Yours For The Taking: Protecting Your Idea: WebRef Update Feature | 2

Yours For The Taking: Protecting Your Idea

3. Potential investors need things like detailed business plans, there's no getting around that. They don't like signing non- disclosure agreements, because they are quite often looking for a specific type of business to invest in. The next business proposal they look at could be much like yours, only more to their liking. This could leave them wide-open for a lawsuit. You can still protect yourself by:

• Carefully documenting each meeting.
  
• Only dealing with well-known, and/or highly recommended companies.
• Using an old method of informal copyrighting. Once your detailed business plan is written, send it by registered mail to yourself. Do not open it when it is delivered. This gives you a document dated by a government organization.

4. Large companies are not automatically trustworthy. Whether you're contacting them as part of a feasibility study, as potential investors, or mentors, be careful. Keep in mind that your e-mail, for example, could be seen by the secretary, the webmaster, technical support, or any number of other people, before reaching management ... if it ever does.

Never assume, like I did, that a huge, successful company wouldn't bother stealing your idea. If it has enough dollar signs attached to it, they have no qualms claiming it as their own.

5. Don't tell your Mother. Of course you're dying to tell someone, and surely it wouldn't hurt to tell your best friend? He's never even been online, and you trust him. That doesn't mean he won't "slip" and tell someone else though. Short-lived paranoia can be a good thing. People stopped laughing at those who hid money in their mattresses once the depression hit.

6. Run for your life! Get your idea in motion and established ASAP. Then you can tell the world. In fact, you should, it's called marketing, but that's another article.

Above all, don't let amateur insecurity get in the way. Plain old stay-at-home Mom's DO get ideas worth stealing. I hear XCorp is doing very well with mine.

About the author:

Melody McKinnon has been writing ever since they first put a pencil in her hand. As an Internet Specialist, she owns and operates Melody Creations, http://www.melodycreations.com, and Work At Home Netpreneur Resources, http://members.linkopp.com/biz/workathome, for which she also writes an Ezine. Co-Editing A1 Freebies Online and writing when the urge strikes, rounds out another day on the Internet. You can reach Melody at net-work@home.com

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This article originally appeared in the November 16, 2000 edition of the WebReference Update Newsletter.

Comments are welcome
Written by Melody McKinnon and