INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE DIGITAL ERA: NAVIGATING COPYRIGHT ISSUES IN SOCIAL MEDIA, STREAMING AND CONTENT CREATION

Abstract

Creators of intellectual property reserve the right to exclusive control over their works and where others borrow from these works, they are meant to cite the sources and acknowledge the authorship of same. Unfortunately, it has become commonplace for persons to pass off the intellectual efforts of others as theirs. This unwholesome and deleterious situation is exacerbated by the ubiquity of intellectual works these days. Unlike before when one had to go to the library to access books physically for instance, one can now get materials online through digital libraries as well as social media platforms such as LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) and WhatsApp and Facebook posts. Unfortunately, the ease of access to materials has also resulted in the ease of perpetuating plagiarism and other forms of intellectual theft. As an author, the researcher will be dismayed to discover his ideas being passed off as the creation of another person, hence this work. It is on the basis of the above that this paper attempts a critical analysis of intellectual property in the digital era with special emphasis on the intersection of copyright and social media, streaming and content creation. This study found that theft of intellectual property is rampant and the consequences of same are potentially catastrophic. Fortunately, this problem is not beyond resolution and it is believed that an effective implementation of the recommendations herein advanced such as creating more awareness about this issue and enforcing stringent penalties on defaulters will galvanize the protection of intellectual property in the digital era. It is hoped and expected that this article will add to the literature in this area of our jurisprudence and prove beneficial to all and sundry.