Own It: Cosynd Gives Every Creator the Affordable Legal Tools They Need to Manage Content Ownership in the Age of Collaboration
03 October 2018 - Press releaseCosynd, the affordable, easy, and legal way for creators to protect their content, officially launches following a closed beta period. The platform allows creators of music, video, visual art and literature to collectively verify their ownership of their copyrights and establishes other critical legal details. Cosynd also provides a quick and easy way for these collaborators to register their content with the U.S. Copyright Office.
To introduce creators to the ease and benefits of the new platform, Cosynd will be available for free untilOctober 25th, 2018.
Cosynd was created by a diverse, dynamic team led by Jessica Sobhraj, a seasoned executive with over a decade of experience creating opportunities for creators within organizations such as SESAC, Rumblefish, and Women in Music. Sobhraj's co-founders include Leo Larkpor (Chief Technology Officer Cosynd; CEO ArtTracks ; founder of HipHopzilla), Jennifer Newman Sharpe (General Counsel, Cosynd ; General Counsel, ONErpm; Co-Founder, Sparkplug), and Cassidy Williams (Chief Product Officer, Cosynd ; Senior Software Engineer, Codepen ; formerly Head of Developer Voice Programs, Amazon).
Cosynd is primarily owned by women and minorities - a rare combination in the startup scene. "The brainpower on this team is beyond anything I could have wished for," Sobhraj enthuses. "Everyone on our team is an advocate and supporter of the creative community. We have first-hand knowledge of the pain caused by missing or incorrect ownership data - piracy, misuse, outright theft, loss of income, and takedowns. We knew that we could build a solution for our community that would be powerful yet easy to use."
Cosynd's founders envisioned a simple app that would make documenting and managing this crucial data a breeze for creators. The platform is an essential toolkit for creators that includes the standard contracts that address the nuances of shared copyright, while also leaving room for attorneys to assist, as needed.
Cosynd allows creators to create split sheets (straightforward documentation of ownership by percentage), premium ownership agreements (more detailed agreements covering vitals such as who can license the content), and work for hire agreements.
Cosynd offers both free and paid tiers of service. The platform allows creators to create unlimited split sheets for free and to purchase other creative agreements and copyright registrations for a one-time-fee. Frequent creators can subscribe to save and enjoy unlimited access. Subscriptions start at as little as $10 a month or $100 annually. Creators may also invite their attorneys to review/edit the agreements if they wish to at no additional charge too.
Some of the cleverest aspectsof the platform directly aim to ease the pain points of the collaborative content era. If a creator regularly works with the same collaborators, they can assign default roles and splits for each collaborator instead of having to enter this information repeatedly. Multiple titles can be added to a single agreement and creators can quickly add new titles to their existing agreements, saving everyone the time and headache of repetitive paperwork each time they collaborate together (collaborators merely need to sign off on the new addition.)
Cosynd's agreements use real, digital signatures, which is key for collaborators that face questions regarding ownership from content platforms, like YouTube, which can require a user to prove they have the right to upload their content. Once an agreement has been signed, collaborators cannot go back and change ownership splits for that particular work, as they can on other split sheet apps.
Cosynd is advised by seasoned executives across media, intellectual property, and the startup realm including Kelly Hoey (Forbes Top 5 Angel investors, Twitter Top 25, Author), Tracy Maddux (CEO, CD Baby), Patrick Sullivan (CEO, Source3.io ; CEO RightsFlow), Monika Tashman (Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP ; Pipeline Angels Member), Linda Lorence-Critelli (The Recording Academy, Songwriters Hall of Fame; NYC3), Melinda Lee (Chief Content Officer, BuzzFeed), David Chidekel (Partner Michelman & Robinson), Brittany Laughlin (Partner, Lattice VC), Veronica Guzman (Founder, WAM Ventures), Gina Dwyer (Vice President, Creatis Capital), Robert Soler (Strategies for Wealth Management), and Anna Toshach (Pipeline Angels Member, VP Research Analyst at AllianceBernstein).
Out of the gate, Cosynd has been gaining momentum. The company was chosen out of hundreds of applicants to join the Monarq Incubator, NYC's first startup accelerator for female founders, and Pipeline Angels, an organization of angel investors dedicated to creating capital for women and non-binary femme social entrepreneurs.
"Cosynd is an excellent example of the type of company Pipeline Angels seeks to invest with. They are primarily women and diverse founders who have developed a differentiated product in the growing digital content industry. Their solution simultaneously benefits the customer and supports a solid business model. We are thrilled to be investing in their launch, and are excited about the positive impact this business will have on the creative community over time" says Anna Toshach, Pipeline Angels Member.
"The companies we select for Monarq are led by incredible founding teams. We empower them with unparalleled access to mentorship, community, and perks that are designed to accelerate each business. Cosynd is solving a huge and expensive problem for both creatives and law firms. The more we get to know the team, the more we are blown away by their ability to execute on both their business and social mission. We are proud to have been part of their journey to success" says Irene Ryabaya, Co-Founder of the Monarq Incubator.
The sheer scale and nature of creation today requires a comprehensive solution that isn't overwhelming to use and Cosynd is poised to become that standard solution for the creative industry. "There is more content being created and more opportunities to monetize that content than ever before, which makes documenting ownership of that content a crucial step from the onset " says Sobhraj. "Without these agreements in place, liability increases, income goes unclaimed, disputes arise, lawsuits ensue, and we all suffer the losses. We built Cosynd to give creators a simple, affordable, and easy way to establish ownership and avoid those pitfalls."
Submit news or a press release
Want to add your news or press release? Email Paul or Kevin
Two week FREE trial