Lights Camera Lawsuit Pre-sale Starts Tomorrow!

“Fireworks” by Epic Fireworks from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

I’m nearly pee-my-pants excited because the pre-sale for my first online course, Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography starts tomorrow! I’ve been working on this for well-over a year, and it’s so close to finally coming to market.

I’ve spent the last week promoting the bejezus out of this, and I’m so pleased that the response has been so positive:

Looks like a powerful product… I’m sure it will prove very popular!

Super good idea, and i love the curriculum.

Sound like a good (and much-needed) product.

Just forwarded it to every photographer I know

I will never stop being amazed at your entrepreneurial talents – what an amazing idea.  

On the eve of the pre-sale, I wanted to respond to some of the questions I’ve received about this course.

What inspired you to create this course?

I’ve worked as a lawyer for eight years and a model for five. Basically, I’ve worked on both sides of the camera without having to touch one. I’ve seen there is a great need for quality information about photography law, and, unfortunately, most photographers can’t afford to hire a lawyer to help with all their legal needs. I’ve seen too many photographers make costly mistakes that were completely avoidable, particularly related to their contracts and copyright. I created this course to save other photographers from making the same mistakes.

Why did you create a course instead of another type of product or event?

There are three reasons. First, by creating a course, I can maximize the number of people I can help while keeping the price down.

Second, the material in the course is evergreen (at least until the law changes), so I want it to be available when people are ready for it and looking for a reliable resource about photography law.

Third, people who buy the course will be able to access it again and again, versus a live event which is a one-and-done deal. If there are changes to the law, I can update the lesson in question or add an additional lesson to the course, and everyone who had purchased it to date will get it at no additional cost.

Does the course include contract templates?

No, and here’s why – I’m not allowed to under the rules of my law license. However, the course includes the list of provisions I include in my contracts and lots of sample verbiage from real documents I’ve created for photographer clients.

Where did the name Scarlet Maven come from?

Scarlet Maven is the name of my superhero alter ego.

Why did you have to create a separate business entity? What type did you create?

I created a separate entity, Scarlet Maven, LLC, to make it clear that there will not be an attorney-client relationship with people who buy the course.

On the advice of my accountant, I created an LLC for this business. LLCs are a great choice In Arizona, because they are basically set-it-and-forget-it entities. The state doesn’t require an annual report or fee. I don’t have to file anything with the state unless the company moves or dissolves.

What aspects of the course did you outsource?

Each lesson is going to be a screencast with a voiceover recording. I hired Elizabeth Fullerton at Boldfaced Design to create the templates for the PowerPoint slides.

Additionally, because I have no artistic talent and only had a feeling about what I wanted my logo to look like, I hired Dina Miller at Square Peg Creative to create the logos for Scarlet Maven and Lights Camera Lawsuit.

Both were money well spent. These ladies did a beautiful job.

How have you been promoting the course?

In addition to promoting the course through Scarlet Maven’s email list, I sent well over 500 individual emails to photographers, lawyers, and other professional creatives who might be interested in the course or who might know people who would be interested in the course.

The promotion won’t end with the pre-sale. I expect Lights Camera Lawsuit will be a course I sell for years to come, so I’ll continue to look for opportunity to reach more people about it.

What parts of this process were fun?

Creating the outline for the course and each of the lessons was fun. So has been talking with photographers about their needs and what they hoped to get out of this.

What new skills did you have to learn?

This venture gave me the opportunity to learn some new skills. This was the first time I ever created a website with Squarespace. It’s quite different than working with WordPress, but not too hard once you learn the basics.

This is my first online course, and I’m using Teachery for it. I was so glad and relieved to learn that this platform is super easy to use. I’ve also taken a number of courses that platform, so I know how easy it is for users as well.

What challenges did you face?

Scarlet Maven is my side business, so one of the challenges I faced was making time to devote to the business, create the course, and promote it. I still have my full-time job being a lawyer, writer, and speaker where I don’t always control when I have deadlines or when work gets dropped in my lap.

The biggest challenge I faced, by far, with this venture has been managing my anxiety.

  • What if no one likes it?
  • What if no one buys it?
  • What if I screw up making it and it never gets to market?

These are the types of fears I wrestled with on a daily basis. Sometimes they caused me to procrastinate working on the course. The best way I knew to manage them was to focus on the next task in front of me instead of being consumed by the bigger fears related to the course’s overall success.

Lights Camera Lawsuit Pre-sale: February 14th-18th

The pre-sale for Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography will last only five days!

Pre-sale Starts: Friday, February 14, 2020 at 8am AZ Time

Pre-sale Ends: Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at 6pm AZ Time

Pre-sale Price: $199 (60% discount)

Please subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out on this fantastic pre-sale price. I’ll never offer this course at this price again.

When the course goes live on March 16, 2020, the price will be $497. This is still a bargain for 10+ hours of legal information, but why pay more?

Having a Photography Business is Two Jobs in One

Ghost Dance by darkday from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

Being an entrepreneur is two full-time jobs in one: performing your craft and running a business.

So Many Hats, So Little Time

As a photographer, you have so much to do – photo shoots, edit images, maintain your web presence, promote your business, and garner new clients. Plus, you have to answer emails and phone calls, take care of your billing and accounting, buy office supplies, and take care of the things that normally come with a 9-to-5 job like saving for retirement, health insurance, saving for retirement, planning for time off . . .

Geez. Maybe it’s more like six jobs in one.  

Non-entrepreneurs don’t know how much work it is to keep all the cogs in the machine turning.

Best Advice I Received as an Entrepreneur

One of the best pieces of advice I heard when I was just starting out as an entrepreneur was:

When you’re not working in your business, you need to be working on your business.

When you don’t have client work to do, you need to be working on getting the next client in the door, and/or keeping up with the business side of your company.

How You Set Up Your Business Determines Its Success

How you set up your business, not just creating a business entity, will streamline future decisions. You want to know, and communicate, in advance:

  • Your policy regarding cancellations,
  • Pricing, including rush fees,
  • The turnaround time for deliverables, and
  • Your terms of licensing your work.

Remember – It’s your business. You make the rules.

You also want to make some in-house rules for yourself, like deciding how you to respond to suspected copyright infringement, how you’ll interact with your clients, and when to invest in more training or new equipment.

Having policies and systems in place will make you a more efficient and effective business owner, which will clear up time and energy to devote to your craft.

Work on the Business Every Week

Each week, you should set aside some time to work on your business. Treat your business like a client and put it on your calendar. I have a standing weekly meeting with myself where I put pen to paper to celebrate victories from the past week, examine what’s working and what’s not in the business, what to try next, and to consider upcoming opportunities. This is also the time I pay bills and reconcile bank statements. I run a profit-and-loss report every month to analyze how money is coming in and going out from the company.

Recently, I learned of a photographer who almost never scheduled shoots on Monday. Instead, they used that time to buy film, return calls, accounts receivable and payable, plan ahead, and send invoices. They give themselves an entire day to step back from the camera and Lightroom to take care of the needs of their business.

What about you? What do you do to take care of the business side of your photography company?

Lights Camera Lawsuit

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

The course goes live on March 16, 2020 and is $497. That’s less than what I charge for two hours of work and you’ll be getting over ten hours of legal information.  

Please subscribe to make sure you don’t miss out on other fantastic offers and opportunities to interact with me.

How to Respond When a Client Violates Your Photography Contract

” Angry Face Krah” by bixentro from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

Even when you do everything right as a photographer – signed contract, quality work, deliver the final images on-time, etc., you’ll still have to deal with clients who don’t comply with the contract terms such as being late with payment or alter the images (e.g. cropping them or applying filters) before posting them online.

In these challenging situations, you have options.

What Does Your Contract Say?

The terms of your contract matter most when things go sideways. You want to make sure you have an air-tight contract that is clear about the client’s dos and don’ts, as well as how you’ll resolve disputes.

When I write a dispute resolution clause for my clients, I frequently write one like:

Parties will attempt to resolve the matter among themselves for 30 days. If the dispute is not resolved in that time, then all disputes will be resolved in a court located in [Your County, Your State]. The Parties consent to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction of this court. This Agreement is governed by [Your State] law. The Parties agree that the non-prevailing Party shall be responsible for the prevailing Party’s attorneys’ fees and costs.

Actually, many times, I recommend that my clients have their dispute resolution clause to be based on where I live and Arizona law, because in the event of a dispute, my client will have to pay me throughout the dispute and hope for reimbursement from the other side at the end. It’s cheaper to resolve the dispute on your lawyer’s turf than to have to cover their travel expenses.

Dial Direct

When a client comes to me because their client violated a contract, I often advise them that they should contact their client directly first. Many people feel attacked and go on the defensive when a letter from the lawyer arrives, and they’ll ask, “Why didn’t you just contact me directly?”

When you contact your client, be sure to give them an out, a way to save face, particularly if the client hired you for personal or family photos. They don’t likely understand things like copyright. It could be a casual message like:

“Hey there. I noticed you did XYZ. I’m glad you’re loving the photos so much. I think you may have forgotten that our contract says ABC. Please remove the images by Date.”

When you send the email, include a copy of the contract, possibly with the pertinent provision highlighted.

If that a doesn’t work, the next email should be more forceful. (This may also be your opening response, depending on the client.) You want to clearly state that the person is in violation of the contract, and they must remove images by a specific date. Many times, I recommend including the sentence, “I hope we can resolve this matter without having to resort to lawyers.”

If that doesn’t work, that’s when it’s time to have your lawyer to send a nastygram (cease and desist letter) on your behalf.

Truth be told, frequently I’m the one who writes these emails for my clients to send. This way, the emails are legally accurate, which makes it easier if I have to get involved.

Other Ways to Go After Illegal Image Use Online

If a client posted images online that they weren’t supposed to, and you’ve posted them online somewhere, you can bypass your client completely and send a DMCA Takedown Notice to the website where the images were posted. This tactic only works for U.S.-based companies and companies that comply with these notices, since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is part of the U.S. Copyright Act.

To comply with the DMCA, the website has to remove access to the images. Note: It is easy for the client to send a DMCA Counter Takedown Notice to get the images restored. If you are concerned your client may do that, you may want to send them a note that doing so would constitute perjury.

Images that Should Have Been Licensed

Sometimes websites and/or paper publications ask the person in the image if they can use the photo without verifying who is the copyright owner. If this person is your client, they may be so flattered and excited by the offer, that they forget they don’t have authority to grant permission for the use.

If this happens, and your photo is used without your permission, particularly if it’s a situation where you would have charged a licensing fee, the proper response is to contact the publisher and inform them of their mistake. You can even send them a bill with a letter that essentially says, ““By using my photo, you’ve agreed to our licensing terms” and include a copy of your standard license.

“Beggar’s Sign” by Eli Christman from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

Non-Paying Clients

There are few things more frustrating for any entrepreneur than having to chase a client for payment. I’m a strong advocate that photographers should not provide proofs to a client until all outstanding balances have been paid.

Likewise, if the expectation is that the client must pay you before or at the time of the event or photog shoot, and they don’t pay, don’t be afraid to leave. Why do any work for them if they haven’t paid you to do so? If you choose to stay, I hope your contract includes a provision that lets you charge a hefty late fee.

No matter what or how you charge for your work, always send a reminder about when payments are due, including a notice about your penalties for late payment.

Contract are relationships management documents. They should address the interactions with your clients, including when things go sideways.

Lights Camera Lawsuit

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

At $497, the course contains nearly six hours of legal information you can immediately apply to your business. That’s less than what I charge for two hours of legal work for clients!  

Please subscribe for more information and to make sure you don’t miss out on any special offers or discounts.

Manage Photography Client Expectations with Effective Contracts

Photographer by Elicus from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

One of the problems I’ve heard about from a number of photographers is clients not understanding what the photographer will and will not do for them. A way to manage client expectations is to clearly document them in your contract.

Clearly State What the Client is Getting and When

When your prospective client reads your contract, it should be as crystal clear as possible what they are hiring you to do. This includes providing expectations when deliverables will be ready. Your contract may say things like:

  • You will show up on time and prepared to shoot the client’s wedding if they’ve paid your fee for the event in advance, or alternatively, the wedding party will not receive proofs from the event until they’ve paid in full, including any extra fees incurred because they asked you to stay late.
  • Proofs will be ready 3-4 weeks following the event.
  • The model is being compensated for their time and talent with money.

When I review a contract, sometimes I take my notebook and divide it into two columns – one for each party to the contract – and make a list about what each side is giving and getting in return. Your client should be able to do the same, which means the contract needs to be written with verbiage that they (and you) can understand.

Be Clear About What the Client is Not Getting

Along with being clear about what the client is hiring you to do, you may want to include terms that clarify what they client isn’t getting in this transaction. This may include things like:

  • You will show the client the best images from the event. The client will not be allowed to see every image shot at the event.
  • You make no guarantee that you’ll be able to capture every image the client hoped you’d get.
  • Unless the client paid for extra editing, you will not photoshop the client to make them look like a completely different person.
  • If the client only paid for images for personal use, they can’t use them to market their business.
  • The client is not getting a license to modify the images. This includes running the images through a filter before putting them on Instagram.

Additionally, I hope your contract has a provision entitled “Entire Agreement” that states that the terms therein constitute the entire understanding between the parties, and the contract supersedes all previous verbal and written exchanges. That way, anything that isn’t written in the contract is, be definition, not part of the agreement.

Contract = Relationship Management Document

The best way I can describe a contract is that it is a relationship management document. It clearly states each side’s responsibilities, helps manage expectations, and mitigates problems.

Your photography contract is the master document that applies to your relationships with your clients. When a client hires you for your talents and services, they must agree to abide by your rules. Whatever your concerns are about client behavior, make sure to address them in your contract.

An effective contract can save you from stress, headaches, and legal bills. It won’t eliminate problematic clients from your life, but it will help you manage them more effectively when you can respond to their complaint with a copy of the signed contract and saying, “As you can plainly see in the agreement you signed on [date], you acknowledged/agreed that . . . “

You may also want to have a section of your website where you share with prospective clients, “My Commitment To You” where you can lay out your promises to clients. You can even include a section that starts with, “While I promise to do my best for you, I’m not a miracle worker.” From there you can go into some of the things that you can’t or won’t do for clients.

Lights Camera Lawsuit

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

At $497, the course contains nearly six hours of legal information you can immediately apply to your business. That’s less than what I charge for two hours of legal work for clients!  

Please subscribe for more information and to make sure you don’t miss out on any special offers or discounts.

What if Model Dies Without Signing a Model Release

Strange Photosession Outside the National Theatre, Prague by Staffan Cederborg from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

A photographer recently asked if they could use images if there was no model release signed when the images were taken, and the model has since passed away. Does a persons’ right of publicity survive death?

Anyone who knows me knows the answer to every legal question starts with, “It depends.”

Right of Publicity is a State-Level Law

A person has a right to control how their image is used for commercial purposes. These rights are governed by state-level laws. Unless there’s a contract that specifies otherwise, the state where the images were taken will likely be the state law that applies to your situation.

However, if you use the images without a model release, and the surviving heirs object, they may claim that the state laws where the model resided apply.

The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) created a white paper called Model Release that includes a list of the state statutes that pertain to model releases. Please note, according to the white paper, this list of statutes was accurate as of 2010, so it is best to verify that any laws that are applicable to you are still accurate.

In addition to statutes, there may be state-level common laws that pertain to model releases as well. These are based on case law that has come through the courts. If you need help researching case law, you should visit your local law library or consult a lawyer.

The Model May Have Other Rights

If the model was a celebrity or was a public figure, their name, image, likeness may be protected by other laws, such as trademark and/or copyright.

If the model owned these trademarks and/or copyright at the time of their death, these things would be passed on to others as stated in the model’s will or by statute if the model died without a will.

Websites May Require a Model Release

Even if you are not required to have a model release to use the images of the now-deceased model for commercial purposes – i.e., selling prints, licensing the images, or using the images in your portfolio for marketing purposes – there may be other restrictions on your ability to use the images, depending on where you want to display them.

There are online platforms where photographers can showcase their work that require a model release for every identifiable person in the image. If an identifiable person is deceased, the photographer must get a model release signed by the decedent’s heirs or next of kin.

Always Get a Model Release

Of course, all of these issues can be avoided by having the model sign a model release at the time of the photo shoot.

Lights Camera Lawsuit

There’s always a need for quality legal information for photographers. That’s why I created an online course called Lights Camera Lawsuit: The Legal Side of Professional Photography to address photographers’ most important questions. I want you to feel secure in your business, confident in the way you operate day-to-day, knowing that you’ve set yourself up to get paid what your worth without incident.

At $497, the course contains nearly six hours of legal information you can immediately apply to your business. That’s less than what I charge for two hours of legal work for clients!  

Please subscribe for more information and to make sure you don’t miss out on any special offers or discounts.

CCPA: Worst-Case Scenarios

https://www.flickr.com/photos/oatsy40/34767677374/
“Danger” by oatsy40 from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

The new California Consumer Privacy Act went into effect on January 1, 2020. I’ve received a handful of emails and seen some updates from businesses informing me that their privacy policies have changed, but not as many as I expected. I hope the businesses who are required to comply with this law know the risk they take if opt not to comply with this new privacy law.

What if There’s a Data Breach

Like the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union (GDPR), you have to notify the impacted people if you have a data breach. If you have a data breach impacting personal information, you must notify the individuals “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.” In either case, If the breach causes you to notify at least 500 California residents, you must also notify the California Attorney General’s Office.

If you are in a position where you are entrusted with data that you do not own or license, such as if you are a data storage business, and you have a breach, you must notify the business or person that hired you about the breach.

CCPA Penalties

The CCPA is unique in that it is the first privacy law to allow a private right of action. An individual is allowed to sue a company for failing to comply with the CCPA, $100-$750 per violation or their actual damages, whichever is more. This right is limited, however, to situations where there’s unauthorized access, theft, or disclosure of non-encrypted or non-redacted personal information because the business failed to use reasonable security measures. That means if the business did everything right and there was still a data breach, an impacted person can’t sue for their damages.

In addition to individuals suing for damages under the CCPA, the California Attorney General may fine a business for failing to comply with this law, Up to $7,500 per violation.

My CCPA Cheat Sheet

Complying with CCPA is no easy task, especially if your business must comply with CCPA and GDPR. I created a CCPA Cheat Sheet that I use with my clients and update it as more information and guidelines are provided about this new law. I give my cheat sheet out for free to anyone who asks. I will not add you to my email list. (I will invite you to add yourself, but it’s completely voluntary.) If you want a copy, please send me an email.

Your Rights Under CCPA

“Privacy” by doegox from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

The California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) went into effect today (January 1, 2020)! California residents just got a lot more rights under this law, at least from the businesses that have to comply with it.

(If your company makes less than $25 million per year and have contact information for less than 50,000 California people, devices and households; there’s a good chance you don’t have to comply with this law.)

Your CCPA Rights

Under the CCPA, California residents have the following six rights:

1. The right to know whether your personal information is being collected – and the purpose it’s being used for.

2. The right to know what personal information is being collected about you – upon verifiable request.*

3. The right to request the specific categories of personal information being collected and the sources from which they were collected, the business or commercial purpose for collecting the information, and the categories of third parties with which the business shares information.

4. The right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information. (Also, a third party cannot sell your personal information unless you are given specific notice and the opportunity to opt out.)

5. The right to delete your personal information – upon verifiable request.* This includes the deletion of the personal information the business has, and it must direct service providers to do the same. The law states nine reasons why a business may decline such a request, including to provide you with the goods and/or services you requested.

6. The right to not be discriminated against if you opt-out. A business can’t charge different rates or provide different level of service solely because you won’t allow the sale of your information. However, a business can provide a different price or quality of service if the difference is reasonably related to the value provided to you by your personal info. It’s ok for a business to give financial incentive for you to allow the collection of your personal information.

* The CCPA states that the California Attorney General may provide guidance about what constitutes a verifiable request.

What about Rewards/Loyalty Programs?

The sixth right would have created a problem for rewards and loyalty programs, so the legislature created an exception for these. A business can charge different rates or provide a different level of service if it is part of its rewards/loyalty program without being at risk of price discrimination in violation of CCPA.

Requesting Your Information

Under CCPA, you may submit two requests within a 12-month period that a business give you a copy of the personal information it has for you, assuming you’re a Californian. (A business may do this for all its customers, but it’s not required to do so.) The business must provide this information at no charge, by mail or electronically, within 45 days. If more time is needed, the business must inform you within the first 45 days, that it may take up to 90 days to provide you a copy of your information.

Required Notices Under CCPA

Businesses must provide notice at or before the point of collecting your personal information under CCPA. If it’s being collected online, this will likely occur in the business’ privacy policy, with notice on the page where the information is requested.

(The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union requires a business to prove it received consent to collect your information.  To be compliant with this law too, the business should be a box you have to check that you agree to voluntarily share your information with it.)

A CCPA-compliant notice must include:

  • What categories of personal info are collected and how it’s used by the business;
  • What categories of personal info are collected, disclosed, or sold; and that
  • You have the right to opt-out of having your personal info sold.

The business is also required to have a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” conspicuously on the its homepage and privacy policy with a link to page where you can opt-out. The business cannot ask you to opt-in again for at least 12 months. 

My CCPA Cheat Sheet

Complying with CCPA is no easy task, especially if your business must comply with CCPA and GDPR. I created a CCPA Cheat Sheet that I use with my clients and update it as more information and guidelines are provided about this new law. I give my cheat sheet out for free to anyone who asks. I will not add you to my email list. (I will invite you to add yourself, but it’s completely voluntary.) If you want a copy, please send me an email.

Do You Have to Comply with CCPA?

“Please!” by Josh Hallett from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) goes into effect on January 1, 2020. This will have a substantial impact on companies that collect and use consumers’ personal information.

I would not be surprised if the CCPA was direct response to the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica fiasco. Every time I read a provision of CCPA that seems strange, I consider how the law will impact companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, and then the provision makes sense.

Who Must Comply with CCPA

Businesses must comply with the CCPA. According to this law, a business is

  • A for-profit business,
  • That sells goods or services to California (CA) residents or people domiciled in CA (even if the business is not physically in CA), and
  • Fit at least one of the following three criteria:
  1. Get half their annual revenue from selling consumers’ personal information;
  2. Possess the personal information of more than 50,000 California consumers, households, or devices; or
  3. Have $25,000,000 or more in annual revenue.

This may help you determine if you have to comply with this law.

Non-profit businesses are except from CCPA, as are businesses in industries where consumer privacy is regulated by the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, FERPA, and/or HIPPA.

“Consumer”

Under this law, a consumer is a natural person, aka a human, that lives or resides in California.

“Personal Information”

This law has an expansive definition of personal information that “identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could be reasonably linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular CA resident or household.” This includes a consumer’s real name; alias; address; unique personal identifier; IP address; and email address. It also extends to other identifiers, including account names; social security and/or tax identification number; driver’s license number; passport number; military identification number; unique biometric data; and any unique identification number issued on a government document.

Not just these, it also includes records of personal property or services a person has purchased or considered; purchasing histories or tendencies; browsing history; geolocation data; professional or employment information; and/or education information.

This list is massive. Basically, it’s any information that identifies or could identify a natural person.

There are a few exceptions to this definition: aggregate data, deidentified data, and information that is lawfully made available in federal, state, or local government records are not personal information. Neither is personal information obtained from employees, contractors, and job applicants.

“Sale of Personal Information”

The definition for the sale personal information includes “selling, renting, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means.” Essentially, it includes any way a company might share a consumer’s personal information, even if you don’t make money from it.

Data Broker Registration

The CCPA requires any business that knowingly collects and sells to third parties the personal information of a consumer with whom the business does not have a direct relationship to register as a data broker with the CA Attorney General’s (“AG’s”) Office by January 31, 2020 and pay a registration fee. If you don’t register, the penalty could be up to $100/day plus any costs in the action against you brought by the AG’s Office.

My CCPA Cheat Sheet

I created a CCPA Cheat Sheet that I use with my clients and update it as more information and guidelines are provided about this new law. I give my cheat sheet out for free to anyone who asks. I will not add you to my email list. (I will invite you to add yourself, but it’s completely voluntary.) If you want a copy, please send me an email.

How to Use the Attorney General to Go After Bad Clients

“Stairs to Subway” by Giuseppe Milo from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

One of the frustrations I hear about from entrepreneurs is getting stiffed – either they paid a company to do a job and they didn’t perform, or they did a project or task for a client and they didn’t pay. In many of these situations, the amount in question is low enough that it’s not worth it to hire a lawyer or even put in the time and effort to take the other side to small claims court.

Even if a client hires us to send a demand letter, there’s always the risk that the other side won’t comply, and then they’ll be in the same position as before, but now they have our bill to pay too.

If the client in question is a business, there may be options to go after them through the government at no cost to you.

Attorney General Consumer Complaints

Check the Attorney General’s (AG’s) Office website for the state where your non-performing client lives (not where you live if you live in a different state). For every state that I’ve checked for a client to date, the AG’s Office has had a division or at least a page on their website for consumer complaints. Typically, it’s a form where you provide your contact information, a summary of the situation, and the remedy you want.

If the AG’s Office thinks your complaint has merit, they’ll investigate the situation, including them sending a copy of your complaint to the company and with a firm deadline for providing a response. Even if your client didn’t respond to a demand letter from you or your lawyer, they will likely be more inclined to respond to the AG’s Office.

In my experience, companies are motivated to resolve these matters quickly and avoid the risk of having fraud charges filed against them. This may result in the client paying you, performing as they were supposed to, or giving you your money back.

Pros and Cons of Going Through the AG’s Office

Pro: It’s free to file a complaint. You don’t need a lawyer to do it; however, it may be prudent to have a lawyer help you fill out the form to make sure you’re presenting the most compelling argument in light of the applicable laws. Your lawyer may know the key phrases to use to convince the AG’s Office to take your complaint more seriously than if you’d written it by yourself.

Con: You have less control over the situation. If the AG’s Office pursues the matter and files a complaint in court against your client, you will not be the plaintiff. The state will be the plaintiff. You will be less involved in the negotiations and settlement (assuming there is one).

Pro: It’s less work for you. If you were pursuing this matter directly against your client, such as filing a lawsuit, there could be meetings and calls with you lawyers, documents to review, and other work where you would need to be involved. Or if you were doing it on your own and going to small claims court, you would still have to prepare your Complaint (lawsuit), file it, get the other person served, and show up for your court date.

The AG’s Consumer Complaint is the Hidden Alternative

Most people I’ve spoken with about these types of business challenges, don’t know about Consumer Complaints. I’ve suggested it at least three times in the last two weeks to friends and clients alike. I can’t say this option is available in every state, but it’s worth investigating if you have a non-performing client that’s a business.

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