Patent an idea! It will help you in keeping your business and its associated ideas exclusively for you.Are we talking about a logo of your business, or have you designed a new product to include in your product line? And it is not about these two aspects only. Everything that is unique or new to this world can be used by others illegally. How do you expect to prove that a particular idea or products were yours? Well, it is a difficult question to answer for the people who are new in the business. And we can help you in getting through this process. So, that you can know how to save your idea and keep its rights limited to you or your business only.Inthis article, we’ll focus on discussing some way through which you preventsomeone from stealing your idea. However, one thing that we must discuss beforewe proceed further is that the risk of getting your idea copied should notrestrict you from indulging yourself in creative and innovative ideas. Youshould keep thinking out of the box, and you’ll definitely get the credit forwhat you do. Even if you can’t see the impact immediately, you should believethat you’ll be seeing it in the near future.Ways to prevent others from stealing your ideas:Hereare some of the ways through which you can make sure that no one else gets theentitlement to your ideas:1. Register them with a recognized institute:Thefirst and foremost thing that you should do for the protection of the idea isto get it registered with the authorized institute. If you have ensured thatyour idea is listed with your name with authority, then there is no way thatsomeone else can use it. Even if someone dares to do so, you’ll be legallyprotected. This will enable you to get help from the state institutions.Theregistration of your logo and product cannot be known as a patent alone. Thereare different names and concepts behind different things that you can have inyour name. We’ll be highlighting patents, trademarks, and copyright here toclarify the difference between them and to help you understand which of yourideas fails in which of these categories.Itis not necessary that you’ll be using only one of these registration techniquesfor a single idea. The actual need for these can vary and depend on the natureof the idea that you have. For example, if you are starting a new business witha unique product, then its logo, the idea of the product, and the name of thebrand can actually be registered under different types.a. Patent an idea:Thepatent is the registration of your products, innovation, and new designs. Aftergetting the patent, you have the right to use, make, or sell the product and excludingothers from any such authority over your idea.Patentsare usually issues for a particular time period. Once the patent of an ideaexpires, anyone with a reasonable understanding of the product or design canuse it.Additionally,for the acquisition of patent, you’ll have to disclose all the informationabout the idea to the authorities. Once the authorities would be satisfied,only then you can get your patent of an idea.b. Copyright:Copyrightswork in situations where the artistic nature of work is involved. Whether it isa design, logo, or anything in writing, you can have the copyright. Thecopyrights ensure that the rights of the work published would remain with theoriginal owner. The owner has the right to permit or restrict others from usingthe product.c. Trademark:Thetrademarks can be considered as getting patent for an idea, brand name, andother thing associated with a particular company. The purpose of the trademarkis to prevent the impersonators from cheating your customers in any way. Theycan’t use any of the products, symbols, or logos that you have the right to.2. Keep a strong check during the planning and development stage:Thefirst step that we have discussed above is to make sure that you have the legalright for your product. But you can only exercise that right in situations whenyou manage to get to the registering authority first. What is someone elsepatent your idea? How are you going to prove that you are the original owner?Unfortunately, there is no legal way for this.Thisis why it is imperative that in the planning and development stage, no oneoutside the company or some credible people get the news. A strong check on theemployers dealing with the idea can be one of the ways through which you canensure that your idea remains yours.3. Arrange non-disclosure agreement for the people who know about your idea:Youwon’t like anyone from your team to share your idea with others. So, for that,the non-disclosure agreements are the best way. You should arrange them with alawyer and get them signed from all the people involved. The entrance into suchan agreement will again provide you with legal protection to patent an idea.4. Get the non-compete agreement signed as well:Youshould make sure that the employees or the other people that you are workingwith should sign the non-compete agreement as well. According to thisagreement, the people working on the idea won’t be able to recreate it forthemselves or anyone else. Thus, in the future, if your employees would leaveyour company, you won’t have to face the risk of generating competing products.Additionally,another reason to get the non-disclosure and non-compete agreement signed isthat if you won’t take this step, then any of the product or idea that anemployee of your company would generate would be his or her. He or she caneasily walk away with that without facing any legal action because the peoplecreating a product or coming with a new idea are the actual owners of it. So,to make sure that their ideas are the ownership of your company, you need thesedocuments.5. Try to have a background check for the people who are working for you:Whetheryou are working with your employees or investors, it would be better if you cango for a complete background check for all of them. By background check, wemean any public accusations about patent idea issues and their past dealingswith the others. This will help you in analyzing the risk associated withworking with them. And you’ll be able to make an informed decision if you reallyneed to continue with such dealing or not.6. Invest in ideas that are difficult to copy:Anothergood approach that you can use to patent the idea is to work on the ideas thataren’t very easy to copy. Some of the ideas might require high investment inproduction, should be given preference because they would create high barriersto entry. And as a result, there would be lesser chances that your idea wouldbe stolen by anyone.Conclusion:Whenyou have designed a product of your own or have hired someone to create you alogo or design, it is essential that you follow some steps to ensure that youridea is not stolen. Patent of an idea, copyright, and trademarks are the mainways through which you can get legal protection. Similarly, getting thenon-disclosure and non-competing agreements signed can also be beneficial.To be extra secure, you can also go for background checks of the people who work with you. All these steps will ensure that your business or product idea or other intangible assets remain protected.In some situations, there can be a risk that despite following these steps, your idea can fly away, but rest assured that the people stealing an idea won’t be able to generate any significant benefit from it. Because you are the mastermind behind it, and only you can use it in the best possible way.“The strength of a patent doesn’t come from its claims, it comes from the invention” ― Kalyan C. Kankanala
Качество: 5
Доставка: 4
Сервис: 5
