Intellectual property rights protect the originality of a work and its distinctive character, in other words, they safeguard ideas and concepts, not just their physical expression of them; a freelancer’s intellectual property rights are also crucial if he wants to earn a decent living from his writing where you need to take care of your protection as a freelance writer so that you do not get sued for plagiarism or face any legal action over your work; here are some important things you need to know about protecting your intellectual property as a freelancer so that you can avoid falling into this category of writers afraid to write.
Know Your IP and Your Rights
As a freelance writer, you must be extremely cautious about what you say and write, you must ensure that what you say is unique; else, you risk facing legal action and take the following procedures to preserve your intellectual property rights:
- Do your homework before you begin writing: Understand the laws in your area to ensure that your work is safe and does not infringe on someone else’s intellectual property rights.
- Always keep your work updated with new legal changes: If there are any changes to the law that affect your work, make sure to stay up with them so you don’t face legal action.
- Get a good law firm that specializes in intellectual property rights: Bergenstrhle & Partners will help you protect your intellectual property rights as a freelance writer, these lawyers can help protect your work from any legal action that may come your way.
- Keep a copy of all of your writing materials in a safe place: You must keep a copy of all of your writing materials in case they are lost or damaged.
- File a police report if you believe someone is infringing on your intellectual property rights: This will assist shield you from legal action as a freelance writer.
Be Aware of the Laws Concerning Infringement
Many countries have laws in place to protect freelancers’ intellectual property; you should be aware of these laws to avoid legal issues, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Act of 1790, allows holders of registered trademarks to use those marks in connection with their trade or business, and the copyright Act of 1976, which protects the exclusive rights of authors and performers, are two common laws that pertain to intellectual property infringement.
You should also be aware of plagiarism laws, which are intended to prevent people from duplicating another person’s work without permission and if you suspect that someone has copied your work, you should contact the author or creator to apologize and ensure that your work is original.
Make Sure That Your Work is Original
If someone else creates a work based on your ideas or concepts, you may have to sue them for copyright infringement, if you don’t believe your work is original, you can request a copy of the source code for your
work from the website where it was posted as this will help you to ensure that you are not plagiarizing other people’s work.
Make Use of Proper Attribution and Digital Rights Management
To keep your work safe and private, you should also use digital rights management software; DRM software prevents your work from being exploited for illegal purposes, such as pirating or selling it on the internet.
