What is your experience with stolen content?
“Stolen content for me is all the ways that people use the things that I create, out of context and without my consent. I come across my own content on other platforms quite often, and one of the reasons for that is people quite often tag me in it. Not only people saying, ‘Hey, isn’t that your content, Gittemary?’ but also people who upload the content tag me… in the content they have stolen. […] I spend some hours a week, definitely, talking to people about my images, and copyright, and theft of my images. Most of my stolen content is on Instagram, but I’ve also experienced that some of my videos on YouTube have been downloaded and then used for advertisement”
For people who spend less time worrying about copyright, that might sound a little surprising, but infringement of intellectual property rights is extremely common on the internet. Research by IMGembed estimated that about 85% of images posted online were done so illegally.
As a content creator, you always need to make sure that you agree on a collaboration with the brand or an account, before they post your content – otherwise, it counts as stealing.
How do you protect your content?
“The methods I prefer when I reach out to people differ very much depending on who I am reaching out to. So, sometimes, if it is a personal account with not many followers and, just, it is a normal person reposting something I made, I’ll reach out in a very kind way and say ‘thank you for supporting my work and I appreciate that you appreciate it, however if you are going to share something you should probably ask for permission because the way that you are doing it is actually not allowed’. I try to be very understanding and empathic and use lots of emojis, so I don’t come across as a little bit too… mean. But! I have no problem coming across as mean if it is bigger companies or bigger accounts. So, sometimes, in the majority of the instances for me, a company that sells products and that profits off of their social media platform will use my images. When they do that […] they take your stuff and make it a part of their brand. And the way I reach out to these people is slightly different. I don’t care if I come across as mean or demanding”
It seems unfair (because it is) but the law is simply lagging behind the real-life needs of people who make their living on the internet. CatchScan is there is offer a solution to that need but outside of getting our help, it is also possible to mobilize your own platform. Gitte has managed to get a make-shift warning system using her followers and can use her influence as an incentive to get thieves to at least remove the stolen content from their profiles. Using a following in this manner is still imperfect, and it is a system that requires a fair portion of manual labor, but it can be a swifter method than the unwieldy and draconian legal system.
Thankfully, Gitte now has CatchScan to worry about her content. With the help of our software, we can automatically find if someone has misused her work and damaged her copyrights. More importantly, she does not need to worry about contacting brands or accounts stealing her work, because we will gladly reach out to them on her behalf.
But why does Gitte spend so much time protecting her content? Take a look at the whole interview or see the updated version here.
Why is it so important for you to protect your content?
“If I don’t have credibility then I don’t have a brand and then I don’t have a job. Especially as a sustainability creator, my platform is all about the transparency of ethical and conscious consuming, so when other accounts use my content, I lose some of that authenticity. So it is really important to me that the brand that I represent and the brands that I work with are 100% up to par with my values. And when people steal my content, I cannot always be sure of that.”
Credibility is indeed key as an influencer, as it is across many different industries. In terms of protecting a brand, you can read here how copyright infringement almost let to Anodyne being destroyed by false association caused by MyPosture stealing their advertisement material. You can read more about that situation in our article here.
What advice would you give up-and-coming influencer when it comes to protecting their work?
“The content industry, in general, is still very new. So, specifically for new people joining the industry, I think conversations about this are very important, so you know how to act later, or you know how to value your own work and your own time. I think that is very important, especially on a platform like Instagram where it is so easy to mess it up. It is a good idea to know the rules and know your rights in the beginning so that you can benefit the most from the products you are making.”
Exactly because a brand can so easily be destroyed by other, it is critical to see the value (even if it is just potential value) of your brand early on. Essentially, you should always protect your work because, even if it isn’t seen as valuable right now, it can quite possible worth a lot further down the line. Whether you want to do that on your own, via advice from other influencers, or via a free CatchScan subscription, we hope you are at least feeling a little better equipped to deal with online thievery of your work.
What are the benefits of using CatchScan?
“The main benefit of using CatchScan is definitely the time saving aspect. It is so incredibly easy and important for me that I can just give these responsibilities to someone else and I know it will be fixed. I don’t necessarily always have time in my work day to contact these brands, and it’s often that they don’t even reply to me when I try to reach out to them. So having a third party that specializes in this stuff is just incredibly valuable to me. It saves me time and I know they get things done. Another benefit is the automatic copyright protection as well as their super easy to use platform”
With our platform, we aim to help all content creators with the protection of their creative work. We asses all of our cases individually, so we always make sure to fully adapt our services to each client. If you stumble upon a case where someone used your stolen content, feel free to contact us for help.
Take a look at the whole interview or see the updated version here.
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