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How do you protect the "million dollar" idea?

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by mywebwork, Mar 21, 2009.

  1. #1
    Hi

    I've been working on an online application that as far as I can tell (and I've researched it extensively) is a unique idea. The select few people I've demonstrated the concept site to (right now I have it running on a local development server) have been universal in telling me that I have a "million dollar" idea that could be the next big thing in Internet Marketing. I've also described it in minimal detail to some fellow Internet Marketers, again the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

    Please understand that I'm not trying to blow my own horn here - I really have received all of this great response and just want to illustrate what it is that I'm sitting on.

    I have been working on this for 4 years now and am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel - I should be ready to beta-test it by mid April and with any luck have it go live by June or July. I am currently focusing on this project exclusively in hopes that all of my efforts will pay off.

    Now I'm in a quandary about protecting my idea. Once I release it to beta testers the possibility of someone cloning the concept becomes very real. I have already drafted up a Non Disclosure agreement but I'm not really sure wht, if any, protection this will provide me. In fact I've lost touch with a couple of people who I made privileged to the concept (not all the details) and I'm concerned that maybe they are trying to copy it - probably paranoia on my part!

    Without beta testers and affiliate marketers I won't stand a chance of making the product launch successful, so I need to eventually reveal the idea to other people.

    Does anyone have any advice on protecting my concept as much as possible while still getting beta testers and affiliates to promote it?

    Any and all responses greatkly appreciated!

    Thanks

    Bill
     
    mywebwork, Mar 21, 2009 IP
  2. browntwn

    browntwn Illustrious Member

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    #2
    If you don't know someone who can recommend a local attorney I would contact the Hawaii Bar Association for a referral to a intellectual property attorney who can help you. You can contact them here:

    http://www.hsba.org/findlawyer.aspx

    Good luck!
     
    browntwn, Mar 21, 2009 IP
  3. mywebwork

    mywebwork Guest

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    #3
    Thank you , that is an excellent idea.

    Bill
     
    mywebwork, Mar 21, 2009 IP
  4. vinug

    vinug Peon

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    #4
    great..take care that no one takes the idea away..
     
    vinug, Mar 22, 2009 IP
  5. hostlonestar

    hostlonestar Peon

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    #5
    The Non-Disclosure agreement should be able to help you out quite a bit. But, if it is really that great of an idea (not doubting you) then I would get an attorney on this ASAP and have him/her draw the NDA up for you to best protect you as well as advise you what all you can't be protected form legally. And I would keep them on retainer for a bit lol. I sincerely hope your idea takes off as it seems like you have put A LOT of hard work into the idea. I would also look into encrypting the source code as much as possible, this would be something I would not shed any expense on. I have learned from experiance that you should not cut any corners and have had an idea ripped and turned into a huge profit for the person.

    Good Luck!!!
     
    hostlonestar, Mar 22, 2009 IP
  6. dscurlock

    dscurlock Prominent Member

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    #6
    If you think that big of it, then before you go live, then consult with a copyright attorney, and get all that legal stuff out of the way first. Anything can be coded/encrypted, and anything can be cloned by others. Your chances of success are still small, unless some bigger company wants to buy your product, you will have to find a way to market it to the rest of the world to make your "million" dollars.

    good luck.
     
    dscurlock, Mar 22, 2009 IP
  7. koan

    koan Well-Known Member

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    #7
    Be sure to tell us when your web site is online! I'm really curious about it..
     
    koan, Mar 22, 2009 IP
  8. mywebwork

    mywebwork Guest

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    #8
    Thanks to everyone for the great advice, I sincerely appreciate it!

    I will definitely consult with an attorney, also the SBA has regular workshops in which they have experts who answer business-related questions - I think they have a legal expert attend once in a while, I will check with them.

    I assume that to make the NDA legal I have to get the beta testers (and perhaps the initial top-level affiliates) to actually sign a piece of physical paper, as opposed to just clicking an "I agree" box on a web site - correct? I could mail or Fed-EX the NDA to them and only give them access when it is returned.

    I know that this is not a dedicated legal forum but once again I am very appreciative of any and all advice. And, as you can imagine, when I do go "live" I'll let you know what it's all about. In fact it may be impossible to shut me up!

    Aloha

    Bill
     
    mywebwork, Mar 22, 2009 IP
  9. browntwn

    browntwn Illustrious Member

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    #9

    An NDA is nice, but if the people who are disclosing it to are not really in your same jurisdiction (the United States), then it is of little practical value. You really do need to have a level of trust with anyone you work with.
     
    browntwn, Mar 22, 2009 IP
  10. hostlonestar

    hostlonestar Peon

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    #10
    True. If they are not in the US, then an NDA is not really going to do anything. Be selective, and let us know the site when it goes online

    *gets cloning software ready* :) j/k
     
    hostlonestar, Mar 23, 2009 IP
  11. raw100

    raw100 Peon

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    #11
    Yes, i completely agree with hostlonestar. Programers from other countries do not really respect intellectual property laws.
     
    raw100, Mar 23, 2009 IP
  12. Seqqa

    Seqqa Well-Known Member

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    #12
    The most basic way to hold a copyright on something is outline what it is etc, sign and date it and mail to to yourself and never open it.

    Then you move on to patents etc.
     
    Seqqa, Mar 23, 2009 IP
  13. mywebwork

    mywebwork Guest

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    #13
    Please correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't think you could copyright or patent an online application? For example what would prevent me from cloning YouTube, Twitter or MySpace? If there is a way of protecting the concept for an online application I would be VERY interested in hearing about it.

    Of course once I release it the cats out of the bag, and anyone could come along and copy it. I want to make sure that it's a stable application with every conceivable feature possible so that cloning it (or improving it) isn't easy. And naturally I want to be the first one out on the market, which entails getting good affiliates with large mailing lists.

    I want to treat the affiliates like kings and queens, it's a subscription service so they would be earning recurring commissions. I'm willing to give them the lions share of the profits and once it makes money I will be more than happy to provide sales incentives and bonuses. But I don't want them stealing the idea before I establish my place in the market!

    I appreciate the comments about the NDA, I could restrict my initial beta testers to US residents. When it is released I don't want to restrict it at all, in fact if it takes off the way I've been told it will I plan on having it translated into other languages (I've prepared for that by using unicode everywhere in the design).

    Again I do appreciate all of the advice, many thanks.

    Bill
     
    mywebwork, Mar 23, 2009 IP
  14. UncleBS

    UncleBS Guest

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    #14
    Seqqa, that is without a doubt the worst piece of copyright law advice out there.. This so called "poor man's copyright" has never held up in court as a valid method of registering a copyright on anything..

    Bill, you may not be able to copyright the concept, or even the look and feel (microsoft v apple) but you may be able to copyright the exact source code to keep someone for doing a copy/paste and forcing them to actually really develop a real clone..

    If your project is complex enough it may be a year or longer before even a bad knock off appears.. Look at how long Digg has been running with very little competition.. What is out there, Pligg for instance, generally sucks..

    Good luck -
     
    UncleBS, Mar 23, 2009 IP
  15. mywebwork

    mywebwork Guest

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    #15
    Yes, I've heard or the "poor mans copyright" and I also know that it's pretty well useless. I do have my doubts about patents or copyrights towards a concept, I'm not sure about this but I doubt that Tim Berners-Lee has a patent on the World Wide Web for example (not that my product is anything of the magnitude of the World Wide Web!).

    UncleBS and hostlonestar both make good points about protecting the code, I can do that. And I think that I will definitely need to get some legal advice from a professional before I show it to beta testers or anyone.

    Just curious what anyone else would do in my position? Once I have it finished and as legally-protected as I can how do I unveil it, and to whom? I'd love to get some big-name established marketers with huge lists to promote it, how would I get their attention without basically giving away the blueprints?

    Hope that last bit isn't off-topic for this area of the forum, again I appreciate all of the good advice that's been given here.

    Thanks



    Bill
     
    mywebwork, Mar 25, 2009 IP
  16. Pixelrage

    Pixelrage Peon

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    #16
    I could be wrong, but I think this is the sort of thing that you can get a patent for...I'd do that as soon as possible.
     
    Pixelrage, Mar 25, 2009 IP
  17. hostlonestar

    hostlonestar Peon

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    #17
    You can try, but, it would be like Microsoft getting a patent. More than likely they won't grant it.

    About the marketing. PRESS RELEASES!!! They are a great place to start. On top of that, I'd say purchase some large opt in lists. Affiliates. Friends and Family of course. Adwords would be a good place to go as well. SEO the heck out of the website if it is available for download that way.
     
    hostlonestar, Mar 25, 2009 IP
  18. 10Kmonthly

    10Kmonthly Peon

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    #18
    Sorry, this is a common concept, but flawed. I will mail an empty unsealed envelope to myself. Then I can write down whatever I want later and put it in the envelope from the past.

    If you want to do this, it might be stronger in a registered package. I mailed a gold coin once and insured it. The USPS put brown paper tape and dated seals on all edges of the package.

    If you apply for a patent which outlines your business concept, it would set an indisputable date for you.

    But this is an academic exercise and a waste of time.

    While putting a token effort into nondisclosure agreements, copyrights, and registered trademarks might be worthwhile, you would be better off just to hurry up and get it to market. Often great ideas are developed independently simultaneously. There may be people in other states or countries working on a very similar concept as you sit here writing about how to keep it all to yourself.

    While you can protect a specific trademark and copyright text, you cannot prevent people from implementing a similar business model, especially on the internet.

    It is counterproductive for you to focus on this idea of protecting yourself. Just get back to work and move forward with your plan.
     
    10Kmonthly, Mar 25, 2009 IP
  19. Esm

    Esm Peon

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    #19
    I don't want to discourage you, but it is really difficult to protect an idea. It is easy for someone to take your idea, make some improvements to it, and become your competition in the blink of an eye.

    You should definitely have some good contracts in place with employees, advisors and contractors, because those are just about the only people that you can restrain and monitor.
     
    Esm, Mar 27, 2009 IP
  20. BeirutMarketing

    BeirutMarketing Member

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    #20
    The best thing would be to only release the idea to people that you absolutely trust. If it is a program, you may want to consult an attorney on getting a patent, but I am not sure how this will work, otherwise Microsoft could have gotten a patent for Internet Explorer, and browsers like Firefox would not come into existence.
     
    BeirutMarketing, Mar 29, 2009 IP