A few things in life will help us protect the properties we own easier. There are contracts we can hold on to for cars, houses and property. However, protecting our intellectual property proves to be a more difficult job.
Throughout our career, we designed and issued Urban Designs and rarely signed them and then documents get published without mentioning a Lead Urban Designer. Furthermore, urban designers are not mentioned in the Australian Urban Design Awards. Overseas, however, is a different practice.
Going even further along the same route, once the designer of the Urban Designs is deleted from the page, we no longer take responsibility for the life of the plan. As we know, our plans are implemented, and we live for the future 30 years.
How do we protect our intellectual property?
The answer is through properly educating ourselves about intellectual property laws. Intellectual property relates to the art, designs and inventions created. It could be Urban Design, music, mobile apps, inventions, literary or creative works. Intellectual property is one of a creative individual or business’s best assets. That is why it should be adequately protected. Unlike tangible properties such as a house or car, intellectual property is more complicated to grasp and more accessible to steal. That is why patents, trademarks and copyrights exist to protect the intellectual property owner.
The intellectual property law also governs us.
Renowned intellectual property lawyer Sharon Givoni lets us in on tips and tricks to better understand intellectual property law in her new book Owning It: A Creative’s Guide to Copyright, Contracts and the Law. The book is written creatively and not with legal jargon, so readers can easily understand the law even without a degree. It dresses the law in a language that ordinary people understand. With a foreword by artwork freelancer and designer Beci Orpin, Owning It is equipped with real-life case studies and teaches creative individuals and professionals who work in the creative industry how intellectual property law is designed to help them protect their work. The book also guides you in protecting your brand using social media and working with lawyers to achieve positive legal outcomes.
Sharon Givoni is the Principal Solicitor at Sharon Givoni Consulting, a boutique intellectual property (IP) law firm based in Melbourne, Australia. While she represents clients in all sectors, Sharon also specialises in assisting those in the creative industries, ranging from artists, musicians and sculptors to architects, graphic designers, bloggers, authors, filmmakers and advertising agencies.
www.sharongivoni.com.au
Owning It: A Creative’s Guide to Copyright, Contracts and the Law is now available for purchase online via
www.creativemindshq.com or in selected Australian bookstores and retail outlets.
Publisher: Tess McCabe
Director, Creative Minds Publishing
Mobile: 0419 280 282
Email: hello@creativemindshq.com
www.creativemindshq.com/owningit
Author photo © Laura Maniriti www.lauramanariti.com.au
