By Arpit Kalra and Shilpi Sinha
In the present digital age, rapid growth in online marketing has forced the business owners to go beyond their conventional product distribution and promotional activities. It has now become necessary for businesses to utilise online mediums including several social media platforms not only to retain their existing market presence, but to reach their customers as quickly as possible without any territorial limitation. The phrase “digital marketing” refers to the promotion of items using online mediums / platforms. The business owners are now equally focusing on digital marketing in addition to their regular marketing strategies to improve their brand image and product promotion. This results into significant growth in usage of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn as a medium for digital marketing.
At present, the tool providers provide specialist platforms/tools for specific purposes such as Social Media Monitoring (to track and monitor the public opinion and statements about any company, product, brand etc.), Social Media Analytics (for data mining and analytics on Twitter, Facebook and other social network media sources) etc.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (doing business as Meta / Meta Platforms and formerly known as Facebook, Inc.) is the parent organization of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Facebook, being one of the largest and popular social media platform, focuses on providing a safe, secure and welcoming platform to its users that protects intellectual properties and brands of its users.
The Facebook Branding tool is a streamlined interpretation (initially known as Commerce & Advertisement IP Tool) which includes a streamlined automated request takedown process.
Intellectual Property holders who want to protect their property at scale have twofold tools for use; i.e. Brand Rights Protection and Rights Manager. Both tools operate in a distinctive way and for different purposes. The user has the liberty to decide which tool is best for its IP.
Brand Rights Protection
permits a registered trademark owner to search and report content that he believes infringing its intellectual property rights and the revamp brings simplification to the process. It provides an interface for brand owners to identify and report content in ads, Marketplace, Shops, Instagram accounts and certain types of posts and groups. Brand Rights Protection can be accessed from Business Manager. Prior to using this tool, one needs to apply and get approved. Relevant screenshots are given below:
The brand owner can upload and save up to ten (10) images of their brand or product images. Facebook’s image-matching technology review advertisements on Facebook and Instagram through an automated process enabling the brand owners to review and report any content that is potentially infringing their IP Rights.
As Facebook, Instagram are now associated and under common ownership, Facebook has also expanded the tool beyond ads and commerce, for the first time, now permitting brands to quest and report Instagram accounts and posts. This competence was formerly available exclusively for ads, sale posts from Shops or Marketplace. The dashboard provides the brand owners with comprehensive data and details of actions taken.
On the other hand, Rights Manager is Meta’s copyright administration tool which help the rights holders oversee, authorize, protect and drive value from their video, audio, and image content on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook technology probes and identifies audio, video or image content that matches with the holder’s Intellectual property. Facebook Users can access Rights Manager from Creator Studio. Right Manager scrutinizes the content which the rights holder uploaded to the tool, such as image, video or audio, and searches for infringing content. Right holders can either take action on matched content, by way of blocking the content, request a takedown or by collecting the ad earnings from ads placed within their video content.
Facebook also provides details to help brand owners to pick the proper IP tool for their needs. Brand Rights Protection averts the sale of counterfeit products by permitting businesses to quest and report IP infringement across Facebook and Instagram, on the other hand, Rights Manager assists creators and originators to oversee unauthorized sharing of their contents protected under laws by searching the platforms of Facebook and Instagram.