Updated:

TikTok Users’ Perception of Intellectual Property Research Paper

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Introduction

TikTok has recently become a viral platform for creating short videos, often set to music, having over 1 billion users. There is a problem that many users use unlicensed music tracks in their videos, which moderation does not block and delete. Moreover, the TikTok administration often turns a blind eye to the use of pirated content, as songwriters and artists receive a huge boost in popularity and recognition due to the explosive popularity of the platform. Although the media extensively discusses TikTok relations with music companies and mostly concentrates on legal issues (Chalmers, 2020), the users’ perception of intellectual property is marginally discussed. The research problem of the paper is the little academic knowledge of users’ attitudes toward TikTok’s intellectual property policies. The real-life experience of regular users will help to know about TikTok’s level of commitment to Intellectual Property rules. Such knowledge will inform the academic and songwriting communities about the problems associated with violations of the use of unlicensed music.​​

Background

To understand the context of the research, background information about TikTok needs to be laid. In the United States, TikTok is constantly accused of insufficient protection of users’ personal data. Since TikTok is a Chinese organization, the public asks questions about the platform’s ties to the Chinese government. For example, Guardian noted that the 2019 protests in Hong Kong were poorly covered in the app, especially among younger users (Hern, 2020). Not knowing the algorithms for selecting videos in the “For You” tab, journalists ask well-grounded questions about the possibility of transmitting information about individuals of interest to official China. According to TikTok’s terms of use, the platform collects information about IP addresses, device IDs, and TikTok activity, such as messages inside the platform (“Privacy Policy,” 2021). This list presents a critical set of information that can be used against certain users. However, TikTok denies the accusations, stating that servers with information about American citizens are in Virginia and backed up in Singapore (Sanger, 2020). Although that fact does not confirm the independence of TikTok, indirect factors indicate the lack of evidence for accusations. This storyline indicates the context around TikTok that can influence users’ attitudes.

An integral part of the literature review will be the accumulation of information about the problems with intellectual property in TikTok. TikTok’s terms of use imply the fact that any use of an image of a brand logo or a music track that does not comply with the intellectual property regulation will lead to the removal or blocking of unlicenced content (“Intellectual Property Policy,” 2021). Therefore, if the content was uploaded to the platform without prior approval from the creator, TikTok needs to remove it. To solve the issues, TikTok has signed contacts with National Music Publishers Association and ICE (organization supporting songwriters from the UK, Germany, and Sweden) in recent two years (Barry, 2021). Nevertheless, TikTok is full of audio tracks labeled as “original sound,” which were uploaded by regular users without the creator’s permission. One possible explanation for this ignorance of copyright holders is the immense popularity of TikTok and its ability to create hype.

Research questions

I see the main result of the research in forming a general picture of how users perceive the rules of intellectual property. For this purpose, data mining from Twitter and TikTok may be used with the aim of finding messages, posts, or tweets related to intellectual property in TikTok. In fact, the information obtained from these activities should be analyzed and summarized to inform the academic community about users’ perceptions of policies pursued by the TikTok administration.

This study was the result of TikTok’s attempts to partner with blockchain companies to track intellectual property infringements (Hissong, 2021). In music streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify, blockchain technologies are used to keep track of how often tracks are being played. This allows streaming services to pay artists for their popularity. TikTok will utilize blockchain technology to prevent the distribution of unlicenced content while also earning income for artists. There was a suggestion that new restrictions on content availability would have a negative impact on the user experience on TikTok.

The research question posed in the study is: How do TikTok users perceive the platform’s application of intellectual property rules? This question is beneficial because it sets the concrete limitations of the research result. The research methodology will be related to the several-step model of data collection and analysis. Firstly, the blocks of text where users’ opinion on intellectual property rules is expressed will be collected. After that, when the sample is considered big, some analysis in R studio may show the frequencies of word use concerning emotions on the intellectual policies in the TikTok platform.

Methodology

For this work, quantitative methods will be used because the Internet contains thousands of posts and comments discussing some acute issues of TikTok policies. The preference for this method may show more accurate information about users’ opinions because such methods usually deal with large samples. The possible limitation may be that the picking of tweets can be influenced by the subjective opinion of the researcher who created the sample.

Data will be collected from Twitter and TikTok through the tool called Data Miner. For example, the phrase “Intellectual Property TikTok” typed in the search line may determine the circle of posts and tweets discussing copyright rules. Then, this information may be analyzed in two ways: descriptive and analytical. In the first instance, the collected sample of opinions on intellectual property will be discussed and overviewed. In the second instance, the quantitative methods of text clusterization, word lemmatization, and frequency estimation are the most beneficial. They will show the integral themes that appear in the majority of comments.

References

Brandom, R. (2020). . The Verge. Web.

Chalmers, C. (2020). TFL. Web.

Chalmers, C. (2020). . Mondaq. Web.

Deccan Chronicle. (2020). . Web.

Gleason, A. P. (2020). . The National Law Review. Web.

Hern, A. (2020). . Guardian. Web.

Hissong, S. (2021). Rolling Stone. Web.

Huang, Y., & Levy, J. (2020). . Carnegie. Web.

Intellectual property policy. (2021). (n.d.). TikTok. Web.

Michalko, M. (2020). . IP Watchdog. Web.

Privacy policy. (2021). (n.d.). TikTok. Web.

Ruane, J. M. (2016). Introducing social research methods: Essentials for getting the edge. John Wiley & Sons.

Sanger, D. A. (2020). . New York Times. Web.

Tamny, J. (2020).. Forbes. Web.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2023, January 27). TikTok Users' Perception of Intellectual Property. https://ivypanda.com/essays/tiktok-users-perception-of-intellectual-property/

Work Cited

"TikTok Users' Perception of Intellectual Property." IvyPanda, 27 Jan. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/tiktok-users-perception-of-intellectual-property/.

References

IvyPanda. (2023) 'TikTok Users' Perception of Intellectual Property'. 27 January.

References

IvyPanda. 2023. "TikTok Users' Perception of Intellectual Property." January 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/tiktok-users-perception-of-intellectual-property/.

1. IvyPanda. "TikTok Users' Perception of Intellectual Property." January 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/tiktok-users-perception-of-intellectual-property/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "TikTok Users' Perception of Intellectual Property." January 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/tiktok-users-perception-of-intellectual-property/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1