Prevent infringement of your copyright

If you write something, create a (digital) work of art, or develop a video game, you have copyright on it. This right is exclusive and applies automatically. You do not have to register or apply for it anywhere as a creator or author. Your work is protected by the Copyright Act if it meets 3 conditions:

• It is personal and original: it should not resemble someone else's work. 
• It can be seen, heard, smelt, tasted, or felt. It can be perceived by the senses.
• It is not a new technical product or process, as that is covered by patent law.

If someone is using your work without your permission, they are infringing your copyright, and you can take action against them. 

Protecting your work

To protect your work and prevent abuse, it is important that you can prove that you are the creator. This can be done in various ways.

Day stamps

A day stamp shows the date when your work was created or registered. You can register a day stamp online on websites. You can also get a day stamp offline. For example, with a notarial deed or by sending yourself a registered letter and keeping it unopened as proof.

i-DEPOT

You can file an i-DEPOT. This is a digital filing that records your work with an official body, such as the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). It allows you to register the date and existence of your work without making it public.

Create a file

You can create a file with your work process. For example, by making a mood board with trends you deviate from. You can use this to support your claim to be original. Make a note of the date, so you can refer back to it.

Design rights

If you have a unique drawing or design, you can register design rights. This helps you protect the design.

General terms and conditions

Write down in your general terms and conditions what others can and cannot do with your work. This prevents misunderstandings.

NFTs

You can protect works of art and objects with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). An NFT is a unique digital certificate of ownership that you cannot forge or change. You can create, sell, and trade NFTs on online platforms. For example, OpenSea, Rarible, and Mintable. Note that when you buy an NFT, you do not automatically own the copyright of the object. If the copyright is not stated in the NFT, it still belongs to the creator.

The legal situation with NFTs is still evolving. As a result, much is still unclear about creators' rights and how you can best protect yourself from abuse.

Tackling abuse

There are a number of steps you can take if your copyright has been infringed.

Make contact

Before taking legal action, you can first contact the person, business, or organisation that has used your work without permission. You can do this with an email or phone call. Sometimes copyright has been infringed by mistake, and this is immediately rectified.

Take it offline

Is your work used on a website or social platform? Then you can file a DMCA takedown notice asking for your work to be taken offline.

DMCA stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act and is a US copyright law. It allows creators to have their work taken offline quickly and efficiently in case of copyright infringement.

Written demand

You can send a summons letter, also known as a demand letter. In that letter, you demand that the infringement of your copyright stops from a certain date.

You can think of a summons letter as a first warning. You can have a lawyer draw up the letter.

Cease and desist claim

If the summons letter did not help, you can send a cease-and-desist notice with the help of a lawyer. In it, you again demand that the abuse stop. If the abuser ignores the cessation demand, you can file a lawsuit.

A lawsuit

If the cease-and-desist claim has not helped either, you can go to court. A judge can ban the abuser from using your work. The judge can also order the abuser to pay a penalty if they continue to infringe your copyright.

A lawyer can assess in advance whether it makes sense to file a lawsuit. In copyright lawsuits in the Netherlands, the losing party usually pays the winning party's legal fees.

Compensation or profit transfer

You can ask to see the profits of the person who infringed your copyright. Have you suffered financial damage? If so, you can claim compensation or profit transfer.