With so many images and videos easily shared by anyone, it is tough for content owners to track what is being shared and if they actually want it to be shared in the first place.
Not knowing what type of content is used can lead to infringements on intellectual property and copyright. Although intellectual property is sometimes seen as a hindrance to creativeness, it protects asset owners from devaluing their brands.
For example, in December, Swedish fashion retailer H&M had to quickly backtrack over clothes featuring Justin Bieber’s image and lyrics because they did not obtain his approval.
Subsequently, H&M had to remove all merchandise from its stores and online that contained his image, leading to huge embarrassment for the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer.
How do brands ensure they never infringe on intellectual property rights and manage permissions for digital assets, including strategies for obtaining rights and clearance for use?
What is digital rights management?
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is how individuals control access to copyrighted assets rather than own company assets and branding.
However, it can also relate to other entities’ rights.
Digital rights management ensures that assets related to a musician, actor, sportsperson, or spokesperson or the branding of a corporation an enterprise has partnered with are all utilized as per intellectual property rights.
For example, consider an image you wish to use for a campaign within your digital asset management (DAM) software. That particular image can have multiple digital rights issues at play.
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For instance:
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The photo is part of an exclusive campaign that only a few people can view before its release date.
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It features three different models, each of which has specific model releases.
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The image uses an anniversary-themed logo variant that can only be used for one year.
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The picture is approved for use in Europe but not in other regions.
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Digital rights management software is a widely used and trusted platform for protecting the copyright of digital media assets and files, typically part of a DAM.
DAMs help people and companies manage the access and use of their digital assets, which is paramount in the social media and file-sharing era we live in today.
Why is digital rights management critical?
Digital rights management and those who use, access and share digital assets have become important for digital asset managers to track. Whoever owns these assets and those who use them often get lost when shared between external parties.
Digital asset managers and brands must track the permission rights to ensure they do not infringe on the copyright of others or other legal liabilities.
Digital assets include images, videos, audio and illustrations and many more. To avoid copyright, brands and companies use software to ensure they know an individual digital asset’s rights and permissions.
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It also permits companies to:
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Enable content to be accessed worldwide
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Fully manage the licensing of digital assets
Digital rights management and DAMs, how does it work?
Most DAM platforms prioritize digital rights management features.
Below are 9 examples of how a DAM can help enterprises manage their asset rights:
Asset permissions
Determining which individuals, departments, partners, or groups can view an asset is the cornerstone of digital rights management within a DAM. Enterprise DAMs like KeyShot offer a host of controls to manage who can access digital assets, including but not a definitive list:
> Sharing: Limiting the sharing and distribution of sharing sensitive assets, thus keeping them safe and not used by others, like the case with H&M and Justin Bieber.
> Downloading: Create permissions to inhibit users from downloading assets that are not to be used.
> Formatting: DAMs allow users to specify the resolution or format for an asset. For instance, you could only enable general users to use lower-resolution proxies rather than giving them access to original designs.
> Visibility: Users can prevent assets from being shared if they do not have “Approved” visibility. Critical if assets need to be removed from the public eye.
Setting asset expiration dates
Digital rights management often amounts to time management. Knowing when individuals can safely use an asset protects the company from intellectual property liability.
DAM software sets dates for releasing and removing assets from the user view. The DAM can do this automatically when the expiry dates arrive. Some DAM software has features that let users send reminders to users when assets are due to expire, so they can discontinue using them.
User restrictions
User restrictions are similar to permissions. Rather than granting access, they restrict or prevent access to assets. DAMs can limit users searching for assets during a search, so they do not appear in the results. Other examples could be geographic restrictions; some digital assets can be restricted to specific regions of the world.
Preventing unauthorized access
Knowing which types of content you have, how people should use them, how long they can use them, and when they should be retired will ensure that those who have access can be removed once an asset is not required.
Tracking where assets are being used
Organizations can reduce the risk of legal penalties by recording information regarding using and reusing digital assets.
Brands must monitor and track when people and companies use assets and how internal departments and partners use them. For instance, When brands solicit external parties to create content on their behalf, it includes contractual liabilities surrounding when, where, why, and how others can use these digital assets.
Keeping tabs on where they are being used is very daunting; a DAM provides information about when, where, and how various parties can use a brand’s assets.
Adding watermarks
Watermarking is a way to reduce assets being used for unauthorized purposes. Good DAMs offer multiple methods for adding a watermark to digital assets when downloaded or shared.
Watermarks can either be small company logos or moving watermarks on videos containing the words ‘confidential’ or not to be ‘used without authorized access.
Terms of Service
DAM software can reduce brand liability by adding Terms of Service to digital assets. Like watermarks, they will include that users of digital assets check and read how they are permitted to use the assets once downloaded.
Locking down assets
Consider that a spokesperson for a brand campaign has tweeted a controversial remark on social media. Need to ensure no one shares the assets featuring them for a little while? Search for assets that they are tagged in and use a lockdown feature to prevent users from finding or sharing them.
Metadata that automatically embeds
Automatically embedding metadata makes it easier to analyze assets when they are not in the DAM — and makes it easier to identify assets that show up where they do not belong.
Why a DAM is the cornerstone of digital rights management
With new software and technologies developing, customer demands are constantly changing, and it is vital to have experienced rights and permissions managers working to ensure that brand assets are adequately tracked and licensed to accommodate these changes.
User rights in DAM software like Digizuite allow digital asset managers to monitor and manage other users and the assets they have permission to use. Some DAM managers require full access to older assets, and some individuals do not ever need (or want) to view older assets during their searches.
Alternatively, digital asset managers could limit users to certain types of assets they wish to view or download. User rights and download approvals allow you to determine what can be done, or you can automate their implementation through software.
Request a demo and talk to one of our digital rights specialists about how Digizuite software can help improve digital rights management at your enterprise.
