I have an idea for something...don't want anyone to steal it!

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
I've almost no knowledge of copyright/trademark laws. The "prototype" would require a lot of assistance from many people. Such as EE, carpenter and plumber.

How do I go about:

A. Making sure it doesn't exist yet
B. Copyrighting the idea

Thanks.
 

sonambulo

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2004
4,777
1
0
make sure you got a decent chunk of change and a lot of patience before getting that patent
 

Trygve

Golden Member
Aug 1, 2001
1,428
9
0
A. Do a patent search. You can get a good start online at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html

B. Yes, you can patent something that doesn't exist yet. Patents can be expensive to get and to maintain. Copyrights and trademarks are cheaper but not relevant to what you're asking about.
 

Argo

Lifer
Apr 8, 2000
10,045
0
0
Something our engineering prof. taught us:

Send yourself a letter with detailed explanation of what happened. Don't open that letter. Later on it can be presented in court to prove that you came up with that idea on that date, since US Postal Service is considered a branch of the government. Therefore information provided by it (the date on the letter) is considered beyond any reasonable doubt.
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
Originally posted by: Trygve
A. Do a patent search. You can get a good start online at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html

B. Yes, you can patent something that doesn't exist yet. Patents can be expensive to get and to maintain. Copyrights and trademarks are cheaper but not relevant to what you're asking about.

Thank you very much. That's a start.

I have no money. And no patience. But I do have this nifty idea. :D
 

Turkish

Lifer
May 26, 2003
15,547
1
81
Originally posted by: MichaelD
Originally posted by: Trygve
A. Do a patent search. You can get a good start online at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html

B. Yes, you can patent something that doesn't exist yet. Patents can be expensive to get and to maintain. Copyrights and trademarks are cheaper but not relevant to what you're asking about.

Thank you very much. That's a start.

I have no money. And no patience. But I do have this nifty idea. :D

I got money. Plenty of it. Wanna share? ;)
 

EMPshockwave82

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2003
3,012
2
0
Originally posted by: Argo
Something our engineering prof. taught us:

Send yourself a letter with detailed explanation of what happened. Don't open that letter. Later on it can be presented in court to prove that you came up with that idea on that date, since US Postal Service is considered a branch of the government. Therefore information provided by it (the date on the letter) is considered beyond any reasonable doubt.

what an amazingly good idea..... that's something you dont see too often on ATOT


that postmark can be used in court just like a signature on a contract can basically
 

sonambulo

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2004
4,777
1
0
Originally posted by: Argo
Something our engineering prof. taught us:

Send yourself a letter with detailed explanation of what happened. Don't open that letter. Later on it can be presented in court to prove that you came up with that idea on that date, since US Postal Service is considered a branch of the government. Therefore information provided by it (the date on the letter) is considered beyond any reasonable doubt.

or, make a friend at the post office
 

stonecold3169

Platinum Member
Jan 30, 2001
2,060
0
76
Originally posted by: EMPshockwave82
Originally posted by: Argo
Something our engineering prof. taught us:

Send yourself a letter with detailed explanation of what happened. Don't open that letter. Later on it can be presented in court to prove that you came up with that idea on that date, since US Postal Service is considered a branch of the government. Therefore information provided by it (the date on the letter) is considered beyond any reasonable doubt.

what an amazingly good idea..... that's something you dont see too often on ATOT


that postmark can be used in court just like a signature on a contract can basically


I learned this in music theory class, and can verify it's accuracy... it makes sense,a nd is a damned good idea, BUT if you're up against, say, a multi-billion dollar company who actually files a lawsuit against the validity of this, I'd imagine that they'd trash you
 

theNEOone

Diamond Member
Apr 22, 2001
5,745
4
81
uh, you need to understand the differences between a copyright, patent, and trademark.

invention = patent
image, text, software, etc. = copyright
slogan, brand name, company seal/image etc. = trademark


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