It’s vain to claim the intellectual property right (IPR) on fake news by individuals because it is a collective task.

The root of fake news is difficult to find out and more difficult than that is to find its creator or the owner.

So, one cannot be held responsible immediately for the spread of such fake news or rumour.

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It requires a large amount of research and fact check to attain a reality.

This is about the consumption of a large period of time to assess the intellectual property right of this fake news.

It is more interesting to find out that no one can even sue a case against those who tries to infringe the IPR of a particular fake news.

In fact, the publisher of fake news and other online content, whosoever he/she may be, should also be aware of the risks associated with the unauthorized use of third-party intellectual property.

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Because, the problem for them is using third-party names, logos and other identifiers in a way that may confuse consumers as to the origin or sponsorship of products or services.

Therefore, they must be cautious of publishing these fake contents.

The creator or owner of fake news, who are mostly untraceable, may fall victim of this infringement of IPR mostly for their use of third-party brands for product endorsement or promotional purposes.

People in general therefore have the tendency to own the fake news and confidently spread it without any fear of legal action against them, though sharing of fake news or rumour by anyone is a punishable offense.

#CheckTheFake on #COVID19

FAKE: Mosquitoes can spread coronavirus.

FACT: “To date there has been no information nor evidence to suggest that the new coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales” – WHO.

#CheckTheFake is a movement against #Infodemic in this crisis, initiated by Dr Anamika Ray Memorial Trust #ARMT (www.armt.in) in collaboration with The Assam Tribune and Northeast Now (www.nenow.in) to create awareness on #fakenews on #Coronavirus and improve media literacy through #Cartoons. ARMT Research