***From my desk in Pollyanna World 🌎***

The story in the link below is a testament as to why our creatives and innovators need to copyright, register, and trademark our products, ideas, and intellectual property. Imagine birthing an idea or product into fruition, only to have it stolen from you, and then, adding insult to an injustice, being told it's illegal to speak about it. Let that sink in for a moment. Now, to put that cherry on top, social media and the news doesn't even report on the story. This is a modern day David and Goliath metaphor in real time. Not to say that other races aren't ingenious, but 1 of our own has been legally raped and I haven't seen our own media platforms speak out enough on it. This is a travesty that can and should be rectified. And for those of you who are in a creative field, don't tell your right hand what your left is doing until AFTER you have your ducks in a row or some unscrupulous person or entity will scoop your idea out from under you.

For those who are writers with limited funding, here are a few tips: 1) Copyright your work in one massive grouping with the US Copyright Office. It comes out cheaper than doing it 1x1. 2) However, if you can't afford to do so at the time of printing, a work around is to create a Word document and email it to yourself and someone you trust before posting it. Once you've created that document, password protect it and NEVER go back into it to make changes. Although legally it may not offer as much protection, it will have a time and date stamp of creation that can support your claim if you need to go to court. This will only work if you have never posted it anywhere before. 3) Record yourself reading your work(s) and password protect it and NEVER go back into it to make changes and email it to yourself and someone you trust. Again, it will not have as much legal standing as having it done officially through the US Copyright Office, but the time stamp and date will go further in court especially if you haven't spoken or posted it previously. After getting your funds together, immediately file it officially with the government. I recommend doing it electronically because it's cheaper, but you can also send it in in paper form with a return receipt that shows when it was received through the US Postal Service, FedEx, etc.

If anyone else knows of ways to protect designs, intellectual property, etc, please add a comment/respond to this post. Our creations are like our children because we birth them through a labor of love process. I don't want another person to have to go through what the woman in this story is facing. I might choose to view the world through the lenses of a Pollyanna, but I'm no fool either. And in order to stay happy and be mentally healthy in my world, peace must reign supreme at ALL TIMES! I hope this reaches whoever needs this information. Stay blessed and protected out here!!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOPI3MYDh0O/?igsh=b3F3ejVsemJna2Nv