How to Make a Software Proprietary
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Mục lục bài viết
1.
Create a licensing scheme to distribute with your software. When people purchase your program, they purchase a license to do certain things with your program. You can choose what the terms of the license are, within legal limits. Common restrictions of licenses for proprietary software include restrictions on copying, distributing, modifying and reverse-engineering the program.
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2.
Register your software’s copyright with the United States Copyright Office. By law, you have a copyright in your original program as soon as the program is recorded in tangible form. However, you should register your copyright for full legal protection. If you do not register your copyright, you cannot sue anyone who infringes it or collect statutory damages for infringement. The process for registering your copyright is different depending upon what form the software is in.
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3.
Go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website to apply for trademarks and patents as applicable for your program. If your software has a unique title, you can register a trademark in that title to prevent other people from using the title. Patent law is a very complicated area of the law. Generally, you can receive a patent for the components of your software if it is novel, useful and nonobvious. Patents prevent other people from using your unique processes without your permission.
