Imagine spending countless hours crafting the perfect social media post, only to have it rebranded by someone else as their own — a frustrating and all-too-common phenomenon for influencers in today’s digital landscape. Unfortunately, content theft of this nature is a pervasive issue, with many creators falling victim to intellectual property infringement every day. For some, it can be a post, photo or trademark. For others, the theft may be a business or brand that oversteps an influencer marketing agreement.
But what can an influencer do if another party steals their material?
Content ownership in this space is a complex and nuanced issue. In many cases an influencer’s creative outputs qualify as intellectual property (IP). It is important that influencers act to protect this IP, as it forms the core of their personal brand and commercial value. The following steps can help influencers navigate this issue.
Step #1: Learn about intellectual property protections
Intellectual property is a complicated, niche area of the law. Although you may not learn the particulars of how it works, it is important to understand the basics so you can recognize when your material qualifies for protections.
The most common forms of IP are copyright, trademark, trade secrets, and patent protections. The two that most often apply in the world of influencers are copyrights and trademarks. Copyrights generally offer protection for works of authorship like photos and videos while trademarks apply to brand names, logos and catchphrases.
Step #2: Recognize your intellectual property
As an influencer, your IP can include a variety of elements that are unique to your personal brand. This can include:
- Image and likeness: If used in California, the California Right of Publicity Statute can protect any visual representation that identifies you.
- Taglines and catchphrases: Unique phrases or slogans that are your trademark.
- Logos and trade dress: Distinctive symbols (trademarks) and the unique visual appearance of your brand if that appearance serves to identify you to your followers rather than your competitors.
- Videos and photos: Original visual content created by you.
- Original Content: Original written content created by you.
These elements not only enhance your marketability but also legally belong to you, warranting protection under IP law.
Step #3: Take actionable steps when your IP is stolen
Influencers are wise to be concerned if another party steals their material. This other party could damage the influencer’s hard-earned reputation and pose a problem for any influencer marketing agreements. Legal remedies are available and can include a court order for the other party to cease using the material as well as monetary damages.
It may provide some peace of mind to know that you are not alone. Other influencers have experienced similar frustrations and are fighting back. When taking on this fight, the first thing to do is to document the infringement. Organize and make copies of records of unauthorized use of the IP. Next, it is highly advisable to reach out to an attorney who has experience in this area of IP law. Fergus, A Law Office has experience with these issues and can review the case and discuss your options. This will help to mitigate the damage done and can result in increased protections to reduce the risk of similar issues in the future.