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Pinterest co-founders sued for idea theft

With a lifestyle-centric focus and a palpable lack of toxic arguments, image-sharing platform Pinterest is a favourite for social-media users who like to spend their Internet time browsing and curating visual inspirations rather than having fraught conversations.
It turns out, however, that even Pinterest isn’t drama-free. Former blogger Christine Martinez has sued Pinterest co-founders Ben Si

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Creator of Netflix sensation Squid Game accused of plagiarism

The latest viral sensation from streaming platform Netflix is South Korean series Squid Game, and it has taken the world by storm. A mere 11 days after the show was released on September 17, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos went on the record about its blockbuster numbers, stating that it had become the platform’s biggest non-English language show in the world, and could very well turn out to be Netf

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When influencers steal content from other influencers

Content theft is common phenomena in social media, and it is not uncommon for influencers with large followings to take content from less popular creators without permission.
Shristi Das, an Indian Instagram influencer with over 142,000 followers, creates different characters with unique voices. She was extremely annoyed when a famous TV actor with half a million Instagram followers used her v

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What China’s new bullishness about IP means for its economic future

It wasn’t that long ago that China had an unflattering reputation for being a copier of intellectual property. But that perception has been changing fast as the country’s economy has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Along the way, many of its technological innovations from social media to payments platforms have been ahead of the global curve.
And now, going by the recently rele

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Harvard University vs Harvard Jeans

The following article by Erwin V. Zamorawas was first published here by Bengzon Negre Untalan (BNU), a Philippines-based law firm focused on the practice of intellectual property law. It is re-published here with BNU's permission. 
In 2011, Fredco Manufacturing Corporation (Fredco) filed before the Bureau of Legal Affairs of the Philippine Intellectual Property Office a Petition for Cancellatio

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The disputed IP of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Met Gala dress

The annual Met Gala is a signature fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City. Celebrities who attend always dress to impress, and this year, one of the most talked-about outfits was worn by politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Popularly known as AOC, she is the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district, and made her debut at the

Screenshot of the HBO official website for Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You

Emmy winner Michaela Coel shines a light on how she has protected her IP

It’s been a busy month for actor, writer and director Michaela Coel. In September, she won her first Emmy for writing the limited series I May Destroy You, and released her first book, Misfits: A Personal Manifesto.
Both the series and the book are related to the way this talented UK creative views the issue of intellectual property. When she started to pitch the idea for I May Destroy Youin 2

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Who owns ideas pitched during job interviews — the company or the job candidate?

Have you ever pitched an idea at work, only to see your boss present it later as his own idea?
While that must sting, imagine how much worse you would feel if your idea was pitched during a job interview, and you didn’t even get the job, much less the credit for the idea and any share of the financial benefit it generated.
That’s what one job applicant says happened to her. In August 2016,

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7 ways innovators can protect their IP

A new song; a new character; a new algorithm — in the 21st century, any of these, and many more kinds of new ideas, could make their creator’s name and fortune. That’s the way the creative economy works.
As author John Howkins put it in his 2001 book The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas, the creative economy refers to the economic potential of activities that centre on creati

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Dealing with onerous IP clauses in tender documents

From design agencies to training providers, entrepreneurs and small businesses across various industries often throw their hat in the ring when organisations send out Invitations To Quote (ITQ) for upcoming projects.
These documents set out the requirements for a project, and enables a potential vendor to assess how much to charge for its goods and/or services. But beyond noting the nature and

Screenshot of Anita Baker's Twitter page

The sound of victory: Music-makers fight to reclaim their IP rights

Earlier this month, soul icon Anita Baker sent out a tweet that radiated joy: “All My Children Are Coming Home.” The accompanying photo showed five of her albums, all released by Elektra Records in the 1980s and 1990s. The news she was announcing with this tweet was momentous — she was finally regaining ownership of her master recordings.

Another icon, pop star Taylor Swift, responded to t

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The IP of designer fonts

No matter what service or product a company is selling, chances are they are using some kind of font in their marketing materials. While many people assume that fonts can be used freely, font programmes and their underlying typefaces are actually intellectual property protected by copyright.
In 2009, Font Bureau, an American type foundry, sued NBC Universal for failing to secure the rights to a

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Let your clients get the idea, without taking it.

PitchMark deters idea theft and provides you with options if it happens.

PitchMark protects the expression of your original concepts, designs, proposals, business plans, creative pitches, music - in short, any idea that you conceived and published, and claim as your own. It gives you peace-of-mind by signalling to whoever you share it with that you are its creator, and that you wish to be respected as such.

If you receive or evaluate ideas or pitches, join PitchMark as a sign of your commitment to respect the Intellectual Property rights of their creators. Attract more in-depth pitches from a wider range of sources. Highlight your PitchMark membership in your Sustainability or CSR Report.

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