How do you protect a Big idea?

Is it even possible? I am talking about the "next big thing". Not your typical IM type site. I am speaking in terms of a new Big Idea on the internet. Something you are confident has the potential to blow up. Something that is completely untapped, yet is proven in other successful internet startups.

I have a few BIG IDEAS, but one I am confident has that 1% chance to blow up into something major.

I am not a programmer nor web designer. I am going to need both. That is where the problems begin. How do I protect my project from the people I am going to rely on to get this going? I have very little capital, but I am in the process of putting something together to purchase the domain and hire the appropriate people to implement. I need to protect my idea as best I can from now until launch. Possible?

By the way, I am not looking for people to discourage me, claim impossibility et cetera. Nothing is a sure thing, and a big idea isn't worth a damn if it isn't implemented properly. The "big idea" is the identification of something that fills a role.

Start with a business plan that carefully lays out everything and has a nice confidentiality page and sign in page for those that read it. Have EVERYONE you discuss with sign an NDA form - make sure it is a good, legal, bullet proof form.

If you have the money and it is a process that has not been done yet you can look into patents...but that takes a few years and a lot of $$.

Really need:
NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and carefully detail what it is called or the process but also blanket it to cover "any and all communication" between the parties for x amount of years. I have 2 different kinds if you want or I am sure you can find them online.

Save all emails regarding the product, all instant messanger convos as proof and when the person runs off with your idea you have more than enough to collect

trademarks, copyrights, patents, NDA's, lawyers. Done.

If you want to protect it, don't tell anyone.. work on it day to day.. perfect it.. and then launch it. You can invite people in on it after you establish it.

That's the thing, this is something that I will need developers and programmers to launch. I only have the idea, I need the skill set of others to make it a workable reality.

SuperBlackHat said:

trademarks, copyrights, patents, NDA's, lawyers. Done.

Click to expand...

thats really it. start with NDA's


if you don't have the skills you need to outsource than you shouldn't be worried much since you are the marketing, accounting and executive dept.

biz plan, incorporate in delaware w 10mil shares of non voting stock and than offer programmers/developers a business plan and equity share in the final product.

this is all over the top for a simple question so first start with the NDA and get money (and it on paper) to get the ball rolling

Take out a patent.

talk about something about impossible to do.
NDA's dont do a thing.
they protect you from that one person, but who is to say they arent going to make a call as soon as your back is turned.

and if you're like me you like to bounce ideas off people, etc.

copyright/trademark is about the only way $$

Is it possible to copyright an idea that is already being used? I am looking to implement on a different platform. Isn't original, but the platform it would be using is something that hasn't been thought of or implemented on.

WILLGOUP said:

Is it possible to copyright an idea that is already being used? I am looking to implement on a different platform. Isn't original, but the platform it would be using is something that hasn't been thought of or implemented on.

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that would be more along the lines of a patent. I have a friend who has one with 26 variations of 1 different method on 2 platforms - make sure they don't have the same

You can't copyright or patent "ideas". You can be certain that somewhere there is someone with an identical idea or concept. It's the one who ACTS on the idea though, and brings it to fruition, who gets the prizes. He gets the copyrights or patents and the laggards get zilch.

As others have said get NDAs and such, but you can't get complete protection at this early stage. If the guys you are using to bring your idea to a stage where you have something that can be patented/copyrighted or whatever, decide after hearing what is required of them not to sign it and go off and do it for themselves there won't be a lot you can do. How can you prove that they also didn't have the same idea? You can't as you have nothing but an idea at the moment. Ideas are ten a penny, everyone has them.

Now you can waste time trying to make sure nobody steals your idea, but you'll focus so much on that you'll get nothing done. Then one day you'll find somebody else has created something very similar which makes your great idea now pointless. He didn't hang about worrying if his idea would be stolen he just went ahead regardless until he had something he was able to copyright/patent. You'll spend the rest of your life boring everyone with "I thought of that idea first but he beat me to it". He wouldn't really have beaten you though, you would have let him take the prize because your fear held you back.

It's a bit like a wealthy man who is so afraid of poverty he won't spend his money and so lives like a poor man.

If your idea is really good then just get it done, and then you'll be able to bring it to the point where you have the legal protection of copyright/patent.

Don't let fear hold you back.

Im in the same boat as you. I Know it will be huge. I just cant program the site myself.

WILLGOUP what city are you in

Depending what your project is, you could try writing it all out and mailing it to yourself but you must never open the envelope. That's apparently a poor mans version of copyrighting something.

This forum might have a few tips and tricks to help you, so go for it.

http://ipwatchdog.com/inventing/patent-ideas/

Edit: Just been reading that forum, it's very interesting. The dude says mailing something to yourself is not a form of protection and a myth. You'd need federal copyright registration if suing someone for infringing.

Ideas as are all around us and they have no value unless...

YOU EXECUTE!

Take it from experience big ideas are useless without execution and this is from a man who has made the big pitch to VC's. The biggest mistake is to get too attached to your idea. Make some money and move on to the next big idea! And oh, nobody steals ideas unless they are already making money!

Asgard said:

Depending what your project is, you could try writing it all out and mailing it to yourself but you must never open the envelope. That's apparently a poor mans version of copyrighting something.

This forum might have a few tips and tricks to help you, so go for it.

http://ipwatchdog.com/inventing/patent-ideas/

Edit: Just been reading that forum, it's very interesting. The dude says mailing something to yourself is not a form of protection and a myth. You'd need federal copyright registration if suing someone for infringing.

Click to expand...

I couldn't find an example, but I seem to recall several court cases being one over the years with a poor man's patent. You have to send it via certified mail though, so that it is dated and certified by the post office.

You could also type it up and have it notorized for $50 or so and then send it to yourself through certified mail.

An NDA is important also, however, if you are outsourcing to overseas programmers I doubt it would hold up, they don't have the same laws as we do here in the States. So hire an american programmer and make them sign an NDA.

You can use this . I use it when i am hiring ppl for my personal projects.

Its a http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?iotzngmlqnm http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?iotzngmlqnm



http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?iotzngmlqnm

Glitched, I'm in the New England area.

I think the first thing you need to do is not go around and tell everybody you have this huge idea lol.

load it in your mind. Don't shout and start working on it....... otherwise another one will took the profit out of it. Lol

Divide it in to small pieces - be sure that one and every piece is looking like a something normal.
Big companies are doing the same - 100 people from one building are working on a one project but they dont even know about it...