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Is My Business Invention Safe?

Joyce Morse

August 21, 2014

If your small business has designed an invention that would either be the product or a process in the creation of the product, you want to protect it from theft.

Whether it is a physical item or an idea, you do not want the competition to have access. You can protect your invention in several ways.

Patent

Obviously, the most effective way to protect an invention is through legal protection.

That may come in the form of a patent, trademark or copyright. You can visit the U.S. Small Business Administration website to find out if your invention qualifies for one of the protection options.

You can apply for the protection of a patent, trademark or copyright before you pitch it to potential investors or companies that can help you create your product. This enables you to share vital information without the fear of having your idea stolen and copied.

In most cases, a patent is what you would want to seek for protecting an invention that you must disclose to other organizations that will help with the production, marketing and distribution.

Getting a patent accepted can take a long time, but you can request a provisional patent that takes effect right away.

Confidentiality Agreement

If your invention does not qualify for legal protection, all hope is not lost.

You can require your potential business partners or investors to sign a confidentiality agreement. If any part of your invention is leaked to someone else, you could use the agreement as grounds to sue.

Always have an attorney draw up the paperwork to make sure it is precise and specific. It should state exactly what is to be kept confidential and for how long of a period.

As the article, “How to Protect Your Invention when Pitching It”, states, five years is usually the shortest amount of time listed in these agreements.

If the businesses you are pitching to decline to sign a confidentiality agreement, you have to decide whether you want to work with them in spite of that fact or not. Make sure you know that the business has a good reputation and is one you can trust.

In some instances, you can create an implied relationship of confidentiality. This often happens when you indicate that the information must be kept secret and when it has commercial value.

You can also try to provide the necessary information for the other business to form a decision without relating the details of the product or any trade secrets.

Focus more on answering the question "What does it do?" rather than "How does it work?" This allows the other business o investor to understand the value of your product while not gaining any information that would make it possible for them to replicate it.

If you are attempting to manufacture, market or distribute an invention to other companies or investors, you have to be concerned about making the secret details of your product known. At the same time, you want to take advantage of your idea and make a profit.

Learn how to protect it and benefit from the success that comes with this invention.

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