Podcasting Perils of Plagiarism

Send us Fan MailThe new podcaster may be overwhelmed with problems of possible legal actions from unintended consequences of downloading materials from the web.In this episode, Tudor talks with Charles McFarlane, a marketing executive with extensive experience in copyright and intellectual property matters.The problems are particularly important for entrepreneurs setting out on web-based products, unaware of legal restrictions. Even experienced creative artists can find themselves in expensive Court cases. A recent example was that of Ed   Sheehan accused of plagiarising the earlier work by a less well-known group.Although he won the case, he is now making a more careful record of  the creative processes as they are emerging during the development of his albums. Tudor relates an earlier case of the child who suggested the name later used by a food company for a confectionery product. The legal case revolved around whether the child could have understanding of the term, and whether others in the focus group had some ownership. He learns of ‘cyber-squatting’ a practice in which unprotected names in use are deliberately registered so as to hold the original  user to ransom.The discussion shows unexpected potential problems he may be facing in using a stamp design on his recently published book cover. Even the nature of the perforations have copyright elements.. Tudor grows uneasy having discovered that the name Tudorama for his podcast was already used for a racehorse. Will he be open to a legal challenge? He determines to look more carefully into such legal problems.Stay up-to-date with all of Tudor's podcasts, blogs and current affairs commentary by signing up to our newsletter! Email [email protected] to sign up!Follow Tudor on Twitter @TudortweetFollow Tudor's blogs:everydaycreativity.ukleaderswedeserve.wordpress.com