In this day and age, the internet is a valuable resource, especially when it comes to marketing yourself and your products. You can conduct business online, sell products, communicate with consumers and find others to work with. That said, there are downsides to our age of cyber commerce: your intellectual property may be at risk. Someone may be using your hard work online, weakening your brand and stealing your ideas. What can you do to stop this? The first step is to be vigilant and find any instances of someone infringing upon your rights!
Google Alerts
One easy way to keep an eye on who might be using your property on the internet is to utilize Google Alerts. This service allows you to keep track of particular phrases on the internet and will alert you every time they are used. This is a great way to see if your work is being used or referenced by someone else. If someone is using your words, you’ll know! You’ll be able to see exactly where your phrase is being used online — and if someone is abusing your intellectual property or using it with proper citation. This can also be a great networking tool and doesn’t necessarily mean that legal action is needed. For example, you might get an alert about your restaurant’s name. This might be a rave review and you can ask the writer if you can share their thoughts with your customers! Google alerts are a great baseline and starting point when it comes to protecting your intellectual property.
In addition to searching for the name of your intellectual property, you can also search for keywords that describe your product or explain what makes your property unique. This can help you make sure that no one has infringed upon any of your property but are trying to use it with a different name to avoid detection.
Plagiarism Checkers
Another service you may be interested in is a plagiarism checker. There are many different online programs that might suit your needs. These are designed to help you see if anyone has stolen your work and used it as their own. This is especially important if you are a blogger or an author and your work is your words!
TRADEGUARD
Are you still feeling overwhelmed about the idea of searching for abuses of your trademark? There are services that can do this work for you and save you from the headache of searching on your own. Consider investing in TRADEGUARD®, a trademark monitoring service from Garcia-Zamor. With TRADEGUARD®, you can work confidently knowing that a legal team with two decades of experience are looking out for your intellectual property.
Remember that knowing if someone is infringing upon your intellectual property is only half the battle when it comes to protecting your property online. Defending your property often means you must take legal action. Garcia-Zamor can help you navigate your way through defending your intellectual property. Get started today by contacting the law office and know that you’ll have help navigating any situations involving your intellectual property, letting you run your business with confidence.
