How to Protect Intellectual Properties Under Internet Law

The Internet has become the ultimate marketplace for intellectual property, a place where ideas, products and services are sold, shared and even stolen on a daily basis. If you have your own original intellectual property that you plan to share online, or if you wish to ensure that your intellectual property is not used without your consent, you must learn how to protect your rights by law on the Internet.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Internet access
• Copyright registration
• Attorney with Internet law experience

Instructions

1. Realize that the United States has three main legal methods of declaring rights to intellectual property: copyrights, patents and trademarks. You can find more information, including guidelines for applying for copyright, patent and trademark registration, at the Web sites for the United States Copyright Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (see Resources below).

2. Understand that in order to file a lawsuit against someone who may have infringed upon your rights to your intellectual properties on the Internet, you must have registered these properties before filing suit. This is an aspect of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, of which a summary can be found on the United States Copyright Office Web site.

3. Be diligently watchful to protect your intellectual property under the law. This may require regular Internet surveys to determine whether your rights have been infringed. There are companies that provide this kind of survey service for a fee, either per-service or as a retainer. Look for service providers by searching for "intellectual property protection" on your favorite search engine.

Tips & Warnings

• Obtaining legal advice before an infringement occurs is always your best protection for your intellectual properties on the Internet. If you plan to launch a Web site or post content that you value, consider seeking advice from a legal professional as well as a technology professional on ways to hinder or deter infringement upon your rights.

• While it may be tempting to consider every unauthorized use of your intellectual property an infringement upon your rights (copyrights or otherwise), you must remember that there are certain circumstances and entities that may make use of your intellectual property without your express written consent. These are typically educational and non-profit institutions, whose use may fall under the fair use doctrine.