Idea Protection

[snoword]

I am new to Youngentrepreneur and have an idea that I have been thinking over the for the past few months. I want to begin conversations about this idea but I am concerned with releasing it in fear that it will be taken. What are some suggestions on how to get started in discussions and be able to keep this from moving forward without me?

In general it is an idea for a magazine that does not currently exist and is not some cheesy girly saturated magazine but one with actual content.

Any direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[cokeclassact]

get an NDA. its a non-disclosure agreement. it basically says that by law the person you speak with cannot divulge your idea to anyone else and they cannot steal it and develop it independently.

[snoword]

I am familiar with NDA’s but only through the corporate world. What does it take to set one up between you and another individual or company?

[MsNadi]

Check out our blog - we have a post on NDA's that contains 4-5 examples.

Take one, put your company name in where it says "OUR", "WE" our "the company".

Ad your logo to the header or footer. Input your information on the signature page.

.pdf it.

Start using it.

For agreement purposes, you have some options:
- Require that people fax it back, or scan and email
- Include a .doc sheet that people can input their information
- Create a web form that can be filled out and maintained by a database
- Email acceptance through explicit statements.

[akula]

I am new to Youngentrepreneur and have an idea that I have been thinking over the for the past few months. I want to begin conversations about this idea but I am concerned with releasing it in fear that it will be taken. What are some suggestions on how to get started in discussions and be able to keep this from moving forward without me?

In general it is an idea for a magazine that does not currently exist and is not some cheesy girly saturated magazine but one with actual content.

Any direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

1. You're asking for legal advice. The law does not protect ideas but manifestations of ideas. The law will not protect the confidentiality of what you verbally communicated to somebody, but the law will impose restrictions on what 3rd parties can communicate to other 3rd parties, based on the contents of a document that you'd like to keep confidential.

I.e. if you want legal protections, you need to manifest your ideas into articles which attract legal protection: like assets or written documents.

2. Every time this question is asked, it is the most striking example that the entrepreneur asking it has a lot to learn and needs to change what she focuses on because;

3. In the real world YOU HAVE NO PROTECTION. America was built on encouraging business competition. In that sense, only in extreme situations will courts protect an entrepreneur from competition.

In your case, a magazine - you need to stop living in a fairy tale world where you have some sort of an exclusive right to market share, and then go out and generate some actual cashflow.

In reality, the only way to avoid competition (i.e. somebody stealing my idea) is to not compete. Everything else is either a) stuff sold by lawyers to make money for lawyers b) stuff applicable to large firms and inapplicable to entrepreneurs - who barely have enough funds to buy lunch, let alone finance litigation.

[akula]

In general it is an idea for a magazine that does not currently exist and is not some cheesy girly saturated magazine but one with actual content.

Bonus Advice:

A person who knew what they're doing would not have put that sense together.

What you're really saying is:

"The magazine has a differentiated value proposition for a rapidly growing segment of the market. Based on comparable startups, the results of focus groups, and contractual rights which protect our competitive advantage; we think we can make $100 million over the next 5 years"

The words "it has actual content" is a pathetic/horrible/I can't beleive you said it way to describe a new magazine venture. In today's world, content is irrelevant. Millions of bloggers - a lot more qualified than your journalists - write free content, which is a lot more relevant because they live what they're writing about.

Are you sure you're not just experiencing youthful enthusiasm with these "startup ideas"?

[Scott Taylor]

I would advise you to read:

http://www.scotttaylorsblog.com/2006...business-idea/

And also listen to akula

[Nigami Enterprise]

Find a similar product and use that as your example. No matter what protection you have telling someone your idea is going to be a risk, but you are going to have to do it sometime. Just be careful who you tell the idea to and make sure they arn't in a position where they can capitalise on your idea instantly.