Retaining a license to your IP
It may seem logical and fair that the founders contributing IP they invented to launch a new should retain a license to that IP should the company fail or should the founders identify other uses for the IP outside those contemplated by the company. After all, the founders developed the idea and invented the IP prior to forming the company. Read More...
Who owns your IP?
To successfully launch a new , the company needs to own, or have a license to use, the intellectual property that will be used in the business. This aggregation of IP does not happen automatically and requires careful planning with your legal counsel. Read More...
Copyright protection
A copyright protects original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. These works often include presentations, company operating/instructional manuals, whitepapers, computer software, screen displays and graphical user interfaces. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. For example, while the actual facts in a company manual are not protected, the way the facts are expressed in the manual is protected. Read More...
Registering a copyright
In many cases, you do not need to formally register your copyrights, because rights automatically vest upon creation of the work. Regardless of whether you register your copyrights, however, you should provide a copyright notice. A copyright notice informs the public of the company’s claim to copyright ownership in the work, and can be used as a deterrent against infringement. Therefore, the company should make it a practice to include copyright notices on manuals, brochures and other documents (including source code) that are generally published or provided to third parties. A copyright notice includes the word “Copyright” or the C-in-a-circle symbol ©, the year of first publication of the work, and the name of the copyright owner. Read More...
