Throughout history, humans have faced a variety of challenges in protecting their intellectual property.
Being intangible and non-material, intellectual property is easily stolen while creators are often oblivious or informed much later on.
In the digital age, intellectual property is easily distributed on the web, and copyright infringement has become significantly easier.
Furthermore, we are all creators these days. Technology has provided us with the tools to enable us to be more creative, and to produce much more intellectual property.
We all post on our social media – our thoughts, pictures we take, videos we record. They are all products of our intellect.
Professional creators and artists face even greater challenges to bring awareness and promote their work, they resort to using the web and social media. This exposes their work to the whole world.
The importance of protecting your intellectual property is clear.
It is your legal right.
It’s your legal right as a creator to protect your intellectual property. Copyright laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and agreements like the Berne Convention, are created to protect your rights in the digital era.
You have dedicated time, effort, and sometimes money, to create something – so why would you let anyone reap the fruits of your efforts?
Piracy is everywhere, so take ownership of your work and be in a position to collect damages when your copyright is infringed upon.
It can generate new business opportunities.
Intellectual property protection has great untapped potential to turn your creations into revenue sources. Registering your copyright can result in a steady stream of extra revenue, like royalties, for example.
By safely sharing your creations with the world, you can find people who are interested in buying them. By knowing who infringes upon your copyright, you can seek damages from them..
Sometimes, infringement comes from ignorance. On top of that you can easily transfer IPR making you a professional and adding credibility to your work.
In conclusion, protecting your intellectual property in the digital era gives you true ownership of your work and the opportunity to increase your income and benefit from the opportunities that the global marketplace offers.