IP Protection for Media Content

Media content is an ever growing are for small businesses to utilize in marketing. This post discusses some steps that small business owners can take to protect the IP in their media content.

1. Register your Copyright(s)

Copyright registration can be used to protect a variety of mediums including text, PDF’s, graphics and videos. Copyright registration will be helpful in any legal action taken to combat illegal use.

2. Add Copyright Notice Language

Conspicuously adding the Copyright symbol ©, the year of first use, the owner of the content, and a declaration of your rights (typically “All Rights Reserved”) is another tool that can be used to show deliberate copyright infringement.

3. Time Stamp Your Content

Evidence of first use is critical in enforcing your rights against infringers. Time stamping and documenting use of your content will help prove that you were the first to create and distribute your content.

4. Watermark Your Content

Adding a watermark to your content has many benefits including staking claim to your content and being able to still receive credit for your content in the event it is wrongfully reproduced.

5. Explore the following digital tools and apps:

a. Safety Mechanisms built into your content platform – Many platforms that host content media have built in safety mechanisms that track activity for anti-piracy purposes.

b. Anti-Piracy Software – Software designed to prevent the illegal copying or unauthorized use of content.

c. Digital Rights Management Software – DRM software is used to manage product keys, limit downloads and installations, encrypting media, and tracking use.

If you have questions about the post or need assistance with registering a copyright, feel free to contact Alex.