In today’s digital era, it is very simple to copy and share information. This means that protecting intellectual property is harder than ever before. Authors put their sweat and intelligence into their works, designs, pieces of art or whatever it might be only to see them taken away by someone else who wants to make a quick buck out of it.
My article “The Unique Strength of a Woman” being stolen and monetized on Opera Hub perfectly exemplifies this frustrating situation. I wrote and published my piece three years ago on Read.cash, so you could imagine my shock when I saw the title there somewhere else that I didn’t recognize. Curiosity got the better of me hence clicking on the post to find out what it contained but lo and behold! It was an exact copy of my entire blog post word-for-word which had been republished on another platform without my consent then monetized by new owners who were now making money off of what is not theirs.
Fortunately, immediate action saved me - I contacted their administrators immediately through email where they promised to investigate after some days later checking back again all those infringing contents had already been removed from there so indeed this served as a good outcome but still shows that we must always be watchful over our intellectual properties during such times as these in digital history.
In one more instance, my article published three years ago and still available on Read.cash was discovered on Steemit. Not having a Steemit account, how did my publication find itself there? It’s really painful to see such things happen especially when the thief is making money from your hard work and creativity. There was nothing that I could do about it since I didn’t have an account with Steemit. As I am writing this, I suppose the blog post is still there. It was titled "How to Choose your Partner". My early days of blogging were much focused on marriage and relationships.
So, what do we do as creators to protect our work? Here are some key strategies:
Copyright Registration: Officially registering your work with the correct copyright office may provide additional legal protection for you and simplify enforcement if someone violates your rights.
Watermarking and Digital Fingerprinting: Adding unique identifiers such as your name or a watermark to digital content can deter potential plagiarizers from claiming ownership as well as make it difficult for them to do so.
Proactive Monitoring: Regularly searching for your works online as well as setting alerts enable you to quickly spot any unauthorized use of them so that you can react before it spreads widely.
Takedown Notices: Once content theft is detected, contact the platform or website hosting it without permission; clearly prove ownership and ask for immediate removal of such material.
Seeking Legal Advice: Consider speaking with an intellectual property Lawyer when dealing against intricate or persistent cases involving theft of creative ideas; they should be able to guide appropriately while also representing one in any potential legal battles which might ensue.
It is true that the digital age has brought creators many new obstacles. However, we could still save our intellectual property if we follow these methods and make sure it is acknowledged and defended as our own hard work and imagination. It is important to realize that this landscape keeps changing so let us not become complacent but stay resolute in protecting what we have earned.
We must recognize that ideas, phrases, and unique creations are valuable things too which need protection. We should demand stronger rights over our intellectual properties while also encouraging each other’s defense against those who infringe upon them online.
This is my submission for day 26 in the #aprilinleo daily prompts.