Trademarks and Copyrights also apply to social media

     Social media is a well known place to introduce and promote businesses. Many people use their social media platforms to speak about either their business or a business they are working for. Many people know about trademarks and copyrights, but most do not know that they still count in social media post. Most people when they have a song or lyrics on their profile they state something like "I do not have the rights to this", therefore implying that they do not want any action against them because they did not ask for permission to use either the song or lyrics. 

     Typically you are in violation of trademarks when their tends to be some confusion about where the product is coming from. If I was selling for a company, and I did not state who the company was or talked about the company, anyone on my social media could get confused about whether it was my business or if it was a business I was promoting but not stating. That could cause confusion and therefore I would be at risk for trademark infringement if the company wanted to press charges. 

       Copyrights are different in that they apply to works of art. You can have copyrights transferred to you, if you want to use those works of art on your social media. Most do not go through this step though. Hence the saying "I do not own the rights to this". It is never enough to just say give credit to so and so. 

     I feel like trademarking and copyrights are not something heard very often anymore in social media. When social media first emerged, people did not know what to do and when to do it. More and more influencers are on social media between different companies. I know that I have recently started with a company and I am still learning the ins and outs of what to do and say for the company and for myself as protection.