The DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) was put in place to protect intellectual property (IP) that is published on the Internet (basically anything that is uploaded from text to pictures to videos). So why do you need to protect your online web content if the DMCA is already in place? Here are a couple of reasons.
- Anonymity breeds criminal activity – Because people feel anonymous when working online, they often skirt the corners of legality in ways they never would offline. For example, you may get a lazy marketing person who copies content from your site for his competing client rather than hiring a copywriter to create fresh content.
- Ignorance creates content violations – Many people just don’t know online content is copyrighted. So whether they copy your blog post without crediting your brand or they steal an infographic you created for your social media site without permission, many people genuinely don’t think they are doing anything wrong when stealing online IP.
Protect Your Online IP Today
To make sure you keep a leg up on your online competition, you need to guard your online content closely. Be sure to register your work with the US Copyright Office rather than relying on a DMCA takedown notice to be enough if someone steals your content. Use monitoring tools to see if your content is being stolen and duplicated. Finally, get help from a small business attorney who can help you protect your IP.
At Pokala Law APC APC, we specialize in helping small business owners to protect themselves against IP theft. Whether you need help applying for copyrights or you want a takedown notice issued, we’re here to help. Call 1-844-695-1487 to get started today.
