This article will discuss about what developers need to know about intellectual property rights. Let’s get started!
The main prerequisite for a career in software development is understanding coding language. But it is also becoming increasingly important for developers to learn the basics of intellectual property (IP) rights.
Understanding your IP rights is critical because you can apply the knowledge to secure rights to your work while avoiding trouble for using the work of other developers illegally. So, if you are a new or experienced developer and want to delve into the basics of intellectual property for developers, this guide is an excellent read.
Understanding IP Rights
IPs are creations of the mind, such as inventions, art, literary work, designs, etc. Under IP laws, these creations of the minds fall under several categories, the most common being copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Also, these IP rights are registrable to allow the rights holder exclusive right to them and the legal right to stop and sue infringers. Below is a breakdown of these rights and their application in software development.
Copyright Protection
Copyright protection covers original works of authorship such as art, text, literary work, etc. You could wonder where these works of authorship come in in software development.
A developer who authors a line of code owns copyrights to it. Besides the code, copyright protection will also apply to the text used in your software, your marketing copies, and the graphics used in your software. Copyrights apply by default, so you do not always have to register them, but doing so can make it much easier to enforce. Also, they last through the author’s lifetime and 70 years after.
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Trademarks
Trademarks are names, slogans, graphics, and other identifiers used to tell one product from similar products in the market. When applied to development, trademark protections help cover a developer’s business name, domain name, symbols used in marketing their products, etc.
Trademark protections give the rightful owners exclusive rights to use the identifiers for marketing their product which is critical in creating brand awareness and reputation. Trademark protections have a renewable ten-year term, so you can maintain your rights as long as you wish.
For a trademark to qualify for registration, it must be new and not closely resemble another registered trademark. Therefore, it is best to work with a skilled lawyer to help you understand trademark search techniques in Canada and guide you through the registration.
Patents
Patent protections apply to new inventions such as machines, processes, chemical compositions, etc. In software development, patent protection covers new ideas, systems, methods, functions, and algorithms the software uses.
To obtain patent rights, an inventor must first prove that the subject of registration is a first in the world and that it is useful and not obvious to persons with industry skills. In exchange for 20-year patent protection, the inventor is required to serve the registering entity with detailed information about the subject of registration which it then makes public after the expiration of the protection period which is one of the intellectual property rights.
Right Ownership
Now that you understand the rights that apply most in the industry, the next thing is to understand who owns these rights. Often, ownership rights depend on the type of IP, with the copyright belonging to the original author of the work by default.
However, there is an exemption to this rule, for example, if the author was employed to create the copyrighted item or transfer those rights to another party. Trademark rights can apply on a first-to-use basis or to the person registering the rights first. Patent rights apply to the person that files for registration. So if you are working as an independent developer, you must make rights ownership clear in your contract to prevent conflicts that may arise between you and your clients.
Geographical Limitations
IP rights are territorial in that they only apply within the borders of the country where they are registered. So protecting your rights in Canada does not guarantee similar protections in other countries.
If you want a broader reach in protections, consider registering your rights with WIPO, which offers protections on a global level.
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