Four easy ways to protect your work

Your creation is from your blood, sweat and tears. You toiled over countless moments to seek perfection as you perceive it to be. You want others to enjoy but not to make money at your expense. Below are four simple ways to protect your work.

1. Invoke your right

If you want everyone to know that a particular literary or artistic work is yours, how do you do it? It’s the all important © symbol. Its send a notice to the reader/viewer/internet troll that such work has a semblance of protection. It may serve as a warning to others not to use or borrow without your consent.

2. One Moment in Time

Stop singing! Seriously, protection for your work starts from the moment of creation. So, you have to prove that one moment in time (ok, now you are humming). Have some method of documenting that moment of creation. In this social media age, it will not be hard to do.

3. Deposit with the National Library

Although such action is not a conclusive proof of ownership, a certificate of deposit from the National Library of the work you registered with them has a government stamp. That counts for something in case a dispute arises. Again, it is not conclusive as it is almost a rubber stamp act by the government agency. Sadly, your deposit does not earn any interest whatsoever.

4. Watermarking

Pretend you are painter and sign your name on the bottom left corner. Although not done literally, placing a visible mark of authorship is an effective deterrent for would be “downloaders”. Such mark should discreet enough so as not to spoil the artistic quality.

All these steps cannot guarantee that your work will be not infringed. There are several exemptions to infringement under the law and they may vary country to country. Infringers are getting smarter every day. For every step you make, they'll be watching you. (Again, stop with the singing!)  

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The material in this online newsletter has been drafted and edited by Atty. Roderick Vera and is for informational purposes only. The material above does not constitute nor become legal advice. Please consult with an attorney for legal advice before relying on any information found on this newsletter. For any questions, inquiries or comments, please see the contact information above.