P4. Describe how the proposal conforms to meet all legal and regulatory requirements
When making this application I will need to consider a few legal issues, one of the major concerns for upcoming products would be copyright, to prevent myself from copywriting other’s intellectual property I will need to either hire someone to make the logos, designs and content within my app to ensure that all trademarks created is legally my own property. Using products on the internet would be dangerous as there is a new policy such as article 13 which prevents using others intellectual property. If my product is found with someone else's intellectual property, they will be able to make a lawsuit against my company for using their property. If I don’t have sufficient budget for something such as music or video and I'm not able to do it myself or with the help of a media company, I can purchase stock videos, photos and royalty free music which gives me the right to distribute and use.
My app will sold on the Apple Appstore and Google play store where it can be distributed to a very large audience. As this is my initial plan I will be needing to consider the terms and condition that both stores require all developers to follow (https://play.google.com/about/developer-content-policy/#!?modal_active=none and https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/). These links show the guidelines that all the developers agree to when using their platform to distribute their product. Some of the agreements that are included in the guidelines involve standard laws that are followed by everyone such as copy right and data protection. The agreement also states that if my app is found with anything that goes against the laws I have agreed to my app will be taken down from the store.
As my app will be showing an instructor demonstrating how to do work out and handing advice for the audience, I will need my instructor to be qualified for giving advice to people. To both ensure that the advice is approved by other professionals and can guarantee that consumers that all the advice is given are reliable, I would have my content firstly reviewed by an official health board and have an instructor who is qualified for the job. Not doing so will have consequences with both the consumers and potential lawsuits, this is because if the consumers cannot be guaranteed that the information that they are being given is reliable, the chance for them to buy the products is low. Also if the consumers to purchase the product and end up getting injured, they legally will be able to make a lawsuit against my product for giving them on unproven advice.
Other big concerns such as the data protection act, maybe a big concern for other companies. Large companies usually would be needing to store the customer's information on their server, although they will be running the risk of it being found and stolen. The responsibility of keeping data safe has never been more important now that internet crime has become so easy. It is because of this that I have come up with an idea for the app that doesn't need any information about the consumers. This is because the consumers won’t be needing to store any data, they will only need to navigate through videos to see what exercises would they want to perform.
My product will be needing some of the work to be outsourced to third party companies for the production of the app such as for the video production and programming. I will be needing to make a NDA (Non disclosure Agreement) which will ensure that they won't steal any ideas I have for my application. Using a NDA with third party companies will give me the chance to have more control over which companies will be leaning about the product idea. If I have any complication with anyone who is under the (NDA) I will have a legal advantage and be able to claim for any legal remedies if the agreement is breached.
Something else to consider when outsourcing work to third party companies are ensuring there is an agreement on the ownership over the product created once the services of the third company has been concluded. This will mean that ensuring the third party company has no legal right to make the same product they made for me for some other company. This will include video productions, code and app designs.
P5. Asses the ethical, social and moral impacts your proposal could have on stakeholders
When making an app, there are certain issues that I must take into account. Firstly using a used code for my application can be both an ethical issue for myself and for the creator, as many people would say using the same or similar should be avoided because it is infringing a copyright issue, although with the rise of technology and capability to make digital applications no matter what skill in programming, if many companies were to patent their code, it can hinder new ideas for more digital applications and prevent new competition in the market. This is because code can be made in many different ways but many follow the very similar foundation of code, therefore placing patents on my code will hinder other people to make other apps as new programmers will find it difficult to make new code when their aim is to make a new design and or idea. To avoid complications with other companies, I will have my application programmed without infringing any copyrights, but I won’t aim to copyright my own basic code.
To avoid any ethical issues with privacy, I will be avoiding and the need to collect the consumers data such as I will not be needing their name, email, and social media. My reason for this is because I do not need it and secondly it would needlessly place my product at unnecessary risk. I will be needing to keep the details of the consumers debit card, to ensure the details are safe, I'll be using the both Apple store's and Google play store's purchasing method which uses the user's card details through their app and the transaction goes through both of those companies to me without revealing the consumer's card details. Another concern similar to this is storing private information of children, if my company is seen doing this I could end up serving large financial penalty.
Another ethical issue would be the use of improper language such as swearing or any sounds or visuals that would fit my app in a higher age range. As my app is only a health and fitness guide, I won't be needing this to draw in an audience like other applications, therefore I will be avoiding this risk. Hiring smaller companies to perform these tasks such as video production companies and sound production companies for video and soundtracks can be cheaper and more professional.
Another concern that I could have with my product is if it places any vulnerable groups in danger. Placing groups of a certain gender, age, physical condition or ethnicity in danger can be seen as a prejudice attack and can bring many consequences to both my company and myself. As technology is more widely used, basically everyone can get a hold on a smartphone and view my app, which is why I'll need to be careful with children. To avoid this I will be using a mixed focus group to assess and judge my product to see if there is anything that could offend anyone or any vulnerable group, I will also be adding a notice that gives the consumer the safety guidelines for using this product such as what age or physical condition you will be needing if you want to use this product.
User added content is something that appears in many apps such as Youtube, Spotify and Facebook. Handing this ability to the consumers can be a danger due to the wide range of content that they may want to post that could be seen as inappropriate. If my app were to use this feature I will be needing to moderate the content posted to make sure I know what is posted so I can ensure my app doesn’t receive any complaints for providing a platform for hateful content. To prevent any hateful content spreading to far I would add the ability for the public to report anything, the reported content would then go under review and most likely taken down from the app.
To avoid any ethical issues with privacy, I will be avoiding and the need to collect the consumers data such as I will not be needing their name, email, and social media. My reason for this is because I do not need it and secondly it would needlessly place my product at unnecessary risk. I will be needing to keep the details of the consumers debit card, to ensure the details are safe, I'll be using the both Apple store's and Google play store's purchasing method which uses the user's card details through their app and the transaction goes through both of those companies to me without revealing the consumer's card details. Another concern similar to this is storing private information of children, if my company is seen doing this I could end up serving large financial penalty.
Another ethical issue would be the use of improper language such as swearing or any sounds or visuals that would fit my app in a higher age range. As my app is only a health and fitness guide, I won't be needing this to draw in an audience like other applications, therefore I will be avoiding this risk. Hiring smaller companies to perform these tasks such as video production companies and sound production companies for video and soundtracks can be cheaper and more professional.
Another concern that I could have with my product is if it places any vulnerable groups in danger. Placing groups of a certain gender, age, physical condition or ethnicity in danger can be seen as a prejudice attack and can bring many consequences to both my company and myself. As technology is more widely used, basically everyone can get a hold on a smartphone and view my app, which is why I'll need to be careful with children. To avoid this I will be using a mixed focus group to assess and judge my product to see if there is anything that could offend anyone or any vulnerable group, I will also be adding a notice that gives the consumer the safety guidelines for using this product such as what age or physical condition you will be needing if you want to use this product.
User added content is something that appears in many apps such as Youtube, Spotify and Facebook. Handing this ability to the consumers can be a danger due to the wide range of content that they may want to post that could be seen as inappropriate. If my app were to use this feature I will be needing to moderate the content posted to make sure I know what is posted so I can ensure my app doesn’t receive any complaints for providing a platform for hateful content. To prevent any hateful content spreading to far I would add the ability for the public to report anything, the reported content would then go under review and most likely taken down from the app.