If you have and are working hard to build your reputation on social media and haven't taken steps to protect yourself… this blog post is is for you! Content creators and influencers gain popularity based on their expertise in various industry topics. The "INFLUENCER" became a marketing industry powerhouse projected to be worth $15 billion. Influencers are currently in the race for global ad spending. As content gets created, brands develop, and influencers begin trending, this becomes too light as intellectual property, something you get to protect.
In some instances, intellectual property (IP) can be easily assumed as automatic. However, there are several reasons to legally register it, which include:
Registration mitigates the risk of theft (stealing your creativity and profiting)
Registration empowers the original creator to get infringing content taken down.
Registration allows you to sue for monetary damages for infringement of your registered copyright or trademarks.
Registration of a Trademark helps make your brand (more legally) recognizable.
Registration of a Trademark helps to prevent others from stealing or misleading your audience (by using your name or logo)
We all have a moment of possessiveness when we see our ideas coming out of someone else's mouth. Credit thieves are rampant (people will steal content and pass it off as their own, including the audacity of not acknowledging the originator). In a perfect (cyber) world – there would be a vast awareness and mutual respect of others' IP rights (while remaining in compliance with social platform's intellectual property policies). Here's an easy guide to get your started.