Business Competition - Innovative Ideas

[clientcritic]

QUESTION:

If there is a company on the internet that has a particular type of business, but it really isn't big and isn't national, or very successful...

can I take the idea, add a few innovative attractive touches to it, start up my version of the concept, and then launch it nationally?

For example, there are several burger joints... could I build my own burger joint without being sued by another for stealing the idea of a burger joint?

All I would have to do is make sure I have a name no one else has right?

Tell me what you think...

[cybergift]

There is no doubt about it. I will do it right away.

It seems this poll can read my mind

[clientcritic]

Could I get sued?

[Iamnotsatisfied]

Aslong as you do not infringe any intellectual property law, no.

[MisterMcJib]

this is the same kind of roadblock a lot of my ideas face. i'm always worried about legal issues...i guess i just don't know business law.

besides posting questions here, where else can i go for general business law advice? i'm not talking anything too technical, i don't want to talk to a lawyer for $500/hour, i'm just looking for a general BUSINESS LAW resource.

could someone point me to a good site or something?

[DennisChang]

You will not get sued for implementing the same idea. In fact, you can't patent an idea.

As you can see, there are a lot of copycat website around. Some are more successful than the original ones, while some are not. Hotmail, Gmail, yahoo mail are all web-based email providers with similar idea. Facebook, Myspace and friendster are all social networking sites with little variance among them. Nobody can claim a monopoly over an idea.

[sreeja]

My opinion is also yes.If you have essential knowledge about it it will be a success.AddING a few innovative attractive touches will also help in the success.

[Warranties-For-Less]

Interesting,

With hundreds of burger joints of different names, obviously, many who are regional and not the big mac type, I would not be starting one in this market unless you really had a major improvement on what we are all now familiar with. After all, the familiar cookie cutter approach is what works in franchiding, so to be a start up, why would anyone eat at your burger joint over the big mac joints?

Not to say you couldn't find success in some areas where there are no mega billion dollar powerhouses, but I wouldn't chance it as the big boys will dominate most markets, so you might end up putting everything into a burger joint only to have it all crushed with big mac attack. I have seen it happen, in fact, that was always their strategy, I know a franchise owner, and his point put a Carrol's out of business across the street, which was a long established competitor at the time.

Copycat deals, even if improved version of the big boys is almost always going to be a gamble, unless you have something no else does? As example, eBay has been on top of online auction arena from start, and with dozens of copycats auctions over the years, none have made a dent into eBay, yet never say never, with a major twist of reverse auction concept, low bid wins, here is a newcomer who started in Europe who may just topple eBay, so what is your secret, hopefully not another sauce.

Good luck to all, Mike