Decisions

Getting copyright for your own original work is something that is advised under the law, particularly if there is something about your work that makes it likely to be either copied or used for any purpose against your will. Being the creator of a piece of work is something that can provide both financial riches and personal kudos. If, however, you have not copyrighted this work, you will have problems trying to prove ownership further down the line.

Of course, copyrighting your work will cost money. This is all very well and good if you are a successful artist who has been selling their pieces for some time and has the money in the bank to pay copyright fees. The expense is not huge – especially when compared with some other legal services – but it still brings into the matter a question of whether copyright law discriminates against poor, struggling artists. If you happen to have an idea that you imagine may well be lucrative, but not the money to copyright it, then you may feel that you are being unfairly prevented from protecting your idea.

One solution that has been mooted in this situation is the practice known as “Poor Man’s Copyright”. As the name suggests, it is a way of demonstrating that one has taken action to protect their idea, and doing so without having to spend a large amount of money when one cannot reasonably afford to. The practice itself is fairly straightforward and simple, and based in some genuinely clever thinking. The idea is that if you take a copy of the work and send it to yourself through the mail, there will be a date postmarked on the envelope showing when it was sent. If someone then tries to copy your work or pass a version of it off as their own you have a way of showing that you had the idea first and took steps to protect it.

The fact is, however, that Poor Man’s Copyright is not legally binding. No provision is made in US copyright law regarding such protection, so people responsible for original work are still required to put it through the process of applying for copyright if they want total, full copyright protection. This is not an advantageous situation for anyone who has an idea while down on their luck financially.

However, it is still worth going through the process of sending the work to yourself. It can be used as evidence where there is reasonable doubt, and more importantly it can be a way of providing notice to any potential plagiarist that you are mindful of people trying to steal your ideas. In any potential case where you may sue for plagiarism, it is always desirable to be as fully armed as possible for any legal battle. After all, it is potentially a question of substantial, repeated future earnings and you want to put your foot down to protect those.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.

About the Author:
http://LegalBuffet.com is a complete online resource that compares the legal services offered by various online companies. Find the best company for your copyright needs http://legalbuffet.com/copyright-services/.

Keyword tags: Copyright, online copyright, copyrighting services, how to copyright, copyright search, copyrighting

You probably already know that your website’s sales will go down if you’re charging too much for your products, but did you know that sales can also suffer if you charge too little?

I wish I could tell you how many times I’ve seen someone’s website go under because they weren’t making enough profit off of the products they were selling, but I can’t because I’ve lost track of the number.

It’s sad and I see it all of the time. Someone thinks that he’ll make more sales if he lowers his prices to keep up with the competition. He ends up undercutting the other guy, then the other guy undercuts him, then he undercuts back, and soon none of them are making money.

So what’s the answer? Before anyone says it, I’m not suggesting that the solution is industry wide price fixing. No, in actuality the answer is value.

You see, everything that is sold has a value of some sort. For example, you know about how much you’re going to pay for a cup of coffee, or a shirt, or a new car. And if the price is well below what the market expectations are, then sales will most likely suffer as a result because customers will wonder if they’re getting an inferior product.

But there are many industries, including the ones above, that have much more expensive high end products available. How do they get away with charging so much more for a shirt or a cup of coffee? By adding value to their products. Or at least by adding perceived value. (In some cases, the more expensive item won’t be any better than the cheap item, but that’s a conversation for another time.)

Remember, customers don’t always buy the thing they need, they buy the thing they want. And a lot of the time the thing they want is the thing that costs more and has greater value. I know that I’m willing to pay more for better quality and better customer service, and I know many other people who are as well. People who understand that the cheapest option isn’t always the best bargain.

Now I’m not saying that you should start gouging your customers and overcharging them. I’m talking about charging what your products are worth. And if you can increase the value of what you’re selling, then by all means increase the price accordingly.

I’ll give you an example from my own experience. One of my first websites, www.warrantydomain.com, was chugging along for a long time making very little profit. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t making more sales since I felt like I had the best prices in the industry. I later came to realize that I was charging too little and that customers were hesitant to buy a warranty that they felt must be of poor quality to be priced so low.

Plus, my profit margin was pathetic. So I raised prices to be more in line with the market, and sales instantly shot up. And I was making more per sale. I didn’t even have to add any extras or bonuses or anything else. Just bringing prices in line with what the average customer expected did the trick.

This is even more true if you’re selling your own products, such as an ebook or a monthly membership, because now you have something for sale that no one else does. So why would you bother lowering prices to compete with no one but yourself? Even if you’re ebook is on the same subject as someone else’s, it’s still not the same product, so it can’t be purchased from anywhere else. So charge what you think it’s worth.

And I highly recommend adding as much value to it as possible to justify the higher price tag. Then let potential customers know how much they’ll be getting for their money, and show them how they’re really getting a great deal.

The fact of the matter is that you won’t be in business for long if you’re constantly engaged in a price war. You’ll only end up going broke and making yourself crazy. So charge what your products are worth. You’ll make more profit, and if you give good value, you’ll make more sales as well.

About the Author:
Mark Yarrobino is the president of Maroon Enterprises, an internet business development company. Their two websites on the subject: http://www.homebusinessendeavors.com which does reviews of online business products, and http://www.profitstreamformula.com an internet business coaching program.

Keyword tags: homw business, work at home, internet marketing, make money online

Dept FAQ What if I have an AUP policy regarding illegal images should I still communicate the introduction of auditing and monitoring software?

While such software products are tools for detecting the presence of obscene or illegal images, their long term value lies in their potential as a preventative mechanism deterring employees from storing, downloading, viewing such images in the first place.

In order for this potential to be realised, the communication and education of employees is essential. Employees need to understand the policies, the rationale or values behind the policies, the legal implications/ obligations and the consequences of breach of such policies. Therefore, continuous education and ongoing communication are vital if such monitoring is to serve as an ongoing deterrent. Appendix C provides a sample communication informing employees about the introduction of auditing and monitoring software.

Is this an invasion of the employee’s right to privacy?

In most countries, all content on Company IT/Communication systems is considered the property of the Company to which such resources belong. From the time an employee joins a Company they should be clear that they should have no expectations with regard to privacy in their use of any of the company’s IT or communication resources. This should be clearly stated in the company’s Acceptable Use Policy and communicated as part of the initial induction. Where an Acceptable Use Policy may allow for some personal use of the company’s IT / Communication resources, employees still need to understand that ultimately all information contained on such system is accessible on the part of the Company.

What if images are sent to an individual unsolicited? How can it be ensured that an employee’s reputation is not damaged unfairly?

To prevent this kind of situation a company’s AUP policy should state what an employee needs to do in the event of finding or receiving obscene material either visual or auditory. Typically, employees should report the receipt of such material to IT or HR immediately, this will prevent them being implicated in the solicitation of such information. The employee should also inform the sender that such material is offensive and that they should refrain from sending these in future. At the same time, employees need to be aware that the continuous “unsolicited” receipt of offensive material may require further investigation.

How does a company decide what action needs to be taken if pornographic or illegal images are discovered?

The Case Management section of this document provides guidelines on the type of action that should be taken following the discovery of offensive images. Images are considered illegal if they involve a minor. In such cases, clients are advised to seek legal counsel which most likely will result in contacting the police.

However, ultimately the discovery of any potentially illicit image material needs to be treated extremely seriously, since what one employee construes as mildly upsetting may be viewed as extremely offensive by another.

I am concerned about the impact that viewing such images might have on the employee managing the system. What can be done to minimize the impact?

The selection of who monitors the system is a key issue and needs to be given due consideration. The administrator must be someone who has both the IT capability and emotional maturity to deal with potentially objectionable material. IT and HR should work together to select individuals with the right mix of skills and maturity.

Many companies decide to keep the monitoring of such information at a management or senior administration level until the monitoring system is widely implemented and its use and capability is communicated and understood throughout the organisation. This communication and education should act as a deterrent, serving to reduce or eliminate the presence of such obscene material.

However, the HR/ IT Manager needs to be continuously cognisant of the number and type of images viewed and consider the impact on the administrator. Where necessary, the provision of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) may ensure that that impact on the employee is minimal. While the impact on the employee administrating the system may be upsetting, it is happening in a controlled environment, where the individual has expectations of what they are going to see. Contrast this to a situation where no such monitoring is taking place and as a result such information is sent to an employee unsolicited by another employee.

About the Author:
This article was written by Colm Doherty of Pixalert – http://www.pixalert.com – Data Loss Prevention, Email Monitoring Solution, Porn at Work. PixAlert is the market leader in products and services that provide detection of critical data for corporations.

Keyword tags: data loss prevention, block porn, email monitoring solution, data leakage prevention, porn at work

BNE: Now connected with instant SMS

Brisbane Airport is the largest capital city Airport in Australia spread over almost 2700 hectares with more than 16,000 employees. It connects passengers directly to 35 domestic and 26 international destinations. The airport is a city in itself and this city does not sleep! There are activities going on round the clock, day in and day out. This needs efficient scheduling, excellent management, and highest level of instant communication. And, above all, under the global terrorism scenario, you cannot overlook the security aspects as well. For all these the authorities needed a successful system that connects every corner of the service area and each and every employee. Precisely with this need in mind BNE roped in Brisbane-based Red Oxygen, a leading global developer of SMS gateways, and a distributor of email to SMS software applications.

Red Oxygen has developed a fully customized SMS gateway for Brisbane Airport Authority that will allow them to utilize their existing contacts address book for sending instant bulk SMS to their staffs. It is a low-cost employee messaging application system from Red Oxygen to contact their diversely scattered workforce. Any messages written in the SMS application window are delivered instantly to the recipients’ mobile phone.

Red Oxygen has all necessary desktop messaging software applications that can be customized to develop a seamless instant email to SMS system. It has intelligently merged the power of email applications with fast, reliable, and extremely secured SMS solutions.

The authority can send SMS messages to a specific individual or to the entire list as quickly and easily as sending a single email. For an airport it is not wise or feasible to communicate to their employees over email as most of the requirements are urgent and should be attended to immediately. It has been found that on an average it takes about 48 hours to respond to an email, whereas it is maximum 20 minutes for a general SMS. For high security operation areas like Brisbane Airport it ideally should be within a second. The volume of traffic the airport handles along with the number of passenger it is extremely important to stay connected with every area of operations, be it the main lounge, the air traffic control, or the ground operation areas. Sending instant bulk SMS messages seems to be the only practical solution! At the time of emergency it is not possible to call every employee on their phone. Sending the high alert SMS is by far the most practical, realistic and effectual step in dealing with urgent matters at hand.

Along with sending bulk SMS messages to employees, the authority can also have customized calendar reminders that will be automatically send to their employees’ mobiles. They can send SMS messages to a large group of employees and can receive the replies directly into their inboxe! It can also send long messages, scheduled SMS, recurring reminders, etc. The bulk SMS application is fully integrated and does not require additional installation. It reduces the telecommunication costs drastically.

Red Oxygen has developed the customized software for Brisbane Airport that works in tandem with Microsoft Outlook/Outlook Express and IBM Lotus Notes. With this revolutionary SMS gateway the messaging managers or executives can be communicated while they are out of the office. Under normal circumstances the SMS service is utilized by employees in the administration, receptionists, and secretaries who look after regular intra-office communication. But owing to the nature of the service and the global security threats, SMS applications are widely utilized in emergency service departments as well. This ensures a smooth, convenient, and timely communication which can then be followed by instant and effective actions. The entire operation is extremely cost effective, timely, and efficient.

About the Author:
For Microsoft Office Outlook to SMS go to: http://redoxygen.com/micro_sites/office_sms For Bulk SMS go to: http://redoxygen.com/micro_sites/bulk_sms/ For web based sms gateway go to: http://redoxygen.com/micro_sites/web_sms/

Keyword tags: sms gateway, email to sms, bulk sms, bulk sms sending, sending bulk sms, bulk sms gateway

The word “outsourcing” has taken on a negative quality over the years because it immediately implies sending the work overseas for cheap labor and sketchy results. Before I get in to the meat of this article I wanted to clarify outsourcing, any time you hire an outside resource to complete a task you are outsourcing … so why not use companies right in the USA?

Sometimes it boils down to dollars; if you are on a really tight budget there may not be another option. If you are after reliability then using a company within the USA is your best option! A few other incentives for using mainland companies is a common language, the ability to call with questions and get customer service and sometimes price is comparable to overseas depending on the project (and especially when you compare shipping of documents and having to have work redone).

Moving forward, document conversion projects that lend themselves to outsourcing are typically large, hairy, monsters in the beginning that need a strong experienced staff to get the job done right. For instance, think about the sheer quantity of paper to be scanned … the amount of work involved to make sure each document can be found after the conversion is complete.

Although there is a number of high-volume scanning products on the market to complete a task like this, which is only a portion of the work. Once the papers or microfiche has been scanned there needs to be a document management software and storage solution in place to receive the scanned documents, read them and build a searchable database. And I bet you know as well as I do that these products never work perfectly together on the initial installation!

Let’s say you have a room that is 15′ x 15′ that you use for storage, shelves that go 6′ high packed as tight as you can get them. Banker’s boxes full of paper neatly organized (well sometimes) just waiting for a catastrophe. How many employees would you have to pull away from their existing jobs to scan and verify each of those pieces of paper in order to get the backlog of stored documents in to the new system? Don’t forget you now need to task other employee’s (or bring in temporary help) with the full-time work these employees did before the conversion project started. I don’t need to go down this rat-hole any further, you get the idea.

Taking on a document conversion project is way more than just scanning documents, and it is easily one of those projects that really do need to be outsourced at the onset and then handed over to the staff to maintain. The trick is:

1. Finding a reliable resource to select the right infrastructure to fit your document storage needs long term.

2. Knowing your new document management system will be easy to use and all key employees are trained thoroughly.

3. Having ALL of your existing documents scanned in verified in to the document management system so they can be found easily.

4. Have a clear system in place for maintaining the incoming documents in order to keep your company organized.

Do your research when looking for a reliable company to take on your document conversion outsourcing; I received the information in this article from Digital Storage, Inc. out of Long Island, New York. They were extremely helpful in helping me understand every aspect of this process. Outsourcing does not have to be a negative experience, when you find the right resources.

About the Author:
Digital Solutions, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Long Island, NY and was founded in 2001. The company provides professional document conversion and management for small business through enterprise level businesses. For more information, visit http://www.digitalstorageinc.com

Keyword tags: document conversion, document management, archive storage, document conversion services

A lot of microfiche libraries are decades old and typically created at various different quality standards, and possibly even stored in poor conditions and viewed so many times that the fiche is damaged. If this is the case for you microfiche then you will need to make sure you work with a professional company that has experience managing the challenging elements of maintaining image quality of these valuable films.

Today every format of microfilm can be converted to a digital format (Microfiche, jacketed fiche, 16mm and 35mm microfilm, COM, 105 mm Step & Repeat Microfiche and aperture cards) allowing you to search for an image, and even grant multiple user access to images. No more pulling out the microfilm reader and sloughing through films, with microfilm conversion and storage you can go to any computer on the company network and retrieve the image you need in minutes.

There are even more advantages to converting this old technology to a new digital format.

1. You can now e-mail and fax an image with the touch of a few buttons
2. You can convert them to a PDF document for easy portability
3. Massively reduce the time it currently takes to retrieve an image
4. View images from a web browser, so your staff does not need proprietary software

Microfiche wasn’t perfect, but it was a great way to store a lot of data that normally does not get used a lot without large storage cabinets. Libraries and medical offices have used this technology for years to maintain files with minimal physical storage space (a single microfiche could archive the equivalent of 20,000 books, that would fit in a cabinet about 1.5×0.5×2 meters), but it is still limiting in how difficult it can be to access and find the one or two documents you need because the data is not indexed, or catalogued with a search function.

Microfiche and microfilm can be viewed using a reader that projects the image large enough to read, or even a magnifying glass. But how many of us have either of these resources readily available, what we all do have access to is a computer. With the invent of large, reliable hard drives it is even more efficient to convert these old images to searchable documents and make them more readily available to the staff that needs access or even the community, in the case of libraries. Granted there a lot more companies using this technology than just medical offices and libraries, but you get the idea. There are now options that will make the data currently stored on microfilm or microfiche more accessible.

By converting this media to a digital format you open up the ability to search for the information you need by using standard search terms like you currently use in, say, Google. No more attempting to look at tiny images or lost microfiche cards (or tapes), find the document you need and print it, e-mail it or fax it!

About the Author:
Digital Solutions, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Long Island, NY and was founded in 2001. The company provides professional document conversion and management for small business through enterprise level businesses. For more information, visit http://www.digitalstorageinc.com

Keyword tags: convert MicroFilm, Convert MicroFiche