The crime that threatens every business: the theft of Intellectual Property

In the world of software design and app creation, intellectual property is a particularly important topic.

Basically speaking, intellectual property means that you have right to claim ownership over something you have created. For example – if you design software and somebody copies it exactly, making a profit without giving you credit, then you may be able to claim that they have stolen your intellectual property. Trademarks, copyrights and design rights all fall under intellectual property.

If your IP is stolen, whether you are the author of a book, the licensed distributor of a film, the designer of car parts or the developer behind a series of apps, a thief may distribute either all of it, or enough of it that it is obvious that they have replicated your work. They’ll be profiting from your efforts, having created a copy without your consent.

The cost of stolen IP can spell the end of your entire business. After all, if a copy of something is obtainable for free – why would people pay for it? Being hacked or unfairly copied can also mean thousands in legal fees as you chase the perpetrator and try to reclaim the rights to your content.

No digital companies are immune from piracy and IP theft. The company behind Virtual Reality Headset Oculus Rift has been forced to shut down user made hacks. The developers behind popular game Alto’s Adventure were quoted saying that they didn’t set a price for the Android version because piracy is so rife that it’s almost pointless to do so.
In early 2016, the people behind a piracy-based Android app store pled guilty to copyright-infringement, having distributed 4 million copies of apps and robbing the owner companies of a collective USD$17 million.

That’s around $4 per app … a cost that can add up very quickly for app development businesses.

The laws of intellectual property aren’t 100% black and white, meaning it is important to protect your IP ahead of time. If you are a business, to protect your IP you should consider making all staff sign a contract declaring that copyright belongs to you rather than them, even if they were responsible for creating it. You may also formally request employees to keep certain details about your business confidential in case there is a leak of intellectual property.

Businesses working on new products, whether online or off, should keep a record of the products they develop in case the need should ever arise to prove ownership. Entrepreneurs are recommended to look into setting up patents, trademarks and copyrights in order to legally establish claim to their ideas. If you’re planning to expand globally, it may be a good idea to work with someone who specialises in protecting your IP in all the countries you’re planning to move into.

Asking guests, clients and partners to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) is another very important tactic for protecting your intellectual property, especially if these external parties are going to be accessing designs and prototypes that are not available to the general public.

In terms of software and online applications, when it comes to protecting intellectual property, prevention is better than cure. Building in a secure layer that prevents pirates from hacking your app and making black market copies can save a number of headaches and a huge amount of money down the road.

You can build in a layer of code using a simple SDK and stop IP theft before it happens. To find out more, visit quixxi.com