Many people have brilliant ideas, but the failure to
implement or protect their ideas has seen them continue to live a life of
poverty. How do you protect your idea from being stolen?
1. Engage with a
lawyer.
You don’t have to hire an expensive lawyer, but at last seek
out someone who understands the basics of business law. Seek out someone
knowledgeable on copyrights, and the idea of patenting.
2. Patent your idea.
Some are of the school of thought that there is nothing new
under the sun. However, if you genuinely believe that your idea is original,
then have some means to ensure it is protected. Seek to patent the
idea. Typically, a patent will allow you exclusive rights to the product, but they do have a time limit, depending on how original your product or idea is.
idea. Typically, a patent will allow you exclusive rights to the product, but they do have a time limit, depending on how original your product or idea is.
3. Sign Non-
Disclosure Agreements with your stakeholders.
Ensure that you sign a Non- Disclosure Agreement (NDA), with
you employees, and those whom you are pitching the idea to. This will mean that
they cannot run a business that competes with your idea, be employed by a
competing business, or generally use the idea to profit without your express
permission.
4. Hold onto the idea
a little longer.
If your idea can be quickly copied, then you might want to
hold onto it a little longer, up to the time you have enough money to implement
it. This generally applies to businesses that are fairly common.
5. Choose whom to
share your ideas with carefully.
While there is no guarantee that those you share your idea
with will not rip you off, you protect yourself more by ensuring you share your
idea only with trusted people. Let them not be interested parties, and
hopefully, they should have made their money already and their only interest is to see you succeed.
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