Hey Fam,

Now, TLC was not talking about contracts when they gave us the award winning song Creep.

But whew...

Scope creep?

It will absolutely sneak up on you.

A few years ago, I agreed to give a talk for an organization.

The fee was around $5,000.

And my scope?

The talk.

That was it.

Not the recording.

Not a bunch of dress rehearsals.

Not the after-events.

Not several extra conversations with executives before I ever stepped on stage.

The talk.

Then, in the weeks leading up to the presentation, the asks started growing.

I was asked to attend no less than three dress rehearsals.

Then there were conversations with CEOs.

More time.

More preparation.

More of me.

But the fee?

Still the same.

And this is exactly how scope creep gets you.

It rarely walks into the room announcing:

“Hi! I’m here to give you a bunch of extra unpaid work.”

No.

It sounds more like:

“Well, obviously you’ll come to the rehearsal.”

“Obviously we need you on this call.”

“Can you send us those materials too?”

“It’s just one more thing.”

And because each request sounds small on its own, founders can keep saying yes without stopping to ask the question that actually matters:

Was this included in what I priced?

Because when the work grows but the compensation does not, the deal has changed.

Even if nobody calls it that.

In my situation, I finally asked the question directly:

Do you anticipate compensating me more for that?

They said no.

And I made a decision about whether that engagement still made sense for me.

That is what we are talking about today.

How scope creep happens.

Why “one more thing” can become expensive when you keep absorbing it.

And how to get much clearer about what your fee actually buys before resentment, confusion, and unpaid work become part of the relationship.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

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But first, Church Announcements!!

Speaking of this exact problem...

We’re officially kicking off our next education + workshop series at Firm for the Culture:

Because sometimes you did exactly what you said you were going to do.

You delivered the work. You met the deadline. You honored the agreement.

And the other side...didn’t.

Maybe they didn’t pay you. Maybe they used your intellectual property outside the scope of the license. Maybe the relationship changed, the contract broke down, and now you’re trying to figure out what happens next.

Too often, founders are made to feel like there are only two options when that happens:

Let it go or sue everybody.

But there’s a whole lot of strategy in between.

So this quarter, we’re talking about what it actually looks like to respond when someone breaches an agreement, how to understand the leverage you already have, and how to make decisions that protect the business you worked so hard to build.

Here’s what’s coming:

October 29 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE

They Didn’t Pay You. Now What?

We’re talking payment schedules, nonpayment, documentation, when to stop working, escalation, and the options available when somebody owes you money and the invoice is still sitting there unpaid.

November 12 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE

They Violated Your License Agreement. Now What?

We’re getting into license scope, unauthorized use of your IP, copyrights and trademarks, royalties, post-termination rights, remedies, and what to consider before you escalate.

December 3 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE LIVE AMA

You Built It. Who Gets It When You’re Gone?

We’ll be having a guest conversation about IP, contracts, estate planning, ownership, royalties, licensing income, succession, and what it actually means to build something that can outlive you.

And then we’re closing out the year with:

December 17 | 8:00–10:00 a.m. Pacific | PAID INTENSIVE

Future-Proof Your Contracts: 2027

This is our live contract strategy + vision-planning intensive.

You’ll work through a 2027 Contract Vision Workbook and leave with your own 2027 Contract Blueprint so your agreements can actually match the business you’re building next year.

Early enrollment is $297 through October 31.

Regular enrollment is $349 beginning November 1.

We’re limiting the number of seats to 15 folks who are serious about getting their contracts and business infrastructure in order.

1 CLICK — REGISTER FOR CONTRACT BREACH ACADEMY

REGISTER FOR FUTURE PROOF YOUR CONTRACTS (EARLY BIRD PRICING)

Because being the bigger person does not require you to be the person who keeps absorbing the cost.

Now, let’s get back to the program.

One of the easiest ways scope creep happens is when everybody knows the price...but nobody is equally clear on what the price actually covers.

That is a problem.

Because a fee without a clearly defined scope can start feeling like access to everything you know how to do.

And that is not necessarily what you sold.

When I talk about Scope of Work provisions, I want founders to get specific.

What are you delivering?

When are you delivering it?

What tasks are actually required?

What is the timeline?

What standards apply?

And here is one founders sometimes forget:

What is explicitly not included?

That last one matters.

A lot.

Because sometimes the strongest boundary is not simply explaining what you will do.

It is making clear what the engagement does not include.

In my speaking example, that distinction was pretty straightforward.

My scope was the talk.

Not recordings.

Not dress rehearsals.

Not after-events.

Those things may all be perfectly reasonable things for an organization to want.

But reasonable does not automatically mean included.

And this is also why I typically like the scope to be flexible enough to match the actual engagement.

A virtual event might require one kind of preparation.

An in-person event may require something completely different.

One client may need a workshop.

Another may need materials.

Another may need a Q&A.

The work changes.

So the scope should actually reflect the work being purchased.

Because if your fee is based on one assignment but the client relationship quietly turns into five assignments?

That original number is now carrying work you never priced into it.

And once that boundary is clear?

Now you have to recognize when somebody starts pushing past it.

Scope creep does not always look unreasonable.

That is why it works.

Sometimes it sounds incredibly logical.

“Obviously, if you’re giving the talk, you’ll come to rehearsal.”

“Obviously, we need a couple of planning calls.”

“Obviously, you’ll send us the materials ahead of time.”

And individually?

None of those requests necessarily sound outrageous.

But that is not the question.

The question is:

Were they part of the agreement?

Because “obvious” is not the same thing as negotiated.

In my situation, those rehearsals and CEO conversations were time I had not priced into the original deal.

So instead of pretending they were automatically included, I asked about additional compensation.

And that conversation matters.

If the work changes, you are allowed to recognize that the work changed.

If the organization wants something additional, you can ask:

What exactly are you asking me to do?

What do you intend to do with these materials?

How many planning calls are we talking about?

Who is responsible for the additional costs?

Is this now something that needs to be reflected in the compensation?

I have said this before:

You can always negotiate what’s in the scope.

That can include things that seem small.

A networking dinner.

Another planning call.

Additional materials.

Another responsibility before or after the main deliverable.

Because the point is not to nickel-and-dime every interaction.

Please do not leave this Founder’s Letter charging somebody every time they breathe near your project.

That is not what I am saying.

The point is to notice when an occasional accommodation starts turning into a new version of the job.

Because somewhere along the way, “one more thing” can stop being a favor and start becoming part of the work.

And if it is becoming part of the work?

We need to talk about what it is worth.

Now here is the other part.

The best time to protect that boundary is not when you are already irritated.

It is when you are writing the agreement.

Listen.

A good check can make founders overlook a lot.

I have talked about this in the intellectual property context before, but scope creep has the same sneaky little energy.

Somebody offers you a strong fee and suddenly you’re feeling real flexible.

One extra call? Sure. A rehearsal? Okay. A “quick” set of materials? Fine.

Next thing you know, that check has brought cousins, aunties, and a whole plus-one list to the engagement.

Absolutely not.

The fee matters. But so does what you actually agreed to do for it.

Because the check does not answer every question.

And my speaker agreement materials make this point very clearly:

Define your scope of work, payment terms, and cancellation rights in writing.

Because those three things work together.

The scope tells everybody what you agreed to do.

The payment terms tell everybody how and when that work gets compensated.

And the cancellation or termination terms help establish what happens when the engagement does not go according to plan.

That is very different from everybody operating on goodwill and hoping you remember the deal the same way six weeks later.

I have taught, for example, that cancellation provisions can distinguish between what happens if the organization cancels and what happens if the speaker cancels.

The exact terms will depend on the deal.

But the larger point is that the agreement should contemplate the possibility that things change.

Because things do change.

Projects shift.

Organizations ask for more.

People rethink what they need.

And if you have already decided what you are selling, how you are being paid, and what happens if the engagement changes?

You have something concrete to point back to.

Instead of trying to renegotiate the entire relationship from memory.

This is also why I want founders drafting terms they are actually prepared to use.

Your contract should not be full of boundaries that disappear the second somebody pushes on them.

It should reflect the way you actually intend to run your business.

Scope Creep Gets Expensive When The Work Keeps Growing But The Fee Doesn’t.

Here’s what I want you to remember.

Scope creep is not always dramatic.

Sometimes it is one extra call.

One extra rehearsal.

One more round of revisions.

One more deliverable that somehow became “part of the project.”

And individually, those things may not feel like a big deal.

But when the work keeps expanding while the fee stays exactly the same?

That is when you need to pay attention.

Because the issue is not simply whether you are willing to do more.

The issue is whether the agreement still reflects the work you are actually doing.

That is why I want founders getting clear about scope before the work begins.

What are you delivering?

What is not included?

What does the fee cover?

And what happens if the engagement changes?

You cannot prevent every client from asking for more.

But you can make sure every new ask does not automatically become part of the original deal.

Sometimes the answer will still be yes.

Sometimes the scope will change.

Sometimes the compensation needs to change with it.

The important part is that you notice the difference.

Because “one more thing” should not quietly become five more things that nobody ever agreed to pay for.

Think about the last client project, speaking engagement, or consulting agreement you completed.

What did you end up doing that your original fee never actually covered?

Was it the extra call?

The extra revision?

The additional materials?

The pre-event meeting?

The “quick” request that somehow became part of the job?

And here’s the bigger question:

If that same request came in today, would you automatically say yes again? Or would you stop and have a conversation about the scope first?

Tell me in the comments.

I have a feeling some of y’all have a scope creep story 👀

Let me know what you find in the comments.

Leave a comment

• Negotiating While Black.

• Being the ‘Bigger Person’ Is Costing You

• DO NOT Sign that Speaker’s Contract

Let’s Make Sure Your Brand Is Protected

Want to know where your business actually stands?

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting What You’ve Built?

At Firm for the Culture, we help founders protect, maintain, enforce, and strategically grow their intellectual property portfolios.

Because getting the registration is a major milestone.

Keeping the asset protected as your business grows is the long game.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap.

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading.

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

👩🏾‍⚖️⚖️

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Hey Fam,

A client once came to me after a business relationship stalled and the other side disputed what she was still owed.

She had performed substantial work.

She had reserved the time.

She had repeatedly asked for information she needed to complete the remaining deliverables.

But when it was time to close out the relationship, the other side took the position that payment depended entirely on what had been delivered.

Sound familiar?

You’re not alone.

This happens waaaay more than you think.

In a 2025 Intuit QuickBooks survey, nearly half of U.S. small businesses surveyed reported having invoices more than 30 days overdue.

And I see this with our clients all the time…(before they come to us, of course :). )

If you’re a business consultant, maybe you’ve led the leadership retreat, delivered the team’s action plan, and sent the final invoice. Then the client says payment has to wait until they can see the results—even though you’ve already done the work.

If you’re a clinician, maybe an organization hired you to train its staff using a framework you developed. You prepared the materials and delivered the training. Now your contact keeps saying the invoice is with accounting, and the payment date has come and gone.

If you’re a tech founder, maybe you’ve completed the agreed implementation, but the customer keeps adding new requests and treating them as a reason to hold up payment for the work you already delivered.

Or if you’re a fellow entrepreneur, maybe you’ve delivered the project and the client has gone quiet. The invoice is overdue. Your follow-ups are unanswered. And you’re wondering how much more time you’re supposed to spend chasing money you already worked for.

But figuring out what to do next isn’t just about sending a louder invoice.

It isn’t just about sending another “friendly reminder.”

It starts with understanding your contract.

Your agreement.

Essentially, what everybody actually promised.

So we went back to the agreement.

We looked at what the contract actually promised, how compensation was calculated if the relationship ended early, what she had already completed, what she had been prevented from completing, and what evidence supported her position.

Then we calculated the amount she could reasonably claim, prepared her for the negotiation, and developed a path for closing out the relationship in writing.

Because, again…when somebody does not pay you, the first move is not always to send a louder invoice.

The first move is to understand what your agreement gives you—and what you can prove.

Before you start thinking about how angry you are...

Before you decide somebody needs to be sued, like yesterday…

And definitely before you start blasting them on social media in a LOUD subtweet…

I want you to go back to the basics.

What did the agreement actually say?

When was the money earned?

What can you show that you did?

And then:

What is the next move that actually makes sense for this problem?

Because when somebody does not pay you, the answer is not automatically “sue.”

But it is also not automatically “just let it go.”

There is a process in between.

And today, we are going to walk through it.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

Loving This Post?

Show us some love by adding a “❤️” or commenting below; this will make our hearts sing. Also, please share, we want this to get to as many folx as possible.

Leave a comment

But first, Church Announcements!!

Speaking of this exact problem...

We’re officially kicking off our next education + workshop series at Firm for the Culture:

Because sometimes you did exactly what you said you were going to do.

You delivered the work. You met the deadline. You honored the agreement.

And the other side...didn’t.

Maybe they didn’t pay you. Maybe they used your intellectual property outside the scope of the license. Maybe the relationship changed, the contract broke down, and now you’re trying to figure out what happens next.

Too often, founders are made to feel like there are only two options when that happens:

Let it go or sue everybody.

But there’s a whole lot of strategy in between.

So this quarter, we’re talking about what it actually looks like to respond when someone breaches an agreement, how to understand the leverage you already have, and how to make decisions that protect the business you worked so hard to build.

Here’s what’s coming:

October 29 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE

They Didn’t Pay You. Now What?

We’re talking payment schedules, nonpayment, documentation, when to stop working, escalation, and the options available when somebody owes you money and the invoice is still sitting there unpaid.

November 12 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE

They Violated Your License Agreement. Now What?

We’re getting into license scope, unauthorized use of your IP, copyrights and trademarks, royalties, post-termination rights, remedies, and what to consider before you escalate.

December 3 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE LIVE AMA

You Built It. Who Gets It When You’re Gone?

We’ll be having a guest conversation about IP, contracts, estate planning, ownership, royalties, licensing income, succession, and what it actually means to build something that can outlive you.

And then we’re closing out the year with:

December 17 | 8:00–10:00 a.m. Pacific | PAID INTENSIVE

Future-Proof Your Contracts: 2027

This is our live contract strategy + vision-planning intensive.

You’ll work through a 2027 Contract Vision Workbook and leave with your own 2027 Contract Blueprint so your agreements can actually match the business you’re building next year.

Early enrollment is $297 through October 31.

Regular enrollment is $349 beginning November 1.

We’re limiting the number of seats to 15 folks who are serious about getting their contracts and business infrastructure in order.

1 CLICK — REGISTER FOR CONTRACT BREACH ACADEMY

REGISTER FOR FUTURE PROOF YOUR CONTRACTS (EARLY BIRD PRICING)

Because being the bigger person does not require you to be the person who keeps absorbing the cost.

Now, let’s get back to the program.

Here is where I want you to start.

Not with the invoice.

Not with the angry email you are drafting in your head.

The contract.

(Okay, last “receipts,” GIF, I promise…well, ish.)

Because “they owe me money” sounds simple until you have to answer a few more questions.

When exactly was the money due?

When was it actually earned?

Was payment tied to a particular phase, deliverable, or outcome?

What does the agreement say happens if the relationship ends early?

This is why I spend so much time talking about payment terms before anything goes wrong.

When I teach speaker agreements, I tell people:

It is not just about if you will get paid.

It is about how and when.

Because a $5,000 agreement that says “payment eventually” is very different from an agreement that clearly tells you:

Here is the fee.

Here is how it gets paid.

Here is when payment is due.

Here is what the payment is connected to.

That clarity matters.

The same thing applies when you structure longer-term services.

I have previously used a 30/50/20 payment schedule as an example.

Maybe one portion is earned when onboarding is complete.

Another portion is earned when the scoped work begins.

Another portion is connected to a later phase.

The exact percentages are not the lesson.

Please do not leave this Founder’s Letter and decide everybody needs a 30/50/20 contract.

The lesson is that your agreement should answer:

When does this money become mine?

Because if the relationship ends early, that question becomes very important very quickly.

That is exactly what mattered when I helped a client evaluate what she was still owed after a business relationship stalled.

The engagement had ended before every contemplated deliverable was complete. But the agreement addressed compensation if the relationship ended early, and some remaining work depended on information the other side had not provided.

We did not begin with a demand pulled from thin air.

We began by reading the agreement, identifying the work completed and the work delayed by the other side, and calculating the amount the contract and the evidence could reasonably support.

And this is also where late-payment language can matter.

An agreement can define what “late” actually means.

It can address when payment is due after an invoice.

It may even address reasonable costs associated with collecting late payments.

Those are drafting choices, not universal rules.

But the point is the same:

Do not wait until somebody owes you money to realize your agreement never explained what happens when they do.

And once you know what the contract says?

Now we look at what actually happened.

This is the part of the client matter that could easily get overlooked.

We did not just look at the amount she believed she was owed.

We looked at what the agreement required, what work she had completed, what information she had requested, and what the other side had or had not provided.

That matters.

Because the agreement answers one question:

What were you supposed to do?

Your record helps answer another:

What actually happened?

And those two things need to make sense together.

Imagine telling somebody:

“I completed everything I was supposed to complete.”

Okay.

Can you support that?

Because when money is being challenged, the conversation changes when you can move from:

“Trust me, I did the work.”

to:

“Here is what the agreement required, and here is what actually happened.”

Now, I am intentionally not going to give you some giant list of documents you are supposedly required to keep.

That is not what I am teaching here.

What I want you to understand is much simpler:

If your position depends on you having done something—or on the other side having prevented or delayed it—you should be able to support that position.

In this matter, the contract and the record helped us evaluate the strength of her position and prepare for a negotiation grounded in something more concrete than frustration.

It also helped us think through the amount she could reasonably claim and the terms needed to close out the relationship in writing.

That is a much stronger place to be than trying to reconstruct the entire relationship after the dispute has already started.

Now comes the question everybody really wants answered:

Okay, Ruky. I read the contract. I know what happened. They still have not paid me. Now what?

Let’s talk about it.

One of the biggest misconceptions about a contract dispute is that once something goes wrong, the next stop is court.

It usually is not.

Most of my clients do not want to go straight into litigation.

And I understand why.

Litigation gets expensive.

Fast.

The good news is that there can be several steps between:

“You owe me money.”

and

“I’ll see you in court.”

This is why I want founders paying attention to the dispute provisions in their agreements too.

What does your contract say happens if the parties disagree?

Is there mediation?

Is there arbitration?

Is there another process built into the agreement?

I have talked before about mediation being much more flexible than people sometimes imagine.

It does not always have to look like some giant dramatic legal proceeding.

Sometimes it can be a conversation between decision-makers trying to resolve the issue before everybody spends significantly more time and money fighting.

And even before you get there, sometimes the first move is simply raising the issue directly.

I have had an engagement where the other side started asking for additional work that was not part of what we had agreed to.

My first move was not:

“CALL MY LAWYER.”

I asked whether they anticipated compensating me for the additional work.

When the answer was no, then I had another decision to make.

That is the point.

You do not have to begin with the most aggressive option available to you.

You begin by understanding what happened.

You understand what the agreement gives you.

Then you decide what level of escalation actually matches the problem.

Maybe it is another conversation.

Maybe the dispute process in the agreement comes next.

Maybe you need counsel.

Maybe the amount at stake and the cost of pursuing it change the calculation.

And yes, there may eventually be situations where litigation is appropriate.

But litigation should not be treated like the only tool in the toolbox.

Because it is not.

I’ve said before that there can be a lot of steps before you ever file a complaint in court.

Depending on the agreement and the situation, that may mean mediation, arbitration, or another attempt to resolve the dispute first.

The Best Nonpayment Strategy Starts Before The Payment Is Late.

I know.

Very annoying.

Because if somebody owes you money right now, you probably wanted this Founder’s Letter to contain one magical sentence that makes the money arrive by Friday.

I wish.

But the reality is that your options after nonpayment depend heavily on what was already established before the problem happened.

What did everybody agree to?

When did the money become due?

When was it earned?

What can you show that you did?

What process does the agreement give you if something goes wrong?

Those are not questions you want to be answering for the first time while you are already in the middle of a dispute.

And that is why I keep telling founders to revisit their contracts.

Not only because your business is growing.

But because every difficult engagement teaches you something.

Maybe the payment schedule was unclear.

Maybe the scope was too loose.

Maybe the agreement said nothing about what happens when payment is late.

Maybe you discovered that your dispute section does not reflect how you actually want disagreements handled.

Okay.

Now you know.

Revisit it.

Refresh it.

Refine it.

Use what the experience taught you to strengthen the next version.

Because a good contract cannot guarantee that nobody will ever refuse to pay you.

It can help make sure you are not starting from zero when they do.

So here is what I want you to do.

Pull up one of your current service agreements.

Not the template sitting in some folder that you have not looked at in two years.

The one you are actually using.

And answer these questions:

When is my money due?

When is it actually earned?

If payment becomes a dispute, what can I show that I did?

And what does this agreement say happens next?

If you cannot answer those questions without guessing?

That is your homework, or better yet, call me and let me do the work for you.

510 859 3126.

Myself or a team member will answer.

Because you can tell, I love this work.

Because, I love US.

Let me know what you find in the comments what you think.

Leave a comment

• Negotiating While Black.

• Being the ‘Bigger Person’ Is Costing You

• DO NOT Sign that Speaker’s Contract

Join Us for Contract Breach Academy

If this article raised questions about payment terms, documentation, or what happens when an agreement breaks down, join us October 29 from 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific for They Didn’t Pay You. Now What?

We’ll walk through the practical first steps after nonpayment and the options between letting it go and immediately filing suit.

1 CLICK — REGISTER FOR CONTRACT BREACH ACADEMY

Need Help Protecting What You’ve Built?

At Firm for the Culture, we help founders protect, maintain, enforce, and strategically grow their intellectual property portfolios.

Because getting the registration is a major milestone.

Keeping the asset protected as your business grows is the long game.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap.

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading.

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

👩🏾‍⚖️⚖️

Share

Hey Fam,

There is one piece of advice that sounds very mature until you realize your business is the one paying for it:

“Just be the bigger person.”

Now listen.

Not every disagreement needs a response.

Not every inconvenience needs to become a legal issue. And sometimes choosing not to escalate really is the smartest business decision.

But there is a difference between making that decision strategically and repeatedly absorbing the consequences because you do not want to seem difficult.

And whew...

That distinction matters.

Okay, hear me out…

I have seen how quickly the tone of a business dispute can change once the other side understands that you are actually prepared to follow through.

In one matter that ended in a successful settlement, we did not stop at explaining that our client had a strong position.

We attached a fully drafted court complaint that we were prepared to file.

That changed the dynamic immediately.

Not because we suddenly became hostile.

Because what we were saying now had weight behind it. I have said before that pressure is not about hostility. It is about clarity, consistency, and a willingness to act.

And that is where today’s conversation begins.

Because founders can spend a lot of money trying to keep everybody comfortable.

And trust me, I am guilty of this myself.

You hesitate to ask about the invoice again because you do not want to strain the relationship.

You agree to something outside the original deal because pushing back feels petty.

You notice your work being used differently than you expected, but you convince yourself it is probably not worth bringing up.

One decision like that may be perfectly reasonable.

The problem is when it becomes the way the relationship works.

At some point, you have to ask:

What is keeping the peace actually costing me, not just mentally, but financially?

So in this Founder’s Letter, we are talking about how to recognize when something has become a pattern, why the terms of the agreement matter long before a problem reaches crisis level, and how to protect your leverage without treating every disagreement like World War III.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

Loving This Post?

Show us some love by adding a “❤️” or commenting below; this will make our hearts sing. Also, please share, we want this to get to as many folx as possible.

Leave a comment

But first, Church Announcements!!

Speaking of being the “bigger person”...

We’re officially kicking off our next education + workshop series at Firm for the Culture:

Because sometimes you did exactly what you said you were going to do.

You delivered the work. You met the deadline. You honored the agreement.

And the other side...didn’t.

Maybe they didn’t pay you. Maybe they used your intellectual property outside the scope of the license. Maybe the relationship changed, the contract broke down, and now you’re trying to figure out what happens next.

Too often, founders are made to feel like there are only two options when that happens:

Let it go or sue everybody.

But there’s a whole lot of strategy in between.

So this quarter, we’re talking about what it actually looks like to respond when someone breaches an agreement, how to understand the leverage you already have, and how to make decisions that protect the business you worked so hard to build.

Here’s what’s coming:

October 29 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE

They Didn’t Pay You. Now What?

We’re talking payment schedules, nonpayment, documentation, when to stop working, escalation, and the options available when somebody owes you money and the invoice is still sitting there unpaid.

November 12 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE

They Violated Your License Agreement. Now What?

We’re getting into license scope, unauthorized use of your IP, copyrights and trademarks, royalties, post-termination rights, remedies, and what to consider before you escalate.

December 3 | 8:00–9:30 a.m. Pacific | FREE LIVE AMA

You Built It. Who Gets It When You’re Gone?

We’ll be having a guest conversation about IP, contracts, estate planning, ownership, royalties, licensing income, succession, and what it actually means to build something that can outlive you.

And then we’re closing out the year with:

December 17 | 8:00–10:00 a.m. Pacific | PAID INTENSIVE

Future-Proof Your Contracts: 2027

This is our live contract strategy + vision-planning intensive.

You’ll work through a 2027 Contract Vision Workbook and leave with your own 2027 Contract Blueprint so your agreements can actually match the business you’re building next year.

Early enrollment is $297 through October 31.

Regular enrollment is $349 beginning November 1.

We’re limiting the number of seats to 15 folks who are serious about getting their contracts and business infrastructure in order.

1 CLICK — REGISTER FOR CONTRACT BREACH ACADEMY

REGISTER FOR FUTURE PROOF YOUR CONTRACTS (EARLY BIRD PRICING)

Because being the bigger person does not require you to be the person who keeps absorbing the cost.

Now, let’s get back to the program.

There is something I wrote in my Byron Allen piece that I keep coming back to:

Unjust patterns rarely dissolve on their own.

That was written in a different context, but the lesson applies here too.

When something keeps happening in your business, you need enough information to recognize whether you are dealing with an isolated problem or a pattern you have slowly started accommodating.

A payment being late once may genuinely be a mistake.

A client asking for one additional thing may genuinely be something you are happy to do.

But when the same issue keeps resurfacing, it is worth paying attention.

That is where documentation comes in.

What did the agreement say?

What actually happened?

What changed?

What did you communicate when it happened?

And, perhaps most importantly, what is this costing the business?

Because, here’s the thing: documentation gives you something your frustration cannot.

It gives you a record.

And if you eventually decide the issue needs to be addressed, that record matters.

Because “I feel like this has been happening for months” and “Here are the dates, invoices, emails, and contract terms” are two very different conversations.

This does not mean every irritation needs its own evidence binder.

Please do not do that to yourself.

It means that when something starts affecting your money, your work, your intellectual property, or the way the relationship operates, you should know what is actually happening before you decide what to do about it.

That is how you distinguish grace from a pattern.

Once you have the receipts, though, the next question is obvious: What did everybody actually agree to?

I talk about this all the time with speakers and thought leaders because the check can distract you from everything else happening inside the deal.

Imagine somebody offers you $5,000 for a keynote.

Okayyyyy.

We love a check.

But then you read the agreement.

They want to record the presentation.

They want clips.

They want your slides.

They may want to put the presentation inside a paid digital library.

And the methodology you are teaching from that stage may be something you spent years developing.

Now the question is not simply:

“Is $5,000 a good speaking fee?”

The better question is:

“What exactly are they getting for the $5,000?”

That is why I keep telling founders that the fee is only one piece of the economic deal.

Payment terms matter too.

It is not simply if you will get paid.

It is how and when.

When is payment due?

Is there an advance?

Is the remaining payment tied to a particular deliverable?

And when intellectual property is involved, what exactly are you authorizing the other side to use?

When I talk about speaker agreements, those are the types of details I want founders slowing down long enough to understand: payment timing and method, usage rights, recording permissions, and whether any rights are being limited or made exclusive.

Because ambiguity feels harmless when everybody is excited about the opportunity.

It becomes much less cute when the relationship gets tested.

And this is where founders can accidentally give away leverage before they even know they need it.

You may be perfectly comfortable allowing someone to record your talk.

Great.

But that does not automatically mean you intended to authorize every future use of that recording.

You may decide that broader rights are worth it because the opportunity is valuable.

Also fine.

The point is not that you should always say no.

The point is that your yes should be informed.

You should know what you are agreeing to before you find yourself trying to claw it back later.

Now before somebody reads this next section and says:

“Ruky told us to sue everybody.”

Absolutely not.

There are a lot of things to consider before deciding how to respond to a business dispute.

The agreement matters.

The facts matter.

Your goals matter.

And sometimes the smartest business decision really is to move on.

But what I do not want is for founders to confuse being thoughtful with being powerless.

I’ve also talked before about a situation involving a prepared arbitration complaint. Having the filing ready changed the negotiation and made settlement the practical choice for the other side.

That is leverage.

It does not require yelling.

It does not require empty threats.

And it certainly does not require becoming somebody you are not.

It requires understanding your position well enough to know what you are prepared to do next.

And sometimes the next move is another conversation.

Sometimes you need counsel involved.

Sometimes you decide that continuing the relationship no longer makes business sense.

Sometimes you decide the issue is not worth pursuing.

But now you are making that choice with information.

That is very different from staying silent simply because enforcing a boundary feels uncomfortable.

A boundary should mean something.

Otherwise it is just a suggestion everybody hopes you forget about.

Being the Bigger Person Should Still Be a Business Decision.

I want to be very clear.

I am not telling you that every late payment needs a demand letter.

I am not saying every contract disagreement needs an attorney immediately.

And I am certainly not saying every strained business relationship deserves litigation.

Sometimes preserving the relationship really is worth more than pushing the issue.

But make that choice intentionally.

Do not automatically sacrifice your own business interests because advocating for them feels impolite.

There is a difference between grace and avoidance.

There is a difference between compromise and repeatedly accepting something that no longer works for you.

And there is definitely a difference between keeping the peace and giving away your leverage.

So before you decide to “be the bigger person,” look at what is actually happening.

Do you have enough information to understand the pattern?

Does the agreement support what you thought the deal was?

Do you understand the rights involved?

And once you know those things, what decision actually makes sense for the business?

Because that is the point.

Not becoming more combative.

Becoming more intentional.

The sequence here is simple: document what is happening, understand the terms and rights involved, and then decide from an informed position whether and how you are willing to follow through.

Where in your business have you been “keeping the peace” a little longer than you probably should?

And if you looked at it strictly as a business decision, would you make the same choice today?

Let me know in the comments.

Leave a comment

• Negotiating While Black.

• Byron Allen’s $10B Stand

• DO NOT Sign that Speaker’s Contract

Let’s Make Sure Your Brand Is Protected

Want to know where your business actually stands?

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting What You’ve Built?

At Firm for the Culture, we help founders protect, maintain, enforce, and strategically grow their intellectual property portfolios.

Because getting the registration is a major milestone.

Keeping the asset protected as your business grows is the long game.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap.

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading.

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

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Hey Fam,

Picture Coco Gauff walking onto center court.

Her name is on the screen. Her face is being broadcast around the world. Cameras follow every serve, every reaction, every celebration.

Sponsors surround the court, photographers line the sidelines, and millions of people are watching.

Now imagine that person is you.

And that your “center stage” is actually your keynote podium.

Your headshot is on the event page. Your name is printed in the program. There’s a photographer in the aisle and a videographer in the back.

Someone from the social media team may already be clipping your remarks before you’ve even finished speaking.

Different arena. Very similar commercial question:

Who gets to profit from your name, image, and likeness after you leave?

We hear the phrase NIL—name, image, and likeness—and immediately think about athletes. We think about Coco Gauff in a New Balance campaign or a college athlete signing their first endorsement deal.

But NIL does not begin and end at the stadium.

Believe it or not, you have NIL rights too.

And your name, image, and likeness during a speaking engagement can be captured, distributed, and commercially exploited just as easily as Coco Gauff’s during a tennis match.

In fact, speakers have an additional layer to think about. You aren’t walking onto that stage with your identity alone. You may also be bringing a copyrighted presentation, a trademarked framework, a proprietary methodology, your slides, your stories, your voice, and years of expertise.

Last year, when I wrote about what I would do if I were Coco Gauff’s lawyer, I focused on protecting her name, using it intentionally in commerce, and licensing it on her terms.

This year, I want to widen the lens.

Because you don’t need a Grand Slam trophy to have an identity worth protecting.

So in this Founder’s Letter, we’re breaking down what speakers and thought leaders can learn from NIL—and how to make sure that when you leave the stage, you haven't accidentally left your rights behind.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

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But first, Church Announcements!!

The Women of Impact Workshop Series finale is coming up:

This has been a RIDE!

From exploring the intellectual property portfolio of Queen Latifah to reviewing the ups and downs of Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, to discussing what it actually means to negotiate while a person of color.

This has been one of the most impactful series that I’ve had the privilege of hosting.

Thank you to every single person who signed up, every person who showed up, and every person who shared either a clip, a photo, anything that would’ve taken this further.

A huge THANK YOU to Damali Peterman for sharing her wisdom and knowledge around negotiations.

I know that this is my life’s calling, and I’m just so blessed and privileged and favored to have this.

And now, we’re going to land the plane, and we’re ending with a bang:

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)

Endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection—we’ll talk about what founders and thought leaders should be protecting as their visibility grows.

8:00 a.m. Pacific Time / 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Sign up even if you’re not able to attend—you’ll still get the workshop notes by email.

1 CLICK — WOMEN OF IMPACT SERIES

Now, let’s get back to the program.

Showing Up Is Not the Same as Signing Away

When you agree to speak at an event, you are agreeing to speak at an event.

That sentence sounds obvious until you read some speaker agreements.

Buried inside the contract may be language authorizing the organizer to photograph you, record your presentation, use your name and likeness, edit the footage, distribute clips, promote future events, or continue using your image long after the engagement ends.

And those are not all the same permission.

An organizer may reasonably need your headshot and bio to advertise the event. They may want photographs from the event for a recap.

They may want to post a short clip afterward. Fine. But permission to promote this engagement is very different from an unrestricted right to commercially exploit your identity indefinitely or “in perpetuity.”

Think about how carefully an athlete's endorsement agreement defines the relationship.

A company doesn't simply say, “Coco agreed to work with us, so now we can use Coco Gauff’s image and likeness however we'd like.”

The agreement defines the rights, and speakers should expect the same precision.

If an organizer wants permission to use your name, photograph, voice, video, or likeness, the agreement should tell you what they can use, why they can use it, where they can use it, and for how long.

That becomes particularly important once your image starts generating value beyond the event itself.

Maybe your photograph appears in next year's marketing campaign.

Maybe your keynote becomes part of a paid digital library. Maybe clips of you are used in advertisements.

Maybe a sponsor wants footage. Maybe the organization wants to continue associating your name with the event after your contractual relationship has ended.

Those are commercial decisions involving an asset that belongs to you. You don't have to prohibit every use. You need to understand what you're authorizing.

NIL Is Licensing

An NIL deal is fundamentally a licensing conversation.

Someone wants permission to use something associated with you for a particular commercial purpose.

Last year, I wrote that licensing intentionally means deciding who can use your name, how it appears, and what message it carries. That principle applies just as readily to a keynote as it does to an athletic endorsement.

Before the cameras turn on, ask what the organizer actually needs.

Do they need your headshot for six weeks of event promotion, or are they asking for perpetual rights to your likeness?

Can they post a thirty-second clip, or the entire keynote?

Can they monetize the recording?

Can they edit your remarks?

Can they use your voice separately from the video?

Can sponsors use the footage?

Can the organizer sublicense your content to somebody else?

Can your image appear in paid advertising?

What happens to the recording when the agreement ends?

And increasingly, what does the agreement say about artificial intelligence?

A perpetual, worldwide, sublicensable license is very different from permission to promote one conference on Instagram.

Those distinctions should be reflected in the price, the negotiation, and your willingness to agree.

Because, as the old adage says…

Not all money is good money.

A speaking fee can look wonderful until you realize what the organizer expects to own—or continue using—in exchange for it.

Sometimes the better deal isn't the largest check. It's the agreement that compensates you fairly without unnecessarily giving away the future value of your identity.

Protect the Person—and the IP

Your identity may not be the most valuable intellectual property you bring into the room.

Your name, image, likeness, and voice matter.

But what are you talking about once you get on stage?

Maybe you have a framework you've spent fifteen years developing.

Maybe you've created a methodology that clients hire you specifically to teach.

Maybe your keynote contains original stories, graphics, research, exercises, or slides.

Maybe the name of your framework is federally trademarked.

Maybe the presentation itself is copyrighted.

Now we have multiple layers of rights traveling onto the stage with the same person, and they need to remain distinct.

An organizer having permission to use your photograph does not necessarily mean the organizer owns your presentation.

Permission to record you does not necessarily mean permission to turn your framework into its own training program.

Permission to promote your appearance does not necessarily mean permission to create derivative products from the intellectual property embedded in your keynote.

This is why I have been talking so much about speaker agreements.

The contract needs to distinguish between you and what you own.

Your NIL is one asset. Your presentation is another. Your framework may be another. Your trademarks may be another. And the recording itself can introduce yet another set of rights.

Once you understand those layers, the goal isn't to lock everything down so tightly that nobody can promote you.

The goal is clarity.

Let the organizer market the event. Let them celebrate the amazing presentation you gave. Let the clip travel if that's good for your business. But decide what travels, how far it travels, and what stays yours.

NIL Was Never Just About Sports.

The sports world gave us convenient language for something creators, speakers, entertainers, founders, and public figures have been navigating for years: your identity has commercial value.

Coco Gauff doesn’t become worthy of protecting because she won Roland Garros.

Her success simply makes the economic value of her identity easier for everyone to see. The same thing happens to thought leaders.

Your first keynote may feel like exposure.

Then the TEDx talk takes off. The clips start circulating.

The invitations get bigger. Your framework becomes recognizable.

Organizations begin putting your photograph on their marketing materials because your presence helps sell the room.

At some point, your identity itself becomes part of the commercial transaction.

And when that happens, you should understand exactly what you’re licensing.

That does not mean becoming precious about every photograph or suspicious of every event organizer. It means treating your name, image, likeness, voice, content, and intellectual property with the same intentionality you bring to every other business asset.

Because Coco may be on center court while you're on center stage. But the ownership question is remarkably similar:

Who gets to use what you've built—and on whose terms?

Last year, I wrote that your name isn't simply how people refer to you; it's part of how the world remembers you. I still believe that.

But I'd add something today:

Your identity can generate revenue for someone else long after you've left the room.

Make sure the contract reflects whether you intended for it to.

Pull up your last agreement if you have one (if you don’t, reply to this email to craft one NEOW).

What rights did you give them?

Your name? Your headshot?

Your voice? The recording?

Your presentation? And—for how long?

Let me know in the comments.

Leave a comment

And Speaking of NIL...

This week, we're taking this conversation deeper with our NIL Workshop.

We'll be talking about what name, image, and likeness rights actually are, how they show up in commercial agreements, what to look for before signing a deal, and how to think beyond the immediate check toward ownership, licensing, and long-term leverage.

And no—you don't need to be an athlete to benefit from this conversation. If you're a speaker, creator, founder, thought leader, or anyone whose identity has become part of how you make money, this conversation is for you.

REGISTER FOR THE NIL WORKSHOP

• Negotiating While Black.

• You Don’t Belong In The Room.

• If I were Coco Gauff’s Lawyer…

Let’s Make Sure Your Brand Is Protected

Want to know where your business actually stands?

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting What You’ve Built?

At Firm for the Culture, we help founders protect, maintain, enforce, and strategically grow their intellectual property portfolios.

Because getting the registration is a major milestone.

Keeping the asset protected as your business grows is the long game.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap.

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading.

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

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Hey Fam,

Imagine spending almost $500 on concert tickets for your five- and six-year-old daughters.

They love KPop Demon Hunters. You find tickets, make the purchase, and start planning what you think will be their first KPop Demon Hunters concert.

Except you bought tickets to Demon Hunter.

Not the Netflix movie. Not HUNTR/X. Not the K-pop phenomenon your children have been watching.

Demon Hunter: The Christian metal band that says it has been performing under that name since 2001.

According to a recently filed federal lawsuit, that mix-up actually happened and it has cost concertgoers a ton of money and stress.

The purchaser reportedly contacted Demon Hunter seeking a refund after realizing the mistake, explaining that without one, they would not be able to afford tickets to the actual KPop Demon Hunters event.

And they weren’t alone.

Demon Hunter also alleges that an Inside Edition producer contacted its manager looking for a songwriter associated with KPop Demon Hunters, and that social-media users have mistakenly tagged the band in content about the Netflix franchise.

What I Think About When I Hear This Story

For a trademark attorney, those allegations immediately get my attention.

Because trademark cases spend a lot of time debating whether consumers are likely to be confused.

Here, Demon Hunter says consumers are already getting confused.

But when I started digging into the trademark history, I found something even more interesting.

Demon Hunter has decades of history behind its name. Hyde Lane, the company behind the band, owns several federal registrations covering portions of the DEMON HUNTER brand, and its older records claim commercial use dating back to 2001.

The band also had a federal registration specifically covering live performances by a musical band.

Had.

That registration was canceled in February 2025 after Hyde Lane says it inadvertently failed to timely file required maintenance documents.

In other words, they were up for TM renewal, but then dropped the ball.

And they tried to save it later.

Hyde Lane filed its new DEMON HUNTER application for live musical performances until December 3, 2025.

But it was too late.

Because who was watching that docket like a hawk?

Netflix.

And sitting right inside that gap ready to swoop in at the second Hyde Lane stumbled?

Netflix.

On November 7, 2025, Netflix filed KPOP DEMON HUNTERS in Class 41 for a sweeping list of entertainment services—including concerts and live musical performances. That application is still pending and received a final refusal from the USPTO in July 2026.

Whew.

Now we have ourselves a Founder’s Letter.

Because this is not simply a story about a Christian metal band fighting one of the largest entertainment companies in the world.

It is a story about what happens after you win the trademark.

When It Gets Real

For a founder, this becomes personal when the name on a registration is also the name on your contracts, your invoices, and the work people have come to trust.

You can keep building under that name while the paperwork quietly falls out of step with the business. The work continues. The responsibility for protecting it continues, too.

That is the gap this story asks us to examine: a brand still in use, a registration no longer active, and a dispute that makes the difference matter.

In this Founder’s Letter, we’re going to unpack three things every founder with a trademark portfolio needs to understand: why registration is only the beginning, why filing first and having priority are not necessarily the same thing, and how a lapse in protection can turn what might have been a cleaner enforcement matter into a far more complicated—and expensive—fight.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

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Show us some love by adding a “❤️” or commenting below; this will make our hearts sing. Also, please share, we want this to get to as many folx as possible.

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Leave a comment

But first, Church Announcements!!

The Women of Impact Workshop Series finale is coming up:

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)

Endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection—we’ll talk about what founders and thought leaders should be protecting as their visibility grows.

8:00 a.m. Pacific Time / 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Sign up even if you’re not able to attend—you’ll still get the workshop notes by email.

1 CLICK — WOMEN OF IMPACT SERIES

You Got the Trademark.

Now Keep It.

We celebrate trademark registrations around here.

And we should.

You cleared the name. You filed the application. You waited through examination. Maybe you responded to an Office Action. You survived publication.

And then, one beautiful day, that registration certificate arrives.

Frame it.

Post it.

Take the picture.

Turn up.

Then put the maintenance deadlines on the calendar.

Because federal trademark registration is not a lifetime achievement award. The federal government gives you substantial rights, but keeping those rights requires continued attention.

Demon Hunter is a particularly useful example because Hyde Lane appears to have done the first part correctly. Its live-performance registration issued in 2014 and claimed use dating back to March 2001. It later filed the required Section 8 declaration and obtained Section 15 incontestability status.

This wasn’t an abandoned brand sitting in a drawer.

It was a longstanding commercial identity.

But trademark registrations have additional maintenance requirements, and Hyde Lane acknowledges in its current lawsuit that the live-performance registration was eventually canceled after it inadvertently missed the required Section 8 and 9 filing.

That administrative lapse did not erase twenty-five years of history.

It did, however, change the legal terrain at a spectacularly inconvenient moment.

KPop Demon Hunters premiered in 2025 and became an extraordinary commercial success. Netflix expanded the property into music, merchandise and plans for live entertainment. Demon Hunter now alleges that Netflix has moved into an “almost complete overlap” with the commercial territory in which the band has operated for decades.

That is why trademark maintenance cannot be treated like clerical housekeeping.

Your trademark portfolio needs an actual system.

Someone should know when every maintenance deadline occurs. Someone should be monitoring ownership changes. Someone should know which registrations cover which parts of the business and whether your current use still supports those registrations.

Because protecting the brand you already own is every bit as important as filing for the next one.

Filing First Is Not Necessarily Having Priority.

Now we get to the fun lawyer part.

If we looked only at the newest applications, Netflix appears to have gotten to the USPTO first.

Netflix filed its Class 41 KPOP DEMON HUNTERS application on November 7, 2025. Hyde Lane filed its replacement DEMON HUNTER application covering live musical and vocal performances on December 3, 2025.

So Netflix wins?

Not so fast.

Trademark rights in the United States can arise from use in commerce, not merely from who reaches the USPTO first.

And Demon Hunter’s history matters.

The band’s former live-performance registration claimed first use in commerce going back to March 1, 2001. Its lawsuit likewise alleges continuous use of the DEMON HUNTER name for more than two decades.

So Netflix having an earlier filing date than Hyde Lane’s replacement application does not, standing alone, establish that Netflix has superior trademark rights over Demon Hunter.

That distinction is important enough to sit with.

Filing priority and trademark priority are related. They are not always identical.

Demon Hunter may be able to rely upon decades of earlier use. Its other federal registrations also remain part of its broader portfolio. But proving the scope of historical rights can require a different kind of evidentiary showing than simply pointing to an active federal registration covering the exact services now at issue.

Suddenly those old tour posters matter.

Ticket receipts matter.

Archived webpages matter.

Contracts matter.

Merchandise matters.

Advertising matters.

Invoices from twenty years ago can matter.

In other words:

Keep your receipts.

Not figuratively.

Literally.

Your business records can become evidence of when and how your trademark was being used in commerce. And if your rights are ever challenged fifteen or twenty years from now, you will be very happy that somebody treated preservation as part of the IP strategy.

A Gap May Not Destroy Your Rights.

It Can Destroy Your Leverage.

This is the part of the case I keep coming back to.

Imagine Hyde Lane entering this dispute with an active federal registration covering live musical performances that dates back to 2014 and claims use since 2001.

The conversation begins:

We own DEMON HUNTER for live musical performances. We’ve been operating under it for decades. You’re now bringing KPOP DEMON HUNTERS into live music.

Compare that with the conversation Hyde Lane actually has to navigate:

We had that federal registration. It was canceled after a maintenance filing was missed. Netflix filed its Class 41 application during the gap. We subsequently refiled. But we’ve been continuously using DEMON HUNTER since 2001, maintain other federal registrations and believe our rights are senior.

The second position may still carry considerable legal force.

But it requires more explanation.

More evidence.

More law.

And, potentially, more money.

That is one of the quieter costs of imperfect IP maintenance.

A mistake does not always mean your underlying trademark rights vanish overnight.

Sometimes you lose something else:

simplicity.

And simplicity is extraordinarily valuable in a dispute.

The cleaner your chain of registrations, use records, assignments and maintenance history, the easier it can be to establish where you stand before litigation begins.

Because litigation is already expensive enough without voluntarily adding factual puzzles.

And Netflix’s enormous success introduces another fascinating layer.

Demon Hunter alleges that Netflix’s marketplace presence has become so large that consumers may begin assuming the older Demon Hunter brand belongs to, is affiliated with, or somehow derives from the newer Netflix phenomenon. That’s the basic concern behind what trademark law calls reverse confusion.

Normally, when founders think about trademark infringement, they imagine the little guy borrowing from the famous brand.

Reverse confusion flips the picture.

A smaller senior user can find itself swallowed by a massive junior user’s fame.

You were there first.

But they’re suddenly everywhere.

And now consumers think you belong to them.

That allegedly mistaken $500 ticket purchase becomes a lot less funny when viewed through that lens.

Demon Hunter says the identity it spent a quarter-century building is being obscured by a franchise with vastly greater resources and marketplace reach. Netflix, for its part, says the allegations lack merit and intends to defend itself. No court has yet determined that Netflix infringed Demon Hunter’s rights.

That fight is still unfolding.

But for founders, the lesson exists regardless of who ultimately wins.

The Real Lesson

Protect What You Already Won.

There is a particular joy that comes with receiving a trademark registration.

I get to celebrate that moment with clients all the time.

You spent the money. You did the search. You waited through a federal process that can feel interminable. You answered the questions. You gathered the specimens. And finally, the government sends you a certificate confirming that your brand has crossed an important legal threshold.

That deserves celebration.

But what you’ve received is not a trophy.

You’ve received an asset.

And assets require stewardship.

Demon Hunter’s history did not disappear because one registration was canceled. The band still has other trademark registrations, and it is now asserting decades of prior use against Netflix. Netflix’s November 2025 entertainment-services application has not registered either; the USPTO issued a final refusal in July 2026, and the matter remains pending.

So this story is considerably more nuanced than:

Netflix filed first. Netflix wins.

It isn’t that simple.

The better lesson is what the lapse did to the battlefield.

What could have been a straightforward piece of documentary evidence—an active registration specifically covering live musical performances—became another factual and legal issue that now has to be explained in a federal lawsuit against one of the largest entertainment companies in the world.

And complicated gets expensive.

That’s why the strongest trademark strategy isn’t simply knowing what to file.

It’s knowing what you own, where your rights live, when they need attention, how your business has expanded since the original application, what evidence you’re preserving, and who is responsible for watching all of it long after the registration certificate arrives.

Because sometimes the biggest threat to a trademark isn’t somebody copying your name.

Sometimes it’s a deadline.

Sitting quietly on a calendar.

While Netflix is watching.

What About You?

So I’ll leave you with this:

If a Netflix-sized company entered your industry tomorrow, would your trademark portfolio be ready?

Or would you be searching through twenty years of receipts trying to prove what an active registration once said for you?

Drop a comment — I read every one.

Leave a comment

Related Reading

• Negotiating While Black.

• You Don’t Belong In The Room.

• I Don’t Think You Trust Ryan Coogler

Let’s Make Sure Your Brand Is Protected

Want to know where your business actually stands?

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting What You’ve Built?

At Firm for the Culture, we help founders protect, maintain, enforce, and strategically grow their intellectual property portfolios.

Because getting the registration is a major milestone.

Keeping the asset protected as your business grows is the long game.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap.

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading.

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

👩🏾‍⚖️⚖️⚖️

Share

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Hey Fam,

A few weeks ago, I took my car to the car wash.

Now, I would love to tell you that I am the kind of person who washes her car with enough regularity that one trip through the car wash is sufficient.

I am not.

My car had collected dust, dubris from the season, and whatever else happens when you repeatedly tell yourself, “I’ll wash it this weekend,” and then several weekends quietly pass you by.

So when I pulled up to the attendant, I asked him a simple question: if I went through the wash once and my car was still dirty, could I come around and go through again?

He looked at me, paused, probably saw my desperation…

And finally said, “yes.”

I thanked him, pulled forward, and continued on with my day.

Now, this was not a particularly memorable conversation. There were no contracts. No conference rooms. No one made a counteroffer. I wanted something, I asked whether it was possible, and the person with the authority to give it to me agreed.

Believe it or not, that was still, for all intents and purposes, a negotiation.

And I probably would not have thought about that interaction again had I not been reading Negotiating While Black: Be Who You Are to Get What You Want by Damali Peterman.

Damali's book expanded the way I think about negotiation because she makes clear that negotiation is not simply something we do when discussing a salary, closing a major business deal, or sitting across the table from opposing counsel.

We negotiate constantly—with our families, our friends, our clients, our colleagues, the businesses we patronize, and sometimes, apparently, the nice gentleman working at the car wash.

Once I started thinking about negotiation this broadly, another question emerged for me, particularly as an intellectual property attorney.

If negotiation is really about understanding what you want, what the other person wants, and what each person is bringing to the exchange, what happens when the thing you are bringing is your intellectual property?

For founders, speakers, consultants, educators, creatives, and thought leaders, this matters enormously.

Our expertise often shows up in deals as frameworks, methodologies, keynotes, curricula, courses, content, brands, recordings, and other things we have spent years creating.

Yet we may walk into a negotiation prepared to discuss our fee without being equally prepared to discuss the rights attached to the work itself.

So, in this Founder’s Letter, we are going to talk discuss the power of knowing your negotiation superpowers, knowing the value you bring to the table, and knowing what you actually own before you negotiate over it.

Ready? Let’s get into it.

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But first, Church Announcements!!

This week, the Women of Impact Workshop Series continues with Negotiate for Your Impact, featuring Damali Peterman, author of Negotiating While Black: Be Who You Are to Get What You Want.

We are going to talk about what it means to identify your own negotiation strengths, understand the value you bring to the table, prepare for negotiations without abandoning who you are, and recognize the legal and intellectual property issues that can quietly become part of the deal.

Because whether you are negotiating a contract, a partnership, a speaking opportunity, or your next major business move, the strongest negotiation begins long before someone puts an offer in front of you.

If you have ever wondered whether you are asking for enough—or whether you even know everything you should be asking about—this conversation is for you.

And after that, we have an awesome finale of our series!

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)
Endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection — Coco is building toward her own 1999 right now, and we’ll talk about exactly what she should be locking down.

All upcoming workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Sign up even if you’re not able to attend—you’ll still get the workshop notes by email:

One of my favorite concepts from Damali's book is her discussion of negotiation “superpowers.”

I think many of us have inherited a very narrow picture of what a good negotiator looks like.

We imagine the person who is fearless, aggressive, quick on their feet, and completely unmoved by tension.

They make the demand, stare the other person down, and somehow never experience the urge to fill an uncomfortable silence.

Perhaps that is someone's superpower.

It does not have to be yours.

Throughout the book, Damali explores different strengths people bring to negotiation, including listening, patience, grit, steadfastness, flexibility, and fearlessness.

What struck me is that these skills do not require someone to manufacture an entirely new personality before entering the room. They simply require us to become more intentional about the strengths we already possess.

For me, listening is a big one.

And I do not mean hearing just enough of what someone says to prepare my response. I mean listening for what is underneath the words: What does this person actually care about? What problem are they trying to solve? What are they afraid of? What information are they giving me that could create another possible solution?

That kind of listening can fundamentally change a negotiation because someone's stated position and their actual interest are not always the same thing.

Patience matters for the same reason.

Damali discusses an example in which an offer was made, a counteroffer followed, and then there was silence. That silence matters because, for many of us, the anxiety created by waiting can become its own negotiating opponent.

We start wondering whether we asked for too much.

We begin explaining our number before anyone challenges it. Sometimes we even make a concession before the other side has asked us to concede anything.

In other words, we start negotiating against ourselves.

Knowing that about yourself is useful information.

So is knowing that you are a deep listener. Or exceptionally prepared. Or flexible enough to see solutions others miss. Or gritty enough not to abandon the conversation simply because it becomes uncomfortable.

And this is also where Damali's discussion of identity and authenticity becomes particularly interesting to me. Preparing for a negotiation does not mean becoming someone else. In fact, I think preparation can make it easier to remain yourself when pressure arrives.

I learned that lesson long before I became an attorney.

When I was studying for the New York Bar Exam, I spent approximately two months preparing academically. But the night before the exam, I also went to the testing center, put my hands on the door, and prayed and manifested that I would pass.

Yes, I had prepared myself for the exam, but in a way that reflected my own faith and identity, I was also preparing myself for the environment I was about to enter.

I did not walk into the exam room pretending to be somebody else. Preparation allowed me to walk in more grounded as myself.

Negotiation can work the same way.

Of course, understanding how you negotiate only gets you so far.

You also need to know what you are bringing to the table.

Damali discusses the importance of understanding your unique value proposition, and this is where my intellectual property lawyer brain really started lighting up.

Because when we ask someone, “What are you good at?” the answer can sound deceptively simple.

Maybe you are an exceptional strategist. Perhaps you have spent fifteen years working inside healthcare organizations and understand organizational culture in a way that most consultants do not. Maybe you developed a process for helping executives make better decisions. Perhaps you have been teaching the same methodology for years and have now refined it into a recognizable framework.

At Firm for the Culture, we work with people who have often spent years—even decades—building this kind of expertise. They do not necessarily begin by thinking, “I am creating intellectual property.”

They begin by doing their work.

Then, over time, something happens.

The experience becomes insight. The insight becomes a repeatable process. The process becomes a framework. The framework becomes a workshop, keynote, curriculum, consulting methodology, course, book, certification, or other body of work.

And eventually, someone else wants access to it.

That is the point at which “What am I good at?” becomes a much more interesting question:

What have I actually built here, and what is it worth?

Knowing your value changes the way you approach negotiation because you stop evaluating an opportunity solely through the number someone places in front of you.

You begin thinking about the problem you solve, the expertise required to solve it, the years it took you to acquire that expertise, and the value the other party receives from having access to it.

This is especially important for women and founders of color who may already be navigating assumptions about our authority, credibility, personality, or what our work should cost.

Knowing your value does not mean every negotiation ends with you receiving every dollar or every term you request. It means you are making the decision from an informed place instead of allowing the other person's offer to define the value of what you built.

And this is where we get to the part that I believe founders overlook all the time.

Knowing what your work is worth is not enough if you do not understand what rights you are actually negotiating.

Let's say you are a speaker and an organization offers you $5,000 for a keynote.

You negotiate the speaking fee, everybody agrees, and you are feeling good.

Then the contract arrives.

The organization wants to record your presentation. It wants the right to use clips from the recording in future marketing. It wants a copy of your slides. Maybe it wants to place the full training inside a paid resource library. Perhaps your presentation includes a proprietary methodology or framework that you use throughout your consulting practice.

Now the negotiation looks different.

Because the question is no longer simply whether $5,000 is a good speaking fee.

The question is: What does the $5,000 buy?

Does it buy your time in the room for sixty minutes? Does it also buy the ability to reproduce your presentation? Does it buy ongoing access to your training? Does it buy the right to use your image? Does it buy permission to distribute your materials? Does it buy some form of exclusivity? And for how long?

Those are not small details sitting somewhere at the back of a contract. They are part of the economic deal.

This is why understanding intellectual property can become such an important part of negotiation for thought leaders.

Your trademark rights may matter when someone wants to use your brand or program name. Copyright may matter when someone wants to reproduce or distribute your original materials. Licensing matters when another person wants permission to use something you own without you transferring ownership altogether. Contracts are where the scope of many of those rights gets negotiated.

None of this means the answer should always be no.

Sometimes allowing an event organizer to record your presentation makes perfect business sense. Sometimes broader usage creates valuable exposure. Sometimes licensing your methodology to another organization is exactly how you scale your impact and create another revenue stream.

The important thing is that you know you are making that decision.

There is a significant difference between strategically licensing a right because the overall deal makes sense and casually giving away a right because you did not realize anyone was asking for it.

This is why I keep coming back to one central idea as I read Damali's book:

You cannot intelligently negotiate rights you do not realize you own.

The check is part of the deal. It is not necessarily the whole deal.

So yes, apparently asking to take my embarrassingly dirty car through car wash twice was a negotiation.

A very low-stakes negotiation, but a negotiation nonetheless.

And oddly enough, that little interaction captures part of what I appreciate about Damali's approach to the subject. Negotiation is not a performance reserved for certain people or certain rooms. It is something we are already doing, often without calling it negotiation at all.

The opportunity is to become more intentional about it.

Know your superpower. Understand how you communicate, listen, prepare, persist, and respond under pressure.

Know your value. Understand what your expertise, perspective, experience, and body of work bring to the table before someone else assigns a number to it.

And know what you own. Because if your business is built around your ideas, frameworks, content, brands, methodologies, or creative work, the negotiation may involve much more than the fee sitting at the top of the contract.

That is also why legal strategy and negotiation are not separate conversations for the founders we serve at Firm for the Culture.

The clearer you are about what you have built, the easier it becomes to recognize what should be protected, what can be licensed, what you are willing to share, and what may require a very different deal.

Before your next opportunity arrives, you should not just know what you want to be paid. You should know what you are being asked to give in return.

Now I want to hear from you: What is your negotiation superpower—and where do you think you could become more intentional about using it?

Drop a comment — I read every one.

Drop a comment—I read every one.

Leave a comment

• You Don’t Belong In The Room.

• Dang, You Going Through Hell Too?

• I Don’t Think You Trust Ryan Coogler

Want to know where your business actually stands on that gap?

Let’s talk — and make sure your name isn’t just recognized. It’s protected.

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting Your Creativity?

If you are unsure—or if you know you need to take action—reach out to us.

We have helped countless founders and creatives safeguard their intellectual property, and we would love to do the same for you.

If you need further guidance, reach out to me and my team at Firm for the Culture.

We’re here to help you navigate the copyright, trademark, and thought leadership journey.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

Subscribe for more insights on brand protection, copyright, and strategic IP plays that help diverse founders build lasting businesses:

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Hey Fam,

Have you ever been in a room somebody thought you didn’t belong in?

That was me at various moments during my time in corporate America.

Picture one scene:

I’m at an intimate IP gathering with some of the biggest heavy hitters in the field — multiple partners from my corporate law firm, foreign thought leaders who are the crème de la crème in the field, and experts presenting on the nuanced differences between the patent application process in China and the States.

Deals are getting made. Matters—entire cases—are moving forward. Tight-lipped negotiations are happening. It’s electric because I know I belong. I’ve fought for my place in the room because I know some people probably don’t think I’m supposed to be there.

Now here’s the thing: I was genuinely interested in the work, and I wanted to explore how my culturally centered understanding of IP was discussed, if at all, in a room of the industry-crowned thought leaders.

A few days before, I told the managing partner as much, expressing my enthusiasm to rub elbows with those who made things happen.

She was not as enthusiastic about having me in the room.

And she told me, in not so many words, that I probably wasn’t going to be able to attend — as the RSVP list was full.

But if you know anything about me, I have a knack for getting into places.

So when she saw me at the exclusive event a couple of days later, her face said everything her words hadn’t.

She was not happy, and she stayed a little cold toward me the entire time I was in the room.

But I was over the moon.

I got access.

I was able to watch the rainmakers actually make it rain.

And I left not just with some of my questions about the field, but an impression I still carry into every room I walk into today: when you’re in these rooms, you best be prepared.

What I Think About When I Share This Story

I see it in the client calls, in the DMs from founders asking whether they’re “ready” for a certain table.

I see it when someone hesitates before walking into a room full of people who look nothing like them, doing business at a scale that feels intimidating.

Here’s what that room taught me, and what I didn’t fully understand until years later: the question was never whether I belonged there.

The question was what I was going to do now that I was in it.

Listen fam, I am not the arbiter of whether you belong in a room.

That’s not my role, and honestly, it’s not anybody’s role but yours.

But as your business grows, understanding why you’re in certain rooms — and how to move once you’re there — is some of the most important work you’ll do in your journey of impact and business.

This applies just as much to a founder walking into an investor pitch as it did to me walking past a managing partner’s disapproval.

So we’re gonna dive into this very subject today:

In today’s Founder’s Letter, we’re going to talk about one of the biggest recurring themes of your entrepreneurial journey: knowing why you’re in certain rooms, knowing what you bring to certain rooms, and making sure you actually deliver on and protect what you pitch in certain rooms.

And of course, we’re going to relate this to the intellectual property that you’re building today as you’re learning to more effectively navigate these rooms.

Ready? Let’s get into it.

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Show us some love by adding a “❤️” or commenting below; this will make our hearts sing. Also, please share, we want this to get to as many folx as possible.

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But first, Church Announcements!!

Missed our recent live session? Grab the workshop notes below.

This is the last week for the workshop notes from the Queen Latifah workshop to be shared here—grab them here before they move behind the paywall too.

And sign up for our upcoming workshops!

August 20 — Women of Impact: Get Your Freak On (Missy Elliott)
Copyright, creative ownership, and protecting original work.

September 10 — Negotiate for Your Impact
A fireside chat with Damali Peterman on negotiating confidently and protecting your interests.

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)
Endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection — Coco is building toward her own 1999 right now, and we’ll talk about exactly what she should be locking down.

All three upcoming workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

One Click. All Workshops.

We have a new one-click sign-up that allows you to register for the entire Women of Impact series at once.

Sign up even if you’re not able to attend—you’ll still get the workshop notes by email.

This isn’t just about who’s going to be there and whose contact info you’re hoping to walk away with.

It’s about naming, for yourself, why you showed up.

Are you there because it’s a major event in your industry and you’re building relationships?

Because you were invited to speak?

Because you’re simply there to learn?

These are different reasons, and they call for different postures.

There are seasons where I’m a bit quieter in a room — not because I’m shy, but because I’m not chasing splash that day.

Indeed, Firm for the Culture is in what some would call a “building season” right now, and so this means taking a bit of a break from attempting to generate an insane volume of new business while we’re still building the infrastructure that will actually support the people it brings in.

That’s a why.

It’s a valid one that will move the firm and me forward.

Once you know why you’re there, take inventory of what you’re walking in with — because what’s unprotected is what gets taken.

If you’re introducing your pitch and your business name, and you haven’t secured your trademark, you’re exposed the moment you speak.

Someone in that room can walk away with your name, your positioning, your language — all because you talked about your business before your IP was locked down.

This isn’t paranoia.

It’s just how rooms work when the stakes are real and the people in them are sharp enough to recognize a good idea, even when you do not.

The third thing I take inventory of: can I actually act on what I’m gaining from this room, and quickly?

In my experience, nothing kills a deal faster than someone who isn’t ready with the actual service they’re pitching.

Over-promising and under-delivering is one of my biggest pet peeves — professionally and personally.

That doesn’t mean you need to be fully polished before you say a word about your business.

Testing the room, gauging whether people resonate with what you’re offering, is part of the process.

But if the room isn’t filled with people who fit your ideal client profile—or if they may need more than you’re ready to offer right now—it may not be the right room to pitch in.

That doesn’t mean they’ll never be the right audience. It simply means your energy may be better spent connecting with the people who are ready for what you can deliver today.

I think about that managing partner sometimes.

I mean, she was pretty nice overall, lol.

So I think of her less with resentment and more with appreciation and clarity.

What I think about, more than ever, is that she didn’t explicitly say no.

So who was I to say no to myself?

She just assumed I’d read the silence correctly and stay in my seat. I didn’t. And what I found on the other side of that room wasn’t just access — it was proof that the gap between “not invited” and “not allowed” is often smaller than we think.

The rooms you’re walking into now — the investor meetings, the conferences, the panels, the partnerships — they’re asking the same three questions of you that room asked of me.

Why are you here?

What have you protected?

Can you deliver?

The answers determine whether the room remembers you as someone who showed up, or someone who was ready.

So I’ll ask you: when’s the last time you walked into a room someone didn’t think you belonged in?

Drop a comment — I read every one.

Drop a comment—I read every one.

Leave a comment

• Get Your Freak On.

• Has Jay-Z Sold Out?

• All Hail The Queen.

Want to know where your business actually stands on that gap?

Let’s talk — and make sure your name isn’t just recognized. It’s protected.

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting Your Creativity?

If you are unsure—or if you know you need to take action—reach out to us.

We have helped countless founders and creatives safeguard their intellectual property, and we would love to do the same for you.

If you need further guidance, reach out to me and my team at Firm for the Culture.

We’re here to help you navigate the copyright, trademark, and thought leadership journey.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

Subscribe for more insights on brand protection, copyright, and strategic IP plays that help diverse founders build lasting businesses:

Share

Hey Fam,

What do you do when you’re in between a rock and a hard place?

Do you run or retreat?

Do you fight?

Do you cry (I do, tbh).

Or do you give up?

If you’re anything like me, this season is not a cakewalk, to say the least.

And.It.Is.So.HARD.

For example, I shared something on LinkedIn a couple weeks ago that I hadn’t planned on saying out loud: I’m kind of going through hell right now.

Growing, learning, a lot changing on the inside of me as a result. Old narratives are being challenged on the daily.

And I’m standing toe-to-toe with generational cycles that refuse to relent.

Have you ever felt this way? Can anyone relate?

Going through “hell” isn’t always loud or obvious.

Sometimes, nothing necessarily looks “bad” from the outside, but something inside of you knows you’re called to more.

You know you were made for more—you’re just not quite sure how to reach it.

So it was definitely divine timing that, in the middle of all of this, we were preparing for our recent workshop on Queen Latifah.

Because after hearing her story, we sat in the workshop in awe; we all knew we needed exactly what she was teaching us in this season.

Let me explain.

Because here’s the thing: Queen Latifah’s story is about so much more than Living Single, performing in the film adaptation Chicago, winning a Grammy, receiving worldwide recognition, or building an enduring legacy.

Her story also includes the deaths of loved ones. A carjacking. Drug and alcohol addiction. A winding road with some genuinely catastrophic lows.

And yet, right alongside those lows, she was winning a Grammy, hosting a nationally syndicated talk show, and building a production company that would eventually do business with Netflix and Sony.

You see, life was going to “life” for her too.

And still, she built something that has lasted three decades and counting.

That was the part of her story I realized so many of us needed in this season.

In that workshop, we all needed the reminder that going through hell didn’t mean we also were not building a legacy.

Indeed, the hell and the legacy don’t merely coexist. To some extent, they are synergistic. Sometimes, the very thing putting us through hell is also clarifying who we are, what matters to us, and exactly what we’re building toward.

So during the session, I asked the room the same thing I’m asking you now: What if this season—this “dang, I’m going through hell too” season—isn’t separate from your legacy? What if it is helping to shape it?

If you’re in it right now, I want you to sit with that.

Because here’s a reminder: One does not cancel out the other.

And that brings me to the theory I built the whole workshop around.

Queen Latifah’s breakout moment wasn’t 1989, when she was first signed.

It wasn’t the 2000s, when she was in Chicago.

It was 1999 — the year she stopped just proving herself and started deciding who she was going to be.

For a full decade before that, she had dynamic, undeniable proof: a Grammy, Naughty by Nature signed to her label, and platinum albums filled her catalog.

But proof and protection are two different things, and 1999 was the year she stopped treating them as the same thing.

Somewhere in that stretch, I imagine she realized she couldn’t do this alone and she realized that after the hell of the season she endured.

While she had made it far on talent, determination, and sheer drive—she realized that “drive” isn’t a legal strategy.

So once the proof was established, the question shifted Queen Latifah likely contemplated moved from “Can I do this?” to “What am I actually going to own?”

That’s the gap we’re going to explore here: moving from creation without structure, building without ownership, and a body of work with no legal armor around it — to legacy, conviction, and confidence that you own what you are building.

In this Founder’s Letter, we’re going to trace how Queen Latifah transformed a decade of proof into a legacy she could actually own.

We’ll look at how her 1999 filings and production rights changed the trajectory of her work—and how you can make that same shift from proving what you can build to protecting what you intend to keep.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

Loving This Post?

Show us some love by adding a “❤️” or commenting below; this will make our hearts sing. Also, please share, we want this to get to as many folx as possible.

Leave a comment

Share

But first, Church Announcements!!

Missed our recent live session?

The full recording of “U-N-I-T-Y” is now available for paid subscribers here:

The workshop notes, though, are still free—grab them here before they move behind the paywall too.

And sign up for our upcoming workshops!

August 20 — Women of Impact: Get Your Freak On (Missy Elliott)
Copyright, creative ownership, and protecting original work.

September 10 — Negotiate for Your Impact
A fireside chat with Damali Peterman on negotiating confidently and protecting your interests.

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)
Endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection — Coco is building toward her own 1999 right now, and we’ll talk about exactly what she should be locking down.

All four workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

One Click. All Workshops.

We have a new one-click sign-up that allows you to register for the entire Women of Impact series at once.

Sign up, even if you’re not able to attend, you’ll still get the workshop notes by email.

Y’all, Queen Latifah went through it.

For a full decade before 1999, the wins and losses accumulated side by side.

Have you ever had a season like that?

Many of the founders and creators I work with have.

They’re being featured on highly popular podcasts and receiving incredible publicity while privately struggling to pay their bills.

They’re celebrating six-figure months while also navigating deep depression.

If I’m being honest, many of our legal sessions are 2 parts legal strategy and 1 part focused on founder mindset, wellness, and simply…venting.

Why? Because the highs and the lows happening at the same time is far more common than you might think.

So the question isn’t always, “Why am I going through this?” Sometimes, this tension is simply part of what it means to be called to build something bigger than yourself.

The better question is: “What am I going to do as a result of this?”

Because even in the middle of it, you still have a legacy to build.

Here’s what 1999 actually looked like on paper, and it moved fast once it moved.

She filed a copyright under Queen Latifah Incorporated for her book, Ladies First, published January 6th of that year.

On September 16th, 1999 — three days after the Queen Latifah Show premiered in national syndication, ahead of Ricki Lake, ahead of Jerry Springer, ahead of Jennifer Hudson’s own eventual run — she filed a trademark for the name Queen Latifah.

Four days after that, a logo mark.

That same fall, she was in The Bone Collector, a $73 million Universal picture opposite Denzel Washington, the collaboration that would later become the seed of The Equalizer.

Queen Latifah did not come to play—and she did not try to do it alone.

She built a team capable of executing the vision she was stepping into. While she prepared to release her book and launch her talk show, her attorneys were working behind the scenes.

She wasn’t conducting trademark searches between takes, nor should she have been. The attorneys of record handled the applications while she focused on building the empire those filings were designed to protect.

The legal work didn’t compete with the building. Having the right team allowed both to move forward at the same time.

And both should be moving forward for you as well.

You still have workshops to run, coaching to give, conferences to attend, keynotes to deliver.

The filing has to sit with a team, not wedged into whatever’s left of your calendar after everything else you’re already carrying.

And Queen Latifah was not done yet.

Over the next two decades, she kept expanding the vision.

She starred as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago and earned an Academy Award nomination. She followed that with films like Bringing Down the House, Beauty Shop, Hairspray, The Secret Life of Bees, and Just Wright.

In 2006, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2008, she won a Golden Globe for Life Support.

But while the world was watching Queen Latifah perform, her production company Flavor Unit was growing behind the scenes.

In 2013, Flavor Unit Entertainment signed a multi-year first-look licensing deal with Netflix. Under that agreement, Netflix received the first opportunity to license Flavor Unit films following their theatrical release.

Now, let’s pause there—because a first-look deal is not the same thing as assigning everything you create to someone else.

A first-look deal generally gives a company the first opportunity to consider your work. An assignment transfers ownership. The exact rights always depend on the language of the contract, but the distinction matters.

Queen Latifah wasn’t approaching Netflix solely as the talent waiting to be selected.

She was entering the deal through a production company she co-owned, with a body of work and a track record behind her.

This is what building during life’s challenging moments looks like.

And she was just getting started.

She revived The Queen Latifah Show. She starred in and executive-produced Bessie, which won the 2015 Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie. She appeared in Girls Trip. Then, in 2021, she became both the star and an executive producer of The Equalizer.

Her difficult season did not define her. It catapulted her.

The same is true for you too.

You are not protecting your work merely to preserve what you have already built. You are creating the structure that allows your next chapter—and the chapters after that—to become possible.

When I asked the room to describe their 1999 moment in one word, the answers came quickly—and they didn’t all sound like triumph.

“Encompassing.”

“Revelation.”

“Current”—as in, I’m still in it. I haven’t made it to the other side yet.

And for many, “traumatizing.”

Because the moments that transform us do not always arrive wrapped in celebration. Sometimes they leave scars.

Pretending otherwise isn’t honesty—it’s performance.

But every answer pointed to the same thing: a turning point. The moment when you stop asking whether the hard season has disqualified you and start deciding what you’re going to build because of it.

Queen Latifah’s 1999 wasn’t the end of every difficult season. It was the moment she decided that whatever came next, her legacy would not be left unprotected.

So, where are you?

Are you still in your years of proof—building, surviving, and becoming undeniable?

Are you standing at the threshold, knowing something has to change?

Or are you already on the other side, realizing that survival alone is not the same as ownership?

Wherever you are, you have come too far, built too much, and survived too much to leave your legacy unprotected.

What’s your 1999 — in one word?

Wherever you are, you showed up. That’s not nothing.

Drop a comment—I read every one.

Leave a comment

• Get Your Freak On.

• Has Jay-Z Sold Out?

• All Hail The Queen.

Want to know where your business actually stands on that gap?

Let’s talk — and make sure your name isn’t just recognized. It’s protected.

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting Your Creativity?

If you are unsure—or if you know you need to take action—reach out to us.

We have helped countless founders and creatives safeguard their intellectual property, and we would love to do the same for you.

If you need further guidance, reach out to me and my team at Firm for the Culture.

We’re here to help you navigate the copyright, trademark, and thought leadership journey.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

Subscribe for more insights on brand protection, copyright, and strategic IP plays that help diverse founders build lasting businesses:

Share

Hey Fam,

Admit it.

Some of you don't like Ryan Coogler's choice for the new Black Panther.

But you're still going to watch the movie.

Let me tell you why.

But first, let’s review.

The conversation around Black Panther 3 has been fascinating to watch.

Ryan Coogler took the stage at Comic-Con and revealed David Jonsson as the new Black Panther, stepping into T’Challa’s grown son.

Letitia Wright and Winston Duke stood behind him, both confirmed to return.

But one comment kept standing out to me more than any casting reveal.

Winston Duke, right there on stage, said it plainly: the audience trusts Ryan Coogler.

And that got me thinking.

Why do so many people trust a director before they’ve even seen a single frame of what’s next?

Let me say the quiet part out loud.

We don’t simply trust Ryan Coogler because he’s Ryan Coogler.

We trust him because he’s spent years giving us reasons to.

Think about it…

Fruitvale Station.

Creed.

Black Panther.

Sinners.

One story after another. One win after another. Each one a reminder that excellence leaves receipts.

Winston may not have realized it, but he was talking about intellectual property.

And all because the trust Coogler has cultivated is inseparable from what he has created—and from the impact those creations have had on his community and the culture at large.

That’s why we trust Ryan.

When people say they trust Ryan Coogler, what they’re really saying is: I’ve seen his body of work.

His “receipts,” some may say.

Every film he’s created has become another reason for people to believe in whatever comes next.

Every file he’s created is the very IP that we return to time and again.

And fam, you need to pay attention to that.

Trust isn’t simplt something you ask people for.

It’s something you build.

Project by project.

Client by client.

Product by product.

Every trademark you file.

Every book you publish.

Every podcast you launch.

Every business you build.

Every promise you keep.

It all becomes part of your body of work.

And your ability to adequately protect and steward this work is what builds for long term trust and sustainability.

I’ve sat across from founders who have all of that — the reputation, the following, the years of proof — and none of it legally protected.

And when it’s not protected, someone can take it, change it, and use it to undermine the very trust you’ve built in your community at large.

Creation without structure. Building without ownership. Visibility without protection.

Let’s make sure we don’t go down this path anymore.

In this Founder’s Letter, we’re going to talk through how you obtain and sustain trust in a world where your intellectual property often speaks to your consumers before—and louder than—you ever could.

We’ll explore how your track record becomes collateral, how to negotiate beyond default agreements that were never designed in your favor, and how ownership gives you the leverage to bring others with you.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

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But first, Church Announcements!!

Missed last week's live session? The full recording of “U-N-I-T-Y” is now available for paid subscribers here:

The workshop notes, though, are still free—grab them here before they move behind the paywall too.

And sign up for our upcoming worshops!

August 20 — Women of Impact: Get Your Freak On (Missy Elliott)
Copyright, creative ownership, and protecting original work.

September 10 — Women of Impact: Negotiate for Your Impact
A fireside chat with Damali Peterman on negotiating confidently and protecting your interests.

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)
Endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection — Coco is building toward her own 1999 right now, and we’ll talk about exactly what she should be locking down.

All four workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

One Click. All Workshops.

We have a new one-click sign-up that allows you to register for the entire Women of Impact series at once.

Sign up, even if you’re not able to attend, you’ll still get the workshop notes by email.

Coogler’s numbers aren’t a secret.

Fruitvale Station put him on the map in 2013 — made for under $1 million and built entirely on a true story he refused to sensationalize.

Creed proved it wasn’t a fluke, resurrecting a franchise nobody thought had another chapter left in it.

Black Panther grossed $1.3 billion worldwide with seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Sinners became the most Oscar-nominated film in history, with sixteen nods, after opening to $60 million domestic on an original idea nobody had heard of before the trailer dropped. By his own account, his films have earned Hollywood over $2.5 billion.

That’s not luck or simply a flex.

That’s a portfolio — the same thing that gives a studio, a bank, or a licensing partner something to point to before they’ve read a single new page.

In other words, it’s equity.

Every film he protected and finished became proof the next deal could stand on, which is exactly why Warner Bros. was willing to hand him terms most directors never see.

Then there’s the Sinners deal itself.

Warner Bros. gave Coogler first-dollar gross participation, final cut privilege, and full rights reversion — ownership of Sinners comes back to him outright in 2050, twenty-five years after release.

That reversion clause is rare enough that entertainment attorneys were still debating it in the trades months after the film opened, with some studio executives openly worried it would reset expectations across the industry.

Most creators never ask what happens to their work a quarter-century out. They sign, they cash the check, and the studio owns it forever.

Coogler refused that default.

Why? Because the default contract is almost never in your favor, you have to read and understand what you are literally signing up for.

If you recall, we talked about a dynamic version of this same playbook in “All Hail the Queen” — Flavor Unit Entertainment holding the production rights to The Equalizer while Queen Latifah collected an acting fee on a separate contract entirely.

Different timeline, different medium, same principle: know which position in the deal actually owns the IP, because that’s the position that keeps paying long after the credits roll.

And here’s the piece I think people feel but don’t always name.

Coogler’s ownership is more than a personal upside.

It’s what gave him the standing to hand-pick David Jonsson for one of the most scrutinized roles in franchise history, and to build Michael B. Jordan into a leading man across five films together, starting all the way back at Fruitvale Station when neither of them had the résumé they have now.

Ownership is what let him decide who gets to walk through the door with him — not a casting director, not a studio executive, him.

That’s a different kind of legacy than a box office number.

It’s the difference between building something and building something that builds other people.

I’m genuinely excited to see what Ryan Coogler builds next.

Not because I know what the project will be, but because he’s spent years showing us exactly who he is.

People don’t trust Ryan Coogler because of what he says.

They trust him because of what he’s spent years building — and what he’s done with the leverage that trust bought him.

That’s the power of a strong body of work. It’s not just the thing you point to. It’s the door it lets you open for somebody else.

So here’s my question for you: what’s in your body of work right now that you haven’t protected yet?

Drop a comment—I read every one.

Leave a comment

• Get Your Freak On.

• Has Jay-Z Sold Out?

• All Hail The Queen.

Want to know where your business actually stands on that gap?

Let’s talk — and make sure your name isn’t just recognized. It’s protected.

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting Your Creativity?

If you are unsure—or if you know you need to take action—reach out to us.

We have helped countless founders and creatives safeguard their intellectual property, and we would love to do the same for you.

If you need further guidance, reach out to me and my team at Firm for the Culture.

We’re here to help you navigate the copyright, trademark, and thought leadership journey.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on it and share the love.

Thanks for reading

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

Subscribe for more insights on brand protection, copyright, and strategic IP plays that help diverse founders build lasting businesses:

Today, we’re sending a simple email with a simple ask: Sign Up for Our Upcoming Workshop as we Chat About Queen Latifah and IP.

Fam.

QUEEN LATIFAH.

But alas, I’ll start with a story.

When I was in big law, I remember feeling…muted.

Yep, that’s the word. Muted.

As I shared in the below interview with Law 360, feeling “muted” was not limited to my natural hair in Corporate America.

It extended to my mannerisms.

The way I talked.

The way I dressed.

And the way I dared to show up in a space that wasn’t made for me.

This workshop challenges and disrupts the very sentiment that kept me quiet in Corporate Law.

And it is one that is true to my heart.

It honors those women who refused to be muted.

It celebrates their courage to live out loud.

And it discusses, in detail, the legal strategy and IP protection moves it took to get them to places of prominence and success.

And it’s free, in alignment with Firm for the Culture’s commitment to providing free and low-cost workshops to dynamic creatives, entrepreneurs, and movers and shakers like you who deserve to have their creative contributions to the culture protected.

So if you ever thought about the monetary value of your impact.

If you ever thought about how to negotiate without feeling “icky.”

Or if you simply don’t even know what you don’t know and just want to be in the vibes…

Then this workshop is for you.

And yes, it is for all genders. Men, we’re counting on you to show up and show out!

It’ll be great to see you!

Across four workshops, we’re exploring how influential women have protected their work, built powerful brands, and expanded their impact across industries.

Here’s what we have planned:

July 30 — Women of Impact: U-N-I-T-Y (Queen Latifah)

Explore trademarks, licensing, and the strategies behind building a lasting brand.

August 20 — Women of Impact: Get Your Freak On (Missy Elliott)

Learn about copyright, creative ownership, and protecting original work.

September 10 — Women of Impact: Negotiate for Your Impact

Get practical guidance on negotiating confidently, communicating your value, and protecting your interests.

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)

Explore endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection.

Every workshop begins at:

8:00 a.m. Pacific Time

11:00 a.m. Eastern Time

One Click. All Four Workshops.

You can now register for the entire Women of Impact Workshop Series with one click.

And yes—sign up even if you can’t attend live. You’ll still receive the workshop notes, so you don’t have to miss the gems.

Four workshops. Four powerful conversations. One simple registration.

We can’t wait to see you there.

#ForTheCulture

• I want that $300 Kind of Love.

• You Don’t Impress Me.

• Viola Davis: The Graveyard of Unfilled Potential.

Want to know where your business actually stands on that gap?

Let’s talk — and make sure your name isn’t just recognized. It’s protected.

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting Your Creativity?

If you are unsure—or if you know you need to take action—reach out to us.

We have helped countless founders and creatives safeguard their intellectual property, and we would love to do the same for you.

If you need further guidance, reach out to me and my team at Firm for the Culture.

We’re here to help you navigate the copyright, trademark, and thought leadership journey.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

Subscribe for more insights on brand protection, copyright, and strategic IP plays that help diverse founders build lasting businesses:

Share

Hey Fam,

There is a version of your brand that exists before anyone files a single document.

It lives in the way you deliver your service, the name you chose at 2am, and the framework you’ve spent three years refining.

It exists in the way clients describe you to their friends — using your exact words, your exact phrasing, sometimes your exact name.

That version of your brand is real.

It has value.

And if no one has ever helped you structure it legally, it belongs to everyone.

I am an attorney. I am also a full-time entrepreneur. I know what it feels like to be so deep in building that legal infrastructure feels like a luxury — something you get to once the business feels “real enough.”

I see it often. Founders who have been executing at a high level for years, building something undeniable, operating with absolute intention — and then a partnership conversation surfaces, or a licensing inquiry lands, and suddenly the question isn’t are you talented? The question is what do you own?

The talent was never in question.

The structure was.

We talk a lot about the concept of trusting the process — showing up, staying consistent, executing with discipline.

But there is a version of “trusting the process” that becomes a liability: when the process you’re faithfully executing was never built to protect you.

This is where it gets specific.

A founder registers a business entity and assumes that means her brand name is protected.

It is not.

A business name filed with a state tells you you can do business.

A trademark tells the world — and the law — that the name belongs to you.

A content creator builds a newsletter audience around a distinctive framework and assumes the name is hers because she created it.

That assumption has no legal weight until she files.

A course creator licenses her methodology to a partner and assumes the contract is standard because both parties agreed on the terms.

The terms, however, don’t address what happens to the IP when the partnership ends.

These are not cautionary tales. These are not hypotheticals.

These are my intake sessions from the last couple months.

And in every one of them, the problem wasn’t lack of effort.

It was a process that never included an IP audit.

So we’re going to question, examine, and litigate your processes today.

In this Founder's Letter, we are going to talk about how to evaluate your IP foundation, how to critique what's actually working, and how to rebuild the process to include the legal structure your brand has already earned.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

Loving This Post?

Show us some love by adding a “❤️” or commenting below; this will make our hearts sing. Also, please share, we want this to get to as many folx as possible.

Leave a comment

Share

But first, Church Announcements!!

Church Announcements: Women of Impact Workshop Series

We have an upcoming Women of Impact workshop series—a four-part exploration of how influential women have protected their work, built powerful brands, and expanded their impact across industries.

July 30 — Women of Impact: U-N-I-T-Y (Queen Latifah)
Explore trademarks, licensing, and the strategies behind building a lasting brand.

August 20 — Women of Impact: Get Your Freak On (Missy Elliott)
Learn about copyright, creative ownership, and protecting original work.

September 10 — Women of Impact: Negotiate for Your Impact
Get practical guidance on negotiating confidently, communicating your value, and protecting your interests.

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)
Explore endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection.

All four workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

One Click. All Four Workshops.

We have a new one-click sign-up that allows you to register for the entire Women of Impact series at once.

Sign up, even if you’re not able to attend, you’ll still get the workshop notes.

The first step isn’t filing anything. It’s taking inventory.

Most founders are further along than they realize — and also more exposed than they realize.

The gap between those two things is where the legal strategy lives.

An IP audit asks: what names, phrases, logos, methodologies, and original works are attached to this business?

Of those, which ones are currently in use?

Of those, which ones have been registered?

Of those, which registrations are still active, maintained, and current?

That last question matters more than founders expect.

A trademark registration isn’t a one-time filing that sits in a drawer.

It requires maintenance — a Declaration of Use between the fifth and sixth year, a renewal between the ninth and tenth, and ongoing attention to whether someone else is now using something that conflicts with your registration.

The process you trusted to protect you may have a gap in it.

Don’t think of it as a failure.

Instead, think of it as a data point.

And knowledge is power.

A process built for speed is not the same as a process built for ownership.

The early-stage instinct — move fast, execute, launch — makes sense.

But the same speed that gets a brand to market also skips the steps that protect it.

File the name when you’re ready.

Register the course when the revenue justifies it.

Circle back to the contract when the relationship is stable.

The problem is that “circle back” often never happens.

And in the meantime, the brand compounds in value — while the legal foundation stays exactly where it was on launch day.

Critiquing the process here isn’t about assigning blame.

It’s about asking honestly: was this process designed to protect me, or was it simply designed to move me forward?

No judgment, I have to ask myself the same question as well.

Because here’s the thing, these two things can look identical in the short run and diverge significantly over time.

The brands that have real enterprise value — the ones that attract investors, licensing partners, and acquisition conversations — are the brands that treated IP protection as infrastructure, not an add-on.

By this point, you may be thinking, do I have to start over? There’s so much to be done!

Now, before you throw your whole business away and start from scratch, hear this:

The rebuild doesn’t require starting over.

It simply requires adding a layer.

For most founders, that layer looks like this: a trademark application for the brand name and any sub-brands that are actively driving revenue; a copyright registration for original works, course content, or creative assets that could be licensed; and a contracts review to make sure that any existing partnerships, collaborations, or client agreements actually reflect who owns what when the work is done.

That’s it as a small start.

We don’t have to build Rome today.

But it does have to be done.

The reason it keeps getting deferred is that it doesn’t feel urgent — until it is.

Until a competitor files for the name you’ve been using for three years.

Until a collaboration dissolves and both parties believe they own the thing you built together.

Until a licensing conversation stalls because the other party can’t verify your chain of title.

The rebuild is a decision.

You are deciding to run a business that is legally structured to match what you’ve already built.

You are deciding that the next version of this brand — the version that lands the partnership, survives the collaboration, and gets acquired at the number you have in your head — exists on a foundation that can hold it.

The original “Do Not Trust the Process” post I wrote in 2023 was about the importance of evaluating your systems — not accepting them on faith, but interrogating whether they’re actually working.

That principle is still true. I still believe it.

But there is a specific version of that principle that lives in this work — in IP law, in brand protection, in the legal architecture of a founder-owned business.

The process you trusted to carry your brand forward may never have been designed to carry your ownership forward.

And ownership is the thing that turns a business into a legacy.

The gap is still closeable. The question is when you decide to close it.

What is one part of your brand — a name, a framework, a body of work — that you know you haven’t legally protected yet?

Drop a comment—I read every one.

Leave a comment

• I want that $300 Kind of Love.

• You Don’t Impress Me.

• Viola Davis: The Graveyard of Unfilled Potential.

Want to know where your business actually stands on that gap?

Let’s talk — and make sure your name isn’t just recognized. It’s protected.

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting Your Creativity?

If you are unsure—or if you know you need to take action—reach out to us.

We have helped countless founders and creatives safeguard their intellectual property, and we would love to do the same for you.

If you need further guidance, reach out to me and my team at Firm for the Culture.

We’re here to help you navigate the copyright, trademark, and thought leadership journey.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on it and share the love.

Thanks for reading

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

Subscribe for more insights on brand protection, copyright, and strategic IP plays that help diverse founders build lasting businesses:

Share

Hey Fam,

Now.

Let's talk about a name.

1989 — A nineteen-year-old from Newark, New Jersey named Dana Elaine Owens is releasing her first album.

She has chosen a name for herself. An Arabic word meaning “delicate, sensitive, and kind.”

She puts it on the cover.

She calls the album what the name deserves.

All Hail the Queen.

If you’re not careful, you may think it’s a boast.

But for me, it is a declaration.

And over the next thirty-seven years, that name — Queen Latifah — would appear on Grammy certificates, on a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, on Netflix licensing agreements, on CBS production credits, on a White House invitation honoring her legacy, and on a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announcement set for November 2026.

So yeah…a declaration.

Because boasting could never…

As an IP attorney, my pride and joy comes from seeing the name “Queen Latifah” appear in two places that most people never think to look.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Serial Number 75800943.

Serial Number 90527132.

One filed in 1999, the other in 2021.

Both owned by QUEEN LATIFAH, INC.

Because, here’s the thing: the name was always the asset.

The filings made it legally true.

All hail the queen.

Last week, we talked about Missy Elliott — the copyright infrastructure she built beneath her catalog, the 400+ songs sampling her work, the lawsuit she filed in 2024 to confirm ownership of what was already hers.

If you missed it, go back and read it here:

This week, we’re diving into a slightly different, but equally consequential, form of protection.

As shared last week, copyright protects what you create.

Trademark protects who you are.

And when I look at Queen Latifah's legacy through a legal lens, the thing that inspired me is not just the Grammy.

Not just the Oscar nomination.

Not just the National Medal of Arts.

It is the corporation.

QUEEN LATIFAH, INC.

She put respect on her name before anyone else did.

The interesting catch?

Queen Latifah did not file those trademark registrations as Dana Owens, as that would’ve put her on the hook for personal liablity if things went awry.

Instead, she created a corporate entity specifically to hold her name as a legal asset — and she did it in 1999, when the internet was still new and most artists were not thinking about this at all.

That is what I think about when I hear this story, and I hope this resonates with you as well.

So let’s enter the Queen’s royal chamber to understand her legacy.

In this Founder's Letter, we are going to walk through three things: Three things we're breaking down in this Founder's Letter: the two trademarks protecting the name itself, what the "Queen Collection" mark teaches us about co-branded licensing when you own your IP, and the deal structure behind The Equalizer that paid her twice — the same playbook Ryan Coogler used for Sinners years later.

Ready? Let’s get into it.

Loving This Post?

Show us some love by adding a “❤️” or commenting below; this will make our hearts sing.

Also, please share, we want this to get to as many folx as possible.

Leave a comment

Share

But first, Church Announcements!!

Church Announcements: Women of Impact Workshop Series

We have an upcoming Women of Impact workshop series—a four-part exploration of how influential women have protected their work, built powerful brands, and expanded their impact across industries.

July 30 — Women of Impact: U-N-I-T-Y (Queen Latifah)
Explore trademarks, licensing, and the strategies behind building a lasting brand.

August 20 — Women of Impact: Get Your Freak On (Missy Elliott)
Learn about copyright, creative ownership, and protecting original work.

September 10 — Women of Impact: Negotiate for Your Impact
Get practical guidance on negotiating confidently, communicating your value, and protecting your interests.

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)
Explore endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection.

All four workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

One Click. All Four Workshops.

We have a new one-click sign-up that allows you to register for the entire Women of Impact series at once.

Sign up, even if you’re not able to attend, you’ll still get the workshop notes.

In 1999, Dana Owens filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

As shared above, the applicant was not listed as Dana Owens.

It was listed as QUEEN LATIFAH, INC.

A corporation.

Created specifically to hold the rights.

Serial Number 75800943 — Queen Latifah, entertainment services in the nature of a live musical performer.

And later, in 2021, she filed a second trademark bearing her stage name:

Serial Number 90527132 — Queen Latifah, for televised and recorded audiovisual appearances by a professional entertainer.

Two registrations. Two lanes. Music and screen.

Both filed at different points in her career.

The sequencing matters as much as the filing itself.

By 1999, she already had the Grammy.

She already had the five-season Living Single run.

She had already starred in Set It Off.

She had leverage.

But instead of assuming that leverage was protection, or that recognition was just as good as ownership, Dana went to the Patent and Trademark Office and made the protection official.

What those registrations mean in practice: the name “Queen Latifah” is not just a performing identity.

It is a federally registered legal instrument.

Anyone who uses it without authorization — for a show, a product, a service — is not just trading on a cultural figure’s reputation.

They are infringing a registered trademark. And QUEEN LATIFAH, INC. has the legal tools to stop them and potentially collect damages.

The National Medal of Arts came in October 2024.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Early Influence Award is coming in November 2026. Those confirm what the culture has known for decades.

The trademark registrations have been confirming it since 1999.

In January 2006, Queen Latifah and CoverGirl launched the Queen Collection.

One of the first lines in mass cosmetics created specifically for deeper skin tones. It changed the beauty landscape.

In other words, it walked so Fenty could run.

I remember this like it was yesterday - I was astounded the first time I saw Queen Latifah's commercial with CoverGirl.

I was 17, at the height of my youth, in my last year of high school, getting ready to go to college.

And I just remember seeing Queen Latifah's radiant smile, her honey brown skin, and her unapologetic dynamicism in a way that made me feel that I didn't have to be held in one box.

Because by this point, Queen Latifah was a big deal: she was a rapper, a songwriter, a actor, and a business mogul all around.

But what I didn’t realize until recently was that Queen Latifah held a lot of leverage in the collaboration between her company and CoverGirl.

In fact, she holds the trademark to the very Queen Collection that still drives sales to this day.

What I didn’t understand as a teenager was that I wasn’t just watching a commercial — I was watching ownership.

She wasn’t simply the face of the brand; she was, in part, its owner.

Serial Number 98945868.

And that is not a small detail. That one fact is the difference between being a brand ambassador and being a brand co-owner.

A brand ambassador gets paid for their likeness.

They appear in campaigns, endorse the product, and when the contract ends, they leave — and so does their leverage.

A brand co-owner holds IP.

They have a seat at the table for product creation, development, and distribution decisions.

And when CoverGirl came back in 2022 — more than a decade after her initial run — Covergirl was not just calling a former collaborator.

They were calling a rights holder.

Covergirl described bringing her back as a “no-brainer.” They wanted her involved not just in front of the camera but in product creation, ad development, and dissemination.

That framing matters.

For over two decades, CoverGirl has brought her back to the table.

The trademark is why.

And then there’s the Queen in her acting and production bag.

When The Equalizer ran on CBS for five seasons, Queen Latifah did not collect one check.

She collected two.

Once as the star — the lead performance, the acting fee, the face that drove the ratings for five full seasons. And once as an executive producer through Flavor Unit Entertainment, the production company she co-owns with Shakim Compere.

Flavor Unit, Trademark Serial Number 85618724.

Two contracts. Two revenue streams. Two different legal positions at the same table.

The acting fee is compensation for a service. It ends when the season ends. The executive producer credit through Flavor Unit is a stake in the underlying intellectual property of the show — a position that continues generating as long as the show is licensed, distributed, and syndicated.

If you recall, wewalked through something similar in “I’m a Sinner” — Ryan Coogler’s deal for Sinners, where he structured separate contracts as writer, director, and producer through Proximity Media, plus first-dollar gross participation from ticket one, plus a 25-year copyright reversion clause:

Multiple revenue streams from a single project. And eventually, full ownership.

The Queen Latifah structure is another dynamic version of this.

Coogler’s reversion is time-delayed. He will own Sinners outright — in 2050. The deal is built toward a future claim.

Flavor Unit already holds the production rights today.

When the Netflix exclusive multi-year licensing deal was signed in 2013, that was not Queen Latifah the artist getting a streaming deal. That was Flavor Unit Entertainment entering a content licensing agreement as a company that already owns the rights. The revenue flows to the entity. Not just to the person.

And now Flavor Unit is producing her own biopic. She is not waiting for a studio to commission her life story. The entity that will hold the rights to that story already exists. It has the deals. It has the infrastructure. She is building the camera before she steps in front of it.

In 1989, Dana Elaine Owens called her first album All Hail the Queen.

She was nineteen.

Some might call it arrogance.

I call it manifestation.

And the thirty-seven years that followed were the infrastructure she built to make that statement legally true — not just culturally true.

The management company that nurtured OutKast and LL Cool J.

The production entity that signed Netflix, Audible, and CBS.

The trademark registrations that protected the name across two industries.

The beauty brand trademark that gave her leverage at every table CoverGirl ever set.

And so much more came.

The Grammy came in 1994.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.

The National Medal of Arts in 2024.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2026.

They come when the culture can no longer hold out.

But the trademark was filed in 1999.

Twenty-five years before the White House ceremony.

The infrastructure was always first.

All hail the Queen.

If your name — your business name, your brand name, your stage name — is the most valuable thing about what you're building, has it been registered? Does the right entity hold it?

Drop a comment—I read every one.

Leave a comment

• I’m a Sinner.

• Steal Usher's Trademark Strategy

• Don't Be Kendrick. Be Beyoncé.

Want to know where your name actually stands legally? Let's talk — and make sure it isn't just recognized. It's protected.

Let’s talk — and make sure your name isn’t just recognized. It’s protected.

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting Your Creativity?

If you are unsure—or if you know you need to take action—reach out to us.

We have helped countless founders and creatives safeguard their intellectual property, and we would love to do the same for you.

If you need further guidance, reach out to me and my team at Firm for the Culture.

We’re here to help you navigate the copyright, trademark, and thought leadership journey.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on in and share the love.

Thanks for reading

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

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Hey Fam,

I want to take you to a high school dance studio in the heart of Brooklyn, New York.

The mirrors cover the entire front wall, which means you can see everyone at once — yourself, the person beside you, the person behind you.

There is nowhere to hide.

In this room, picture me, a 14 year old young girl, trying out for my high school dance group.

Actually, don’t picture me. I just knew I couldn’t dance, but my friend convinced me to come and I wanted to support the homie…

But instead, picture this:

The song playing on the loudspeakers — the one the choreographer had chosen for auditions — was “Get Ur Freak On.”

Now, by this point, the song had been out for a few years by then.

But it did not feel like it.

It still felt the way it felt the day it dropped — electric, colorful, completely alive.

Because very few can deny this: Missy Elliott creates masterpieces that, simply put, do not age.

Her music, to this very day, continues to have texture.

It has layers.

It moves in every direction at once.

And in that high school dance studio, the dancers too moved around me, in every direction, just like the song.

All while I was struggling to keep up…

Because, once again…

In the years that followed, I found my calling elsewhere. Step competitions. Singing. Drama. Other corners of the performing arts where my gifts could actually breathe.

But that moment in the dance studio stayed with me the way certain moments do — not because of what I did, but because of what I felt.

Fast forward to 2024.

On October 21st, President Biden stood in the East Room of the White House, honoring thirty-nine recipients — among them Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, Selena Quintanilla, Queen Latifah, and none other than THE Melissa MISDEMEANOR "Missy" Elliott, who became one of the first rappers in history to receive the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor the United States government gives to an artist.

When I saw this, the first thing I thought about was that dance studio.

The second thing I thought about — because…IP attorney… was Missy’s extensive musical catalog, as well as her impact on the industry as a whole.

This was a powerful moment in Hip Hop history.

Because less than two decades earlier, you could not pay society to take Hip Hop seriously.

And for years, decades even, pioneers like Missy walked so that many more artists could run.

And finally, Missy and many others were getting their just due.

So it makes sense that the culture read this moment as a coronation.

And it was. I am not going to argue with that.

But when I witnessed this moment in history, one word came to mind: legacy.

And not in just what she is producing for future generations, but in what she continues to protect to this very day.

For an artist like Missy Elliott, my mind goes somewhere very specific. It goes to the filings. It goes to the entity structure. It goes to the question of what she actually owns and how she makes certain her ownership stays intact.

Because this is where things shift when you look at this story through a legal lens: the National Medal of Arts does not protect a single recording. It does not register a copyright. It does not establish who gets paid when someone samples your work.

Missy Elliott has been creating, protecting, and producing masterpieces since the early 90’sf — which is how she arrived at that White House ceremony with something many artists at her level do not have: a legal infrastructure built beneath what she created.

So, in honor of the one and only Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, get ready for an IP dive into her legacy.

In this Founder's Letter, we are going to talk about the catalog she built while building herself, what it actually means when HUNDREDS of artists sample one’s work, and why, even after everything she built, she still went to court to protect what she created.

And why you should too.

Ready? Let’s get into it.

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But first, Church Announcements.

Speaking of Missy…

We have an upcoming Women of Impact workshop series—a four-part exploration of how influential women have protected their work, built powerful brands, and expanded their impact across industries.

July 30 — Women of Impact: U-N-I-T-Y (Queen Latifah)
Explore trademarks, licensing, and the strategies behind building a lasting brand.

August 20 — Women of Impact: Get Your Freak On (Missy Elliott)
Learn about copyright, creative ownership, and protecting original work.

September 10 — Women of Impact: Negotiate for Your Impact
Get practical guidance on negotiating confidently, communicating your value, and protecting your interests.

September 24 — Women of Impact: I’m in Love with the Coco (Coco Gauff)
Explore endorsements, image rights, NIL agreements, and personal-brand protection.

All four workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

One Click. All Four Workshops.

We have a new one-click sign-up that allows you to register for the entire Women of Impact series at once.

Sign up, even if you’re not able to attend, you’ll still get the workshop notes.

In 1996, Puff Daddy wanted to sign Missy Elliott to Bad Boy Records.

She said no.

Instead, she negotiated a deal to create her own imprint — The Goldmind Inc. — distributed through East West Records, a division of Elektra Entertainment Group.

Goldmind would be her label, her entity, and the legal structure behind everything she was about to build.

That same year, she released Supa Dupa Fly.

Both things, at the same time.

The sequencing here matters.

She did not build the career first and the business after.

She built them together, from the beginning.

So, by the time the world was singing “I can’t stand the rain…” the entity that would hold those rights already existed.

And before she ever stepped into that spotlight as a solo artist, she had already been writing, or what we call in the industry, publishing.

Janet Jackson. Whitney Houston. Aaliyah. Mariah Carey. Destiny’s Child. Beyoncé.

Years before her debut album, Missy Elliott had been building a songwriting and production catalog that would become one of the most valuable in the history of hip-hop.

In 2019, she became the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

All because her publishing catalog — the compositions she wrote, the melodies she built, the tracks she produced for other artists — became a monumentally lucrative revenue-generating asset.

It has been earning since before most people knew her name.

This is what a catalog looks like as legal infrastructure.

Not just as artistry.

According to WhoSampled, over 400 songs have sampled Missy Elliott’s catalog.

Drake. J. Cole. Cardi B. BIA. Megan Thee Stallion. Brent Faiyaz. Wale. Isaiah Rashad. Skrillex.

Every single time that happens, a publishing royalty is triggered.

Who receives the royalties depends on who holds the underlying rights — specifically, the rights to the composition that was sampled.

And for many of those songs, those rights belonged to Missy.

That is what a properly structured catalog can do. It continues to generate — in studios, in courtrooms, and everywhere in between — because the underlying rights are held by an entity positioned to exercise them.

I ain’t gonna hold you, fam…

I. LOVE. THIS.

The numbers, stats, the data, the filings - everything that lives beneath the cultural story.

Because those numbers, those stories, those filings turn into so much more - the publishing splits.

The mechanical royalties (for CDs, vinyl, streaming, etc.).

The sync licensing fees that flow from a catalog this deep.

And they are worth understanding, because they are not separate from the legacy.

They are the legal architecture of it.

So when a new artist samples “Get Ur Freak On” — and they will — this is more than a tribute.

It is a financial transaction.

Whether Missy Elliott benefits from that transaction comes down to what she owns, how it is documented, and what entity holds it.

This is something I walk clients through regularly.

Why? Because influence and ownership are not the same thing.

Yes, they can coexist — and when they do, it is because someone made a deliberate decision to build both.

And that is what I want for each and every one of you.

You would think that after more than 25 years in the industry, Missy could rest on her laurels and simply enjoy the fruits of her labor.

Think again.

Even with an extensive catalog in hand, Missy still had to file a lawsuit to get her rights recognized.

In 2024, she filed for declaratory relief, asking the court to declare and confirm that she was the sole owner of several early recordings, including songs she wrote for Aaliyah.

Pause.

Let’s take a moment to recognize something important.

Missy fought for these rights well into her career, long after the season where she was young and without leverage.

Long after the Grammys, or the Songwriters Hall of Fame, or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or the National Medal of Arts.

Long after all of it.

Despite all of it.

And perhaps, because of all of it.

Here’s what I am trying to say:

Why? Because copyrights can be canceled. Trademarks expire. Ownership can be challenged.

So if you want legacy, like truly want it (and not just saying it), you have to properly steward your impact.

And that takes strategy. Time. Financial investments and a team with you.

Because, here’s the thing, protecting your legacy is not a one-time event. It is a lifelong, consistent journey of stewardship.

We tell our clients this all the time, and it is hard for a lot of them to hear.

And it makes sense why.

After all, many of us are still learning that IP protects what we’ve created.

That we don’t have to be spotify, meta, or google to have intellectual property worth protecting.

That our courses, our speeches, our books, our diverse contributions matter.

But even after we learn that IP can protect what we create, we are then sold a story that the journey stops at the trademark registration.

That there is little to do after the filings.

And that we are done in our process.

We all see the IG posts, the proud acknowledgments of undergoing a protracted roller coaster journey to get to the finish line of trademark or copyright protection.

But I'm here to tell you this “finish line” is not a finish line at all.

It's a checkpoint — a single mile marker in a much longer race that doesn't end until you've built the habit of protecting, enforcing, and renewing what you've claimed.

Missy knows it.

And it’s time we recognize it as well.

Think of it like buying a house. You cannot just purchase it and walk away — you have to maintain it if you want to pass it down to future generations.

If you want legacy tomorrow, you have to steward it today.

Ownership is not a destination. It is an ongoing practice.

Suffice it to say, I did not make the dance group.

And I think about that sometimes with a kind of gratitude, because the path that opened after that audition was the one I was meant to be on.

The step competitions. The singing. The work that eventually led me to Berkeley Law, to a federal judicial clerkship, and to a firm built around protecting people who create things the world cannot ignore.

But I have never forgotten what it felt like to be in that mirror, listening to a song so layered and alive that the room could barely contain it.

Missy Elliott made that song.

And she went on to make hundreds more songs like it.

She wrote them for herself and she wrote them for some of the biggest artists on earth. She built a label to hold them. She filed the paperwork to protect them. And when someone challenged her ownership of the earliest ones, she went to court.

The Medal of Arts is a beautiful thing. It is the institution finally saying what the culture has known for decades.

However, what it did not do is build the infrastructure.

That part was always on Missy.

And she did it — not once, at the beginning, but continuously, all the way through.

That is what legacy looks like when it is both cultural and legal. And that is the standard I think about every time a founder sits across from me with something brilliant and unprotected in their hands.

The work is not enough on its own. The work plus the structure and the ongoing stewardship — that is what lasts.

Is there something you have built that you have not fully documented or registered yet? And what has been keeping you from taking that next step?

Drop a comment—I read every one.

Leave a comment

• Has Jay-z Sold Out?

• Jollof Rice & Carlton Banks.

• Wait, You Didn’t Go to Spelman?

Want to know where your business actually stands on that gap?

Let’s talk — and make sure your name isn’t just recognized. It’s protected.

Book a Strategy Session with Firm for the Culture and let’s make sure your name isn’t just recognized—it’s protected.

Need Help Protecting Your Creativity?

If you are unsure—or if you know you need to take action—reach out to us.

We have helped countless founders and creatives safeguard their intellectual property, and we would love to do the same for you.

If you need further guidance, reach out to me and my team at Firm for the Culture.

We’re here to help you navigate the copyright, trademark, and thought leadership journey.

Work With Us

Can’t wait to help you protect your dynamic impact.

And #ThatsAWrap

The Doors of the Church Firm Are Open.

Come on inthat and share the love.

Thanks for reading

See you next time.

#ForTheCulture

Subscribe for more insights on brand protection, copyright, and strategic IP plays that help diverse founders build lasting businesses:

Share

Hey Fam,

If you have ever spent five minutes with me, you already know two things:

• I am an IP attorney

• I am from Brooklyn, New York.

The second one usually comes out first.

And I’m being extra loud in this season.

Why?

Well, there is no better time to be a New Yorker than right now.

The Knicks just had their best season in over five decades.

Jay-Z performed at The Roots Picnic — his first major live appearance in years — and he has been speaking more publicly about what has happened to him, what has shaped him, and what is ahead of him; more words than he hashad in almost a decade.

The city is loud again in the best possible way:

And then came the news that stopped us mid-stride.

Jay-Z is partnering with Target to release a 30th anniversary exclusive edition of Reasonable Doubt — a white double vinyl, redesigned packaging, a collectible insert, and unreleased tracks including the Fool’s Paradise Remix of “Can’t Knock the Hustle.”

Dropping June 26, 2026.

Exclusively at Target:

Record scratch.

I am … torn.

And I know I am not alone.

For those who may not have been following, Target has been at the center of an organized boycott led by Black faith and civil rights leaders for some time now.

In January 2025, around the time of Donald Trump’s second Presidential Inauguration, Target announced it was rolling back the diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments it had made to the Black community following the murder of George Floyd.

The response was immediate.

Black women — led by Minneapolis lawyer and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, and organizer Tamika Mallory — launched what became a sustained national boycott beginning February 1, 2025.

Pastor Jamal Bryant later joined with a parallel 40-day "Target fast" through his church. The movement was grassroots, Black women-led, and, for many, still very much ongoing.

The message from community organizers has been clear: our dollars go where our values are reflected.

And now Jay-Z — a man who has built an entire public identity around ownership, independence, and doing things on his own terms — is putting the album that started it all behind a Target exclusive:

The internet had thoughts.

As did I.

But here is where I had to pause.

Because the question I kept coming back to was not whether Jay-Z should have done this.

The question I kept coming back to was: is Jay-Z actually the one who made this call?

It was time to put my IP hat on (**cue superhero music**):

So I did.

And what I found in the public records changed the entire picture for me.

Before we get into what I found, there are a few basics that will make this make sense.

Grab a cup of coffee, take a seat, get comfortable.

Because we’re about to do a legal deep dive (and I am so EXCITED!!!).

In this Founder's Letter, we're going beneath the headlines.

Today, we’re looking at the legal mechanics behind the Jay-Z/ Target controversy, who actually holds the power over Reasonable Doubt right now, and what we as founders can creative can learn from all of this.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

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Show us some love by adding a “❤️” or commenting below; this will make our hearts sing. Also, please share, we want this to get to as many folx as possible.

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But first, Church Announcements.

The Firm for the Culture - THE SPEAKER PROTECTION Series

We’ve got a series of workshops, all for you!

Speaking builds visibility.

But it also creates intellectual property.

This series breaks down what actually happens to your ideas, your content, and your rights once you step on stage. From contracts to ownership to licensing, we’ll explore how speaking opportunities can either build long-term value—or quietly take it away.

We’ll cover: how speaking engagements intersect with intellectual property, what speakers often overlook when accepting opportunities, and how to approach speaking as both a visibility and ownership strategy.

What you’ll walk away with: A clearer understanding of how to protect, position, and leverage your content as a speaker—before, during, and after every engagement.

Here’s a preview for your viewing pleasure:

Workshop 4: The Speaker Protection Series: The Contract Clauses You Need

📅 June 25, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. PDT

Growth usually comes with paperwork. Protection comes with awareness.

This workshop focuses on the specific contract clauses that directly impact your control, ownership, and long-term leverage as a speaker.

We’ll cover: key clauses around ownership, licensing, usage, distribution, and how to structure agreements that actually protect your work—not just your participation.

What you’ll walk away with: A clear understanding of the clauses you need in place and how to approach contracts with intention and strategy.

Register for The Speaker Protection Series: The Contract Clauses You Need workshop

For founders who are building brands. Creators who are shaping culture. Entrepreneurs who refuse to be extracted from.

Registration is FREE; in case you’re unable to make it, sign up and you’ll get the free notes.

After event recordings are $20.00 each.

Hope to see you there!

🔗 Sign up here:

• June 25, 2026 - The Contract Clauses You Need workshop