Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Non-Disclosure Prior Knowledge Exception

Mail copies of your original drawings, code, etc. to yourself, by registered mail. The postal employees will insist the package be sealed with brown packing tape and postmarked all over with the date. You can then bring the sealed envelope to court if there's a dispute.

Re: Non-Disclosure Prior Knowledge Exception

I would include in any NDAs that you sign, (1) a provision indicating that any documentation of prior knowledge kept in the normal course of business may be competent evidence of prior knowledge (e.g. keep copies of development process of code that shows your mental process) and/or (2) require disclosure within x days of signing the NDA if information designated as confidential is subject to the prior knowledge exception, so that you nip the problem in the bud. You could put in the agreement that there is automatically a stipulated protective order in the event of a dispute and require examination by a designated party or through arbitration to inoculate against unnecessary court challenge costs. As to the copyright office, the real issue is that it only protects a particular expression of code (e.g. provide proof of line-by-line plagiarism). What you're expressing is more of an idea protection problem than an expression of an idea problem and so copyright is not the best option to the extent that it is a trade secret you're really protecting. This may be a case-by-case analysis depending on what code you're trying to protect. An attorney would need to discuss specific code and reasons for protection to determine what methods of protection might be available. In relatively rare instances, patent protection (business method patent) may also be available.