You may have an idea
that you want to protect without going through
the patent process.
Patenting an
idea is a way to get legal protection, however,
it can be expensive to do so. Also, one of
the drawbacks to patenting an idea is that you
have to reveal how it works. Items that
are patented becomes public knowledge and
available to the whole world to see.
These are ways you can go about protecting your
idea without a patent.
Establish
Ownership:
The first thing you
need to do is establish ownership of the idea.
If you're the only person that came up with the
idea that's good. But, if you worked with
others to come up with the idea then you have an
additional requirement to document who the other
owners are.
Document who came up
with the idea with a memo and have all the
relevant parties sign it. Make a copy and
secure the original and the copy in different
places under lock and key. Mail it to
yourself so that you have a legal sealed
document with a time stamp that could hold up in
court.
Keep It Secret (Trade Secret):
Don't let anyone know that you have this
great idea. Don't talk about it.
Don't share it with anyone, that includes
friends and family members.
Use
Non-Disclosure Agreements:
If
you're not the only one who knows of the idea
you will need to use a Non-Disclosure Agreement
to keep anyone with knowledge of the idea from
revealing it without legal penalties. If
you have to work with a manufacturer to get the
idea develop a Non-Disclosure Agreement should
also be used. Visit the Legal Forms
section to find
Non-Disclosure Agreement forms.
Non-Compete Agreements:
Use
Non-Compete Agreements to keep anyone with
knowledge of the idea from starting a competing
business based on the same idea.
Non-Disclosure Agreements are good for the time
specified in the agreement. This could be
2-5 years. Visit the Legal Forms section
to find
Non-Compete Agreement forms.