Subj : Re: Protecting your code
To   : comp.programming
From : ECRIA Public Mail Buffer
Date : Sat Jul 30 2005 05:53 pm

> Is there any solution to protect your rights or ideas when you write code 
> ?

This query is concerned with two subjects - copyright and invention.

Copyright on code is like copyright on a novel. The author is the copyright 
owner, so nobody can legally use the same exact text and claim it as their 
own without permission of the author. If they do, they are subject to 
copyright infringement and can be sued as a consequence. However, nothing 
prevents them from writing a book on the same exact subject, or for that 
matter with the same plot.

You do not have to do anything to establish copyright - you automatically 
own the copyright to anything you write or create (photos, sculpture, code, 
etc). However, you can file for copyright with the United States Copyright 
Office (http://www.copyright.gov/). Doing so may be useful when establishing 
ownership should an issue of infringement occur. It is a simple process to 
transfer the rights to your creation to another individual or entity with a 
copyright assignment agreement, which is often written into programming 
contracts.

Now, on to invention. You have an idea. There is a difference between an 
idea and an invention, and it is important to understand the difference, 
because ideas alone are basically impossible to protect. The concept of 
humans breathing underwater is an idea, but you cannot protect it, and 
rightly so; for you have not created a new way to DO that, but just had a 
desire or whim to do so. In the same vein, you may think "it would be nice 
if there were a program that did this or that" but unless you invent a way 
for it to achieve this, you only have an idea. An invention is more 
tangible; it is a novel method for realizing the idea that you had, and you 
can protect it with a patent. You do not have to write the code yourself, 
but you DO have to determine HOW the software and hardware will work to 
achieve it's purpose. In other words, if you take the idea to a programmer 
and tell them to come up with a way to make it work, it is THEIR invention, 
not yours. You just had the idea.

If you want to file a patent, you can do so at the US Patent and Trademark 
Office (http://www.uspto.gov/). A US patent can take many years to be 
awarded but once awarded is effective from the date of application. You 
cannot sue for patent infringement until you are awarded your patent, and if 
your competition is well endowed financially, there are many, many ways that 
they can delay the process. A patent is only good for a certain number of 
years (regardless of when it was awarded), after which the invention becomes 
"public domain" and anyone can use it. In addition, if you or anyone else 
has already published work that details the same invention then your 
invention has already become public domain and you cannot patent it. You may 
have to file in several countries, since a US patent does not protect your 
invention in countries that do not have a treaty with the US. Say that you 
file a US patent application and do not file an international patent 
application within a certain time (6 months?). In this case, when the USPTO 
publishes your patent application (they publish all of them eventually) it 
becomes international public domain and you can no longer file 
internationally.

There are many more complications. You should hire an intellectual property 
attorney to discover them. None of this information should be taken as 
correct legal advice and may contain errors and omissions.

ECRIA
http://www.ecria.com

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