[ale] OT: Manufacturing an idea....

[Marvin Dickens]

The moment you get an idea, put your idea in writing along with anything
else that is pertinate such as the date(s)of conception and who was
present when the idea was conceived. Then make two copies and get them
notarized. One copy goes into a lock box for immediate safe keeping and
then you put the other one in an envelope and mail it to yourself via
the US mail. When you get it, do not open it. The letter will be post
marked with a date and this date is what is important. (Your idea came
before everybody else got the idea...) In electronic design, like
software, most idea's do not meet the qualifications for a patent. But,
the design itself meets the qualifications for copyright which can be
just as important (Or even more). 

Anyway, in the event you do end up in a dispute or in court, it's gonna
be a long time after you initially got the lawyer to help you bring the
thing to market. Also, The first thing the lawyer is gonna say regarding
a dispute is prove you had the idea first. You then you the lawyer the
notarized document you made a year or so ago and tell him it has a twin
that you mailed to yourself and when you received it, you never opened
it. Basically, in court you have irrefutable evidence that the idea is
yours. If you do not have some way to prove ownership or who had the
idea first, you are screwed.

You need to do something like this even before you look for money,
channels of distribution or *anything* else. As we all know, ownership
is 9/10th's of the law (Especially when intellectual property is
involved).

Best

M. Dickens




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