1. © Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP Legal Aspects of the Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications Presentation by Joanna Boag-Thomson Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP 3 November 2011

2. 2 Apps - Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications Overview Intellectual Property – what is relevant to apps? Who owns the IP? Developer distribution agreements Piracy on apps Platform Operators involvement How to manage your risk

3. 33 November 2011Apps - Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications Intellectual property – what is relevant to apps? Intellectual Property Rights ○ Unregistered Rights –Copyright »Source Code/software »Text/photos/images/sound recordings –Database Rights –Confidential Information »Plans/proposals/graphics ○ Registered Rights –Trade Marks »App name »Slogans/images/logos –Patents »Functionality of platforms and devices

4. 43 November 2011Apps - Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications Who owns the IP? Employee or designer? Employer? Platform Operator? External Contractor?

5. 53 November 2011Apps - Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications Developer Distribution Agreements Agreement between the developer of the app and the platform operator e.g. Google, Apple Things to watch out for: ○ Copyright in the content of the app ○ Liability, indemnities and warranties ○ Approval by the platform operator ○ Takedowns Although this is not always relevant to the customer of the developer (I.e. the business commissioning the app) it is important to note these issues in order that your app is not removed from the market

6. 63 November 2011Apps - Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications Piracy on Apps Database rights infringement Copyright infringement Passing off Trade mark infringement Breach of Computer Misuse Act 1990

7. 73 November 2011Apps - Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications Platform Operator’s involvement Android (Google) ○ No pre-approval process ○ Proguard which automatically ‘shrinks, optimises and obfuscates your code’ ○ Power to suspend apps ○ ‘Kill switch’ functionality – immediate removal of apps ○ Notice and take down provisions in Developer Agreement Apple ○ Rigorous pre-approval process ○ Claims it may ‘in its sole discretion, terminate the accounts of users who violate others IP rights’ ○ Notice and take down process

8. 83 November 2011Apps - Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications How to manage your risk Make sure you have all necessary permissions/licences to create the app Make sure you know where the source code comes from – is it free or open source software? Make sure you have formal written assignations of IP in employment and contractor contracts Have procedures in place to keep accurate records of materials used in producing the app If necessary, enter into confidentiality agreements with third parties regarding the development and design of the app Obtain appropriate warranties and indemnities from developers

9. 93 November 2011Apps - Design, Development and Marketing of Mobile Applications Questions? Joanna Boag-Thomson Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP 191 West George Street Glasgow G2 2LB Email: joanna.bt@shepwedd.co.ukjoanna.bt@shepwedd.co.uk dd: 0141 566 8570