A copyright infringment is using work that is protected by copyright law without the permission of the owner. 

 

When others use your protected work without your permission it could negatively impact your small business.  If you suspect that others have infringed on your copyright take the following steps:

 

Substantiate the violation:  Get a picture of every place where the violation is displayed.  For example, screenshots of websites, marketing materials, product displays, etc.

 

Negotiate:  Attempt to negotiate with the violator.  Attempt to deal with them on a person-to-person basis. 

 

Cease and Desist Letter:  If negotations don’t work out place the violator on notice to stop using the name or logo by issuing a cease and desist letter that is drafted by a copyright  attorney.

 

Sue or Not Sue:  If you consider goin to court consider that doing so could be very expensive.  Additionally, if you don’t win you’re still incur the court cost.  If you do win, the amount awarded to you may not be worth the cost of bringing the case in the first place, and it could be difficult to actually enforce the order to get the defendant to pay up.

 

Contact the Internet Service Provider (ISP):  Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), you can force the Internet Service Provider (ISP) hosting that site to remove or disable the site, so that it cannot be viewed.  Visit the ISP’s website to discover how to go about doing that.