Why do companies have them in place? Who is it really protecting?
The intellectual property laws and all that falls under it is protecting both the average person and businesses, just in different contexts. Take for example a company or business just starting out, they should take these laws very seriously and consider the following as important information that could protect their rights:
“Establishing intellectual property protection for your goods, services or brand names is important for a variety of reasons. Intellectual property can:
- Establish a right to, and ownership of, your intellectual creations so you can profit from them
- Prevent competitors from copying or closely imitating your products or services
- Protect the distinct identity, image, and reputation of your business
- Build customer trust and loyalty by establishing a unique brand name or image” (“Copyright – Canada Business Network”)
This is a very good website for more information, it is dependable as it is run by the government of Canada, as well as all information is relevant and pertains to Canada: http://www.canadabusiness.ca/government/copyright-and-intellectual-property/what-is-intellectual-property/
These intellectual property laws also protect the regular person choosing to participate in online activity. Because of certain websites ability to be a content creator, there is always a fear of other people stealing your work without recognition. That is why most websites have policies, regulations and punishments within their company.
The attached video is interesting in there explanations as to what intellectual property is. It also brings up the interesting question of whether it is foolish that we need to choose between devaluing intellectual talent and labour, or devaluing the network system we have today. Questioning what the future for these intellectual property laws will be with all the furthering technology.
By: Christina Bulic, 2016
References:
Introduction To I.P (2015). (Video) Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch? lc=z12stpqgvkb2u33zn04cdfowhvjajlaicjo&v=RQOJgEA5e1k
What is intellectual property? – Canada Business Network. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Issues in Social Media 
I love that you touched upon this topic. I feel like many users find that policies are put into place to protect themselves against other users while in reality policies and intellectual properties are put into place to save the big guys from being sued. The video was very clear and educational. Here is an article I came across on how to protect yourself since companies don’t: https://www.stopfakes.gov/article?id=How-Should-I-Protect-My-Intellectual-Property
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