Did you make a company before launching your app?

[TreInJapan]

Hello!

I'm in the process of putting a few apps together. I'm an American and will be working with the US App Store, though I actually live in Japan currently.

Just wondering what your personal experience is with legal protection for your apps and ideas.

Did you create a legal entity (Corp, LLC or SP) BEFORE launching your apps, or AFTER? It seems like it would be important to have the legal protection at the time of launching in case someone were to steal your ideas.

Also, if I were to submit an app to the AppStore that unintentionally had some similar characters or features to something else already for sale somewhere in the world, would I be liable for "stealing" an idea?

Thanks so much!

[Greencardman]

We haven't made one yet. It depends how much money you have. Sure, if you own a house and have a nice nest egg, you might want to get an LLC just for protection. But you don't need one to enforce copyright laws if someone steals your idea, and its unlikely you're going to get sued if you're making something original.
If you're just starting out, its not worth the money. If you've got a nice little app business in progress, you might want to consider it.

[dejo]

TreInJapan, getting proper answers to some of your questions will probably (and unfortunately ? ) require consulting a lawyer.

[charlieegan3]

The might be a good legal/business forum out there. That might save you the cost of a lawyer.

[fpmr96a]

I preferred to establish my Apple Developer account under my company name, as I didn't want my name showing in the App Store and I thought it might help insulate against any potential liability issues.

However, Apple requires Articles of Incorporation as well as other documentation to do so. I couldn't find my Artitcles of Inc. and had to go to the Secretary of the State office to get copies. Still, worth the effort, in my opinion.

[samdev]

Originally Posted by TreInJapan

Also, if I were to submit an app to the AppStore that unintentionally had some similar characters or features to something else already for sale somewhere in the world, would I be liable for "stealing" an idea?

No. Ideas are a dime a dozen. With so many apps, everything has already been done
many times over.

The whole point of being a LLC is to limit liability. If you're worried about getting sued,
just setup a separate bank account for your business. Keep your personal funds separate.

Someone can sue you for a million bucks, but they're not going to get it.
Especially if your montly AppStore earnings is less than a bag of peanuts.

[petsounds]

Originally Posted by samdev

No. Ideas are a dime a dozen. With so many apps, everything has already been done
many times over.

Well, that isn't true, on both accounts. Twitter has a patent on the pull-to-refresh gesture. They've basically said they won't sue anyone else over it, but they could if they wanted to. Or consider the ongoing Loadsys debacle -- many app developers have been threatened with legal action by them.

So you should always think about protecting yourself when you sell goods in a global market. Some customer could decide to sue you. It's better to be safe than play it loose. But as always, I'm not a lawyer; this is not legal advice.

[CASLondon]

Originally Posted by TreInJapan

Hello!

I'm in the process of putting a few apps together. I'm an American and will be working with the US App Store, though I actually live in Japan currently.

Just wondering what your personal experience is with legal protection for your apps and ideas.

Did you create a legal entity (Corp, LLC or SP) BEFORE launching your apps, or AFTER? It seems like it would be important to have the legal protection at the time of launching in case someone were to steal your ideas.

Also, if I were to submit an app to the AppStore that unintentionally had some similar characters or features to something else already for sale somewhere in the world, would I be liable for "stealing" an idea?

Thanks so much!

I'm sure there are advantages, tax and other, to setting yourself up as a business of some kind. I don't know anything about this, but it looks useful as a cheap way to do it..

http://www.legalzoom.com

[samdev]

Originally Posted by petsounds

Well, that isn't true, on both accounts. Twitter has a patent on the pull-to-refresh gesture. They've basically said they won't sue anyone else over it, but they could if they wanted to. Or consider the ongoing Loadsys debacle -- many app developers have been threatened with legal action by them.

So you should always think about protecting yourself when you sell goods in a global market. Some customer could decide to sue you. It's better to be safe than play it loose. But as always, I'm not a lawyer; this is not legal advice.

Not at all. "Ideas" don't fall into the category of patents or trademarks. "Ideas" cannot be copyrighted.

And I would highly doubt a big-time company would want to sue a little guy. Companies can size you
up pretty quickly like a shark. If they don't smell money, then they're not going to attack.

[petsounds]

Originally Posted by samdev

Not at all. "Ideas" don't fall into the category of patents or trademarks. "Ideas" cannot be copyrighted.

Not at all? I'm not sure what you're referring to...? Are you saying you don't believe Twitter has a pull-to-refresh patent?

They do: http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/27/pul...sh-the-patent/

[samdev]

Originally Posted by petsounds

Not at all? I'm not sure what you're referring to...? Are you saying you don't believe Twitter has a pull-to-refresh patent?

They do: http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/27/pul...sh-the-patent/

I'm saying you shouldn't steal patents and trademarks. Companies will definitely sue.
But, an "idea" is just an "idea". There are a million of them.

[jonaske]

I have just used my name. In that way you don't have to do a lot of paperwork. But for me it's more a hobby. If it is your profession, it's handier to set up a company.

[Littleodie914]

I develop my Mac/iOS applications on the side as a hobby, and simply post them under my name. Have been doing so for almost two years, with no problems.

Your mileage may vary, of course. The only downside is that since the sales from the App Store count as self-employment income (again, contact a CPA, your situation may be different!) I pay a pretty hefty tax on that income.

[TouchMint.com]

I created an LLC before publishing any apps. It cost about $80 total and was a pretty painless process.

[waterskier2007]

Originally Posted by petsounds

Not at all? I'm not sure what you're referring to...? Are you saying you don't believe Twitter has a pull-to-refresh patent?

They do: http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/27/pul...sh-the-patent/

I believe you on twitter holding that patent, but then how does Apple get away with including a pull to refresh control that you can add to your table view in iOS6

[petsounds]

Originally Posted by waterskier2007

I believe you on twitter holding that patent, but then how does Apple get away with including a pull to refresh control that you can add to your table view in iOS6

How? Well, either they implemented their pull-to-refresh in a different way, they're assuming (based on the patent inventor saying he wouldn't enforce it) like everyone else that Twitter won't go after people, or they've made a secret agreement with Twitter. For instance, Apple pays a license fee to Amazon for their ridiculous "one-click shopping" patent for use with the online Apple Store.