How to Protect Your Custom Product IP and Avoid Infringement Issues

Have you created an outstanding custom product that you're about to release to the market? If so, have you considered your intellectual property (IP) rights and the actions you must take to protect your custom product IP? We hope that's a yes, but if not, consider the pitfalls of not protecting your IP.

 

Competitors may duplicate your product, its production methodology, or its design. Whatever the case, this will cost your company dearly, from loss of sales to brand theft. Worse still, customers may associate your product and brand identity with the inferior duplicated product, hurting your company's reputation and future profitability.

 

But the bad news doesn't end there, as you also have cybercriminals to contend with. Hackers and other bad actors love to break into company systems to access confidential information. They'll either use this information to extort the target company for ransom or release it on the dark web.

 

Now, consider the implications if hackers get a hold of your custom product's design and production details. If such a scenario plays out, it would be massively damaging. However, if you did your due diligence to protect your custom product IP, you can and should enforce your IP rights by taking legal action.

 

The risk factor regarding copyright infringement is always present and may come unexpectedly. Even if you're using Amazon, YouTube, and the many popular social media platforms to sell and promote your product, IP violators lurk in the shadows looking for their next victim. To avoid being a victim, here are several ways to avoid copyright infringement and turn the tables on the unscrupulous individuals trying to take advantage of your IP.

 

 

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement

 

Here are several steps you must take to stay on the right side of the law and avoid copyright infringement:

 

● Know the law: Familiarize yourself with US copyright law (Title 17 of the United States Code) and the relevant copyright laws in any other regions you're doing business in.

 

● IP registration: Register your custom product IP as early as possible. You may need to register for copyright, patents, and trademarks. At first, you must register with your local authority, then in foreign countries as you scale your business.

 

● Digital Rights Management (DRM): Use DRM to restrict access to your custom product's audio, videos, and software to paying customers only, if applicable.

 

● Original content: All the logos, graphics, and photos you use for your product should be 100% original. Use in-house artists, graphic designers, and photographers, or hire a studio or professionals to create all your assets.

 

● Free-use images: Avoid using assets from the internet, as these are protected by copyright laws and don't belong to you. Free-use images from sites like Wikimedia Commons are acceptable, but you must attribute the original creator.

 

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement on Amazon

 

Many of the steps we covered above also apply to Amazon. The company expects you to create original content and register copyrights when selling your custom product on their site. Also, your product descriptions must be original and not lifted from a listing on another website without express permission.

 

Here are the steps you must take if another seller is violating your IP on Amazon:

 

● Evidence: Keep all your IP registration certificates and original product documentation, as Amazon will require them to verify that you're the original IP holder.

 

● Register: Enroll in the Amazon Brand Registry since this makes IP infringement detection and reporting easier.

 

● Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA): Submit a DMCA notice via the Report Infringement page (and fill in the seller's form), then wait for Amazon's response.

 

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement on Social Media

 

The same rules apply to social media in regards to protecting your IP and avoiding copyright infringement, as mentioned above. However, you must be much more vigilant and hands-on with the various social media channels than on Amazon. That's because they don't have similar IP violation detection and fail-safe features that Amazon offers its users. So, you must constantly monitor all the social media platforms to see if anyone is violating your IP before issuing a DMCA takedown.

 

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement on YouTube

 

Unlike the other platforms we've covered, YouTube automatically flags copyrighted audio. That's because artists and record labels have added their songs to the YouTube Content ID system. If a YouTube creator uses any music contained in the Content ID system, they will receive a copyright strike, and the video will be removed almost immediately. After three copyright strikes within a 90-day period, YouTube will delete the creator's channel.

 

So, if you're promoting your custom product on YouTube, use royalty-free music or a composition scored exclusively for your product. If you think an artist's song suits your product, you can approach them or their label for permission to use it. But there are no guarantees they'll agree to that or respond to your email.

 

Conclusion

 

At TVCMALL, we want you to take your custom product IP to the next level and THRIVE! So, be sure to stay on top of copyright law and the rules imposed by the various platforms regarding IP infringement. Contact TVCMALL today to learn more about our tailored and B2B wholesale solutions.