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MenuHow do you protect your idea when you hire a firm to build your app?
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The standard procedure is to sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement with whoever you are disclosing your idea to, before you hire the firm.
Once your product is built or is in the process, you have the option to patent or copyright it.
Here's my article that gives the complete details on both: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/05/07/does-your-mobile-app-need-a-patent/
We often deal with that type of question over at LawTrades.
You should build trust with the firm... and then making them sign all the proper legal documents.
Stuff like non-disclosure agreements, non-compete agreements, and intellectual property assignment agreement come to mind.
Happy to learn more about your needs and give you a tailored response for protecting your idea.
The simple answer is contracts and choosing your partner well.
The long answer is more complicated. Is there anything about your app idea that is ownable defendable? Would your partner have to develop or leverage existing IP or technology in order to bring your app to market? Is there any similar competitors already in the market?
The reality is that most app developers or firms are more interested in building apps than stealing other people's ideas. Their business is app development and deployment—not managing, marketing and running a business like yours. With that being said, there are dubious people out there doing sneaky things.
Find a developer or firm with a good reputation and track record. Engage with them professionally, put the appropriate contracts and paperwork in place, and move forward. If your idea can be patented do that. But keep in mind, that many firms may have to develop code or applications to make your app a reality and depending on your contracts, that work may end up being their IP—which is not an uncommon practice.
Hope that helps, feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.
Related Questions
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What legal precautions can I take to make sure nobody steals my startup idea?
I've discussed ideas with hundreds of startups, I've been involved in about a dozen startups, my business is at $1M+ revenue. The bad news is, there is no good way to protect ideas. The good news is, in the vast majority of cases you don't really need to. If you're talking to people about your idea, you could ask them to sign an NDA ("Non Disclosure Agreement"), but NDAs are notoriously hard to enforce, and a lot of experienced startup people wouldn't sign them. For example, if you asked me to sign an NDA before we discussed your Idea, I'd tell you "thanks, but no thanks". This is probably the right place though to give the FriendDA an honorable mention: http://friendda.org/. Generally, I'd like to encourage you to share your Ideas freely. Even though telling people an idea is not completely without risk, generally the rewards from open discussions greatly outweigh the risks. Most startups fail because they build something nobody wants. Talking to people early, especially people who are the intended users/customers for your idea can be a great way to protect yourself from that risk, which is considerably higher than the risk of someone taking off with your idea. Another general note, is that while ideas matter, I would generally advise you to get into startup for which you can generate a lot of value beyond the idea. One indicator for a good match between a founder and a startup is the answer to the question: "why is that founder uniquely positioned to execute the idea well". The best way to protect yourself from competition is to build a product that other people would have a hard time building, even if they had 'the idea'. These are usually startups which contain lots of hard challenges on the way from the idea to the business, and if you can convincingly explain why you can probably solve those challenges while others would have a hard time, you're on the right path. If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to set up a call. Good luck.DK
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How can one file an EIN without an SSN/ITIN?
You should retain a lawyer, or another qualified individual, to act as the third party designee for the corporation (if you do not have a partner or co-owner who is a US citizen). The designee should prepare Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) and Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) for the corporation’s president to sign and return.MM
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What is the generally agreed upon "good" DAU/MAU for mobile apps?
You are right that the range is wide. You need to figure what are good values to have for your category. Also, you can focus on the trend (is your DAU/MAU increasing vs decreasing after you make changes) even if benchmarking is tough. Unless your app is adding a huge number of users every day (which can skew DAU/MAU), you can trust the ratio as a good indication of how engaged your users are. For games, DAU/MAU of ~20-30% is considered to be pretty good. For social apps, like a messenger app, a successful one would have a DAU/MAU closer to 50%. In general most apps struggle to get to DAU/MAU of 20% or more. Make sure you have the right definition of who is an active user for your app, and get a good sense of what % of users are actually using your app every day. Happy to discuss what is a good benchmark for your specific app depending on what it does.SG
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If I am planning to launch a mobile app, do I need to register as a company before the launch?
I developed and published mobile apps as an individual for several years, and only formed a corporation later as things grew and it made sense. As far as Apple's App Store and Google Play are concerned, you can register as an individual developer without having a corporation. I'd be happy to help further over a call if you have any additional questions. Best of luck with your mobile app!AM
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Where can I find programmers willing to join a growing mobile start up for equity only?
You won't find anyone worth adding to your team willing to work for equity only, no matter how compelling your product and business is. The realities of the talent market for mobile developers anywhere is such that a developer would be foolish to work only for equity unless they are a cofounder and have double digit equity. Happy to talk about hiring and alternatives to full-time hires.TW
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