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I have an idea on creating an app for iPhone and Android. How should I go about doing this?

By: Bill Wortman

I have an idea on creating an app for iPhone and Android. How should I go about doing this?

Answer: The comments that we offer on legal topics are not based on any legal qualifications and should not be considered as anything other than general feedback. Our ability to find information that is directly responsive to legal and regulatory questions is limited to referencing documents published by the government or other sources.

We do not know if you have the technical expertise to program your own mobile app or will need to engage a professional app developer. If you will be hiring an app developer, you should plan to consult your lawyer regarding a non-disclosure agreement and a form of services agreement to protect your app idea. The following are some of the considerations for the development of your app idea.

Mobile app industry: An app can be expensive to have developed; therefore, you may need to assess the app industry and your ability to recover your (and any investor’s) investment and eventually make money. You can research the app development business through industry articles, information, and resources like the following:

Mobile Apps industry statistics and related information:

What 44 Billion Mobile App Downloads by 2016 Means: gigaom.com
How Many Mobile Applications Are In Existence, by Platform: quora.com (requires registration)

Selecting a mobile app programmer: A mobile app is basically a software program. If you are not a programmer, then you would need to engage a professional app developer. We do not maintain contacts with mobile app developers or have specific recommendations to developers in particular geographic areas. There are numerous firms and individuals developing mobile apps; however, the majority of developers focus on building apps for the iPhone and iPad platforms. You can locate local developers by using an Internet search engine or possibly your local Yellow Pages. Of course, you will need to carefully evaluate any developers you locate before engaging them. The following are discussions on some of the considerations and questions to ask when selecting a developer:

Mobile app intellectual property (IP) protection: If you are going to discuss your app idea with any programmers or other outside parties before you have registered any available intellectual properties, you should plan to use a form of confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement for legal protection (see below). As to possible IP protection for an app, you could trademark a unique name; however, business method and software patents and copyrights are more complex issues that you may have to consider with a lawyer. You can review industry and government information regarding IP protection for mobile apps and related issues at the following websites:

Mobile apps:

Business methods:

Software patents:

Published: June 26, 2013
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Bill Wortman

As the Chief Business Consultant at BizCoachingOnDemand.com, Bill has over 40 years of business experience. He's held multiple executive-level positions and fulfilled the role of CFO at large, publicly-held (NYSE, NASDAQA, and AMEX) corporations. In addition, he's also been an owner of several successful private ventures in real estate and in the automotive industry.