A law professor once told me that in business, a secret is defined as information that is known only by one person. I think this is true. Once Pandora’s Box has been opened, it is nearly impossible to protect your secrets and proprietary ideas from those who may wish to commercialize on your ingenuity despite your legal rights.

Unfortunately, you can’t make money from an idea that only one person knows. So you must protect disclosures to third-parties by a well crafted Non-Disclosure Agreement. This could not be truer in the context of mobile application development.

It’s no secret that you should consider seeking the advice of a qualified attorney before disclosing your app development idea to a potential investor. However, these are a few important points to consider from the very beginning:

Who is authorized to receive the disclosed information?

You must consider to whom you are disclosing your valuable ideas and information. If you are disclosing your ideas and information to an investor or developer, determine whom within that organization needs disclosure of your thoughts and data and legally restrict said disclosure accordingly. Simply put, the more people who are exposed, the less likely your information can be protected from unauthorized use.

How is your confidential information defined in the Non-Disclosure Agreement?

You should be careful to broadly define the scope of what information you disclose is protected. Likewise, be sure that all forms of communication are protected and designated as confidential.

What are the restrictions on the use disclosed information?

Once information is disclosed to third-parties, you should retain some control on how that individual or organization uses that information. To that end, you should be careful to limit the use of the disclosed information to the uses for which such information needs to be disclosed.

Who owns any derivative works?

Make sure that all rights to derivative works are explicitly reserved for the disclosure unless otherwise dictated by the business arrangement.

How are disputes handled?

The mobile application development industry is a minefield of intellectual property disputes. In the course of your application development project, make sure that any Non-Disclosure Agreements include a provision for the arbitration of disputes. Further, consider how disputes arising from the disclosure of information to non-U.S. based developer and investors can be arbitrated outside the context of the U.S. legal system.

To learn more about our\ practice, please contact a lawyer from our either or our Florida offices. For assistance, call (954) 591-8261 or (863) 946-9160. You may also contact us by e-mail at info@truebloodlawgroup.com or by submitting your contact information here.

This article is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. This article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information. This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. You should consult with an attorney familiar with the issues and the laws of your jurisdiction. This article does not create any attorney-client relationship.

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