Top Things You Must Know About
Business Software
Business software is a tricky industry and one
that you need to really understand the ins and outs of to master. There
are a lot of legal issues that go into business software and are important to
be aware of. It is important to understand what you must do to patent
business software and to keep up with the legal requirements of the software
you own.
Here are a
few important tips to better understand the legality of creating business
software:
Is there a Patent Similar to Yours?
With software, just as with anything else, it has
to be patented. What is important when you are patenting software is that
it is actually unique. There can’t be two patented software programs that
are the same; a patent is for a unique idea, so make sure that yours is before
you attempt to get the patent. Trying to patent an item can be costly,
and you don’t want to spend money that shouldn’t be spent.
Test Your Software
You must test your software. If you don’t test
your business software, there is going to be an issue. You need to run
any program that you create for a business software platform because you need
to be aware of any bugs that exist. To do this, you are going to want to
test it with a test group and test it internally. Make sure you have
detailed reporting on this so you can get proper results and see if there are
any bugs.
Know the Privacy Laws
With business software, you need to make sure that
you are not violating any privacy laws. If your business software is
recording any private information that needs to be removed from the software
program, it will get you in legal trouble. However, it is okay to share
certain information with third parties, but you need a disclaimer so that
people that use the software are aware the information is being
collected. You cannot sell any of your users’ information without their
permission!
Have Safety Instructions Spelled Out
Although most likely people creating business
software don’t want to have this problem, you need to let users know if there
are any issues with the software. These issues would come about from
testing the software. If, for example, in a small percentage of installed
programs that were tested, there was a bug, it would need to be
disclosed. Not disclosing something like this with detailed safety
instructions can expose you to a lawsuit.
When it comes to covering yourself in regards to
the business software you’ve created, you need to do a few things. Be
sure that you have patented and tested your program. You also will want
to very clearly list that information. If a problem should arise, you
will want to hire an attorney that specializes in business software, or at
least patent law, so that they are able to properly represent you.
