The is a question I think everyone worries about……..

If you want to show your idea without getting ripped off you can have the person sign a Non Disclosure Agreement, A.K.A. NDA, Even so you may still only want to describe it in its most basic form, just enough so they get it, full disclosure after you make the deal……

Also document everything from the time you came up with it through every update and have a witness sign and date it as well.

You can get a provisional patent that will give you a years protection for about $100.00

Where might I be able to find NDA documents that are official? Are they electronic as the other entity signs the form? What legal ramifications are they held to for violation?

Would choosing the route of obtaining intellectually guarded property from a lawyer be best?

I don’t mean to come off as paranoid or anything of the sort. But very sure that my industrial designs when developed will be monumental on the hydroelectric conversion rate of niagara falls force of water current. I won’t let this idea get stolen.

All rights reserved.

Not to be glib about it but

““Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” – Howard Aiken

By all means make use of NDAs, patent protection, and any other applicable steps, but keep in mind that companies are more interested in protecting themselves from lawsuits then in taking a chance on an outisde developer’s idea.

Many people here have good even great ideas, but few ideas are so good that they’re worth the risks associated with stealing instead of playing fair.

What if that outside developer created his own company from the ground up based strictly on designs I created and have advanced over the last two years on paper. Can I print NDA forms off legalzoom.com and have everybody from attorneys to possible investors and assistants give a signature, or do the documents need to be stamped by a public notary? I want to protect my own ’ insider information ’ . Is self-promotion the best means of awareness without having the luxury of cash? Sorry to be all over the map…

Brett,

Keep an inventors notebook. Sign and date everything you do in it. Have a witness who understands the basics also sign and date it. It shouldn’t be a relative if you can help it.

Bob’s right about companies not wanting to take the risk of stealing an idea. Although on the other hand I’ve worked for a company that had no problem trying to design around other’s patents. Usually competitors but sometimes independent inventors ideas too. Sad but true.

The Nondisclosure is a great way to go. Make sure you research a company or investor before you show them anything. If possible keep everything you do show them kind of vague and conceptual. Give them just enough to get them serious about it but don’t give them the whole enchilada right up front until you know you can trust them and they’ve bought into your idea more.

Filing for a provisional patent is a good move, but only if you know you can start the ball rolling with the real patent. A provisional patent is your notice that you intend to file a full patent eventually. They give you a year to do that. Once the provisional patent runs out if you don’t continue the process your idea is then up for grabs because it’s out there and has been publicly disclosed.