You can pick up a copy of a newspaper most any day and read something about a website that is being investigated because they stream movies that are still in the theatres and have paid nothing or have no contract stating they are allowed to do this. Some people copy articles and journal entries then claim the knowledge as their own without any regard to the owner of those written vehicles rights to the material. That is why it is so important these days to have the proper legal documentation regarding patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property and a legal team in your corner to represent you when those rights are infringed upon.
For many years now laws have protected intellectual property no matter what medium it was presented on including the internet; but when cases were brought to the forefront concerning intellectual property theft on the internet they were largely ignored or people just did not know how to handle it legally. It was if the internet was immune to the rules that everyone else had to play by. Fortunately good legal representation is changing the way not only people think about this, but the way the legal system is acting too.
Just recently, the popular websites You Tube and Google settled out of court Viacom’s one billion dollar lawsuit against them even though the latter two had beat them twice previously in court rulings. Viacom claimed that Google and You Tube were responsible for the copyright infringements of their members who were downloading copyrighted TV shows and movies that belonged to Viacom. Viacom and their legal team were determined to go down fighting no matter what the cost and this pressure and mounting legal fees forced the settlement. This process clearly illustrates how a determined legal effort and experienced intellectual property representation can get people and companies the results that they need to change people’s views of intellectual property and to respect its legal protections.
