People break copyright and trademark laws on the Internet everyday. Trouble is, it can lead to embarrassment or lawsuits if you're not careful. Create your own work, attribute, or get a license to use.

1. Are You an Intellectual Property Thief?

2. Everything on the
Internet is Free,
Right?

3. No.
Everything on the Internet is likely
what’s known as Intellectual Property.

4. According to Entrepreneur’s
Small Business Encyclopedia,
Intellectual Property is:
The ownership of ideas…a patent applies to a
specific product design; a trademark to a
name, phrase or symbol; and a copyright to
a written document.

5. Intellectual Property is Legally Protected

6. Copyrights Cover Everything
Shared in Social Media:
Literary works, pictorial, graphic and sculptural
works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works,
and sound recordings.
Hashtags can be trademarked.

7. Do Your Own Work,
Research Free Works, or
Pay for Usage Rights

8. For Images: Different works have different licenses.
• Find out how you may use an image before you use
it.
• Websites like Creative Commons allow you to
search for different images under different licenses.
• Sites like Pixabay allow you to search for images and
videos you can use.

9. For Written Works: to be safe: quote, link back,
and give attribution, always.
• Don’t try to sell other people’s written works as
your own.

10. For music: search for royalty free music.
• There’s tons of it out there.

11. Follow the Law: Produce Good Work

12. Intellectual property is protected. People will come
after you for using it. So don’t.
It is theft under the law, and you also could be
embarrassed publicly for its use.
Ask permission or buy a license for use if you really
have to use that piece of intellectual property as part
of your marketing efforts.

13. Need Help with Your Messaging?
dawnweathersbee@gmail.com
Illustrations by ded Mazay