How Can an Intellectual Property Lawyer Help Protect My Original Software?

Software is one of the most valuable and innovative types of intellectual property in the digital age. Software developers spend a great deal of time, money, and effort creating original and useful programs that can enhance productivity, make life easier, or even simply amuse or entertain those who use them. However, as you likely know, your original software can be vulnerable to piracy or infringement by competitors and unauthorized parties. For this reason, it is paramount for software developers to retain the services of a knowledgeable Orleans Parish, Louisiana intellectual property lawyer who can help protect your valuable software and safeguard your rights. Read on and reach out to Lemler IP today.

What can an intellectual property lawyer do to protect my original software?

To start, your intellectual property lawyer can conduct an IP audit to ensure your software is new and unique and qualifies for protection. Your attorney can also help assess what specific types of legal protection may be available to you based on the type and function of your software.

In most cases, original software is copyrightable. Source code, object code, and other types of documentation may be copyrighted by the U.S. Copyright Office. In addition, if software includes novel and non-obvious features or functionality, you may be able to patent it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Both copyrights and patents are designed to protect your original software from infringement (IP theft).

Another critical way to protect your original software is through drafting non-disclosure or licensing agreements. In a non-disclosure agreement, you can outline terms for employees of your company to abide by, as well as potential penalties for failing to abide by those terms.

For example, you may establish provisions for keeping certain trade secrets or algorithms that make your software special private, and terms for what will happen to employees, should they share this information after signing such an agreement. On the other hand, licensing agreements can establish parameters by which others using your software must abide.

Finally, your intellectual property lawyer can monitor your portfolio and ensure you’re notified immediately, should your original software be infringed upon. The technological landscape is constantly evolving, and it’s important you have a seasoned attorney in your corner who can safeguard your property and rights to the fullest extent.

If you have any further questions about protecting your original software or need a seasoned attorney in your corner, simply contact Lemler IP today.