Legal TIPS on Copyright Issues.
While there are several ways to legally protect your SaaS software, copyright law is the most popular and maybe the easiest way to protect it. Every SaaS executive needs to know a few things about SaaS software and copyright law, so take a quick read of the following. Can you obtain copyright protection for your […]
On May 9, 2014, the appellate court handed down its 69-page decision in the Oracle vs Google API copyright case. The court ruled in favor of Oracle, but did push down to the lower court some remaining issues (which I will not bore you with right now…even though it is super interesting to software attorneys). I […]
Reverse Engineering Software for Interoperability – LAW UPDATE July 2010 This is a hot issue, so whether you have a software EULA or SAAS contract protecting your software, you may want to learn more about reverse engineering and its legality (i.e. looking under the hood). In essence, most software and SAAS contracts specifically state that […]
Everything a Software or SaaS Company Needs to Know About Copyrights! Ok, maybe not everything, but as a software copyright attorney I suggest that you read these five blog posts if you run a Software, SAAS or IT company. Let me summarize why. First, you need to know how copyright fits in with other intellectual […]
4 GREAT Reasons to Register Your Software for Copyright Protection! Most people may not realize that there are 4 GREAT reasons to register your software for copyright protection with the US Copyright Office. As a software copyright attorney or lawyer, I recommend this for every software based company, whether you are licensing your software or […]
Can You Obtain Copyright Protection for Your Software’s Graphical User Interface (GUI)? As a software copyright attorney/lawyer, I think every Software, SAAS or Cloud company should think about this issue, even though this is a complex legal issue. Think about it. Most software companies know that they can obtain copyright protection for their source code, but […]
I find that most clients believe that they have an airtight software agreement and their liability is limited to the contract value. Well, from the perspective of a software copyright attorney, as a general matter they are right, but of course there are exceptions (at least from the perspective of a software licensing attorney). Once of […]
While this is a complex legal issue, as a software copyright attorney, let me try to simplify it so it can be useful for software company or IT based company (i.e. do I need a software licensing agreement or not) Essentially, one way to protect and provide information technology is via copyright law alone, which […]
Here are the 4 things to remember, from the perspective of a software copyright attorney. 1) Copyright Attaches Easily. It is relatively easy to get basic copyright protection (you know that (c) Copyright Notice on the bottom of text, articles, websites, etc.) This is something to keep in mind, as claiming that a work is […]
I get this question often as copyright lawyer, so I thought I would briefly explain what intellectual property is (at a high level). Intellectual Property or IP, should really be viewed when compared to other types of legal property, namely real property (i.e. real estate) and tangible property (i.e. things you can see, touch and […]
People often ask me can I use this or that work of a copyright owner. Basically, as a copyright attorney, there is a legal concept called ‘fair use’ which allows non-copyright owners to use copyrighted works in certain situations. What are the situations? Well, this is one of those it depends, as there is a […]
As a software copyright attorney, I realize a lot of the new way of marketing is based on becoming a publisher, but some people may not realize that there are important copyright issues in play here, which should be thought through, as they may be counter intuitive. General Rule – The Creator Owns the Content. […]