Website Idea...but it already exists

[GWestphal]

So I had this idea for a website, but upon searching it looks like someone else acquired 1.1M in VC funding to do the same thing not 3 months ago. But I think my idea is a little more user friendly, so maybe I can get a prototype up, get some buzz and win with a superior user experience and feature set. Are there any legal implications I need to worry about? Or is it, may the best site win?

 

[sdifox]

Why would there be legal implications unless they have patent in hand?

 

[Kelvrick]

Is it Mr. Skin? He has had it for more than 3 months.

 

[GWestphal]

Well, that's why I'm asking. Did MySpace sue Facebook when it started doing the same thing (social networking)? Or is it a case of, may the better man win? I formed this idea several years ago and at that time nothing of this sort existed, but upon looking now a few different sites have sprung up, but not as user friendly as my vision. I'm in the clear to give it a go?

 

[Newbian]

Well, that's why I'm asking. Did MySpace sue Facebook when it started doing the same thing (social networking)? Or is it a case of, may the better man win? I formed this idea several years ago and at that time nothing of this sort existed, but upon looking now a few different sites have sprung up, but not as user friendly as my vision. I'm in the clear to give it a go?

You do realize myspace was not the first social network?

 

[GWestphal]

I realize this, it was just an example.

 

[RossMAN]

Is it FleshLight with 4G and ambidextrous operation? Get in line.

 

[IronWing]

Plagiarism is basic to all culture. What can go wrong?

 

[Red Squirrel]

That's the issue with starting any kind of service or product. The odds are someone probably thought of the same thing. There are also good odds that someone has or will patent it. So you do all that work, only to find out someone has a patent on it and you have to pull out to avoid the risk of getting hit with a million dollar lawsuit. Or worse, you release it, they notice it, THEN they patent it and sue you.

There are lot of things I've been wanting to do as far as product/services go but to me it's just not worth the risk. I don't have millions of dollars to set aside in case I get sued because I used a shade of white that happens to be patented, or some stupid BS like that.

It's too easy nowdays to accidentally do copyright or patent infringement.

 

[deadlyapp]

Hopefully you have some record of your ideas. Anything I think of that might be patentable goes in a notebook and is signed, dated, and witnessed (if I think it is valuable enough to do so).

Good habit I picked up from mechanical design classes in school. Its not about who patents it first, its about prior art that is "provable"

 

[Miramonti]

I feel that plagiarism is basic to all culture. What can go wrong, especially if you add a tweak or two?

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Hopefully you have some record of your ideas. Anything I think of that might be patentable goes in a notebook and is signed, dated, and witnessed (if I think it is valuable enough to do so).

Good habit I picked up from mechanical design classes in school. Its not about who patents it first, its about prior art that is "provable"

Except that the "signed notebook" method generally won't matter in the near future. At least not for many cases filed after March 16, 2013.

To the extent someone is worried about potential patent infringement, do a patent search. Or hire a patent attorney to do one for you. Its not that expensive. The first second you step into a business might not be the right time for that, but once you have a product idea solidified then yeah, it might be time.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Well, that's why I'm asking. Did MySpace sue Facebook when it started doing the same thing (social networking)? Or is it a case of, may the better man win? I formed this idea several years ago and at that time nothing of this sort existed, but upon looking now a few different sites have sprung up, but not as user friendly as my vision. I'm in the clear to give it a go?

Freedom to operate can be a tricky question, and is not easily (or best) answered on an internet forum.

 

[jingramm]

link to 1.1M VC funded website? we can better gauge if it will be worth the trouble or not

 

[Markbnj]

There are no legal restrictions preventing you from starting a business in their space. Like everyone else you have to respect any patents and trademarks they might have, but you're free to compete. That said, taking on a first mover with funding in place is a big challenge. Don't mistake features for a core advantage. They can add features and improve their user interface faster than you can, because they have money.

 

[Newbian]

Hopefully you have some record of your ideas. Anything I think of that might be patentable goes in a notebook and is signed, dated, and witnessed (if I think it is valuable enough to do so).

Good habit I picked up from mechanical design classes in school. Its not about who patents it first, its about prior art that is "provable"

Let me write a few things down like "invent fusion power" and sit back and get rich when someone does get around to inventing it. :awe:

Seriously though if people complain about patent trolls what will they think about these kind of issues when there is no way to find out if someone has such a idea hidden somewhere?

 

[GWestphal]

The idea was an online tutoring website, like on demand tutors. This company InstaEDU has been around this past year. If only I hadn't been so busy a few years ago when I first came up with the idea, darn you PhD life!

 

[Newbian]

The idea was an online tutoring website, like on demand tutors. This company InstaEDU has been around this past year. If only I hadn't been so busy a few years ago when I first came up with the idea, darn you PhD life!

A quick google shows many websites that offer that so I don't see a huge issue here.

 

[jingramm]

Yeah, that area is overcrowded with a lot of websites trying to do the same thing. Save the effort and do something else.

 

[DrPizza]

The idea was an online tutoring website, like on demand tutors. This company InstaEDU has been around this past year. If only I hadn't been so busy a few years ago when I first came up with the idea, darn you PhD life!

I've just started looking at one such site. Incredibly interactive, it's my favorite I've ever seen, and I've seen dozens. You're not going to touch the quality of that site for under a few million.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

you should make a website where people can enter in licence plate #s for cars in their neighborhood. You can let people vote on their driving skill and everyone will know who the bad drivers in their city are.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

stop inventing excuses not to go after it

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wait, why would a website cost in the millions to make in the first place? It's not like you will be getting tons of traffic right off the bat, you only need to start with a 2-3k server collocated somewhere. The actual website should cost nothing to make, other than your time, and maybe another server for development.

 

[Andrew111]

Wait, why would a website cost in the millions to make in the first place? It's not like you will be getting tons of traffic right off the bat, you only need to start with a 2-3k server collocated somewhere. The actual website should cost nothing to make, other than your time, and maybe another server for development.

Yes...the OP wants to make a website to rival http://www.tutor.com/ and it can be the same quality without spending any money. He's a genius at graphic design, web design, and advanced programming to offer a virtual classroom environment to teach people online. Jesus christ

 

[Andrew111]

To the OP...the tutoring space is already pretty competitive. Why is this new firm any different than tutor.com...which is already used by schools, the military, libraries, etc?