You have picked up the right Android app development company which would help you to create a good app. But, it is not a one day process. It would take a lot of time for materializing those ideas into an app. How should you secure your ideas from others? Anyone who has a slight hint about your app can nick your million dollar idea. This includes but is not limited to the employees, partners and other vendors.

Copyright

Just like any other intellectual property, you can copyright your idea. Not just an idea, starting from the codes to user interface element, all parts of the app can be copyrighted. The advantage of this option is that it is cost effective than other methods. This would help you to have a basic level of protection. Your android development company would be able to help you in this process.

NDA

NDA (non-disclosure agreement) is a must when you are planning to hire a developer, designer or any other third party for your project. A lot of android app service company representatives advice you to get NDA signed from your employers too. This would make them legally responsible if the idea leaks out.

NCA

This is a variant of NDA. The non-compete agreement would help you restrain the parties involved in the app development to avoid using your secrets against you and become your competitors in future. This includes clauses that prevent them from working with your direct competitors for a certain time. Most of the developers would not be willing to sign NCA as they tend to get similar clients frequently and it disrupts their business. But, you can use the other methods to safeguard your ideas.

Patent

This is the highest level of protection. This protects your idea for a certain amount of period from others. Not just elements, you can shield your app from variants which look similar to your app and can become a rival in future. Once the patent expires, anyone can use the elements in your app. This is the ultimate guard for the app. But, it comes with a cost. Sometimes, it might cost even more than what you spent for the app. The patent can be extended up to 20 years too.

Trademark

Trademark helps to prevent others from copying your logos, slogans and icons. You can trademark any term in your app. If you want your app to be remembered by that name, you can trademark it. For instance, Angry Bird is a trademark of Rovio. Rovio has safeguarded the term ‘Angry Bird’ from others and thus, now the term would indicate Rovio.

Before you start the Android app development process, get in touch with a reputed law consultancy or any lawyer to know about all the legal processes of safeguarding your ideas. Apart from these, there are a lot of tips which would help you to secure your idea like limiting distribution of app, documenting all the processes you implement and using reputed partners and developers to work with you for your app.