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Get the Picture - Protecting Your Digital Brand
I was on holiday recently. The sea provided the required amount of aqua-antics and the sun doused the beautiful landscape; creating the perfect postcard setting. There was a moment, however, when this picture was almost lost in a very bizarre and incongruous argument. When asked if I could take a photograph for a couple, of them, who were also appreciating the view, of course I obliged.
It was once the picture was taken that our holiday retreat was suddenly taken over by copyright. Not the kind of guest you would expect on a romantic holiday in the South of France, yet it was defiantly with us nonetheless. I happened to mention - as would any journalist with a mischievous sense of humour- that up until fairly recently I would have actually owned the right to that picture, even though they owned the camera. Fortunately for the masses (well, tourists more notably) this has changed, with the commissioner of the image now owning full copyright. Although my comment was lost in translation, their prized picture wasn't - legally anyway.
This is just one example of how copyright interferes and protects us in everyday life, but for businesses it is absolutely critical that this protection is installed and managed in the most vigilant way. Yet, copyright is a license we are all aware of, but in all honesty, we can't really seem to understand or define it.
Copyright acts as the legal protection for the author of creative or original works; essentially this imparts the author exclusive rights to reproduce, sell and broadcast their work. Ironically, I was unable to expound this relevant information to my fellow tourists, but this law is often misinterpreted and even ignored. The good news, however, for individuals and organisations is copyright will cover their skills, labour or judgement provided as long as the work is original and fixed in a material form. These laws and definitions may vary from country to country, but businesses in the UK and US now have prudent focus on protecting their 'digital brand' - or digital asset management as it's widely recognised.
While digital asset management is a well-worn concept, it has entered the 21st century with far more vigour and intent. Every organisation is involved with a website, print advertisements, promotional videos and brochures, as well as a raft of other marketing materials. Introduce the word 'brand' before the notion and all of a sudden something as rudimentary as a photograph or company logo becomes a commodity that is not only under threat, but can be archived for prospective projects in a digital medium.
In a high-profile case this year, a US federal judge ruled that portions of Google's popular image search feature, which displayed small thumbnail versions of images found on other websites, violated US copyright laws. Google is facing a growing number of lawsuits that could imperil its lucrative business model, which relies in part on the ability to make fair use of copyright works and sell advertisements linked to trademarked keywords.
Google did contest, however, by stating: "creating thumbnails is 'fair use' under copyright law because it promotes the progress of digital innovation and enhances public knowledge and information online." This is the perfect example of when copyright divides option, ethics and law. It will certainly not be the last time.
Technology has revolutionised the sharing of information, including digital files. At the click of a mouse, images and logos are instantaneously transmittable to anyone from a colleague across the room; to a vast network of online communities around the globe. It is estimated that 70% of employees believe they need to share the images and information they receive as part of their employment - 84% share internally and 37% externally. This unfettered ability to duplicate and transfer digital assets has increased instances of image copyright law violations. Often, employees do not understand what actions are permissible under copyright law and this ignorance has created serious liabilities for their employers.
Implementing a Digital Asset Management system ensures that employees use only approved imagery, for which copyright permissions have been obtained. In addition, the software reduces the time spent locating creating assets - photos, diagrams, illustrations, logos - and the many hours devoted by individuals and organisations searching for existing material. The rapid growth of media assets demands an immediate need for a powerful, fast retrieval system, coupled with disaster recovery and robust security.
With the abundance of digital opportunities for image and sound creation, the necessity for increased storage capacity, and the attentive organisation of these files, has produced an industry that is surviving the ubiquitous credit crunch. Digital asset management grows with technology and always has to be a few steps ahead of the game to ensure businesses keep control of their digital assets.
Asset Bank - a pioneering force in digital asset management in the UK - allows your business to create a fully searchable, categorised library of digital images, videos and other documents.
About the Author Matt Crick is writing for Asset Bank, enabling you to create a fully searchable, categorised library of digital images; providing their clients with secure digital asset management. It is a high-performance application for managing digital assets - all you need to access it is a web browser. You can buy Asset Bank to install on your own server, alternatively they provide hosting for brand asset management or eCommerce.
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