Hi if you are an influencer then you should know this one Simple Mistake, which can get your social media channel Deleted…..
Hi all, Slowly influencership is becoming a mainstream career and many influencers are not only surviving but thriving as social media influencers, but you know what is the biggest risk for an influencer ??? Read this article about it and how to mitigate this risk………
Most of the time influencers keep crazy names for their social media channels or handles, some names might have some connection while others just like that. However little do they realize choosing a name without doing a proper trademark or copyright search is the biggest risk and simplest mistake most influencers make.
It takes years and thousands of hours of hard work to make social media channels or handles popular, however, just a simple trademark complaint is enough to take your channel/handle down and can put you in an unnecessary costly, and lengthy trademark infringement suit.
I have seen big channels where influencers might be earning a crore going down overnight.
Now we understand the mistake and its consequences let us understand how to avoid or mitigate this risk:-
1. Appoint a Trade mark expert especially who has experience in dealing with Trade mark nuisances for Media houses, celebrity, and influencers, Someone who understand the influencer business and have experience in providing solutions in intellectual property Rights (IPR) cases
2. Let them do proper trademark and copyright research to find if there is any trademark or copyright that exists either in India or internationally, this also includes company names, App Names, social organizations, UN, or international bodies name.
3. Now there can be two scenarios:-
Scenario I:- If there are No matching names then jump to Point no 4
Scenario II:- There are matching Names
4. Scenario I:- If your Channel name is so unique that nothing resembles congratulating yourself and your luck, Now you have a simple but urgent work to get your favorite name registered as a trademark on your name, if you use any punchline along with get it registered as well either as along with trade mark or you can get it copyrighted the jingle or coined word.
5. Scenario II:- If you fall in this category when already there is a matching or closely matching brand name exists, don’t lose heart you still have a chance. Try one of the following Ideas
a) If your channel name is so dear and you are hell bind not to change it approach the person holding that trademark and ask him to sell it to you, now depending it how the other person is doing you can get the Trade mark on your name either by free or by paying some amount, However if someone wants a fortune, better you forget the name and get your channel register on other name and take trademark quickly.
b) In case you want to keep the name but don’t want to pay a bombshell then a lease agreement for a trademark can also do the thing, however avoid it for long-term purposes
c) As I told you you always have the option to change the name and get it registered on your name as per point No. 4
What can happen if you Don’t care…
Now I am coming back to the point where I started but in a different way. So what happens if a brand owner finds out that knowingly or unknowingly you are using his trade mark he can take the following actions on you or your brand or both
1. File a complaint with Google or social media team to delete your channel
2. File for compensation for damage
3. File for recovery of revenue you have earned using his brand.
Now before I close this article let me introduce us briefly and hope we can help you with this trademark thing and lots of other legal and tax issues
We Influencer-Desk are a solution vertical of AKT Associates a Pioneer entity with more than 12 years of experience and a pioneer in digital Tax and legal compliance. We at Influencer- Desk specialize in Providing compliance, tax, and legal consulting and services for influencers like you.
So if you feel Tax filing, GST, Income tax, SEBI Compliance, ASCI, Social Media Guidelines Trade mark and Legal issues like Trollers are bothering you, you can just these all on us for a small monthly retainership and focus on content creation and connecting with your followers.
If all this sounds interesting do call us at 8080088288 or email at tax@aktassociates to book a free consultation with CA Arun Tiwari.
Anyhow let’s conclude this thing
Conclusions:-
so in nutshell trade mark is not so serious thing until it becomes, however, a proactive approach from you can resolve this issue once in all, All in all, resolve this
“Tissue before it becomes a big Issue”
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