Intellectual Property

Software companies often underinvest in IP protection until something goes wrong — a competitor copies their product, a key employee leaves with proprietary code, or a vendor claims ownership of work they built. The legal framework for protecting technology IP involves multiple overlapping regimes: copyright protects source code automatically at creation; trade secret law protects confidential information that provides competitive advantage; patents can protect novel software methods and systems; and contracts govern what happens to IP in every business relationship you enter.

One underappreciated IP issue for tech companies is open source compliance. Every tech company uses open source software — the question is whether they're tracking what they use and complying with the license terms. Copyleft licenses (GPL, AGPL especially) impose obligations that can require you to release your own proprietary code if not handled correctly. AGPL is particularly relevant for SaaS companies — its network use provisions mean that even running AGPL software on a server without distributing it may trigger share-alike obligations. An open source audit and policy should be a standard part of any tech company's IP program.