Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2017 October 12

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October 12

How to protect an idea quickly?

I have an easily implementable idea that would be of strategic importance to a small number of software companies. I can write it as a spec, but I'm afraid if I present it to a potential buyer they might say "Thank you, but sorry, we already had the idea before, and we're working on it right now." Patenting it would take too long. Is there any other way to protect my intellectual property at least somewhat? I'm already in contact with one of the companies, and there's a person whom I trust, but he is not in a position to represent the company in such matters. Thanks, Inquisitive Mind 2017 (talk) 23:13, 12 October 2017 (UTC)

You are asking for legal advice. We aren't allowed to give legal advice. Contact an intellectual-property laywer. --69.159.60.147 (talk) 00:34, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

Since when can property only be protected by a lawyer? Often, other ways are far more effective - obviously: If I were asking how to protect my bike, the best answer might be: Buy a lock. There's a reason why I'm asking this at the Computing desk. Inquisitive Mind 2017 (talk) 05:33, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

off topic WP:POINT WP:SOAPBOX violation nonsense removed Nil Einne (talk) 08:01, 13 October 2017 (UTC) 09:38, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

This appears to be legal advice The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.

To answer the question asked, Who told you that patenting it would take too long? If you figured that out yourself, learn how to use google. If somebody else told you that, never trust anything else they say.

Patent pending starts from the time you submit a patent application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It ends when they grant or deny you a patent. The costs are roughly $100 and the time it takes to comlete the forks in well under an hour. --Guy Macon (talk) 06:38, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

I checked the website of the national patent office in my country and it says "Protection begins with publication in the patent office journal" and "The examination and issuing of a patent usually takes some years." (My translation.) Can we now please get back to the original question? Inquisitive Mind 2017 (talk) 07:42, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

You may need to patent it in the country(ies) that would be the biggest market of your idea, rather than just your own country. If you do publish your idea you may be able to prove it is yours, but may not be able to patent it. The USA is a bit market, so it would also prove it was your ideas and get some protection as well. Though it may cost a lot to get patent protection in numerous countries. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 08:16, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

You just need it to be patent pending and have a decent hope of actually getting a patent eventually. If you could devise a better system it would be worth more than whatever it is you are currently trying to protect. And I'm afraid you can't escape the lawyers, you'd need non-disclosure agreements with companies in the first place to talk with them if you don't have patent. Just join some inventors society and listen to the others. Dmcq (talk) 08:31, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

"Patent Pending" has surprisingly little authority. It's just a warning that at some future date there might be a patent, it doesn't make the patent retroactive. ApLundell (talk) 22:45, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

This link might help: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-protect-my-software-source-code-from-being-stolen-by-in-house-programmers-at-a-startup.OldTimeNESter (talk) 08:51, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

Obvious question : If it's easy to implement, why not do so, and sell it as a product/service? People will take you far more seriously if you've got a product than if you're just an 'idea man'. ApLundell (talk) 22:45, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

Thank you, OldTimeNESter, for your answer, which is the best fitting so far. The answers there fit to my comparison with the bicycle lock. ApLundell: Your question is answered by Chuck Holbrook in that thread: It's not the code that I'm concerned about. Sorry, I didn't make it clear that what I'm asking about is an extension to products already on the market. My situation is similar to that mentioned by Travis Sturzl of the guy at Google who invented Map Reduce, except that I don't have a contract with Google yet, and want to make sure they treat me fairly. (Using "Google" here purely for illustrative purposes, of course.) I can't re-create Google's product, regardless of my coding skills, because, as Chuck put it, "What is the impediment, especially to a developer, is not having the business that is built around [Google's] source." Inquisitive Mind 2017 (talk) 06:06, 15 October 2017 (UTC)