How do I protect my rights?

[BaGRoS]

Good morning.
My question is slightly different.
How can I secure my claims when it comes to an app idea?
Let's say I would give the idea and receive 30% of the profit, or £1 million (+tax) for relinquishing the rights to the profits, unless, the app would be resold to e.g. FB, then again 30% of the profit from the sale should be given to me.
If I tell some software studio about my idea, there is nothing to stop them from creating this or similar application.
I estimate that my app should gain millions of users in the first few months, on FB, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, Discord, and in fact all social media platforms. So you definitely need servers to maintain the databases. I don't have enough knowledge in maintaining servers and databases.
Any ideas on how to protect yourself? Patents go on forever, and I don't even have any idea if it's possible to patent an app.
Kind regards

 

[Sandman]

You can't protect your idea. Also: Ideas are almost worthless, execution is much more important.

So, if you believe in your idea you should try to execute on it as best as you can and build a massive userbase. THEN you could sell the app, with the users. That could make you a nice chunk of money. But don't expect anyone to pay $1 just for your idea.

 

[BaGRoS]

Ok, I agree and understand.
I can hire someone or a studio to write this for me, ok. Just how do I make sure that this studio doesn't f#*! me up after presenting what I need to be included in the software?

 

[Sandman]

I can hire someone or a studio to write this for me, ok.

The smartest thing you can do, if you feel you have the know-how, is probably to make minimum viable product yourself. Perhaps by finding a second person that can do the things you're not good at.

Just how do I make sure that this studio doesn't f#*! me up after presenting what I need to be included in the software?

You shouldn't worry too much about it. Most likely they've many times had meetings with people who believe their idea is groundbreaking and will make so much money!!!1!! In reality most projects fail. (Not saying yours will, but I'm also not saying it will succeed.) So while they may act enthusiastic for your idea, they are much more interested in sending you big invoices than steal your idea and build it themselves.

 

[aeric]

You may consult legal advice from a lawyer who is familiar with the laws in your country.

 

[udg]

You could sign a preliminary agreement with them.
So, if they close the meeting telling you they're not interested, at least you have a document that limits their ability to steal the idea itself.
Unfortunately, often a document is just a piece of paper. You should have the money and the power to enforce it in a court, even for a long period of time.
Anyway, it's better to have something written down rather than having just your word.

 

[Sandman]

You should have the money and the power to enforce it in a court, even for a long period of time.

Yep, and that's a pretty central point to your argument. So one shouldn't feel overly protected by whatever document is signed, unless one have the resources, and willingness, to defend it.

 

[Sandman]

By the way, there's also a fairly good chance they will refuse to sign any document. I know I wouldn't. If I did, and the person told me something I thought was quite a broad idea, I've just shot myself in the foot and made it so I can't make a product in that area. Perhaps something I've planned to do for quite some time, so not a stolen idea. And in reality my product and the persons products perhaps wasn't very close at all, but I've still signed a document that limits what I can do. So, bad move all around.

 

[Magma]

You can't protect an idea of project, that did not already executed/created.

Also you can't protect an executed idea... perhaps only the name and that will be only per Country law, lawyer (need a lot of money).

The best you can do... is to create from scratch something, may be you find some honest people to share your idea (difficult) and have knowledge and then sell it as fast as possible to a big company (it is somekind difficult, fast + presentation to company and before that a site, youtube video like proof of your work)

 

[udg]

A secret is a secret as long as you keep it for yourself.
Once you tell it just to a second person it becomes confidential (or highly confidential) stuff. It's no longer a secret.
That's what I teached to my son when he was three or four years old.

On the other hand, having a great idea and keeping it closed in a drawer (or your mind) for the fear of it being stolen it's like not having it at all.

So, the problem of how much to trust others could be more difficult than it appears at first.

 

[BaGRoS]

A secret is a secret as long as you keep it for yourself.
Once you tell it just to a second person it becomes confidential (or highly confidential) stuff. It's no longer a secret.
That's what I teached to my son when he was three or four years old.

On the other hand, having a great idea and keeping it closed in a drawer (or your mind) for the fear of it being stolen it's like not having it at all.

So, the problem of how much to trust others could be more difficult than it appears at first.

Yes, I know, 100% truth.

 

[Andrew (Digitwell)]

I sit on the other side of this conversation. I have people coming to me all the time with ideas for apps.
As a company, I am happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement which will bind me not to share or exploit the idea.
In fact, it is one of the first things I suggest to a potential client. Many of these people don't have the app built primarily because of the cost, but I still hold that information confidential.

Unfortunately, often a document is just a piece of paper. You should have the money and the power to enforce it in a court, even for a long period of time.
Anyway, it's better to have something written down rather than having just your word.

This is also true, but at the end of the day, you need to trust whoever you choose to work with to be honest and professional.

Not everyone has all of the skills to turn an idea into reality so we do have to trust someone, but be careful!

 

[AHilton]

This has been discussed quite a bit before on this forum. Wasn't it Lucas that asked something like this just a couple of weeks ago? Lots of good advice in that thread. Look it up. Everything that follows depends completely on where you are located (Country) and/or where you are wanting to present your idea (the company/ies you want to present it to) because there are different laws governing this. I'm speaking about the USA only ...

My question is slightly different.

No, it isn't. Not a week goes by that my company gets at least 1 of these. I can't count how many of these I've gotten in the last 38 years. Everybody has an idea. Very very few actually research it thoroughly beforehand and, amazingly, their "unique idea" is already being done. Almost nobody can execute it.

How can I secure my claims when it comes to an app idea?

At a minimum: Patent and trademark. Copyright is a different thing but it can help in certain situations.

Add to that: Dated documentation (proof) about the development of your "idea" and how it works (this is critical). A LAWYER to make sure you're not missing something and have all of your documents in order. That you've never ever ever told anyone about your idea (then, it becomes public knowledge and is easily challenged in a court). A signed NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) but really these things aren't worth much if you don't have the other things to back it up and are always terrible for the receiver of the "idea" as has been said above.

Also: Money (if you patent it). See the above comments on being able to protect your patent/"idea". If you can't afford to protect it, don't bother. You'll get swallowed up.

Let's say I would give the idea and receive 30% of the profit, or £1 million (+tax) for relinquishing the rights to the profits, unless, the app would be resold to e.g. FB, then again 30% of the profit from the sale should be given to me.

You're WAY ahead of yourself. Unless you have an existing, sought-after, and highly profitable "idea" already in the marketplace, you have absolutely NO leverage to even think about such a thing.

If I tell some software studio about my idea, there is nothing to stop them from creating this or similar application.

That's correct. Unless you have the things I said above.

I estimate that my app should

I'll stop you right there. What are your estimates based on? If you want anyone to take you seriously, you better be able to back up that claim. Otherwise, you'll be wasting their time.

Any ideas on how to protect yourself? Patents go on forever, and I don't even have any idea if it's possible to patent an app.
Kind regards

No, patents do NOT go on forever. It depends on the type of patent and other special circumstances but they last ~20 years. Apps can be patented. Almost anything can be patented. It just depends on the kind of patent and what you're wanting to do with it.

I know that I sound pretty negative and I meant it that way. I want you and everyone else reading this to be under no illusion that just having an "idea" will get you riches. Also, that you can just walk into a company (especially a BIG company) and lay out your terms on your wonderful "idea" to them. You can't. "Unsolicited, unpatented" ideas presented to a company will get you nowhere.

What I'd like to leave on is this: Even though above it negative, I completely believe that innovation through individual ideas and development is absolutely CRITICAL to the tech industry and society as a whole. DO NOT be deterred by the process and roadblocks. Just be mindful that it's not enough to "have an idea".

 

[Cableguy]

You can't protect your idea. Also: Ideas are almost worthless, execution is much more important

I don't agree with this statement.
Ideas CAN be copyrighted and thus protected. Even giants like Samsung or Apple file copyrights on ideas before implementing them just in case some leak happens to happen, and some other major player uses it.

I would see copyright as the primary protection system for ideas. Just be sure to fully and comprehensively expose your idea.

 

[Magma]

@Cableguy but the parameter is "big" Companies, "giants"... "money"... That is something missing for our standards...

 

[Andrew (Digitwell)]

I don't agree with this statement.
Ideas CAN be copyrighted and thus protected. Even giants like Samsung or Apple file copyrights on ideas before implementing them just in case some leak happens to happen, and some other major player uses it.

I would see copyright as the primary protection system for ideas. Just be sure to fully and comprehensively expose your idea.

In the UK ideas cannot be copyrighted only their implementation. This may be different in other countries.

 

[PenguinHero]

Copyrighting an idea may sound good on paper but enforcing it can be very expensive.
And that's even if you can determine who you should be going after.

A friend of mine is a professional games developer who has his own games studio (which most of the time is just him).
He came up with quite a good idea for a new game, wrote and published it, got a lot of downloads, but within a couple of weeks there were exact clones of his game created (seemingly) by Chinese and Russian companies that are effectively out of legal reach.

 

[Addo]

There is no such thing called protecting your idea. Facebook were and idea and this idea spread out to be created from other developers, such as Twitter.. Youtube were an idea and similar to Facebook its spread out to be created by other developers with different brand name. The best you can do is to make a company with a brand name and special design to be protected by your brand name. How ever that won't prevent other developers to create a same app with the same logic with different design you can't prevent that either nobody or law can.

 

[Intelemarketing]

Go to YouTube and search up "Software Copyright and Patent"

As PenguinHero said, and probably the simplest advice to understand .....
"A friend of mine is a professional games developer who has his own games studio (which most of the time is just him).
He came up with quite a good idea for a new game, wrote and published it, got a lot of downloads, but within a couple of weeks there were exact clones of his game created (seemingly) by Chinese and Russian companies that are effectively out of legal reach."

There's an excellent movie on Netflix about the German company that invented the equivalent of "Google Earth" but Google was able to take ownership of the idea (steal the idea) at no cost ..... Go figure ?? The film portrays Google as being dishonest, and a company not to be trusted. Who would have the funds to take Google to Court ??

 

[BaGRoS]

Good morning.

Thank you all for your replies, very interesting and informative.

I am aware of all that you have written about. I do not expect my rights to be defended once the software is released. That is completely impossible.
I was more concerned with the pre-production/production stage. And most of all at the stage of valuation of the software, after communicating how it should work, with what it should be connected, what forms of earning on the software should be taken into account, etc. This part can also be quite long, there may not necessarily be agreement from both sides on the conditions. Then it is easy to refuse the implementation and create software without me. After all, in order for a company to quote for a job, I have to give them a virtually complete business plan. If I start talks with 3 companies looking for the best one, each must know the complete plan and then forget about it even if they see fantastic potential. I want to protect myself between starting talks and releasing a working version in the Google, Apple, Windows (?) markets.

Kind regards,