Technology seems to be, by its nature, a democratising influence. As new advancements are made, capabilities that were once in the hands of an elite few are unlocked for anyone who wants them. In recent times the interplay between this increasing of ability and the way that copyright has traditionally worked has come to the fore.

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Last year, my creative studio (Engage Brandcraft) was accused of stealing the intellectual property of a bigger, much more aggressive company who had in fact clearly stolen ours.

They threatened us with legal action if we didn’t ‘cease and desist’ with the flagrant use of our own original work (in this particular case, our name and logo – a very nasty allegation indeed). Trademark issues ensued – we were being accused of passing-off and copyright violations.

Goliath eventually gave in but not without a very expensive counter-threat from the lawyers on our side. Taking it to court would probably have cost in the region of approximately 50 000 USD. We came off lightly. Yet we’d done nothing wrong to start with! In time and money alone the exercise cost us well over 2000 USD. And let me assure you, we didn’t have that kind of money lying around. Similar predicaments face creators from all walks of life, daily, across the globe. Other “writers” steal our articles, companies turn our Youtube^® uploads into ads, bullies copy our logos and then accuse us of being the perpetrators.

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Consulting with expensive lawyers has never been high up on any creative’s agenda. Indeed, when their work is stolen or copied, creatives have traditionally done nothing for two simple reaons: firstly because its more hassle to seek legal help than it is not to and, secondly, because many creatives don’t actually know what their rights are.

In the world of digitization, file sharing and online publication however, the widespread copying of creative work has become a big issue, and one that can sometimes cost creatives their livelihood. Creatives need to be proactive about their rights in order to protect their work from unscrupulous idea pirates.

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