In an age where technology has allowed people to be as productive and accessible as they can get, one of the biggest problems is protecting the intellectual property of creators. The two-fold effect of innovation allows people to create and share their creations, while also giving malicious parties the means to infringe on the creators’ rights. As a creator, you want to make sure that your ideas are protected. Here’s what you need to know:
What is intellectual property?
The World Intellectual Property Organization defines this term as the “creations of the mind.” This covers a wide variety of things that the human mind can think of and that the rest of the body can produce such as inventions, artistic and literary works, as well as commercial symbols, names and images.
There are two types of intellectual property: Industrial and copyright. Industrial property includes patents, trademarks, designs and geographical indications. Mean while copyright covers a range of creations such as literature, films, music, art and architecture.
What can you do to protect our ideas?
- Seek Legal Advice
When you create something and you are not sure how the law helps you protect your ideas, the best way to go is to get legal advice from professionals. These individuals will tell you things you might not know or are not sure about intellectual property laws. For example, your lawyer will tell you that as a writer, you automatically own the copyrights of any works you place in a tangible medium including digital files.
The same applies if you are intending to protect your industrial property. Getting advice from a lawyer specializing in industrial property and copyright protection will tell you what you need to do in order to keep your ideas safe from pirates.
- Complete Proper Documentation
When you consult a lawyer, you will know that you need to undergo a process in order to register your patent or industrial design. Because of this, you need to make sure that you complete the process so that the idea will be registered under your name. This will prevent malicious parties from stealing your works and any violation can enable you to take legal action.
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Implement Superior Cyber security
A side from stealing your ideas through copying, unauthorized use, reproduction, sale or modification, malicious parties can also do so through theft of digital assets. This can be done through illegal means like hacking. Because of this, you want to make sure that your computer and other tech systems are not vulnerable to such attacks by improving your cybersecurity.
You can do this by using anti-malware programs and blockchain protection. You can also enlist the help of cyber legal tech experts to see what you can do to keep your ideas safe.
Creating something using your own knowledge, skills and experience is no joke. With the help of these tips, you can take the necessary steps to protect your creations from malicious parties. This way, you can use your work in a way that you see fit.
https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/intproperty/450/wipo_pub_450.pdf
https://infusion.media/writing/copyrighting-your-writing/?utm_source=facebook
https://www.wipo.int/patents/en/
https://www.wipo.int/designs/en/faq_industrialdesigns.html
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