The Creative Shield… and Its Echo
You work and rework. Draft and delete. Start over and again. You’ve finally shaped something that took years, maybe decades, to fully arrive at, and finally put your name on it.
The cover is designed, and you share the idea. You post the first details about your work-in-progress, The Creative Shield: The Artist’s Guide to Copyrights, Trademarks & Brand Monetization.
Then a strange thing happened. Another book appeared. Same name. Similar topic. But it wasn’t mine.
No printed pages. No story behind the voice. Just an AI-narrated audiobook with a near-empty listing and vague phrasing that sounded just close enough to confuse someone searching.
It caught me off guard, but not entirely. This is what happens when creativity meets automation. The machine doesn’t pause for process.
Why This Matters for Creators Like Us
We assume the work will speak for itself. That the effort will be visible. That originality will shine through. It often does.
However, many artists don’t realize until they’ve been here:
Your writing, your images, your lyrics, they’re protected by copyright. Your title isn’t!
Even the most unique name can be reused, intentionally or not, unless you’ve taken an extra step.
That’s how my book, a real, physical project with digital companions and creator toolkits, ended up mirrored by something that felt empty. Just keywords. Just timing.
That’s the new risk: automated, low-effort publications piggybacking on the visibility of real creators doing real work.
What You Can Do to Stay Protected
Whether you’re naming a book, launching a course, or building a brand, your title isn’t just poetic, it’s strategic. It holds weight and value.
Here’s how to protect it:
- Trademark your title – If your name is part of something bigger, a brand, a series, a platform, it’s worth securing. This is how you own it beyond just expression.
- Build your authorship into your work – Don’t be shy about your process. Link your name to your project. Leave a trail. Make it easy for readers (and search engines) to know who created what.
- Archive your journey – Save your sketches, drafts, site pages, early versions, and ISBNs. This isn’t just good practice, it’s your creative timeline, and it can speak on your behalf if needed.
- Stay aware of echoes – Not all overlap is theft. But sometimes, it’s strategy. When something looks or sounds too familiar, trust your instincts. Creative intuition is its own kind of evidence.
This Isn’t Just About One Book
It’s about the vulnerability of sharing something original. Then aggressively protecting it.
I didn’t expect to deal with this before launch, but I knew it was possible. I’ve seen it happen to artists I’ve worked with.
That echo, that almost-but-not-quite version of your work, slips in just close enough to raise questions.
That’s why The Creative Shield exists. It’s more than a book. It’s a movement toward creative clarity, empowerment, and ownership.
If you’re building something with real meaning behind it:
Name it. Claim it. Then protect it.
Zamani Thomas specializes in intellectual property and entertainment law and is the founder of The Creative Docket publishing platform.