If you have an online business, or even a “bricks and mortar” business with an online presence, then there’s a good chance that you either currently have, or have thought about starting, an affiliate marketing program.  There are many different types of affiliate marketing programs, ranging from simple link or banner exchanges to programs that pay the referring website a portion of sales made to customers that come from that referring website.  In addition, a well-conceived affiliate program can be a great source of networking, income, publicity, etc.

But as with most other areas of running an online business, there are risks.

Affiliate partners can and sometimes do sue.  It’s often hard to imagine this type of scenario, as the relationship between you and your affiliate partners will usually start off with the best of intentions, and nothing but good will.

But if expectations are not met, or opinions or business plans change, and your partners may feel slighted.  And regardless of whether or not they have a well-founded claim, they can still file a lawsuit and present a significant distraction to you, and force you to incur a great deal of expense in defending against the lawsuit.

So what can you do to protect your hard earned business? Read more