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title: "Protecting software, algorithms and datasets: a practical checklist | R&D COPILOT"
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[RDC](https://rdcopilot.com/) [Insights](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/)Product and technology advisory

Product and technology advisoryDecision guide

# Protecting software, algorithms and datasets: a practical checklist

A technology company’s most valuable assets rarely sit in a warehouse. They are source code, a method that works better than the usual one, a trained model, a carefully labelled dataset and a product name customers recognise. Each of these is protected in a different way, some automatically and some only if you act before the first public demo. This checklist shows how we help a team decide what to protect, how and in which order, and what a useful file for your IP counsel looks like. It is practical guidance, not legal advice; the legal decisions stay with the counsel of your choice.

By R&D COPILOT7 October 20265 min read

In this guide

1.  [Know what each form of protection covers](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/software-ip-protection-checklist/#guide-section-1)
2.  [Build the asset inventory from what already exists](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/software-ip-protection-checklist/#guide-section-2)
3.  [Check what you do not fully own](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/software-ip-protection-checklist/#guide-section-3)
4.  [Describe what is new without disclosing it](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/software-ip-protection-checklist/#guide-section-4)
5.  [Decide per asset](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/software-ip-protection-checklist/#guide-section-5)
6.  [Prepare the file for your IP counsel](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/software-ip-protection-checklist/#guide-section-6)
7.  [Keep the inventory current](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/software-ip-protection-checklist/#guide-section-7)

[Sources & inspiration](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/software-ip-protection-checklist/#guide-sources)

## Know what each form of protection covers

The most common mistake is expecting one instrument to protect everything. Copyright protects how code is written, not the idea behind it. A patent can protect a technical solution but requires disclosure. A trade secret protects what stays confidential, and only for as long as it does. The table below is the starting point for every decision that follows.

Know what each form of protection covers
| Form | What it protects | What to know |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Copyright | Source and object code, documentation, interface texts | Arises automatically; ideas, algorithms as such and functionality are not covered |
| Patent | A technical solution, including computer-implemented inventions with a further technical effect | Must be new when filed; Europe offers almost no grace period after your own disclosure |
| Trade secret | Know-how, parameters, datasets, model weights kept confidential | Requires reasonable, documented steps to keep the information secret |
| Database right | Contents of a database built with substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting data | Separate from copyright; lasts 15 years from completion or substantial change |
| Trademark | Product and company names, logos | Registered nationally or at EU level; check availability before launch |

## Build the asset inventory from what already exists

Do not start from a blank sheet. The repositories, the data catalogue and the project folders already describe most assets; the work is to list them with an owner and a status. We go through them with the team and record, for each asset, what it is, who created it, where it lives and whether anything about it has been made public.

-   Code repositories, with the components written in-house marked separately
-   Open-source dependencies and their licences
-   Trained models, their weights and the training configuration
-   Datasets, how they were collected or labelled, and the terms of each source
-   Methods and parameters documented in experiment notes or internal wikis
-   Product names, logos and domains

## Check what you do not fully own

Ownership gaps surface at the worst moment, usually during a licensing conversation or a customer’s due diligence. Under EU software law, the economic rights in programs written by employees in the course of their duties normally go to the employer unless the contract says otherwise. Contractors and agencies are different: without a written assignment, the code they wrote may still be theirs. Check those agreements first.

Then check what the dependencies allow. A copyleft licence can impose obligations when you distribute the software, and data scraped or bought under restrictive terms may not be usable for a commercial model. Record each finding next to the asset, with the decision taken.

## Describe what is new without disclosing it

If a patent is a possibility, anything published before filing can destroy novelty, including your own blog post, a conference talk, a public demo video or a detailed app store description. Until the decision is made, keep detailed technical descriptions internal and share them only under confidentiality.

Inside the company, write the description as precisely as you can: the problem, the known approaches, what your method does differently and the measurable effect. For algorithms and models, the European Patent Office looks for a technical character and a further technical effect, such as improved control of a machine or more efficient use of hardware, rather than a better mathematical method on its own. Writing that effect down early helps your counsel judge whether a patent is realistic.

## Decide per asset

With the inventory and descriptions in place, most decisions follow a few simple rules:

-   Code you will distribute: rely on copyright, keep authorship records and consider the national software register where it applies
-   A method with a measurable technical effect that competitors could copy from the product: discuss a patent before any disclosure
-   Parameters, model weights and datasets that cannot be reverse-engineered: protect as trade secrets with access controls and a written policy
-   A database built with significant effort: document the investment in collecting and verifying it
-   Names customers will use: search availability and register the trademark before launch

## Prepare the file for your IP counsel

A clear technical file shortens the legal work and lowers its cost. We prepare it so counsel can focus on legal questions instead of reconstructing the technology. It typically includes the asset inventory, the technical description with diagrams, dated evidence of development, the list of disclosures made so far, the ownership and licence findings and the questions the team wants answered. Filing with OSIM, the EPO, EUIPO or ORDA, and every legal opinion, stays with counsel.

## Keep the inventory current

Protection decays when the inventory is a one-off document. Link it to the systems where work already happens: the inventory itself lives in a private AI workspace with permissions per project, next to the trade-secret material it describes, and licence and partnership terms are stored with the contract in CRM. Confidentiality and disclosure rules become a short course in eLearning, so every new team member completes it during onboarding and the completion is recorded.

We run this as part of our product and technology advisory, in documented stages priced per stage, with extra work at a fixed hourly rate. The software that keeps the inventory alive, from ERP and CRM to the private AI workspace and eLearning, is operated by the same team with a setup fee and a monthly licence that includes EU hosting, updates and support.

Follow the references

## Sources & inspiration

### [PriorWise - AI Patent Search for Confluence](https://devpost.com/software/priorwise-ai-patent-search-from-confluence)

Devpost project by Kevin Loeffler

An AI tool that reads ideas documented in Confluence and searches patents and research papers for similar prior work.

This independently created project is credited as inspiration. The workflow and implementation guidance in this article are RDC’s analysis.

-   [EPO Guidelines for Examination: G-II, 3.6 Programs for computers](https://www.epo.org/en/legal/guidelines-epc/2025/g_ii_3_6.html)
-   [EPO Guidelines for Examination: G-II, 3.3.1 Artificial intelligence and machine learning](https://www.epo.org/en/legal/guidelines-epc/2025/g_ii_3_3_1.html)
-   [Directive 2009/24/EC on the legal protection of computer programs](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/24/oj)
-   [Directive (EU) 2016/943 on the protection of trade secrets](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/943/oj)
-   [Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/1996/9/oj)
-   [EUIPO: Trade secrets, vital intellectual property assets](https://www.euipo.europa.eu/en/news/trade-secrets-vital-intellectual-property-assets)
-   [EUIPO: Trade marks](https://www.euipo.europa.eu/en/trade-marks)
-   [OSIM: Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks](https://osim.ro/)
-   [ORDA: Romanian Copyright Office](https://www.orda.ro/)

Put the guide to work

## Start with your workflow.

Tell us what your team needs to do, which systems are involved and where the current process slows down.

[Discuss your project](https://rdcopilot.com/contact/?service=innovation-consulting) [Explore Product and technology advisory](https://rdcopilot.com/services/innovation-consulting/)

Product and technology advisory

## Keep exploring.

[All guides](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/)

How-to guide

### [A technology roadmap for a new product: from prototype to market](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/technology-roadmap-new-product/)

Build a technology roadmap that separates new from standard parts, uses maturity levels, names the evidence for each stage and turns into tracked work.

[Read guide](https://rdcopilot.com/insights/technology-roadmap-new-product/)