How to Legally Protect Your Business Idea

Do you have a business idea and want to share it with the world?

That’s good and all but you first secure your business idea and make sure you one steals it from you. 

Take the necessary legal steps to safeguard your idea and keep yourself out of trouble. Following, we are going to show you how!

Your Own Diligence

If you want to get a patent, make sure you are the first one to do it.

This is right; you have to the first person who has conceived this idea and can articulate via words and drawings about what you just created. So before you call a patent attorney, do your research to see if your invention already exists or not, follow these tips:

Perform a Google Patent Search

See what’s been patented before. Mind the USPTO website; it’s the most up to date resource to learn about the patent process.

It’s important you understand the very basics of patent law, especially when you meet up with an attorney.  If you do your research beforehand, you will be able to make a list of questions. 

You should know asking the right questions will help you learn a lot about Patent law and how you should proceed. 

Read also: 5 Things You Should Know Before Starting an Online Business

Prepare Your Idea for a Detailed Debate

A patent attorney has to understand their client’s invention, everything included. 

They are responsible for organizing every word of information about your invention to help you articulate what your invention is properly. 

You should not be afraid of quality; the attorney will help you with sketches.

They work closely every step of the way to assure you present your idea safely and authentically. They make sure your business startup idea is protected while you are trying to pitch it to a different audience. 

So it’s important you bring all of your material with you when you are speaking to a patent attorney. It will save you a lot of time. 

 The Invention History

This doesn’t mean the origins of your product or the industry it belongs to. The layer has to know about the timeline of your invention.

There are serious statutory deadlines that you should discuss with the lawyer about the disclosure or sale of your invention. So, you better provide him with as many details as possible. 

With that said, you better provide your lawyer with the following details:

• The date of conception
• Disclosure to any third party
• Offers for sale and actual sales to anyone or any entity
• Is there any publication about your work in a magazine, newspaper, website or anywhere

This is your chance to speak up about your co-inventors or people who believe they contributed to your project. It’s important you bring this up early because it can compromise the patent if you are not clear about these important details. 

Another important question that you need to answer is whether you were employed at the time when you first had the idea or not. It’s very important that you provide the attorney with these details.