sparksajb

Hey guys, developing an application at the moment (the joys :P) wondering how I would go about copyrighting the name of the people who helped me develop the idea, and the idea itself, would really appreciate it.

thanks

sparks.

Android1993

Copyrighting isn't as simple as just paying some money and having anything you want legally protected because you thought of it first. If you were going to copyright or patent an idea you'd need to have something to actually copyright, an idea isn't sufficient enough and wouldn't qualify, it's like me trying to copyright the air I captured in a jar. You can copyright software though, so you'd need to actually get the application up and running then submit it for copyright protection, the rules of applying for copyright vary depending on where you live and I think you'd have to provide documentation and proof that the work is actually yours.

Now for the names of the people that help you... I'm not too sure about this, names would have to be trademarked, look into trademarking.

zcarman

Hi,

Just found this thread, but actually, filing early is better than filing after it is complete. You can file for patents based on the moment of conception. Software isn't like most things that a person would patent or copyright - as it is an intellectual property, not a solid thing.

What you need before you go in to see a lawyer is a fully written concept of what the application does, what it uses (story boards of the interface are great for this purpose) and a ton of money. A good patent lawyer will charge $200 to $500 an hour. They will need your full concept and design to research others that may have already had the idea - think of Apple's slide to unlock patent here - and if your idea will infringe on any of the claims that your software has.

After that, there is about a 2 year waiting period before a full patent is granted - until then you will have a patent pending status.

Copyrighting software is doing nothing more than securing the final code that is used in your App. Once your app is finalized, you simply submit it to US Copyright Office and they will time and date stamp it for you. It is just like any other media - book, magazine, etc... - so that process is simple.

If you are looking in to names, Android1993 is totally correct - Trade Marking is the way to do this one. Unless it's a business name in which case registering the business name is usually cheaper and faster.

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sleepingseason

In the UK and EU, you don't even have to register for copyright - as long as you have originality and fixation, the copyright subsists in your work.

Of course, for that to be the case you actually need to have something that constitutes a 'work' (finished software would count).

pollostar

You can only copyright the source code of the app. as long as it is your original code.
If you developed your own encryption algorithm which did not previously exist . you could patent that and copyright the software which uses it.