Hey Bubbles,
I am hesitant to build my app for one reason - Intellectual Property. What have others done to ensure that their app won’t be duplicated i.e. stolen? I know that if you have evidence that you made an app first it can be enough. But, have others registered the names of their apps? Also, if I wanted to remain as the anonymous owner of an app, can I do so? Has anyone else done this?
If you are scared to build your app because others will copy you you will never do anything in life. Every app on earth has been copied. Every business on earth has been copied.
The questions you should be asking yourself is not whether it will be copied but rather how easy would it be for someone else to copy it and also turn it into a thriving business? Are there any secrets about the way I do things behind the scenes that would make it more difficult for others to knock you out quickly. Will I be able to move quick enough and stay ahead of the competitors if there are any?..
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That doesn’t really answer my question, but thank you for the philosophical answer.
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Apps can legally be duplicated unless you have a patent. Just making an app first doesn’t give you rights to it. I’m not a lawyer but that is my understanding of the law. If you really want to protect your intellectual property I’d consult with a competent intellectual software attorney.
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Actually, ralphlasry DID answer your question.
The fact is that the vast majority of “great app ideas” have more or less been done already. We, as software developers, think we have a great app for car dealers, when the same app has probably already been written, but for RV dealers or people who sell fireplace equipment.
IF you think your app is truly unique, your best option is likely to get it copyrighted or get a utility patent. Copyrighting a bubble app, though, may be difficult because you’re attempting to copyright code, and bubble is, well, pretty codeless. You can get a utility patent, but you will need to show that the app you’re building is really, really, REALLY unique and there is nothing else out there like it.
Now, having said all that, it’s still virtually impossible to completely protect your ideas from being stolen. So your best bet is to make sure your app does its work in an extremely unique, hard-to-copy way.
But let’s face it. The vast majority of people using tools like Bubble aren’t making apps that are that complicated and that hard to copy.
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Depends where you are of course.
AFAIK “Software” is patentable in the UK/USA but it has to be some new way of doing something technical. So Uber can’t patent “What Uber Does” but Uber could patent the way to manage, say, surge pricing in a new and fast way.
There is not a lot you can do if someone basically steals your whole “idea” and implements it themselves under a different name. That is just what happnes.
Same as if you open up a Fruit and Veg shop and someone opens up one next door.
In Europe software is also protected under Copyright law. However, this protection only extends to the concrete result of your idea. The idea itself cannot be protected under Copyright law.
