Before we begin, kindly note that this article is focused solely on those readers who do not have any idea about patents. So, what are patents? Why are people talking about them so much? Let’s try to understand some basics of what patents are and why they are important. What is a patent?                A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention. The invention may be a product or a process that provides a new way of doing something. What are the exclusive rights?                 A patent owner can restrict others from using their invention. He has exclusive rights to use, sell, offer for sale, and import that invention. He can also license his rights to a third party for monetary benefits. Can I patent any “new” invention?                 There are certain conditions for granting patent rights for an invention. The conditions…

This article focuses on the Million Dollar question of this century. How to legally protect software from being copied or pirated. In this article, we will be discussing different ways to legally protect software from being pirated/copied. Since are multiple facets to this problem, the first question would be deciding which aspect of the software requires protection. Examples include:          Protecting the basic idea of the software and the problem solved.         Protecting the software code and algorithm.         Protecting the architecture, process/control flow diagrams, higher-level project details, etc.         Protecting the User Interface and graphical elements of the software, etc. This listing is not exhaustive and keeps evolving over time with new developments in the field of software engineering. With new software development models coming into the picture, the strategy for protecting software would naturally undergo further changes. Nevertheless, the…