How do a I secure a business idea and its name so someone else can’t take it?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

How do a I secure a business idea and its name so someone else can’t take it?

How do a I secure a buisness idea and its name so someone else can’t take it?

Asked on March 16, 2012 under Business Law, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

You can't secure an idea--ideas are not patentable or copyrightable. There is no way to prevent someone else from independentally coming up with an idea. You can protect yourself from potential business partners or investors, by having them sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement prior to sharing your idea with them, but you cannot protect yourself against anyone who has not signed some contract or agreement with you, vis-a-vis the idea, if they happen to come up with it themselves.

You can trademark a name, such as a for a product or service (technically, the latter is a "service mark," but it's treated the same as a trademark), but only if you have a bona fide intent to actually use the name in commerce in the relatively near future (or are using it now, of course). You could also register your business name and potentially protect it as well, such as by a trade/service mark, if it otherwise meets the criteria for such protection. (You can find the requirements at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or PTO, website.)


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption