Ip For Social Media Influencers and Content Creators
Contributor: Simran Singh
Introduction
In today’s world social media has become essential, everyone is on some or other social media platform suffering from news, gospels, music and performances. Social media has helped people stay connected and also gives a sense of closeness. Therefore, nobody can imagine their world without social media in it. During the covid era social media has supported every individual to grow in their way, it has given rise to a lot of talented entrepreneurs and educationists who kept sharing information also entertained us with a whole new zeal, throughout the pandemic social media platform cratered every individual need and provided them with work opportunities such as full time blogging, creating customised content and influencing people of every age group with new trends have become very popular. Such social media influencers and content creators tend to get famous very rapidly by tying up collaborations with big brands and curating audience-oriented content.
Role of IPR
Intellectual property plays an important role when it comes to the content provided by social media as this content is spread to the masses and such content is only a touch away from the risk of getting exploited by many. Intellectual property helps to create awareness among the influencers of the rights which are vested with them regarding their work created on such platforms, they not only have the power to register but also to enforce these rights concerning copyright and trademark laws. The risk of a social media influencer’s work being exploited is very greater as the platform can reach millions in very less time which makes it more prone to legal risks.
Reasons Influencers Should Register IP
Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube have come up with reels and shots where an individual can use a certain part of famous audio or videos which have already established secondary meaning in the audience’s mind to create their content which helps the audience to relate easily to the content and the influencer becomes trending, but while creating such content the influencer or the content creator should always consider and be aware of the legal risks with regards to the IP rights relating the usage of such famous/ secondary meaning established audios and videos.
When creating content, it is also important to understand that before using the creative works of others in videos, photos, or text on social media, social media ensures that they have sufficient authority and permission to use such content to avoid infringing on the rights of others.
- The following are a few reasons to register intellectual property:
- Establishing intellectual property rights which help to enforce rights in the event of a dispute.
- Registered IP is legal and legitimate: When content is protected, consumers tend to find it more reliable and more likely to visit you again.
- Plagiarism can be easily removed: If someone misuses or redraws actual content, it is easier to download if such content is registered compared to unregistered IP, which requires strong proof of support.
- Avoiding duplicity altogether: Once registered, people will not want to duplicate the original content as the subscription will prohibit any copying.
How Can Social Media Influencers Protect Themselves
- Copyright
Copyright is a form of intellectual property that protects original creative works, such as photographs, videos, text, art, audio recordings, cinematograph films, and other original creations. It grants copyright owners the right to distribute, copy, display, or perform their original works.
Content creators must keep in mind to verify whether they have the appropriate permissions or are eligible to use a copyrighted work, ‘as a fair use’ before using the creative works of others in videos, photos, or text posts on social media. The content creator needs to go through several aspects of eligibility for being under the umbrella of fair use such as the amount of substantial part which can be accessed, commercial & non-commercial factors and how the work is showcased to people thus, fair use is only available to limited expectations and it becomes very tricky to prove.
In most cases, the online use of creative works is unprotected, and developers need to know if they need a licence and, if necessary, take the necessary steps to contact the copyright holder before sharing their content to avoid infringing and/or infringing copyright.
Several social media forums have come up with tools for detecting intellectual property rights; for example – YouTube has used the ‘Content ID’ program to assist copyright owners in identifying, managing, and protecting their content. Copyright holders, usually limited to those with large content catalogues, can subscribe to YouTube. Whenever content is uploaded to YouTube, the Content ID system scans new content and screens similar copyrighted content that already exists in the Content ID system.
- Trademark
Trademarks can be any name, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of these items that identify your goods or services. It is the way customers see you in the marketplace and set you apart from your competitors. The term “brand” can refer to both trademarks and service marks.
These days it can be easily witnessed social media influencers giving their review or promoting a certain brand or product whether it be skincare, apparel or any kind of services providers. Some of such influencers tend to create such content as a collaborative venture with a certain set of terms and conditions, but many new influencers create these kinds of content to get famous and to increase their reach in this social media rat race. However, every creator alike must obtain prior approval for the product from which they will use their name or logo for their online content. Posting content that contains someone else’s trademark, brand name, or logo may infringe on their intellectual property rights.
Posting content that contains someone else’s trademark, product name, or logo may infringe on their intellectual property rights. When a content creator creates a specific product index, it is called content, and the creator must obtain special permission to use that product name in its content. Trademark rules protect product owners from two types of infringement, namely the possibility of confusion and correction. Creators should avoid using IP in a way that could confuse customers with the source of the goods or services or adversely affect the type of company.
- Domain Name
A domain name is an easy-to-remember name associated with a local IP address. A unique name that appears after @ sign-in email addresses, and after www. They help us to locate any website, it gives an online identity to any business making it unique and distinguished from others. Each website has a domain name that acts as an address, which is used to access the website. Domain names are usually business names followed by .com, .org, .gov, .net, .in, etc.
In the social media influencing business having a unique domain name is very crucial as it helps in increasing their online presence and also helps the audiences to differentiate them from others. Therefore, social media promoters and content creators should choose a domain name after reviewing the appropriate domain and ensure that their chosen name is not already registered or infringes the intellectual property rights of others and should consider choosing a domain name that may be appropriate. to protect the trademark.
Generally, domain names may be registered as trademarks if they meet all the trademark registration requirements. Once registered, the domain name owner will have all the legal rights and authority, which are usually available to registered trademark owners.
The Future of Protecting Digital Content on Social Media
Outlined as a digital asset with unique features, non-fungible tokens are a form of cryptographic token. It works similarly to Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) therefore, where the Bitcoin token is like a guaranteed blockchain dollar, the NFT is like a certified blockchain.
A digital hash is assigned to each NFT at the time of encryption, separating it from all other NFTs of its kind. It works like a fingerprint: no two are the same. NFTs can be used to verify the authenticity of an item by using them as product numbers. Central authorities do not issue serial numbers, and new Bitcoins do not appear in the main bank. Most NFTs today are based on Ethereum. NFTs are designed to represent certain segments of digital assets, and the blockchain network ensures each.
NFTs are the future of content marketing because their unique identifier is encrypted every time they are bought and sold to show ownership. This means that anyone with access to the network can view owner information, but NFT cannot be accessed without the cryptographic key that the owner has.
NFTs are often created as image files. Twitter, MP3s, and other digital files can also be attached.
Conclusion
As the Internet grows faster, as a social media promoter and content creator, it is very important to monitor and protect your content. Deliberately choose your policy when communicating with your product for material gain, as your decisions may have a significant impact on the growth of your social media accounts.
