You need to know what is in your source code. We can help. We use proprietary search technology and methods to identify open source code and software licenses in any source code file. Out source code methods cost less than other vendors. Plus, we are software and copyright attorneys who can asses and reduce your risk. Contact us today for more information about our software code audit capabilities.
You’ll get a listing of all the open source licenses in your code. From there the first step is you need to identify if there are any problem licenses. So in the context of a distributed mobile application, you want to avoid anything that’s going to be copyleft, because copyleft means you have to make your own source code available to anybody you give the application to.
Every company that uses, develops or integrates software should audit their code on a continual basis for third party copyrights, especially open source licenses. If you are an investor, or purchasing a company, you need to know what you are buying.
M&A requires that you conduct reviews of software applications and embedded software to identify, assess and, if necessary, mitigate risks associated with noncompliance with open source licenses.
Copyright infringement on the internet is a serious problem. If you think your copyright is being infringed, contact one of our Copyright Infringement Attorneys immediately as there is only a three-year Statute of Limitations to bring a copyright infringement claim. If you don’t protect your copyright against infringement, who will?
Not all use of a copyright constitutes infringement. Courts consider four factors in determining whether using a copyright is Fair Use: (1) Purpose & Character; (2) Nature of the Work; (3) Amount & Substantiality; and (4) Effect. This four-factor Fair Use analysis is determined on a case-by-case basis. No hard and fast rules can be pulled from the case law, but some governing principles can aid in the analysis conducted by your attorney.
“So what this means for proprietary software developers is that you need to know what other licenses may exist in your code. If there is copyleft code in your proprietary code, you may have a big problem says litigation attorney Enrico Schaefer.”
A copyright licensing attorney knows how important it is to draft the license agreement to your advantage. One of the primary values of owning and registering a copyright is that you can transfer some or those rights to third parties in exchange for royalties. Copyright licensing is contractual in nature and can either transfer all of the copyright rights in a work or only some of the rights provided by the Copyright Act. Copyright licenses are common, but often poorly drafted.
Traverse Legal’s Attorneys are globally recognized for their experience and results in the legal areas of: Complex Litigation, Internet, Trademark, Copyright, Patent, Cybersquatting, Drone, Defamation, Trade Secret, Non-Compete, and Business Law.
