People are endlessly creative, and there is not a human being who has not tried to make some aspect of their life easier, either by trying to figure out the best method to solve a common or unusual problem or by trying to find the best possible tool to finish a job. However, there are a lot of people on the planet; it is very difficult to come up with something that no one has thought of before. Some people unintentionally think of something that already exists, but some people also like to take credit for other people’s work. That is not to say that people exclusively do one or the other; some just enjoy spending them differently. Many people like watching television, or reading, or just playing on their computers to relax from a hard day’s work. Online betting is one of the most popular ways to spend time online, and countless websites compete against one another to attract new members with exclusive content, like Betway Kenya. But what if someone takes your intellectual property and presents it as their own? How do you prove the theft of intellectual property?
What is intellectual property?
As we mentioned, creating things is an impulse that exists in human beings, and as such, it can be considered that when a person creates something, it is their property. While creations can be physical, the term ‘intellectual property’ is used to refer to intangible content that people can come up with. The term was coined in the 19th century, but it was a century later that it became widespread in legal systems around the world. Still, numerous difficulties surround it.
What difficulties are there?
Property, in the traditional sense, is easier to protect from others: a piece of land can be surrounded with a fence or a wall to ward off trespassers, products can be protected with a lock or alarm, but it is very difficult to track down the use of intellectual property. There is little that can stop a consumer of intellectual property from, e.g. buying a book, replicating, and reselling it for their profit. In the eyes of the law, there must be a fine balance between promoting new intellectual property and banning its widespread use that needs to be made.
How do you prove the theft?
You need to start thinking about this before it even happens.
You need to mark your invention in some way that it points to its owner; this can be done in the form of a patent, trademark, or copyright. The second step should be hiring a legal professional, who can quickly help you reclaim any lost profits and/or misuse of your intellectual property. Of course, you will need to document the misuse of your property or the infringement of your rights, so that you can easily take legal action against them. It is very helpful to look into the laws of your country that are related to situations like this so that you know the correct steps that you have to take in order to reclaim your intellectual property.