{"id":9043,"date":"2021-10-29T10:17:20","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T10:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/?p=9043"},"modified":"2021-10-29T10:17:23","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T10:17:23","slug":"safeguard-ip-asset-as-a-freelancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/safeguard-ip-asset-as-a-freelancer\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Safeguard Your IP Asset as a Freelancer? \u2013 An Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">In\nthis ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the work from home culture has rapidly grown,\nand now almost every company adopt this method to work remotely, and the\nfreelancing business, which is highly related to the gig economy, has also grown\nin this pandemic. Some guesses predict that gig employers represent 35% of the\nUnited States workforce in the year 2020, up from 14%-20% in 2014, and such\nfigures are only anticipated to grow in the upcoming years and if you also want\nto join this bandwagon, make sure that you are aware of <strong><em>IPR (Intellectual Property\nRights)<\/em><\/strong> that a freelancer owns in their work. So in this write-up, we\nwill inform you on the importance of Intellectual Property (IP) for any\nfreelance and how to protect your IP asset as a freelancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3aa37a49c2a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3aa37a49c2a\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/safeguard-ip-asset-as-a-freelancer\/#What_is_the_Meaning_of_IP_and_its_Importance_to_Freelancers\" title=\"What is the Meaning of IP and its Importance to Freelancers?\">What is the Meaning of IP and its Importance to Freelancers?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/safeguard-ip-asset-as-a-freelancer\/#Different_ways_to_protect_IP_Asset_as_a_Freelancer\" title=\"Different ways to protect IP Asset as a Freelancer\">Different ways to protect IP Asset as a Freelancer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/safeguard-ip-asset-as-a-freelancer\/#What_can_a_Freelancer_do_if_the_IP_gets_stolen\" title=\"What\ncan a Freelancer do if the IP gets stolen?\">What\ncan a Freelancer do if the IP gets stolen?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/safeguard-ip-asset-as-a-freelancer\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_Meaning_of_IP_and_its_Importance_to_Freelancers\"><\/span>What is the Meaning of IP and its Importance to Freelancers?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before we discuss different ways to protect IP asset as a freelancer, let&#8217;s first understand the meaning of IP. IP or Intellectual Property refers to any creations that come out from human intellect such as inventions, designs &amp; symbols, literary &amp; artistic works, names &amp; images used in commerce. Intellectual Property can be safeguarded via Trademarks, Patents, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/design-registration\" class=\"text-primary\">Design Registration<\/a><\/strong>, and, most important, Copyright Registration. To protect your IP asset as a freelancer, you must be highly concerned with Copyrights as the freelance workforce as it involved with creative areas, be it technical, literary, or artistic work such as craft, song, drawing, writings, computer programming, software development, etc. which are all subject to Copyright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\nmust know that when an individual hires a freelancer to work on a certain\nproject, that individual will not own the IPR created by the freelancer during\ntheir project unless specifically given away by the freelancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According\nto the Copyright Act, 1976, the Copyright owner is generally the people who\ncreated the work with an exception that Copyright for &#8220;Work-for Hire&#8221;\nbelong to the worker in simple words, the rights in any work created by the\nworker or employee under their ambit of employment is automatically owned by\nthe employer. But, this exception doesn&#8217;t apply to the freelancers as they\naren&#8217;t employees. Rather, they are independent contractors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The freelancers are eligible to hold <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/copyright-registration\" class=\"text-primary\">Copyright<\/a><\/strong> in work produced by them hence, making them the owner of their creation. That fundamentally means they have the authority to do anything with their creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Different_ways_to_protect_IP_Asset_as_a_Freelancer\"><\/span>Different ways to protect IP Asset as a Freelancer<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nbest way to protect IP asset as a freelancer is by never engaging with a client\nwithout a written contract and including a detailed ownership clause in your\ncontract. Following are some vital questions to ask while structuring an\nownership clause in a contract:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Do you want to give reissue\nrights or just single time publication rights?<\/li><li>Do you want to grant universal\nrights in IP or only be limited to a particular region?<\/li><li>Do you want to give away your\nIP for perpetuity, or do you want to allow your client to use it for only a\nparticular time?<\/li><li>Do you want to license the IP\nto your client, and do you consider when the ownership revert will be to you?<\/li><li>Do you want your customer to\ncite you as the author or creator of the things you created for them?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Following\nare some other steps to protect IP asset as a Freelancer: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong><em>Don\u2019t Disclose Too Much: <\/em><\/strong>Always try not to disclose such information. Generally, it happens when you try to impress your customers, you give your vital information to them, and the client might just run off and implement your ideas themselves. Just ensure you deliver only those details to your client that is vital to protect the deal.<\/li><li><strong><em>Know Your Client:<\/em><\/strong> It is obvious, but when you are looking for work urgently, you may skip this most obvious measure, which is to conduct detailed research on your client. There might be possibilities that your client has the habit of copying or stealing Intellectual Property, so you have to be aware.<\/li><li><strong><em>NDA:<\/em><\/strong> NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) is a great business tool that must be deemed to safeguard IP. If a capable customer wants to discuss strategies, plans or requires your work samples before formalising a contract, you shouldn&#8217;t be doubtful in getting an NDA in place to make sure that your innovative creation is not misused. Ensure that the <strong>NDA<\/strong><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Non-disclosure_agreement\" class=\"text-primary\"><strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/sup> is signed by both, and you mark anything you send to your client along with a note stating &#8220;Confidential&#8221;.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_can_a_Freelancer_do_if_the_IP_gets_stolen\"><\/span>What\ncan a Freelancer do if the IP gets stolen?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For\nfreelancers, stealing IP is not something uncommon, and if you are a freelancer\nfor long, there will always be a high chance that someone will attempt to use\nyour innovative creation without your permission or without giving you any\ncredits. Whenever you find yourself in this condition, then you have to raise\nthe matter slowly. It\u2019s possible that the individual committed IP theft without\nintending to do so. If you ask the person who committed the theft to stop it\ndoesn&#8217;t work, and the individual is your client, then you can send a letter or\na mail, with the attached copy of a signed contract between both of you as a\nreminder of what was agreed upon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When\nyour pleasant gestures don\u2019t seem to show any positive outcomes, then we\nsuggest it\u2019s time that you send a <strong><em>Cease and Desist Notice <\/em><\/strong>to the\nviolating party and show them your intention to take legal action if they don&#8217;t\ndiscontinue their unpleasant activities. Even if you don\u2019t plan to sue the\nperson who stole your IP, then it will motivate them to do the same in the\nfuture. If that doesn&#8217;t get their attention, it is probably time to look for\nlegal proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you desire to become a full-time freelancer, remember that it comes with great risks as there will always be attackers waiting to attack your rights. You will face the condition where a client might be unwilling to pay or trying to steal your innovative idea, but you can glide through all the odds and be that bright star if you remain active and inform yourself about IP and different ways to negotiate ownership rights with a client. If you read all the ways to protect your IP asset as a freelancer, as we mentioned above, then you will never be an easy target for attackers or fraudsters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read our article<\/b>:<mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/ip-in-a-gig-economy\/\">How to Protect Your IP in a Gig Economy?<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the work from home culture has rapidly grown, and now almost every company adopt this method to work remotely, and the freelancing business, which is highly related to the gig economy, has also grown in this pandemic. Some guesses predict that gig employers represent 35% of the United States workforce [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[695],"tags":[892],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9043"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9051,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9043\/revisions\/9051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}