Creative Commons License
Yesterday, I brought up the ugly fact that there is a lot of theft in the wedding industry these days. Images, design, and writing are being stolen. SAD! It’s really upsetting when you think about it. I mean, here we are… an incredibly creative industry full of brilliant artists… we collaborate, we share, we learn from one another. And, I have to bring up the big white elephant in the room: people are stealing from one another. I cringe when I say this. I’m proud to be a part of this industry and this one of the things that makes me least proud.
So, how can you prevent this? How can you know if someone has copied your content?
Here are a few strategies for preventing plagiarism:
Trademark your brand
A few months ago, we covered trademarking. There is only one sure way of preventing someone from using your brand name and that is registering it with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The cost is ~$375. The process is not complicated, but you should read directions carefully. No, you don’t need a lawyer, you just need to follow directions. You would need a lawyer if you find yourself in hot water. But, if you’re the first one to apply for that brand name, then it’s pretty simple.
Copyright your content
We also talked about copyrighting a few months ago. Copyrighting does not require any filing. Once you write something, it is yours. If you want to remind the person reading it that it is yours, you’ll want to use the copyright symbol: ©. Read our post on some other ways that you can assure that your work remains protected. You’ll want to make sure that your website says the words “copyright” or shows the symbol.
Put a legal notice on your website
This is where you’ll want to talk to your lawyer about some legalese that you can write on your website. Generally it is something to the affect of, “All content on Sage Wedding Pros’ website is property of Michelle Loretta and Kelly Simants. Use of anything on this website without our permission is stealing.” Your lawyer will be better able to advise you on this.
Google search occasionally
From time to time, it’s wise to google search phrases of text from your website to see if they pop up anywhere. You may want to do this with your tagline, especially if it is unique. If you say that you offer “simple and sophisticated wedding design” you may learn that it is not very unique. Chances are that you were not copied, but that it’s a very common phrase in this wedding industry.
Use a plagiarism search service
There are few online services that can scan pages of the internet to see if they match pages on your site. You simply enter a url and it will scan to see if it finds anything similar. These are free to search by page. Some of these offer paid subscriptions to have a constant surveillance for plagiarism:
What are your tips for avoiding and detect plagiarism?
Tomorrow, we’ll discuss what to do if you’ve been plagiarized.
The John Harrington book, “Best Business Practices for Photographers” has some great information about this topic.
by Michelle Loretta
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