Why IP Protection Makes Sense Part 2

A Tale of Two Creator Protections

Timmy and Andrea are comic book and graphic novel illustrators. Both have had the experience of working independently, with teams, and they have even done some work for the “Big Two.”

These days, Timmy is pretty set on striking out on his own and creating an indie comic. For Andrea, the big leagues are what she has reached. She gets approved for regular work on a popular comic title.

Timmy is all squared away in his home office. He’s got all his tools, coffee brewed, and is up late at night illustrating characters, scenes, props, title type treatments, and anything else he can add to his upcoming comic series. Timmy knows that his computer might crash on him at any time, so he is prepared. He just added an external hard drive to his workspace, and now he’s ready to back up all of his digital illustrations locally and in the cloud. Off to the races!

Andrea works from the office and gets to see a much larger publishing landscape. On her first day, she is given a tour of the office. She’s introduced to the creative heads, the legal and marketing departments, and shown where her workspace is located. Because the company is pretty big, Andrea is formally onboarded to company policies on data protection, how to proceed with confidential business communications, and other workplace protocols. Andrea is ready to go!

Where our tale of two creators intersects.

A new AI company named Mirage releases its new generative AI tool called, “Smoke and Mirrors version 1.0.” It’s touted to be the next big thing in art and video generation. The word is out from the global art community, and several styles and character types are recognized immediately. Mirage ducks behind its legal department and public affairs advisors. The company Andrea works for “lawyers up.” Timmy panics and pulls out his anti-anxiety meds. It’s going to be a long day for everyone!

For Andrea, she was oriented on the specific IP inventory process her company has, including her direct responsibilities in that process. However, what she may not know is how far that accounting system goes. Assets are logged into a special IP software program. Attorneys in the legal department draft correspondence, contracts, and file for state and federal protections of their IP all the time. In fact, the company has leveraged at least 15% of revenue specifically toward IP protection. Their legal team files and sends a cease-and-desist letter. What Andrea may or may not be able to tell you is that the comic publisher she works for actively watches for malicious actors and moves quickly to neutralize them.

Timmy, on the other hand, thought making sure he had a backup of his art on his external drive and in the cloud was good enough for the time being. Unfortunately, it was no help. Where he was taken advantage of is exactly where he has to be if he wants to get more recognition and monetize his comics online. How can Timmy prove his ownership or get full-scale legal support? Timmy had no process for inventorying his illustrations by date created, use cases, and other artistic classifications. Timmy was not working with a law firm or attestation system to handle some of the heavy lifting when it comes to IP protection. Timmy had so much work it would have broken him financially to register all that art month after month with the U.S. Copyright Office. He doesn’t know the laws. He didn’t go to school for this. He doesn’t participate in an online service that actively monitors and reports the misuse of his works. He only found out through the art community. What is Timmy going to do?!

Timmy was ready for a technical machine problem. Andrea and her employer are actively prepared for a criminal one.

Andrea’s employer understood their intellectual property was worth more than the systems they use to propagate it. They understood the people they have to look out for and the people who could compromise them. They used an older, traditional mix of legal and technical tools. They understood the business frameworks and made plans that would result in the ultimate goal: IP protection.

What creator tale sounds more like your situation?

How do you register, protect, and actively monitor your art IP?

Note: Being in a big company doesn’t always keep you safe. Just like being an independent creator doesn’t mean you’ll be ill-prepared either.

Stay Tuned for Part 3 Next Week!