Intellectual Property: Whose Property Is It Anyway?!

How often have you said, “Oh I heard someone say blah blah blah.” I find myself in this boat all the time. We live in a world where information is constantly being shared and ideas are being thrown around all over the place. And, yet, we often don’t remember to credit the source where the idea originally came from—if we even know that.

Often times, our ideas and sources come from a person who heard someone else say who gathered the idea from another place. The credit and idea get lost in translation. Social media has only exacerbated the issue with people sharing and moving ideas from one place to another. It is difficult to figure out where the idea came from and where it is going.

When we consider Copyright in terms of books, articles, and other materials, it is easy to find when people misuse information or plagiarize the idea or directly quote without giving credit where credit is due. However, the concept of Intellectual Property is far more nebulous. Often times the ideas we have come from things we’ve seen and we don’t realize or remember that it was someone else’s idea.

Wikipedia defines Intellectual Property (IP) as, “a legal concept which refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are recognized.” The article continues by saying, “Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literacy, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.”

In terms of social media, I believe that the difficulty comes because we are so open and out there with our thoughts and ideas. As I mentioned before we take and use ideas, quotes, and thoughts all the time without realizing we are taking that ‘Intellectual Property’.

Many individuals argue that information that is placed in a public forum is public unless otherwise stated. After all, how can we possibly monitor whose idea it was first?

I’d like to echo that concept in a different way. I believe that when we post things—especially from an organizational standpoint—we need to offer credit as often as possible. But, we also need to recognize that when we post ideas, it is public information. Know and understand that the likelihood is that the idea or concept will be used in other contexts without being given credit.

I think understanding what social media is and how it works is important. It is a melting pot of sorts that allows everyone to be someone. It comes with great value and importance in today’s day and age, but also with great responsibility. I suppose in a way it comes back to the golden rule. If you’d like your information to be given credit, credit those around you who deserve the same respect. It may not happen, but that doesn’t change the responsibility we have.

Reference:

“Intellectual Property.” March 2, 2014. En.wikipedia.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property.