RISK MANAGEMENT
Copy Righted Materials
Please be sure that your staff is aware and reminded that they should not post, tweet, or retweet copyrighted material. In particular, staff should not post, tweet, or retweet from the book “Winning Isn’t Normal” by Keith Bell. The book includes the following copyright notice:
“All books, posters, and other items herein are copyrighted works, protected by U.S. & International laws of copyright. In addition “Winning Isn’t Normal®” is a registered trademark. The use, in print, electronic, or any other way, of any of this material, in part or whole, requires expressed written permission from the author, Dr. Keith Bell. Attribution alone is not a substitute for the permission to use copyrighted or trademarked work. Nor, does ownership of a physical copy constitute permission for use. For licensing rights, contact Dr. Bell at Keel Publications.”
Since 2019, more than 50 K-12 districts in Iowa had been accused of copyright infringement related to the posting/tweeting/retweeting of a particular motivational phrase from the book “Winning Isn’t Normal” on social media. The notices of copyright infringement are accompanied by a cease-and-desist letter and a demand for monetary damages. The infringement notices are even including posts from coaches’ personal Facebook or Twitter.
Click here to read an article written about the experience of one Minnesota district.
