People who wouldn’t dream of stealing physical property may not think twice about copying a file or a song from the internet, and many people today argue that all information should be free.
John Locke was one of the first people to codify a person’s right to benefit from his labor. Several hundred years later, Abraham Lincoln famously stated “I believe that every individual is naturally entitled to do as he pleases with himself and the fruits of his labor, so far as it in no way interferes with any other men’s rights.”
The problem is that most countries walk a fine line when it comes to protecting intellectual property. Doing so may protect the interest of the ones who took risks and created, but it may simultaneously stifle innovation. Some countries, such as China, deal with this in an “anything goes” manner. In the United States, there are several protections in place, but they aren’t bulletproof.
In the training world, it’s especially easy to lose control of your IP. When assets are put into electronic format, things can be taken in the blink of an eye. As someone who has had his intellectual property misappropriated, misrepresented, and sold by a competitor, I’ve dealt with this first hand. In my case, the legal system ultimately protected me, but the process took years.
So what can you do to protect yourself and “the fruits of your labor”? Here are a few suggestions:
- First, and most importantly, be careful. Don’t post things or pass them around carelessly. The less exposure your ideas, writings, etc have, the better off you will likely be.
- Register any documents and important presentations with the US Copyright office. It’s easy, it’s affordable, and it offers you additional protections if they are misused.
- Have a lawyer to draft an non-disclosure agreement, and require anyone who gets electronic copies to sign it. Do not just pull one off the internet, even though that might seem cheaper on the front end.
- Protect digital assets wherever possible by locking them down.
- Post your copyright or trademark on all assets.
- Put a EULA (end user license agreement) on everything accessed over the internet. It’s also important that you require users to confirm they have read it. In general, these agreements are enforceable. Again, this needs to be drafted by an attorney familiar with developments in this branch of the law.
All of these steps might not have protected Coca-Cola’s prized formula, but they may help you as you seek to protect your hard work.