wavelength wrote:

wrote in message
news.com...

It depends on what your idea is.

If it's a work of art (includes music, writings, etc), then you would
copyright it.

If it's an invention (which could be a physical thing, or a process) then
you would patent it.

Copyrights are very simple since by creating it, you are technically the
copyright owner (this is U.S. law, I can't speak to any others), though to
have enforceable power of that, you'd want some sort of proof. Registering
the copyright is the easiest way and that's pretty cheap.

Patents, which is what you're probably after, are a different story
altogether. You need a patent attorney and a few thousand dollars to

patent

(last I checked, though I could be wrong).

Of course, the cheapest and easiest way of making sure that nobody else
steals your idea is not to tell anyone else what it is.

If you think the idea is worth money and you don't have the money to

create

and market it, then get a patent and then you can sell the rights to

others

to use your idea.

Pete
"wavelength" wrote in message
...

Hiyas All ,

Lets assume that you have a original idea that you want to protect

so

that no one steals it from you and that you get credit for it - AS YOU
SHOULD !. How is the best way to protect your idea ?

Best






What if ya dont have any money for a patent attorney

Then you need to define "steals" and "credit". First, do
you want to make money from the idea? Build a
proof-of-principle model (that doesn't give away the idea)
and show it to somebody who can mass-market it, AFTER they
sign a non-disclosure agreement. Then, you can get royalties
if you first have a decent contract lawyer look over
anything you have to sign subsequently. Showing the lawyer
the dingus and the non-disclosure should pique his interest
and get him to do the work "on credit". Don't worry about
patents; the mass-marketer can screw around with that if
they want.

If you want credit for thinking the idea up, just
copyright it. Cheaper than patents.

Mark L. Fergerson