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With so many considerations to make when developing an app, it’s easy to overlook the legal aspect of the process. Some of these aspects you may already have on your checklist before you publish your app, but others are things that you may not know you need.
With so many considerations to make when developing an app, it’s easy to overlook the legal aspect of the process. Some of these aspects you may already have on your checklist before you publish your app, but others are things that you may not know you need.
Take a few minutes to go over these key considerations and make sure you are covered.
Just because these are two pages that no one seems to read doesn’t mean you don’t need to make sure that they are not only easily accessible, but are as detailed as you require. You know you need them, and you’ve probably been procrastinating doing them. Here’s why you need them.
Apps are considered intellectual property, which makes them protected by intellectual property laws, primarily copyrights, patents, and trademarks. If you are developing an app that is completely unique or that has some very unique features, you will probably want to look into protecting your app before you launch it.
IP protections are important, even if your app isn’t anything particularly new or exciting. By protecting your app, you can help to protect your business and meet your goals. You will probably need to consult a lawyer to make sure you get it right. Intellectual property laws are notoriously difficult to navigate.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have to make sure that your ideas for your app are protected when you seek help from experts. Before you hire anyone to help develop an app, make sure that they won’t use your ideas to make their own version of the app or share it with other companies. The best way to do that is with a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). These are usually quick to develop (there are many online templates to help you get started).
Never provide any kind of information about your app and any ideas you have before the NDA is signed to ensure that your ideas are safe.
You will need to follow all of the applicable rules and agreements that each of the platforms have to post your app to those platforms. This is similar to the user agreement you have with your users, but protects the major app platforms from abuse by app developers. It also helps to set standards for the apps that are posted to their sites.
If you have to follow particular laws in your state, province, or nation, those same laws and regulations apply to your apps as well. For example, in the US, all health and wellness apps have to follow the regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, better known as HIPAA. If your app relates to finances, you will have a variety of regulations to follow pertaining to the industry. Even some gaming apps have to follow regulations, especially ones that provide online gambling.
Then you have to apply all of the laws regarding apps in your area and nation. Many places have sets of privacy and data collection laws that dictate what information you can store about your users.
With so many other things to do, it can be difficult to focus on the legal aspect of app development because it is usually less familiar. The fact that it can be time consuming doesn’t help. However, it is just as important to make sure that your app follows all of the regulations and requirements while protecting your ideas and work from theft and misuse.