By Stevie Martin

The ubiquitous presence of the internet and the way it has seamlessly woven itself into our everyday lives has necessitated the formulation of specific intellectual property policies for this novel medium.

There are various types of intellectual property on the internet, like texts, pictures and graphics, audio, videos etc. An original work can be protected from infringement by posting a copyright notice that will mention the terms and conditions of its authorized use. The notice should clarify that the owner's permission is mandatory before any reproduction of the matter in any form, or prior to the posting of the content in any public domain, which includes the internet.

A trademark sign (TM) on a brand name or a logo can go a long way in protecting your brand related IP on the internet. Likewise, visual matter protected by copyright laws can be watermarked, so that an irremovable imprint is created on the picture or video of which you have the copyright. This will deter individuals from replicating or reprinting it.

An extremely important question is how to monitor or detect an unauthorized use of your intellectual property on the internet. There are several solutions available for this. For example, you can do this by making use of a software specifically developed to catch any online infringement of IP, especially for textual content. You can also opt for a search on major search engines for your trademarks and see where they are present on the internet. You can hire the services of certain companies that provide anti piracy services, and they can give you information on any IP infringement that is happening in exchange of a fee.

If you find out that your IP is being used without permission by unscrupulous individuals, then you can directly talk to the offenders and ask them to refrain from using your content on their sites. This can be accomplished by issuing warning letters to the offenders. If the letters fail to stop the infringers, you can even approach the court and demand compensation.

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