Intellectual Property Protection for Content Creators & Social Media Influencers
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When it comes to promoting, marketing, and advertising, social media is one of the most effective and powerful ways. In the ongoing digital era, social media is gaining more publicity with each passing day, thereby putting content creators and social media influencers at risk of legal concerns about Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). Content creators and social media influencers work sincerely to build their reputation for expertise in specific industries, products, and topics. As per a report, influencer marketing investment is expected to reach $15 billion in 2022. It currently accounts for about 15% of the entire revenue spent on global advertising.
Content in different forms on different social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, is consumed every day by many social media users. Therefore, content creators and social media influencers must understand that their unique and creative content is easily accessible to millions of social media users and can be easily copied. Without any doubt, it is exceedingly imperative for them to understand their Intellectual Property (IP) assets and safeguard them in the best possible manner.
Additionally, while creating content, content creators and social media influencers must have adequate authorization and consent in place before using the creative works of others in any form, be it videos, photos, or text, on social media platforms to avoid infringing upon the IPRs of others.
Here are a few reasons why content creators and social media influencers should consider registering their IP:
- IP registration helps establish ownership of the IP assets, which, in turn, helps enforce rights in the scenario of a legal dispute.
- Registered IP is more legit and liable; say, if the content is IP protected – social media users usually find it more reliable and authentic and are likely to revisit it.
- It becomes easy to get copied or plagiarized content removed from the web or any social media platform if a social media influencer has original content registered as his IP. In other words, IP registration serves as a piece of strong evidence in support if someone is misusing or recreating the original content of a social media influencer and wants it to be taken down.
- Also, with IP registration, individuals and third parties would not want to copy or replicate any original content in the first place since the registration will discourage any copying.
How to Ensure Compliance with IP?
- Trademarks – A trademark helps identify, indicate, classify, and differentiate the source of products or services of one from those of others. Content creators and social media influencers should obtain the permission of the trademark owner whose brand name or product is displayed on their social media posts or stories. Remember, posting content that contains someone else’s logo, product name, or trademark may infringe upon their IPRs. In the scenario where a content creator or social media influencer makes a reference to a product, it is called branded content, and he must obtain its owner’s consent to use the said product’s name in his content. Trademark Laws and regulations safeguard brand and business owners from two types of infringement, including the possibility of confusion and redress. Content creators and social media influencers must avoid using IP in a way that may create confusion in the minds of the customers concerning the source or origin of the products or services or negatively affect a company’s brand.
- Copyright – Copyright safeguards the original creative and artistic works such as audio recordings, photographs, cinematographic films, art, text, videos, and other original creations. It grants copyright holders the exclusive right to display, perform, or distribute their original works.
Social media influencers and content creators must always ensure they have all the required permissions with them before using the creative works of others in their social media posts. In most cases, the online use of artistic and creative works is not safeguarded. Therefore, content creators and social media influencers must know if they need a license to use a specific work and consequently take the required steps to contact the copyright owner before sharing his original work to avoid violating or infringing upon his IPRs.
A few social media platforms, for instance, YouTube, have introduced their own tools to detect IP violations or infringement. The online social media and video sharing platform YouTube uses its Content ID Program to help copyright owners identify, manage, and safeguard their original content.
- Domain Names – A domain name, in simple terms, refers to the online identity of a brand or business. It is easy to use and remember. Every brand or business website nowadays has a domain name using which the users online can access it. In general, domain names are business or brand names followed by .org, .com, .in, .gov, .net, etc.
Kindly note that domain names may also be registered as trademarks only if they fulfill all the necessary Trademark Registration requirements. Once registered, a domain name owner shall have all the legal authority and rights that are usually there with a trademark owner. Hence, content creators and social media influencers should select a domain name only after ensuring that it is an appropriate one and isn’t already registered to avoid infringing upon the rights of others. Besides, they should consider selecting a domain name that may also be eligible for obtaining Trademark Protection.
Final Thoughts
For safeguarding IP, content creators and social media influencers must consider the following points:
- Content creators and social media influencers must understand that they have a sense of responsibility towards their target audience when it comes to reviewing a product or service. Reviews should always be based on facts. Also, content creators and social media influencers must avoid defaming a product or service based on falsehoods.
- They must get copyright subscriptions for original photos, audio recordings, videos, artwork, and text.
- They must register their unique hashtags, slogans, taglines, series names, and logos as trademarks.
- They must avoid using the copyrighted material, trademarks, brand names, and logos without consent and obtain the required permits and licenses well in advance.
- They must exercise diligence and caution before registering and using a domain name to avoid violating or infringing upon the rights of others. ✅ For more visit: https://www.kashishipr.com/
