Phone Apps Protection

Are you a smart phone app developer?  If so, you will want to know what forms of intellectual property are available for protecting smart phone apps.  Smart phone app law includes patent, trademark, copyright, and design patent law.  The ideal form of protection would use all these types of smart phone app laws.  Depending on budget and schedule, a smaller combination of smart phone app laws can be used.

Smart Phone App Patents

Patents provide the strongest possible protection for smart phone apps.  Patents protect against reverse engineering and can be used to protect general concepts that might appear in multiple versions of an app.

 

Software patent applications and smart phone app applications are typically more complex than patent applications covering mechanical inventions, and are therefore more expensive to prepare.

Smart Phone App Trademarks

Since you have invested time and money in developing and marketing a smart phone app, you will want assurance that consumers will easily recognize it as yours.

 

While it is possible to obtain software patents and smart phone app patents in the U.S., it can be extremely difficult, if not almost impossible, to obtain software patents and smart phone app patents in Europe and other countries.

Smart Phone App Design Patents

Smart phone icons are capable of being protected by design patents if the design is sufficiently novel and the design patent application is carefully drafted. The design patent application must be carefully drafted to show an article of manufacture.  Malhotra Law Firm, PLLC has the ability to draft an appropriate design patent application.

Smart Phone App Copyrights

Copyright protection can be used to protect outright copying of the code behind an app, as well as artwork in various screens.

 

Copyright protection for smart phone apps is created automatically when software is fixed in a tangible medium. Therefore, copyright notices should always appear in screens.