Leading app stores are teeming with billions of apps and also the number of app downloads is overwhelming. It is a clear indication that the mobile app industry holds a lot of potentials.
For a mobile app entrepreneur, the responsibilities that come along are - you have to come up with a brilliant idea to implement, and also to protect that very idea from getting stolen. It is important to be cautious because your app’s idea can be nicked by anyone who has the slightest hint about it. It may be people working on your project, your business consultants, and rivals. With the world becoming more globalized and connected by the internet, it is easier to clone the app to monetize off the fruits of someone else’s good idea. How do you prevent it? The answer lies in knowing your legal rights - mobile app copyright, trademark, and maintaining other mobile app security. Here are certain ways to protect your mobile app from being nicked.
Best Ways To Legally Protect Your Mobile App
Get A Non-disclosure Agreement
Creating an app usually requires a lot of brainpower. You can hire a freelance app developer who already has the technical skills or get help from a person who knows it. But our project confidential cannot be guaranteed so it is at stake. To prevent your app idea from being stolen, sign a non-disclosure agreement before an app developer starts working on your project. It is a legal contract between two people indicating what and what-not to be shared between them and with other people. This is a great thing that your idea or trade secrets will be kept confidential.
Initiate Building Your App
You have a great mobile app idea. It’s a great premise, but how will you get it protected from infringement. As you know, it involves a lot more to creating an app than just thinking of the idea. The best way is to start building your app by starting coding it and saving it onto your computer. Then Copyright it to protect the app idea.
Freelancer Must Sign Over Any Copyright To You
If you are building your app by bringing in someone on board. Contractors are the ones who are essentially ‘creating’ your app, so from a copyright point of view, they are the first owners of the copyright. Therefore, it is necessary to get them to sign over any copyright to you once they’ve finished the project for you. This way they can’t come after you claim to own the copyright to it.
Get a Trademark Registered For Your App’s Name And Logo
The app store is flooded with clones that infringe trademark and copyright. In such cases, you can make a copyright infringement claim if you have two things: copyright ownership and proof that the defendant had access to copy the app and did copy it. The first is easy to demonstrate in a legal battle with the necessary paperwork. However, the second part will prove difficult to show that they copied you? In this scenario, the best solution is to create a brand identity and protect it by trademark registration.
Apply For A Patent
Get a patent for your app or part of it if it is necessarily required. Find out with a patent attorney if your app meets the necessary requirements to get a patent. If yes, go ahead!
Take Legal Action On Developers Who Infringe Your Work
The copycat developers can add new elements to your app to make it a new app altogether. If someone is copying your app, pursue him/her. It will set an example for people who outright copy your work from doing the same. Google play store has over 2.6 million apps that don’t check for copyright infringements uploaded. Your app could be cloned and uploaded to the play store without that can profit from your original app. However, having your copyright and trademark will make it easier to down the clone apps.
Don’t Infringe The Work Of Others
Create something original to avoid replicating others’ business models. Take only the inspiration from other’s app business model but build a unique one for yourself.
Final Thought
What excites users is the prospect of trying out new and exciting apps on new mobile devices like wearables. Therefore, mobile app development companies and start-ups want to tap into the maximum potential by launching unique and great apps like Uber or WhatsApp, with the best features and functionalities to get phenomenal success. But you also need to take care of your ideas – protect your app’s idea from being stolen. While some go the hard way, you do not need to tread the same path. You can protect your mobile app from being nicked by going through the above points, which will help you get a better perspective. You can search, protect, and enforce your brands and designs by following the above ways too.
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