Digital Brand Protection: Investigating Brand Piracy & Intellectual Property Abuse provides a framework for rightsholders to protect and commercialise assets in the digital economy.
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Digital brand protection is a mindset, not a narrow discipline; an approach which emboldens brands and creativity. When it comes to digital brand protection, this book invites you to consider the bigger picture encapsulating all elements of brand IP, brand building and digital culture.
Brand piracy is charted across the major areas and platforms which concern brand owners, with over 40 Case Studies included to illuminate the discussion with practical insight, tips and best practices in implementing a successful brand protection strategy. This book bridges the gap between brand protection and brand strategy, enabling decision-makers to contextualise infringements and take appropriate steps which maximise the overall impact of digital brand protection activities.
With the digitisation of society has come the rise of brands. Brands are one of the most powerful and long-lasting ways of creating value for a company. The internet enables small and medium businesses to access a wider market than ever before, directly connect with customers and build brands with purpose. Social networks, smartphones, cyber-libertinism, the growth of digital entrepreneurship, the explosion of E-Sports and the constantly connected lifestyle have led to an irreversible transformation in how consumers engage with a brand. The direct-to-consumer channel is rapidly evolving; individuals are becoming brands, including content creators, influencers and key opinion leaders; and even ‘causes’ have become branded. With this in mind, brand protection cannot be blind to digital culture.
The investigation techniques in this book are woven with an appreciation of the online world, digital norms and hyper-connectivity of cyberspace. Combining technical proficiency with cultural understanding is vital in developing a modern brand protection strategy; not only to remove infringements, but proactively prevent future abuses.Intellectual property law can be controversial. Especially when applied online. An entrenched pro-piracy movement has grown with a conceptual belief that everything on the internet is, or should be, free of charge. Support for piracy grew in large part due to overly strong-arm tactics used by some industries in defending their own interests. Unfortunately, digital IP debates tend to pitch the rights of individuals against the rights of large industries. These industries are populated by a shrinking number of organisations which have grown to dominate the digital economy.
Intellectual property, at its heart, protects imagination and creativity. A smart IP regime inspires inventiveness and rewards ingenuity. Intellectual property law is intended to protect individual creators and SMEs just as much as large rightsholders. Scale is merely relative. Fairness is the issue at stake.
This book has been written with action in mind, a reference guide prior to an investigation or to stimulate new ideas when all the current lines of enquiry seem to be exhausted. Investigators tend to go deep into the rabbit hole when conducting their research, opening hundreds of tabs in their browser of choice and following the untrodden path. This work is essential reading for content creators, digital entrepreneurs, influencers, inventors, practitioners and brand owners of all sizes.
