Intellectual property in the US

[Diamond]

I have in mind a software appliance which I would like to try to get funding for. In order to do this I must have some sort of intellectual property over the software in terms of design and application.

Who should I talk to about getting some sort of intellectual property protection in the US?

[GodMark2]

I have in mind a software appliance which I would like to try to get funding for. In order to do this I must have some sort of intellectual property over the software in terms of design and application.

Who should I talk to about getting some sort of intellectual property protection in the US?

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. Only a lawyer can fully answer this question.

That said. Technically, in the USA, you automatically have copyright for anything that you have written. That in and of itself is one form of 'intellectual property' protection. It protects the actual code that you wrote, in the same fashion that it would protect a book with those words in that order. If someone were to write another program using code from your program, you could sue for plagiarism. To help your case, you could register your code with the state as a copywritten work.

However, that does not protect you from someone writing a program that does the same task, but with code they wrote themselves. For that, you would need to patent the process (task) that the software performs. This is a complicated process, and is not yet fully explored in USA law. The courts have struck down some claimed patents, and upheld others, with little consensus between courts of different jurisdictions. For research to know what questions to ask a lawyer, and get an overview of the law, I recommend Groklaw (http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20050402193202442). A Lawyer is your only real hope.


Intellectual Property also refers to Trade secrets. Trade secrets are just that: secrets. You only get protection if it's kept a secret, which is difficult, if not impossible to do wit regards to software. Trade secret protection extends only to your own employees, and you can sue them if they tell anyone. But if someone else figures it out on their own, you're out of luck. (think: The formulas for Pepsi and Coca-Cola)

Again, a lawyer is your only real hope of getting a complete answer, as this area of law is constantly changing.

[Diamond]

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. Only a lawyer can fully answer this question.

That said. Technically, in the USA, you automatically have copyright for anything that you have written. That in and of itself is one form of 'intellectual property' protection. It protects the actual code that you wrote, in the same fashion that it would protect a book with those words in that order. If someone were to write another program using code from your program, you could sue for plagiarism. To help your case, you could register your code with the state as a copywritten work.

However, that does not protect you from someone writing a program that does the same task, but with code they wrote themselves. For that, you would need to patent the process (task) that the software performs. This is a complicated process, and is not yet fully explored in USA law. The courts have struck down some claimed patents, and upheld others, with little consensus between courts of different jurisdictions. For research to know what questions to ask a lawyer, and get an overview of the law, I recommend Groklaw (http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20050402193202442). A Lawyer is your only real hope.


Intellectual Property also refers to Trade secrets. Trade secrets are just that: secrets. You only get protection if it's kept a secret, which is difficult, if not impossible to do wit regards to software. Trade secret protection extends only to your own employees, and you can sue them if they tell anyone. But if someone else figures it out on their own, you're out of luck. (think: The formulas for Pepsi and Coca-Cola)

Again, a lawyer is your only real hope of getting a complete answer, as this area of law is constantly changing.

Thanks, that helps.

[six7s]

Recent news:

Facebook founder prepares for court
Jonathan Richards, Times Online: July 25, 2007

Mark Zuckerberg is being sued by the creators of a rival networking site that claims he stole their idea and code

Mark Zuckerberg, the 23-year-old founder of Facebook, will today be accused of stealing the idea for his enormously popular social networking site from a rival website.

Mr Zuckerberg is being sued for stealing the source code – and design – of Facebook from ConnectU.com, a similar, university-based social network which he worked for briefly as a programmer four years ago.

Source (http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2125952.ece)


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