Process impact: This document outlines legal issues
that may affect this release. Failure to carefully consider these
issues may create a risk of legal action or limit future
negotiations or legal defenses.
TODO: Use this worksheet to help identify legal issues. Fill in the
information above and below. Add or remove rows as needed. Seek
professional counsel for review as needed.
Ownership of Intellectual Property
Component
Owner
License
Status
Comments
Product name
Us
Trademark
Registration pending
We must use "(TM)", not "(R)"
Database
VENDOR
Commercial license
In compliance, paid normal fee
Limits us to 2 CPUs/server
Encryption library
VENDOR
Commercial license
In compliance, signed partnership agreement
Clip-art graphics
None
Public Domain
In compliance
Sound driver library
Open source
BSD
In compliance
Search engine indexer
Open source
GPL
In compliance
Indexer runs in separate process, so it does not force our code
to use GPL
Other library
Open source
BSD
In compliance
Other data
Us
Copyrighted
In compliance
Special algorithm patent
Us
Patent pending
In compliance
Patent search done, patent application submitted
Regulatory and Policy Compliance
Type
Regulation
Status
Comments
Taxes
Our e-commerce engine must help our customers determine sales taxes
Pending
We still need to put the details in the SRS
Export
Strong encryption exports must be declared
In compliance
We will not distribute out of our country
Privacy
Industry organization seal of approval
In compliance
On-line consumers have control over how their personal
information is used
Privacy
HIPAA privacy
In compliance
Security
HIPAA security
Violated
We need to comply with this by next year
Accessibility
Section 508
In compliance
Needed for government sales
Interoperability
Corporate policy on compatibility with LEGACY SYSTEM
Waived
We have permission to break compatibility
Product Licensing
How will this product be licensed to customers?
Floating user licenses.
Named user licenses.
Node-locked server licenses, priced per CPU.
Site license.
ASP monthly service.
What contractual commitments will we make to customers?
None. This software is provided "AS IS" without
any warranty. Customers indemnify us against any claims of harm
caused by using the product.
We commit to a certain SLA (service level
agreement) for our ASP hosting service.
We commit to develop certain additional features
over a specific time-line:
YYYY/MM/DD: CUSTOMER-SPECIFIC-FEATURE
YYYY/MM/DD: CUSTOMER-SPECIFIC-FEATURE
We commit to certain precisely specified
functional and non-functional requirements:
CONTRACTUAL-REQUIREMENT
CONTRACTUAL-REQUIREMENT
Legal Issues Checklist
The goal of this checklist is to help expose legal issues that
might otherwise be missed. It does not help with the actual
management of legal issues.
TODO: Answer the questions below. Consider how each sample answer
might apply to your project. Select the best match, edit it, and
delete the others.
Does the development organization hold trademarks on the product name
and any other names used in marketing the product?
Yes. Make sure to defend your ownership.
No. Make sure not to impinge on the trademarks of others.
Does the development organization hold or license patents on
intellectual property that is used in the product?
Yes. Make sure to defend your ownership.
No. Make sure not to impinge on the patents of others.
Does the development organization hold or license copyrights on
source code that is used in the product?
Yes. Make sure to defend your ownership.
No. Make sure not to impinge on the patents of others.
For each component in the product, is that component being used
in a way that complies with its license?
See details in table above.
For each piece of copyrighted data in the product, is that data
being used in a way that complies with its license?
See details in table above.
Was any component or data produced by another organization under
contract?
Yes. Review the contract details for ownership and licensing.
No. No action required.
Does the product use technologies that are under export control?
Yes. But, we have no plans to export.
Yes. Take steps to obtain needed export permissions.
No. No action required.
Does the product need to meet industry-specific regulations or
certifications?
Yes. Take steps to meet them. Specifically, ...
No. No action needed.
Does the product satisfy corporate policies (e.g., on privacy
and security)?
Yes. Describe how each policy is satisfied:...
No. Describe the steps needed to bring the
product into compliance.
No. No policies apply.
TODO: Check for words
of wisdom for additional advice on this template.