PROTECTING YOUR IDEA

So you have an idea and now you want to enter it in a competition or chat about it on a public forum. The first thing you need to know is that as soon as your idea is in the public domain you can no longer protect it. For many people this will not be an issue, you may not have either the time or inclination to develop your idea into a commercial product and you are just happy to get your idea out in public. However a lot of people will not want to give their ideas away for free and should educate themselves about patents, trademarks and intellectual property rights. The downside is that this requires an investment on your part, it is rarely, if ever free.

Protecting your idea through patents can be a costly and time consuming affair. Fans of the BBC's Dragons Den will have seen some howling examples of people spending a small fortune on developing and protecting their ideas only to find out to late that their idea is not the commercially viable idea they thought it was. Sometimes your time may be better spent concentrating on getting your idea out into the market and getting the feedback flowing in.

Ultimately it is your responsibility to protect your idea, consider whether it is worth the time and costs involved and make sure you understand the protection it offers you.

Useful links

UK Intellectual Property Office
Patent FAQ''s from the British Library
Own It
Trevor Baylis