How To Protect Business Ideas
What could be worse for a potential business owner than seeing his very ideas being used by others for their own benefit? In the business world, stealing ideas is very common. It happens in almost all industries. It happens everywhere. But if you are a budding business owner, there’s no reason to be intimidated by this kind of threat, because if you know how to protect your ideas, no one’s going to steal them. Here are some tips to consider.
* Keep the business ideas as secret as possible. If you are still at the developing stage, it will do you good if you keep mum about your business ideas. Never mention them during small talks, brainstorming, casual discussions, or any other event where someone might pick up and develop them without you knowing. Remember: If there is no absolute reason to talk about your business ideas, keep them to yourself.
* Avoid divulging everything when meeting with potential investors. Yes, it happens: investors exploring your ideas on their own after a few exclusive meetings. Although not all investors are like this, some are. So your wisest action is to never completely disclose your business ideas to any of your potential investors. At the start, make only an executive summary, which should give the general details and bigger picture. When you have the full assurance of a contract, give some of the finer details.
* Pick your investors wisely. Many budding entrepreneurs commit the mistake of going to the wrong investors. These are investors who have companies or agencies that have a potential of exploring your ideas and being your competitor. So it pays to carefully study your potential investors. If they are in a situation where copying your business ideas will be beneficial, drop the intention of doing business with them.
* Secure a non-disclosure agreement. You should have a non-disclosure agreement whenever you intend to disclose your business ideas to venture capitalists. This document is signed by the venture capitalists and basically prohibits them from making the ideas public and using them for their own interest. In some cases, however, it is the venture capitalists who demand for the potential entrepreneur to sign a certain agreement. This especially happens if the venture capitalists work on several ideas, which may already include the ideas that the entrepreneur has in mind. In this kind of agreement, the venture capitalists have no liability if they actualize an idea that is similar with that of the entrepreneur.
* Legally protect your business ideas. There are different ways to do this, depending on the idea type. An invention, for example, is protected by patent. Patent application can cost up to $10,000. Logos, symbols, words, sounds, and colors can be trademarked. Paper application costs $375, while electronic application is worth $325. Copyright is applicable to literary and musical works. Application usually costs $45. Filing for patent and trademark is handled by the U.S Patent and Trademark Office, while copyright filing is administered by the U.S Copyright Office.
Make sure to protect your business ideas in the best way you could. Exhaust all the possible protections. And if your right is infringed, you are eligible for damages.
