download area or simple membership site for your products and I actually recommend you do it for all your products.
It just gives you complete control.
The software I recommend for this is called “WishList Member.”
You can find it here.
The option with the best value is the Multi-Site license since you can install it on as many domains as you want.
If you just have one product then get the Single Site license but if you plan on creating more than one download area (or you want to create multiple memberships), grab the Multi-Site license.
There are lots of free videos that show all the features (you’ll see these located on the right when you click this link).
So take back control of your products. I recommend WishList Member. I’m getting it myself!
By the way, here is another set of videos that demonstrate another type of membership site but I’m sure you’ll quickly see all the possibilities.
7 Comments
August 14th, 2009 at 12:10 am
Hi Diane,
I can see how the login security will prevent people from logging in more than once, but what’s to prevent a person who has legitimately logged in and bought the product, from then emailing the product (if it’s an e-book or mp.3 sound file) to all their friends and colleagues?
That happened to one of my clients recently. His members were able to get a pdf of his book by logging in (which was fine), but then one of his members emailed the pdf to 100 other people, so those 100 people got the book for free. Is there any way to prevent this?
Best regards,
Sharon
P.S. You and I were going to chat on the phone a while ago, since we’re both in the book coaching business. I’d still love to talk with you! Can we make it happen?
August 14th, 2009 at 1:43 am
Your question is excellent, Sharon, and something that bothers me, too. I will ask Stu McLaren (who created WishList Member) and see what he says….
August 14th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I have heard great things about WishList.
There are many ways to circumvent this. I have seen products that are licensed as downloadable to one computer only. They are created in a file that needs a code to open it and can only be used on one computer. However, I think the average marketer spends too much time worrying about this type of thing.
Diane, we met a few years ago at an internet marketing seminar, remember? At that same seminar I ran into a man I have known for quite a while. In my opinion, he is enormously gifted and talented. So much so, I would buy whatever he sells. But after all this time, he is selling nothing. I told him I was launching my first ebook after the seminar. He told me he looked into that and while he needed the money, he was afraid it would get passed around to people who did not pay for it. So he never did it. Ever. In any form or fashion. Still after the years that have gone by he has no product because of this particular fear.
So if money loves speed, which I believe, it is better to have a product out there even if it gets passed around than none at all. As you progress, you can invest in other ways to protect your product if you wish, but my opinion is that pdf ebooks and mp3 files for audio are the most user friendly experience. In this society, people like a medium they can take with them on the run.
My point is take whatever precautions you can but don’t let the fear stop you from getting your work out there as soon as you possibly can.
Live Your Dreams,
Jill Koenig
May 25th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Most countries in the third world never respects intellectual property rights. piracy is so rampant in asian countries.-;”
September 9th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
there are so many intellectual property and copyright violations these days,–
October 24th, 2010 at 7:46 am
intellectual property is always a concern these days because of the very fast update in technology,,,
December 16th, 2010 at 5:49 am
in China, they do not respect intellectual property at all. too many software and movie pirates out there ,`~