Creating a mobile is as simple as combining a great idea with a great developer and then watching users pour in. While the above aspects form a large chunk of the app development process, it is not all that you need to take into consideration. Apart from glitch-free, appealing user experiences, legal issues that may arise during or after development are also aspects of mobile app development that demand attention.
Issues like Intellectual Property Rights, Privacy policies, license agreements, etc., are crucial legal aspects that need to be addressed. If you are looking to build a successful, objection, and obligation-free mobile app, then this article is for you. Join me as I touch upon the three crucial legal considerations that need to be taken into account while creating a mobile application.
Essential components of a wise and water-tight legal compliance strategy for mobile app owners
1. Intellectual property ownership
The foremost legal concern when creating a mobile application is intellectual property Ownership. Intellectual property is categorized into four types, with each one being implicit while building a mobile app.
• Copyright
Copyright protection is readily available, and yet to qualify for the same, your app idea and execution should be completely original. The term copyright is usually associated with films and novels, but it extends to incorporate all creative expression forms. This could include a specific feature of your mobile app, code structure, images used, and even the UI.
• Patent
There is a possibility that your mobile app contains a revolutionary component that could change the way mobile apps are created. To ensure that your proprietary tech remains yours and you also have the option of allowing other entities to use it by charging them a fee, then patenting that component is imperative. On the flip-side, you might wish to include a component in your app that has already been patented. You cannot just use it, and you will have to enter into legal negotiations with the patent owner to discuss the situation.
• Trademark
A trademark acts as a source identifier for a product or a set of services. Logos, slogans, names, etc., are components that should be trademarked. At the very least, as a mobile app development company, you should register the name of your app as a trademark.
Sometimes, carrying the trademark of a specific entity can help boost your app's credibility. The very popular Unity game engine is one such example. Users know that the Unity engine is a high output game engine that is comparatively light on computing resources. Some game development companies tie-up with game engine creators to pool resources during development and then display a game engine's trademark when the game loads, adding to the app's value proposition.
• Trade Secrets
Trade secrets are a slightly less clearly outlined component of intellectual property. Perhaps your app can perform a function much faster and more accurately than any other app available, thanks to its unique source code. As an enterprise, you wish to keep this source code safely guarded so that only you can use it in future applications you will build; a secret competitive advantage in simple terms. This can be termed as a trade secret, and as a careful entrepreneur, you must take decisive measures to own all the IP contained in the app completely.
If you are working with an outsourced development team, choose one that is comfortable sitting down with your legal team to draw out a detailed mobile app development agreement. Your development partner should sign over ownership of all key parts of the IP.
If you are working with an in-house team, you should ensure that they are subject to "work made for hire" policies and have detailed invention assignments clauses in their employment agreements.
Confidentiality agreements are also essential so that your app's features and how they were built along with other sensitive information is never leaked to potential competitors by contractors, employees, or other entities with knowledge of your mobile app's build.
• IP Licensing
In some cases, your mobile app might need to incorporate IP owned by someone else. This means that your enterprise will have to obtain a license to use the IP in question before it can integrate it into the app being developed.
Sometimes, companies release licensing agreements for their IP. If the IP you are targeting does not have a licensing agreement attached, you will have to approach the company to negotiate and draft a licensing agreement that gives your enterprise the right to use and incorporate the licensed IP in your app.
Licenses can be very verbose and overtly technical, making your enterprise think that you have a certain right in connection with the licensed IP on page one when a paragraph of fine print two hundred pages later states that you do not. Having a lawyer present is therefore invaluable.
2. Privacy Policy
IPR might be the focal point of your legal support system while creating a mobile app that you wish to monetize and distribute. Still, there is another pertinent concern that you should not overlook- Privacy policies, which are the privacy rights of your end-users.
As a mobile app development company, your products should have a comprehensive privacy policy that clearly outlines and articulates all data collection, storage, and access aspects for your end-user.
It is critical that your privacy policy is accurate about what data is being collected from users, why it is being collected, and later will this collected data be sold to a third party. A privacy policy is of such vital importance that every app store now demands that the apps that go up on their platforms have a detailed privacy policy.
3. Agreements
Clearly elucidated Agreements are a necessary legal component of every mobile application. These documents cover company and user agreements such as EULA (End-user license agreement) and TOS (terms of service agreement) as well as app store agreements between the company and the app store it wishes to launch its app on.
• End-User License Agreement
All major app stores require applications to have a EULA, an end-user license agreement. The EULA is the contract between the app owner and the app users.
A EULA details the usage scope of the license granted to the user. It is often a non-exclusive, limited right to download and use the app while elucidating what is allowed and what is impermissible.
A EULA limits the liability of the app owner. It also ensures that the user isn't misemploying the app's functionality in a way that could jeopardize the App owner's IP.
Like with every contract, the EULA needs to be applicable, and mutual consent is required. The easiest way to acquire user consent is to provide a 'clickwrap' at the end of the agreement, which the user can mark as 'I accept" once she/he has read and understood the contents and terms of the agreement. The app will be used only when the user has clicked on the clickwrap, safeguarding the app owner's liability against usage malpractices.
• Terms of service
A 'terms of service' document, or TOS, is widely known as the 'terms and conditions' page that we come across so often these days, given that most services are now available through applications.
I mention the word 'services' since TOS agreements are for users utilizing a service instead of a product (in which case a EULA is used.)
A TOS is similar to a EULA for licensed software. The primary difference is that with a TOS, users are utilizing a service rather than a product.
A TOS is legally binding though some entities offer them as disclaimers. The terms mentioned in a TOS are mostly enforced by terminating service to the defaulting user. Legal protection in the form of a breach of contract lawsuit against a user or in defense of a similar lawsuit from the user against the App owner can be acquired through a TOS.
• App Store Agreements
All leading app store operators require the App owner to enter into an agreement with them before the App owner can utilize the app store's platform for distribution.
App store agreements mostly favor the app store (unsurprisingly), and therefore as an app owner, you should pay close attention to the terms mentioned as they are usually non-negotiable. As a footnote, it is not uncommon for an app owner to forgo using a specific app store for his app distribution because of the app store agreement issues.
In summation
Developing and distributing an app can come across quite an exhaustive list of legal issues. Hence, as an app owner, you should ensure that your IP, trademark, and patents are safeguarded by a wise and water-tight legal compliance strategy.
