The age of technology is here, and it has changed virtually everything. Along with every other aspect of our lives, brand new types of jobs have emerged. Creative work nowadays deals with something abstract. And for all those who make a living by producing intellectual property, one of the main questions is how to protect something you can’t even touch?
Writers are especially vulnerable in that sense since they basically trade thoughts. If you’ve ever tried composing something you surely thought about the legal issues. Let’s look through some of the most common practices employed by creators all over the world to ensure their hard work is as safe as it can be.
To Publish or Not to Publish
It may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but the safest way to ensure your meticulously thought out text won’t be stolen is to keep it to yourself. Here is a rule of thumb – don’t throw anything into the web if you’re planning on making money off it. Putting your work for everyone to see is always paired with a certain degree of risk.
If you’re not willing to stress out over this sort of stuff – there’s an easy solution. Outsource any of the papers you need to compose to a credible team of talented writers. Experts from EssayPro.com will gladly help you out and save a great deal of time and effort.
So unless you really need to – postpone posting your manuscript online. At least up to the moment when you’ll be able to strike a deal with credible publishers. Otherwise, no one can guarantee you that the work you’ve done won’t be appropriated and cashed in on by someone else.
Read Up on Local Laws
Copyright laws differ depending on your country of origin, so there’s really no single foolproof guide on how to protect your intellectual property. The wisest move would be to familiarize yourself with the copyright laws relevant to your place. There’s usually some sort of governmental entity that should be able to help you out.
For example, in the US, anything that is written on paper is considered copyrighted.
Local Device Security
If you are really concerned with safety, it might be a good idea to protect your personal devices from unwanted tampering. That involves a lot of tedious work, but if you really think your intellectual property might be in danger, it is definitely worth it. Take a few extra steps as they often make a huge difference between security and having your data leaked.
You have probably heard it a thousand times. Passwords should include both numbers and letters, higher and lower case. Devise different ones for every website. The more password-locked barriers you can put between your information and user, the better. One last time: no clicking on questionable links!
Producing Ownership Evidence
If someone makes money off of your work, there’s little you can do unless you can prove you are the actual owner. From a legal standpoint, you would have to produce some sort of copy or draft of a stolen manuscript. Otherwise, not even the best lawyer can guarantee you justice. Fortunately, it’s not that hard to meet that requirement.
If you’re working on an electronic device (and chances are you probably do so), you’ll have no problem getting a copy of your work to serve as evidence of ownership. Just remember to save any material as frequently as you can. Consider organizing some secondary reserve data storage. The latter will actually help you out a lot with pretty much anything should your primary storage become corrupted.
Combating Online Theft
Once you have solid proof of ownership, confronting thieves becomes a cakewalk. Armed with the evidence, you can take down any party complicit in the unauthorized distribution of your writing. Just get in contact with the owners of the site or domain, and they are likely to oblige.
However, you’ll run into a wall if the person claiming credit to your work is actually the owner of the site it’s being published on. In this case, there’s little you can do. Anyway, there are certain avenues you could pursue. Big companies like Google will make sure to preserve their reputation by helping you out in any way they can.
Final Words
Protecting your intellectual property is not as hard as it may seem. Following a rather simple checklist will ensure the safety of your hard work.
- Secure your device;
- Store copies of your work on a secondary drive;
- Know your local copyright laws;
- Get help from site owners and lawyers if your work is leaked;
- Smite the thieves with the power of justice.
And that’s pretty much it!
