IT Staffing Services & Intellectual Property Rights Management

Key Takeaways

• Do you know what is IT staffing services?
• Are you using IT staffing services in India?
• Read the blog below to learn about IPR management with IT contract staffing services.

The e-commerce landscape is evolving at an exponential pace, and the tech advancements are helping reshape the way businesses and consumers interact.

In our digital age, IPR, or intellectual property rights, are everything!

In the IT sector, it is especially important, be it’s sharing or protection.

While managing IPR is a tough task as it is, in the case of IT Staffing services, it becomes a whole new challenge!

As you are inculcating remote developers in your in-house team, thus you have to share yours and clients’ IPR.

• But what ensures that they remain confidential?
• How do you protect IPRs in the case of IT staffing services?

In this blog, we will provide you with a robust IPR strategy that will alleviate your IPR loss fears.

If you are a business owner, a product manager, a developer, or an HR, then this blog is about how to make your IPR handling smooth with IT staffing services.

A few facts about IPRs

• World Intellectual Property Day is observed on 26th April every year.
• There are 6 types of IPRs, and they are: Patent, Copyright, Trademark, Industrial Designs, Geographical Indications and Trade Secrets
• The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), was setup in 1883 and handles IPRs across the globe.
• The UN understood that IPRs are linked to innovation and thus celebrated World Intellectual Property Day 2024 with a theme of IPRs and the SDGs (sustainable development goals). So that SDGs can be achieved via innovation!
• India has risen to 39th position in the Global Innovation Index (2024) from 83rd in 2022!

IT Staffing Services & Intellectual Property Rights: The Understanding

IPR, or intellectual property rights, point out to the new creations or innovations done via the effective use of mind!

In the IT sector, it will include databases, algorithms, software, and unique business proposals.

Thus, when it comes to hiring an IT staff for your company, be it in-house, contractual, or remote, they play their part in these innovations as well.

When it comes down to IT Staffing Services, you are engaging contractual remote resources that work for the betterment of your product and services to deliver top notch results to clients.

These resources mostly work as remote developers, and thus it gets more challenging to ensure IPR protection.

IT staffing services are the backbone of the IT industry, as they help in hiring the best possible global talent on a contract basis.

So now, it comes down to what these challenges are so that they can be curtailed.

Possible challenges to IPR protection in IT Staffing Services

These challenges are,

• Ownership of IPR rights of the products and services developed by the contractual resources.
• Protection of IPRs from getting stolen by the contractual resources.
• Navigating through the International IPR laws due to the hiring of global talent.

Now let us dwell into the IPR strategy that can help you make the most of IT staffing services without the fear of IPR loss.

Crafting an Effective IPR Strategy

When engaging IT staffing services, effective IPR strategy development and implementation from the get-go is crucial!

Here’s how you craft an effective IPR strategy:

• Identify the various IPR types you will work on, including your software, algorithms, and more.
• Understand your local IP Laws and the IP Laws of the country where your remote and contractual resources are located.
• Setup clear IP ownership rules that ensure that any IP made by your employees, be they in-house or contractual, is owned by your company.
• Keep the IPR strategy flexible so that it can be changed on the go as the IT sector is quite scalable and versatile.

These four steps guide you to develop an effective IPR strategy!

IT Staffing Services: Contractual Safeguards for IPR

Contractual safeguards are a must when engaging IT staffing services in an IT company!

These safeguards are clearly mentioned in your contracts that you will sign with your IT staffing partners.

Here they are,

• IP Ownership

By adding a clause that clearly states about any IP made by the contractual developers will be owned by your company is the first step.

• Confidentiality

This clause helps in preventing any accidental or knowingly done disclosure of confidential IPRs.

• Non-Compete

This clause helps in preventing your remote developers on contract to work with your competitor for a certain period of time that is deemed accurate by your industry standards.

• NDAs

NDAs, or non-disclosure agreements, are signed with the remote developers and contractual developers as they join your organization so that they know the law of the land!

• Employee Invention Agreements

These agreements clearly state that any invention done by an employee while working for a company belongs explicitly to the company!

These contractual safeguards help you and your contractual resources work in the best possible manner without any fear of IPR loss!

IT Staffing Services & IP Portfolio Management

Now that you have set everything in place for a seamless alignment and working of your IT teams via adding in contractual resources, let us understand how to manage your IP portfolio.

Your IP portfolio keeps a list of all the IP assets that you have, be they patents, trade secrets, or copyrights.

Here are the best practices for apt IP portfolio management:

• Regular IP Audits

You use them to identify and document all of your current IP assets.

• Clear Communication

Your communication, escalation matrices, and filling deadlines should be clearly communicated for apt IPR inclusion.

• Documentation

Ensure that all IPRs are properly filled, approved, and documented along with the appropriate contracts & agreements to ensure apt management.

You can use tools like,

• Encryption tools like BitLocker and NordLocker
• Access Control Systems like HID and ADT
• IP Management Software like TM Cloud and Inteum

These tools will help protect your IP portfolio from any unlawful and hacking activities.

They will also ensure that only those employees and contractual developers get access to IPRs who are vetted for the same.

IT Staffing Services: Training and Compliances

Your inhouse and IT staffing resources need apt training about IPR handling and compliance assurance!

Only when they understand,

• What they can do?
• How to do it?
• Whom to ask for permission for the same? They will be able to work as per your IPR guidelines.

So, organize regular training sessions and onboarding sessions for the new joiners.

Plus, you also have to monitor and enforce IPRs as a crucial part of compliance assurance.

This includes monitoring how your IPs are being used and by whom.

Lastly, a well trained IT staff, be they full-time or contractual, is your best defence!

IT Staffing Services & International IP Laws

Since you will be working with talent from a global resource pool, that means you also have to keep an eye on international IP laws as well as the local IP laws of the country where your contractual resource resides.

Here are a few strategies that you can use for International IP law alignment:

• International IPR Protection Agreements
• Having legal counsel in the country where your remote resource lives.
• Proactively working on this from the start.

The more proactive you are with IPR, the better your work environment will be!

Case Studies | IPR Strategies for IT Staffing Services

It is always good to learn from the big leagues, and that’s why we brought you some real-world examples from the big players in the IT sector.

• IBM

They have a robust IPR strategy along with a dedicated team for IP management and advanced IP tools.

This has helped them with innovations and IPR protection to maintain their competitive edge.

• Microsoft

They have an all-inclusive IP policy and carry out timely IPR trainings for their IT staff.

Thus, their teams have developed a work culture that fosters innovation and IP protection.

So don’t worry about IPR if you have done enough homework regarding IP protection and implemented IPR strategies aptly!

Conclusion: IPR Management and IT Staffing Services

We know that IP management can look difficult when trying to achieve it all in one go.

But if you follow the above steps and best practices, it will be a one-time hassle and then smooth sailing with IT staffing services for the rest of your lives.

Be it developing an IPR strategy, Contractual safeguards, IP portfolio management, Trainings or International IP laws, everything can be done beforehand.

Afterwards, you just keep updating your documentation and your employees.

IT staffing services are the only way for start-ups, small businesses, and medium sized businesses to ensue their competitive edge. Plus, with so many preparations, your in-house team will also not deter from the prescribed path!

Wildnet Technologies is a leading IT Staffing company in India that has catered to 2100+ development projects.

We ensure IPR protection via,

• NDAs for our IT resources.
• Data privacy and Network privacy using top notch and client approved tools.
• Taking onus of any work-for-hire resource’s debacle.
• Providing Accused side jurisdiction.
• Clear information about IP laws in India.

If you would like to know more,

• IT Temporary Staffing Services for Talent Shortage Gap Navigation
• Top 10 IT Staff Augmentation Companies of India in 2024
• Wildnet’s Digital Yum (our thought leadership’s weekly POV on the latest updates from the digital transformation industry)

Connect with us now at info@wildnettechnologies.com and get your IPRs sorted for IT Staffing services.

FAQs

FAQ 1. How to protect intellectual property when outsourcing?

Ans: By hiring from the leading IT staffing services company, i.e., Wildnet!

FAQ 2. What are the intellectual property rights related to IT services?

Ans: IPR related to IT services can include,

• Software
• Algorithms
• Unique Business Proposals
• And more.

FAQ 3. How do you manage intellectual property?

Ans: We manage full proof IPR protection via,

• NDAs for our IT resources.
• Data privacy and Network privacy using top notch and client approved tools.
• Taking onus of any work-for-hire resource’s debacle.
• Providing Accused side jurisdiction.
• Clear information about IP Laws in India.

And that’s why Wildnet Technologies is the preferred choice for IT staffing services!

FAQ 4. How do you handle intellectual property?

Ans: We handle IP very carefully by being proactive and following through with all the legal compliances.

FAQ 5. What are the four main methods for intellectual property protection?

Ans: The four main ways to protect IPRs are,

• Effective IPR strategy (including International IP laws, if needed)
• Contractual Safeguards
• IP Portfolio Management
• Trainings