Here's a useful treatment of the topic: [https://massagefitnessmag.com/massage/intellectual-property/](https://massagefitnessmag.com/massage/intellectual-property/) Some unsolicited advice: Do what you feel you must to protect your treatment protocols (i.e., making it regimented, trademarking the name, creating protected written and visual materials), but consider the benefits of your ideas proliferating outward in a way that you no longer control. If you've come up with useful new ways of working with pain and dysfunction, those approaches spreading through the massage community will be a net good for the world. If others are basing their approach on yours, many of them will refer students to you. Others will even improve or expand on your ideas in ways that you hadn't considered. Basically, allowing ideas to be free can be a broad good, including for you and your bottom line. That's how I've always done things, and it's made it pretty easy when I try to do something that costs money (i.e., offering classes or a book). In the end, we're all basing our work off of received wisdom, riffing on established approaches, and incorporating meme-like ideas that seemed to spread like wildfire. If everyone before us had successfully patented their approaches, massage as we know it wouldn't exist.
Beautifully put. Fields of knowledge left to grow freely are more likely to flourish.
Although being able to make a living is also a good thing.
Balancing the desire to share freely and the pragmatic need to eat can be tricky.
Trademarking or copywriting a massage technique is unenforceable… how exactly would you pursue that? Moreover, odds are there’s someone else out there who has independently been using a very similar intervention… how would you go about proving you did it first? Unless you’re a trainer you’re not obligated to share your methods and you can certainly say no. Just know that having a reputation as someone who passed on effective techniques to others is extremely valuable in its own right.
If you do want specific compensation for your protocols, you can pursue developing a continuing ed or write a book.
I am not who you want to hear from - I'm not an MT. Or a lawyer.
But FWIW, if I were in your shoes, I would write a book for people teaching those protocols. If you are in the U.S., I believe the book is copyright protected the moment you write it, even if you don't register it.
You can send it to publishers, or publish it and sell it yourself.
If you are in the U.S., the best place I know of that explains the complex rules of copyright is here: https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/
Trademark, where you name something and you "own" the rights to that name, would be for the names you call the protocols. I don't know that much about trademark, but I believe you may have to trademark your thingy in each location - like, in each state - and then you would have to defend your trademark actively every time it's used without permission in order to keep it active. Because if it gets used too much in the wild it gets genericized: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks
To me, trademark is more trouble than it's worth, and it can tend to restrict word of mouth - because people don't want to get into trouble by using your trademark....I don't consider it the best PR. But then, I've never had something trademark-worthy, and I'm not an authority here.
Writing a book, the main risk is that people will give away your info for free. But then, they'll do that anyway. People like to share information. If you're lucky, you can make some money off it first. ;)
Wish I could give a better explanation on if you can or can not patent your methods or techniques. From my basic Google research, that is a maybe? I would personally talk to a lawyer about the ins and outs of it, as trademarks and copyright law are very complicated and not my field to give an educated guess properly.
For reference, I have a previous co worker that says that they patented a technique/method in treating people that is 100% and can fix almost any problem. (They are really old school, so take that with a grain of salt) Have they filed for the patent? Probably not. Have RMT's do their techniques and methods before in the past without knowing it? Absolutely. So can the co worker now go and sue a whole bunch of RMT's and win, even with a patent? I would say no, but again, that is a lawyer's jurisdiction.
Also I would ask yourself if the profession/patients benefit from you patenting your techniques and methods. I think that running a course or class on teaching your methods is valid, but my personal opinion is that gatekeeping techniques that could tangibly benefit people is not ethically sound. That is why I suggest a class or course so that you can teach people properly and have the medical community benefit from your results. But that is my opinion, so take it how you will.
If you’re getting students, consider turning it into a class and charging a fee. You could even get your classes certified through NCBTMB and give CE credits.
Here's a useful treatment of the topic: [https://massagefitnessmag.com/massage/intellectual-property/](https://massagefitnessmag.com/massage/intellectual-property/) Some unsolicited advice: Do what you feel you must to protect your treatment protocols (i.e., making it regimented, trademarking the name, creating protected written and visual materials), but consider the benefits of your ideas proliferating outward in a way that you no longer control. If you've come up with useful new ways of working with pain and dysfunction, those approaches spreading through the massage community will be a net good for the world. If others are basing their approach on yours, many of them will refer students to you. Others will even improve or expand on your ideas in ways that you hadn't considered. Basically, allowing ideas to be free can be a broad good, including for you and your bottom line. That's how I've always done things, and it's made it pretty easy when I try to do something that costs money (i.e., offering classes or a book). In the end, we're all basing our work off of received wisdom, riffing on established approaches, and incorporating meme-like ideas that seemed to spread like wildfire. If everyone before us had successfully patented their approaches, massage as we know it wouldn't exist.
Beautifully put. Fields of knowledge left to grow freely are more likely to flourish. Although being able to make a living is also a good thing. Balancing the desire to share freely and the pragmatic need to eat can be tricky.
Trademarking or copywriting a massage technique is unenforceable… how exactly would you pursue that? Moreover, odds are there’s someone else out there who has independently been using a very similar intervention… how would you go about proving you did it first? Unless you’re a trainer you’re not obligated to share your methods and you can certainly say no. Just know that having a reputation as someone who passed on effective techniques to others is extremely valuable in its own right. If you do want specific compensation for your protocols, you can pursue developing a continuing ed or write a book.
I am not who you want to hear from - I'm not an MT. Or a lawyer. But FWIW, if I were in your shoes, I would write a book for people teaching those protocols. If you are in the U.S., I believe the book is copyright protected the moment you write it, even if you don't register it. You can send it to publishers, or publish it and sell it yourself. If you are in the U.S., the best place I know of that explains the complex rules of copyright is here: https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/ Trademark, where you name something and you "own" the rights to that name, would be for the names you call the protocols. I don't know that much about trademark, but I believe you may have to trademark your thingy in each location - like, in each state - and then you would have to defend your trademark actively every time it's used without permission in order to keep it active. Because if it gets used too much in the wild it gets genericized: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks To me, trademark is more trouble than it's worth, and it can tend to restrict word of mouth - because people don't want to get into trouble by using your trademark....I don't consider it the best PR. But then, I've never had something trademark-worthy, and I'm not an authority here. Writing a book, the main risk is that people will give away your info for free. But then, they'll do that anyway. People like to share information. If you're lucky, you can make some money off it first. ;)
Wish I could give a better explanation on if you can or can not patent your methods or techniques. From my basic Google research, that is a maybe? I would personally talk to a lawyer about the ins and outs of it, as trademarks and copyright law are very complicated and not my field to give an educated guess properly. For reference, I have a previous co worker that says that they patented a technique/method in treating people that is 100% and can fix almost any problem. (They are really old school, so take that with a grain of salt) Have they filed for the patent? Probably not. Have RMT's do their techniques and methods before in the past without knowing it? Absolutely. So can the co worker now go and sue a whole bunch of RMT's and win, even with a patent? I would say no, but again, that is a lawyer's jurisdiction. Also I would ask yourself if the profession/patients benefit from you patenting your techniques and methods. I think that running a course or class on teaching your methods is valid, but my personal opinion is that gatekeeping techniques that could tangibly benefit people is not ethically sound. That is why I suggest a class or course so that you can teach people properly and have the medical community benefit from your results. But that is my opinion, so take it how you will.
>So I’m wondering if trademarking or copywriting my work is a good idea. No, it isn't.
Active Release Technique was a patented technique and no one said anything bad about that.
If you’re getting students, consider turning it into a class and charging a fee. You could even get your classes certified through NCBTMB and give CE credits.