Why should you care about IP Law?

How do you feel when you wake up in the morning and as you head out to work you find your car sitting on cinderblocks? For most people, this is not a good feeling. This is the same way "the creators" feel when somebody is using (and making profits on) their intellectual property that of which they poured their blood, sweat, tears, and bags of money into. It can also get infringers sued or thrown in jail.

Infringement is not a victimless crime. I know what many people think, these artists and record companies have millions and billions of dollars, a few bootlegs aren't going to hurt them. This is both illegal and bad precedent. First off billion dollar companies such as Samsung and Apple duke it out over infringement disputes, it is not only the local bootleg guy. Second of all, emerging artists and companies are severely injured when their work is infringed. Lastly, the guy selling bootlegs on the corner isn't as insignificant as he may seem.

These individual bootleg distributors are not working alone, they are simply cogs in large world-wide organized crime rings. Sadly the fake designer bags and bootleg DVDs you see are just some of the wares these criminals are peddling, sex slavery and human trafficking are the other industries that are connected to the counterfeiting market.

Supporting counterfeiters and infringers also take away from US jobs and the economy, especially since the counterfeit business has been estimated to rake in $600 billion annually.

There is a very good reason the fight against infringement and counterfeiting is a good fight, and should be continued.

If you are a creator no matter how big or small you should also take the time to think about your intellectual property rights and how to secure them. I understand the startups or emerging artists have a lot on their plate, creating their works, marketing, booking shows, websites, social media, the list goes on and on. One thing that should not be left off the list is to see what intellectual property rights you have, how to protect them, and in the future how to sell them or license them.