A new study released by the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) found that instances of unlicensed content sharing in the workplace were higher among executives than individual users. It’s one of the many key insights uncovered by the CCC in its 2023 Information Seeking and Consumption Study using data obtained by Outsell, Inc. The key finding in the study is surprising as executives typically have higher levels of copyright awareness when compared to other employees.
The CCC’s research also uncovered that, although most employees still prefer to use email for distributing information, other collaboration tools continue to gain traction and rise in popularity. For example, in 2020, 16% of respondents said collaboration tools like Google Workspace, Slack, and Microsoft Teams were their preferred methods of sharing information; double the number of respondents prefer these tools now.
As new collaboration tools gradually displace email as the main way of exchanging information and ideas among employees, companies may need to manage a new set of risks when it comes to legally accessing, sharing, and reusing copyright-protected content.
Many employees have limited awareness of what they can lawfully do when it comes to sharing content and may unknowingly put their organization at risk. To reduce instances of copyright infringement within your organization:
- Make new employees aware of your copyright policy right away and provide ongoing reinforcement
- Provide specific and relatable case studies/use cases during employee copyright training
- Make it easier for employees to get answers about their copyright questions
You should also consider the straightforward, simple, and cost-effective licensing solutions we provide at Access Copyright.
Access Copyright is a national non-profit organization that helps simplify copyright and reduce risk for businesses. Contact us today to learn more about how our licensing options can help you meet your organization’s content needs legally.