Engineering software and systems can raise a variety of legal concerns, including intellectual property rights, liability for defects, and safety and security.

Copyright protects the unique expression of an idea in software or a system, while patents protect inventions, trademarks protect distinctive signs, and trade secrets protect confidential information.

Product liability is the legal principle that holds manufacturers and designers liable for injuries or damages caused by defective products.

CISA is responsible for coordinating and overseeing cybersecurity efforts across the federal government and private sector, including the regulation of software and systems used in critical infrastructure sectors.

A software license agreement serves multiple purposes, including granting users permission to use the software, protecting the intellectual property rights of the software developer, and limiting the liability of the software developer.

An open-source license allows a software developer to incorporate open-source software into their own software without violating copyright law.

The Paris Convention, Berne Convention, and TRIPS Agreement are all international treaties that govern the protection of intellectual property rights, including software and systems.

Negligence is the legal principle that holds software developers liable for foreseeable defects in their software that cause injuries or damages.

The FDA is responsible for regulating the safety of medical devices, including those that incorporate software.

Fair use is the legal principle that allows a software developer to use copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder in certain limited circumstances, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

The TRIPS Agreement includes provisions for the protection of trade secrets, including those related to software and systems.

Strict liability is the legal principle that holds software developers liable for injuries or damages caused by their software, even if the software is not defective.

The NRC is responsible for regulating the safety of nuclear power plants, including the software and systems used in those plants.

Fair use is the legal principle that allows a software developer to incorporate copyrighted material into their own software without violating copyright law if the material is used for a transformative purpose, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

The Paris Convention includes provisions for the protection of patents, including those related to software and systems.