hi all, i am currently developing a script (PHP) which is currently in its alpha stage. i will soon be releasing the beta to a selected set of testers for free and then after that i plan to release it commercially. My question is what all should i do to protect my script? i am not talking about encoding or stuff like that. How can i legally protect my script? just like vbulletin does. i need the buyers to have a link back to the script home at the bottom and they wont be having any reselling rights. please help me. thanks
Steps: 1. Find a good IP (Intellectual Property) lawyer. 2. Copyright it through the US Copyright Office. 3. Once you contact an IP lawyer, check on patent possibilities. If it something that is indeed unique, you might be able to patent the process. It is a lengthly and costly process. You don't trademark programming. You can trademark your software's name, your business name and so on. If there is other software that generally performs the tasks yours does, it most likely won't get approved for a patent and if it did somehow, it can be shot down by prior art. Remember, it is up to YOU to defend your own property. You can put all sorts of legal mumbo jumbo, but no government will do anything for you. Technically, in the USA, your work is under copyright when you create it. However, you can not sue for copyright infringement in say a district court unless you hold and official copyright from the US Copyright Office. Let me emphasize personal responsibility. You could take vbulletin and violate all their "terms". It will be up to the owners of vbulletin to spend the money required to file the appropriate legal documents, which means hiring a lawyer unless they go to small claims court. If they take you to small claims court and win, it is now up to them to collect. If you are not in the USA, then none of this applies except find a lawyer