Vondran Legal® Mobile Application Services—Contracts, Terms of Use and Intellectual Property Protection. Call us at (877) 276-5084
Introduction
Creating a unique mobile application and getting it onto online stores such as Apple and Google is not always an easy task. You may have to hire a development company to assist you. This can require you to submit your mobile app idea under a non-disclosure agreement. These agreements need to be ROCK SOLID, as your idea can be stolen, for example, if they quote you too high and you decide not to use them. Now, they have your idea.
There are also other things to think about, such as drafting terms of service that protect you. Protecting your app with intellectual property protection (e.g., copyrights for the creative expression and a trademark to protect your brand name from copycats). These are just some of the issues that can arise in developing your next great mobile application.
Vondran Legal® is positioned to service your company for these types of services.
Our Mobile Application Legal Services
- Creation of a legal entity (California and Arizona only)
- Non-disclosure agreements to submit your concept to mobile application architects
- Contract review with mobile application developers
- Partnership agreements
- Draft Terms of Use
- DMCA agent for mobile applications that act as online service providers by allowing users to post user-generated content (registration with the United States Copyright Office)
- Apple and Google Play issues (e.g., community guideline violations)
- Copyright protection for mobile applications (software code, graphic design, unique characters, unique sound effects),
- Trade secret protection for source code
- Licensing
- Trademark your brand name and logo
- DMCA takedown disputes
Features of a mobile application that may be copyrightable
Copyright registration is not automatic; you have to make a case for the protection of your creative expression (ideas and functional things cannot be protected with copyright. However, a patent may be possible in some cases, which can protect new, useful and non-obvious inventions. Here are some things that can be protected:
- Graphic user interface
- Sound effects
- Music
- Software code (can also be protected by trade secrets)
- Unique design features
- Unique characters
- Other
What exclusive rights does a copyright holder get?
Plaintiffs must satisfy two requirements to present a prima facie case of direct infringement:
(1) they must show ownership of the allegedly infringed material
and
(2) they must demonstrate that the alleged infringers violate at least one exclusive right granted to copyright holders under 17 U.S.C. § 106." Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 508 F.3d 1146, 1159 (9th Cir. 2007).
A copyright holder's rights under Section 106 include the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, perform, and create derivative works of the copyrighted work. See Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe (N.D.Cal. July 7, 2025, No. 25-cv-03116-AMO) 2025 LX 217414, at *6-7.)
17 U.S.C. Section 106 Text
Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
The Importance of Intellectual Property Protection (copyright)
For developers of mobile apps, protecting your intellectual property is essential. Having IP protection has many benefits:
- Puts others on constructive notice of your rights (copyright or trademark registration)
- Allows you to sue infringers in federal court
- Investors like "proprietary" rights that cannot be knocked off (think Shark Tank; the sharks always ask, "What is proprietary here").
- Allows you to seek to recover attorney fees in some cases
- IP protection allows you to license your application with a more professional approach.
- Allows you to send cease and desist and takedown notices with confidence
Contact Vondran Legal®
For more information, contact us at (877) 276-5084 or fill out the contact form on the right side of this page.
