Whether you’re hosting a live seminar, a webinar, or a teleseminar, to reduce your potential legal liability, you will want an attendee release signed by those who show up.
Of course, the legal content of these releases will depend upon what you’re doing, including the type of content you’re covering.
For example, a release covering a live financial seminar will have different legal terms than a webinar addressing health-related issues. Similarly, a workshop that involves physical activity will have different legal risks than a teleseminar that discusses abuse issues.
When having your business lawyer draw up the attendee release you will use, it’s a good idea to discuss these seven key issues…
1. Will your event cover financial, mental health, or physical health matters?
2. Will you host it online or offline?
3. When and how will your attendees sign the release? Will it be on paper or electronically via the Web? If electronically, how will you authenticate the signatures?
4. Will your attendees be business owners or consumers? Did you know that consumers have additional legal protections that are unavailable to businesses?
5. What type of testimonials, case studies, and examples will you be using in your presentation?
6. If an attendee becomes disruptive, how do you plan to handle it? Will the attendee be ejected? If there is a fee to attend, will there be a refund to the misbehaving attendee upon ejection?
7. How will ownership of event materials be handled? Will the attendee own these materials and be able to sell them to others who did not attend? Will you use a licensing system to protect your intellectual property from misuse by attendees?
Note that an experienced business attorney can help you create a customized attendee release and related business contracts you can use for similar events you hold rather than reinvent the wheel each time.
However, it’s important to address changes to your event in your release so that you’re protected at all times.
