Introduction to intellectual property
Intellectual property is our ownership of ideas and things we have created such as art, music or even films, but most often they are things we have trademarked from business that we previously or currently own. These are all legally binding and protect you if someone tried to steal these ideas from you and you had proof that they intentionally or purposely did this you could sue them. However, there are a few requirements. One of those requirements is that you have a trademark. Trademarks protect you from lawsuits from other people and allow you to have copyrights whatever you have trademarked. These grant you the ability to let you earn money from people if they use these things without your permission. You can sell or buy these ideas if you would like, temporarily or permanently so they are not forever but can be a hassle to get rid of or to get as they can be expensive and require lots or paperwork to be filled out often by a lawyer as they are very complex. Speaking of lawyers, intellectual property has lots of considerations that need to take place before you decide to start trademarking or copyrighting.
Industrial designs
industrial designs such as the shape or design/aesthetic of a product can be trademarked however they are exceptionally difficult to get and many famous people and companies have even tried to do so such as Gucci and miles Cyrus such as with flora (love that perfume by the way). Regardless, it can happen in some cases so it should be considered and paid attention to by you and or your legal team. In the digital age technology can make this confusing as especially with art as art is getting copyrighted more and more so even if you don’t get sued the accusation of someone saying you stole from them especially if they’re a small business can be damaging or staining. So it is best to reach out to people when selling or promoting art work or any other product and give them a few weeks to respond. If they don’t respond in a few weeks; screenshot the messages so if they sue or try to slander you, you will be able to defend yourself in a court of law or public opinion.
Ownership of digital content and social media . With platforms like YouTube becoming more popular, Internet fraud and identity theft have skyrocketed causing a plethora of issues for content creators as they’re are a lot of loopholes as under copyright section fair use you can repost someone else’s content as long as it is educational or for commentary. This allows people to post someone else’s videos for free with only a few seconds of commentary and have no consequences. This is a really hard issue to navigate and is why youtubers often hire agencies to manually review each video with over a certain amount of their footage in it. I would recommend doing the same If you’re having the same problems.
Conclusion To conclude when starting any type of business it’s important to recognise the legal aspects and how social media plays a big part in copyright and to consider hiring a lawyer or pursuing further knowledge as to not make an expensive mistake.