0920_September Comstock's Magazine September 2020 | Page 20

MARKETING When a Right Click Is Wrong How to avoid creative copyright infringement in your promotion and presentations BY Lila Wallrich SHUTTERSTOCK ILLUSTRATION I am an intellectual property snob. I’ve spent much of my life making original things and am passionate about the idea that they have tangible value. Since 1990, my business has made original graphics, stories, ads and websites for clients. And as marketing became increasingly reliant on digital media for creation and distribution, it’s been challenging to keep pace and avoid infringing — even accidentally — on anyone else’s rights. Defining originality is tricky. Creators in every medium are influenced by techniques and trends, both current and historical. But in the digital sphere, it has become easier to go beyond influence to outright theft. The most egregious examples involve major corporations helping themselves to the original work of independent makers. They know it’s wrong, but they flex their legal and brand clout to avoid consequences. I’m focusing on a less obvious, possibly inadvertent, form of infringement — something I see too often from small-business peers. I’m talking about the casual “borrowing” of creative content for use in promotion and education. Here are examples I’ve seen recently: • A copyrighted article that’s scanned and distributed without permission to clients. 20 comstocksmag.com | September 2020