Say you want a programmer to program something unique for you and you are afraid that it will be leaked, or he or she may take the idea for themself. How do you protect yourself against this?
Yeah, I agree with StaSen. I've always been under the assumption that it is a risk you take. I don't think most programmers are entrepreneurs. I may be wrong. I've noticed though that since it is your idea, you will probably have a lot more passion about it than the programmer will. The passion you have is what will make the idea a success, because you will not give up on the idea, where as the first rejection that the programmer gets trying to push your same idea will likely uninspire him/her to continue pushing forward.
Legally, the first things you should do is: a) Retain an attorney who specializes in intellectual property rights b) File a patent for your idea before disclosing it to anyone other than your attorney. c) Only hire someone from the same country as yourself, so that they fall under the same legal system d) Have them sign a Non-disclosure Agreement and Non-Compete Agreement and have them fax those agreements signed and dated. For further legal protection, require them to sign these agreements under the supervision and seal of an authorized notary public, and have them send the original, signed and sealed documents to you through certified mail. It may be a pain in the butt, but this is the highest level of protection I can think of. Depending on your budget, you can scale back from this, but you will be doing so at your own risk. At the very minimum, follow points c) and d) Also, check out this thread which discusses the same issue.
Well put jquindlen, thats some advice which may prove helpful for myself too in the future if i'm ever in such a situation. Thanks for that information!