Questions regarding all matters related to ownership and rights to intangible assets such as art, software, designs, etc.
0
votes
0answers
16 views
Can I use company logos for my game? [duplicate]
I was wondering if I had permission to use company logos without the companies' permission in a logo quiz game. I'll make sure to specify that the logos are copyright their respective owners. If the ...
4
votes
2answers
122 views
How do I prove that its all my IP
I'm involved in a deal where an industry organization is attempting to white label my software. Their Chairperson is a lawyer, so they are cautious on the legal stuff. They want to be absolutely sure ...
1
vote
4answers
950 views
Where to find a template for a general-purpose Independent Contractor Agreement?
We want to hire some freelancers in the US, Germany, Russia and Japan.
The book "The Business of iPhone App Development" from Apress references an Imdependent Contractor Agreement template. The goal ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
Whose property is the product?
I recently entered a government founded start-up that was planning a major switch in the product (after I entered we started doing a completely new product indeed). Each person in the project has a ...
1
vote
2answers
41 views
Developing a product/service as a result of requirements of existing employer
A is currently employed at company X which in turn is a vendor for company Z. A realized that certain aspects of running the business for Z which X is failing at can be productized/offered as a ...
2
votes
2answers
174 views
Terms of agreement with a co-founder after split-up
I recently quit working with my co-founder. We had started a software business together and had agreed on a certain profit share. But shortly after the launch of the apps, we had to split because he ...
2
votes
2answers
105 views
Software Contributions to a LLC Partnership
I have a 33.33% stake in an LLC partnership, which was made with cash contributions. I have since developed software with an associate who is not part of the company that we would like to sell as ...
7
votes
6answers
366 views
Sticky IP situation
We are in a sticky situation, that is no ones fault but our own. We had approached a developer to join our startup. After showing him the project he was excited and decided to join. Our mistake was ...
306
votes
27answers
139k views
If I'm working at a company, do they have intellectual property rights to the stuff I do in my spare time?
I was interviewed by a lady from Zynga and she told me that Zynga doesn't allow developers to have side projects. Is this true for companies in general, or just a minority that Zynga is a part of? ...
0
votes
3answers
127 views
How much equity should I give investors
I am seeking a $2M investment to take my patented product to next level. I have been told my product is unique and can be used in a variety of industries by both commercial and residential users. ...
2
votes
3answers
460 views
do I own my work
If I build a website while on salary, is it considered my bosses intellectual property? I have never had a contract and the domain is registered in my own name. I put in a lot of extra time to build ...
19
votes
6answers
989 views
Teammates have pushed me out of our venture. What to do now?
I along with 3 other people created a concept for an innovative Ecommerce platform as part of a 5 week startup pre-incubator. We had a great run and on demo day we won the audience and panel of ...
12
votes
1answer
335 views
There's a troll in my space - now what?
I've spent the last 3 months full-time building an alpha version of a web app, and developing a business plan for it. The alpha version is ready to launch. Recently I've stumbled upon the fact that ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Research if patent holder is a troll
I've recently discovered a patent for a product that's in the field of the product I'm working on. The patent itself has zero direct resemblance to the product I'm working on, but there are "early ...
3
votes
1answer
184 views
How have University IP licensing terms for tech startups changed since Google licensed PageRank from Stanford?
What were the details of the IP licensing agreement between Google and Stanford for PageRank?
For example, what PERCENTAGE equity and royalty rate did Google give to Stanford? Were there ...
1
vote
2answers
115 views
building an application at work, want to spin it into a business
I am building a custom sales portal at my place of employment, a large company. I would like to start a saas business that uses the same features I am building for the custom project at work. I want ...
0
votes
1answer
169 views
What percentage to give UI/UX designer co-founder? [duplicate]
This is a general question for company shares:
My partner and I have an equal stake in our company. We want to bring in a designer since both of us suck at UI. We have one in mind.
Since we own the ...
1
vote
2answers
53 views
Who owns the Intellectual Property, Copyright and Patents created by Technical Co Founder?
I will be joining a new start-up as a technical partner. Other two partners are business administration role.
I will be the one who will program everything from scratch and build the new web based ...
1
vote
1answer
23 views
Can I resubmit under my company an abandon patent that was under my name?
If I submitted a patent under my personal name and it was abandoned, can I later resubmit or rather submit it under my company name?
1
vote
2answers
75 views
Can a Greek letter be trademarked (for use within the scope of a particular service offering)?
Let's say we offer an approach to better dental hygiene and we call it the change™ dental hygiene solution and we represent our change™ solution with the Greek delta (Δ) symbol. Hence, we might also ...
1
vote
2answers
37 views
Implementation partners-protecting source code
I have an existing SAAS platform and I am in the process of working with multiple implementation partners or vendors for some enhancements. How do I make sure my source code is protected? Some of ...
2
votes
1answer
257 views
Employer permission agreement to do contract programming work in spare time
I'm in discussions with a programmer to do contract work for my startup. He works full time programming at a Massachusetts company whose business is unrelated to mine and my project would be done in ...
0
votes
3answers
115 views
Does the company own all my ideas?
A company has the following contract.
http://www.uploadimage.in/di/93QO/one.png
http://www.uploadimage.in/di/N8UR/two.png
Does this mean if one is working on something in their free time while ...
0
votes
2answers
38 views
How can one establish authorship of content?
For a startup creating content for syndication, what is an effective way to establish that the content was indeed created by the startup and not those receiving it?
For example, one could print out ...
1
vote
2answers
42 views
Contract employee and IP in a not so related business
If I create an application for a client and I am employed as a contactor to the client by a contracting firm in a different capacity, who owns the copyright?
1
vote
2answers
71 views
Does generic use of a trademarked term (e.g., Klout) constitute infringement?
My understanding is that trademarks afford protection when used as an adjective to represent goods or services, but they do not afford protection for generic usage of a trademarked term and only ...
1
vote
3answers
82 views
How should we compensate a non-founder in a new web-based business who is critical to the launch of the business?
We are in the very early stage of organizing and launching a new web-based business. There are two co-founders - one who is CTO and one who is CEO. In addition, we will be including a third person ...
3
votes
3answers
220 views
Is consulting work subject to my day-job's intellectual-property clause?
Disclaimer: I'm not seeking legal advice here, I will naturally seek actual legal advice before I make any decisions. I'd just like to know the lay of the land, if anyone can help.
I'm in the ...
5
votes
4answers
609 views
How Do I Prevent Somone From Stealing My Idea On KickStart
I have a great idea for a new product and I am thinking about launching it on Kickstarter, but I have one major problem. I am afraid that someone will steal my product and/or accuse me of stealing ...
1
vote
2answers
93 views
Is an open source prototype a bad idea?
I'm building a prototype for a web/mobile application. The goal is to collect user generated content, let user rate it while at the same time being entertained and do something interesting with it. If ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Legal issues of a user-pic based app?
I'm planning on creating a mobile app based upon the idea of allowing users to take self-portraits and having it shared in a dynamic public gallery (for say, dating purposes, or whatnot). Let's also ...
3
votes
2answers
96 views
Acquiring IP from liquidators
Over 3 years ago the development company I was working for went into liquidation owing ~$500K.
There wasn't a lot gained from the sale of the assets and as far as I am aware, the liquidators still ...
2
votes
3answers
205 views
Ownership of IP developed while employed
I'm a 3d software developer working for a manufacturing company on industrial visualization software programs. In the future, I wish to develop 2d/3d games, mapping applications during my free time.
...
2
votes
8answers
1k views
Who owns the IP rights for a product you're making outside working hours (in USA)?
Does the company you're currently work for owns the IP rights if you are creating a product after work hours? Is there anything that can defend me if the company at one point claims that they own it ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
Legal implications of selling board game mods & accessories for existing games?
I am looking to create, manufacture and sell modifications for existing board games that other people have made.
Purely as an example: I might create a new set of tokens to be used with the ...
6
votes
5answers
399 views
Startup project - hide from employer or cooperate with him?
I am a software developer. I have a good idea and I'd like to create a startup. I am planning to invite one or two of my colleagues as co-founders.
I am concerned about the relationships with my ...
0
votes
1answer
92 views
How should I protect myself from intellectual property theft before I pitch this game to Scopely?
(For the impatient, the main question is at the bottom of this text.)
I was reading this article and a couple of others about Scopely, a game development company responsible for the creation of the ...
4
votes
3answers
198 views
If you are a creative studio, who owns employees ideas that they come up with whilst in your employ?
We are a creative studio who depend on new ideas and new IP to survive. Many of our staff (naturally) are quite creative as well, and as such don't want their best ideas taken by the studio - where ...
9
votes
5answers
2k views
If I pitch my idea to a company, what are my rights?
I recently came up with what I believe is a great idea which builds on a specific technology already existing in the marketplace. I believe it represents a completely new use for the technology and ...
2
votes
4answers
229 views
Is it illegal to sell a software template created at work but duplicated and augmented at home?
I am an employee at a large company and I created a worksheet using my work computer. The worksheet helps me organize my info such as passwords and time-off records. I replicated it and then ...
1
vote
2answers
200 views
How do I get a trademark on a logo and slogan when I have no money?
I have an idea for two great logos and slogans that I would sell to two different companies if I could afford to get them secured through a reputable attorney. I have an attorney in mind. Is it a good ...
0
votes
2answers
375 views
What is the law covering the intellectual property rights of software developed during internship/employment without signed contract/agreement?
I am a software engineer who "invented", and developed alone an integrated ERP software solution over the past 2 years. I got the idea and coded much of the software as intern at small wholesale ...
0
votes
2answers
169 views
Is internship considered as “work-for-hire” in the US? Who owns the software intellectual property rights created by an intern with no contract?
I was an intern in a small furniture company for over year where I had an idea to develop an integrated software solution that would help any company of the same type get organized. A verbal agreement ...
4
votes
1answer
213 views
Should I get investors to sign an NDA before sharing my idea?
I have an idea for a company and I want to share it with potential investors. I'm a bit concerned about my ability to protect the idea. Should I get them to sign an NDA? Would that scare investors ...
4
votes
3answers
168 views
How Much should I except to spend registering Intellectual Property patent?
I know it might vary depending of kind of product.
I'm planning to register a very unique Intellectual Property internet service patent
Let's suppose the world doesn't have search engine yet, and I ...
2
votes
1answer
87 views
On working with consultants
I have been asked by many startups to help them with their core machine learning IP
Unlike outsourced software development, machine learning is difficult to outsource or even to specify because it ...
2
votes
3answers
244 views
If the agreement states IP is owned by the Consultant, is there any room for disagreement?
I am in the process to send a service agreement to my clients. I am stating that Intellectual Property related to all promotional material created while in the service agreement by my company will be ...
4
votes
2answers
186 views
Employee who contracted programmer to complete project. Who owns intellectual property?
I was hired as an employee to integrate data which initially no projects existed that required programming. It became clear that the method needed to complete one project was going to require some ...
6
votes
4answers
276 views
If I write code with someone just together, are they entitled to equity in my startup?
If a friend casually wanted to hack with me and we wrote something that took off, are they entitled to equity in my company?
8
votes
3answers
392 views
Somebody got a trademark for a domain I own. I am planning to launch my service in a week
I have a domain name, (lets call it XYZ.com) which I have owned for about an year and a related service that I have been developing for about an year too. I just searched the trademark database, and ...
