Re: Web Idea Legal Question

At 03:01 AM 2/8/01 -0500, Nick Ciantro wrote:

>
>I have targeted several on-line businesses that I feel would be extremely
>interested in my idea.  How do I go about approaching them.  Is there any
>way at all that I can't protect myself?  The last thing I want is to contact
>one of these companies and end up in a situation where they think its the
>best thing in the world, but they just go on and start such a project
>without giving me my recognition.

You cannot protect an idea by copyright.  You can protect the expression of
an idea i.e. how you have written or drawn etc. it by copyright if it
otherwise qualifies.  So you would first want to write a treatment of it in
sufficient detail so that it can be identified as yours and then *register*
it for copyright.  Read "Do I Need To Register My Copyrights?" on my site.
Click on "Articles for Writers and Publishers."

But you can protect an idea via contract, express or implied, but it should
absolutely be express, ie. in writing.  So then you need to have a
submission agreement which includes some aspects of a non-disclosure
agreement plus other provisions dealing with what happens if they like and
use your idea.  Read "The Non-Disclosure Agreement" on my site.  Click on
"Articles About Being an Entrepreneur."

But in the end, what you need is credibility, marketing clout to get
someone to a) listen to even a sketchy pitch without you disclosing the
substance and b) be willing to sign the above.

In the world of media, and now on the Net,  there is such an abundance of
ideas that the chances of any single idea being unique enough to stand out
is very remote and no "recipient" of the idea would generally be willing to
sign an agreement saying that they won't use the idea etc.  They've
probably heard it before and thus would prejudice themselves.

IVAN HOFFMAN, B.A., J.D. 
Attorney At Law
Lawyering With Integrity (sm)
Internet Law, Copyrights, Trademarks, Publishing Law, Corporate Training
and Online Education Law, Web Design Law, Recording and Music Law.  *A 6
Times Award-Winning Site.* http://www.ivanhoffman.com

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