Ethics, Intellectual Property and Program Design

Ethics, intellectual property and program design. What do these things have in common?

I've read other "leaders" in our profession talk and write about how their copyright was infringed through other coaches "ripping off" their program ideas. When I first heard about this I couldn't believe that others in our profession would deviate so much away from the essential ethical and professional issues we talk about so much. Unfortunately it does happen that original programs created by one service provider are being offered by others "as is".

I recently had a situation where two of my program offerings showed up being offered by another coach in a different part of the continent -- substantively similar titles, same content and marketing material which included my writing! I am pleased to note that the coach did the right thing and has removed these program offerings. The coach had hired a marketing expert to create the programs, and had not realized that the material was not original.

I am familiar with the range of perspectives on the topic of intellectual property (and teach this during a Business Law course I deliver at the College level). From there are only so many original ideas in the world, to be abundant with your ideas. In today's Information Age, the adage "Knoweldge is power" is even more true than before. Intellectual property is considered by many a currency, similar to gold.

For those who know me, I am very generous with my knowledge and information, believing in the integrity and professionalism of coaches to take the information I share and create their own unique programs. However, when course descriptions are cut and copied verbatim and put under the title of another business owners company, intellectual property and copyright is infringed.

The reality today is that in Canada and the US today copyright is granted automatically at the time of publishing (whether on paper, a website or a blog), and registration is not essential.

According to the US Copyright Office website (http://www.copyright.gov/):
"Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work."

With the advent of the internet, even if two businesses are located on the opposite ends of the continent or even in different countries, if programs or marketing materials are substantively the same, clients and the company will find out.

Lessons here -
1. Make sure that you are producing original work and your own unique marketing materials. People will find out if material is "borrowed" or copied. This could have significant legal repercussions.
2. When hiring others to do work on behalf of your company, make sure that they are cognizant of copyright law, Code of Ethics (ICF) and that you double check their work before publishing.

What is your take on this issue of ethics, intellectual property and programs? Have you had similar experiences? I know that this is an issue that has been discussed both in the CTI Certification program, as well as within the International Coach Federation (ICF). I'd love to hear your thoughts -- please feel free to comment. I will follow up in subsequent posts with information about what steps you can take to safeguard your intellectual property.


Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized ~ Group Coaching Essentials
Email: jennifer [at]potentialsrealized[dot]com
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960