Protecting Your Mobile App IP: The Mini Missing Manual

Protecting Your Mobile App IP: The Mini Missing Manual

by Richard Stim
Released December 2010
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781449302795

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Book description

Learn four cost-effective ways to protect the applications you develop for mobile devices. The methods described in this Mini Missing Manual won't stop people from misappropriating your secrets, stealing your name, and copying your code. But if any of those things do happen, you'll have the legal ammunition you need to recover your losses and, in some cases, get money to pay attorney fees. Taking these steps will also reinforce your legal rights in the event that another company wants to acquire your apps.

The four methods include:

  • Trade secret protection. Want to show your app to others -- investors, beta testers, or contractors -- before it's available to the public? Learn what trade secrets are and how you can protect them.
  • Copyright protection. Protect your whole app as well as its individual parts, such as the underlying code, appearance, and the collection of data within it.
  • Trademark protection. Protect your app's name, slogan, or logo. And learn how to file an application for trademark registration.
  • Permissions. Learn how and when to get permission to reuse material from other sources, like photos, data, video, or audio clips.

Table of contents

  1. Protecting Your Mobile App IP: The Mini Missing Manual
  2. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
  3. 1. Introduction
    1. Why not hire a lawyer?
  4. 2. Trade Secrets and Nondisclosure Agreements
    1. Trade Secrets: An Overview
    2. Protecting Your Secrets
      1. Limitations of NDAs
    3. Nondisclosure Agreements
      1. Standard NDAs
        1. Who’s Disclosing? Who’s Receiving?
        2. Clause 1: Defining the trade secrets
        3. Clause 2: Excluding information that isn’t confidential
        4. Clause 3: Duty to keep information secret
        5. Clause 4: Duration of the agreement
        6. Clauses 5-8: Boilerplate provisions and signatures
      2. Beta Tester Nondisclosure Agreement
  5. 3. Copyrighting Your App
    1. Registering Your Copyright
      1. Form CO: Your Ticket to Copyright Registration
        1. Section 1: Work Being Registered
        2. Section 2: Author Information
        3. Section 3: Copyright Claimant Information
        4. Section 4: Limitation of Copyright Claim
        5. Section 5: Rights and Permissions
        6. Section 6*: Correspondence Contact
        7. Section 7: Mail Certificate To
        8. Section 8: Certification
      2. Deposit Materials
        1. The Code
        2. The Screenshots
      3. After You Mail Your Application
    2. Infringement: What You Can Do About It
      1. Self-Help Remedies
  6. 4. Names and Trademarks
    1. Trademark Basics
    2. Choosing and Registering Your Trademark
      1. Trademark Searching
      2. The Benefits of Registration
      3. The Federal Registration Process: TEAS
      4. Applicant Information
      5. Mark Information
      6. Goods and/or Services Information
      7. Specimen and Dates of Use
      8. Declaration
      9. Completing the Process
      10. After Filing
      11. Contacting the USPTO
    3. Staying out of Trouble
      1. Infringement
      2. Trademark Dilution
  7. 5. Using Other People’s Work
    1. Fair Use Explained
    2. The Public Domain: Free Stuff
    3. Getting Permission
      1. The Five Steps for Getting Permission
      2. Three Ways to Get the Rights
      3. Copyright Assignments
    4. Content/Permission Licenses
    5. Personal Releases
      1. Filling Out a Personal Release
    6. Using Someone Else’s Trademark
  8. About the Author
  9. Colophon
  10. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly

Product information

  • Title: Protecting Your Mobile App IP: The Mini Missing Manual
  • Author(s): Richard Stim
  • Release date: December 2010
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781449302795