How do I patent or protect my idea for a board game?
368376
One of the fastest ways to start the intellectual protection process is to Copyright. It is much faster than a patent, and gives you time to think about whether or not the patent process is necessary.
52076
You need a good patent attorney, period.  You must understand that 95% never get off the ground. It is not just about your idea- it is about your marketing, sales and distrubution- these things take capital.  Look at the club- if I told you 20 years ago, I had a piece of metal that you slap on your steering wheel you would say to get lost but it was marketed like mad and it made millions.  You can patent something and years later have a company contact you to buy the rights- my friend of my friend put a light in a tackle box and 2 years later settled for 3 million from a company that had the same idea- he owned the rights!  Innoventions are a good way to go also...think BASF- make something good, better.
254036
I don't know, but make sure you have your idea patented before you go showing people. If not, they'll say they're not interested, then turn around and make them.
368861
hire a patent attorney, to protect your rights.
616385
First, file a complaint against the company with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. see http://www.uspto.gov/web/forms/2048.pdf\n\nNext, collect all of your materials, including copies of the materials you sent to/received from the invention company, and find a registered patent attorney to advise you.\n\nI wouldn't worry much about the company stealing your idea. They make their money by extracting $700 - $21,000 from solo inventors and aren't geared up to do more than push paper. However, they can compromise your ability to obtain patent protection in other ways, so do consult with a registered patent attorney. You can find one near you with this link: http://des.uspto.gov/OEDCI/GeoRegion.jsp\n\nGood luck.
671964
Create something unique and then follow the process.  Look it up on line...ie: search "how to register a trade mark"...
225757
The article "How to Protect Your Idea" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol81/protectidea.htm offers several ways you can protect your business idea while you are looking for funding. Here are the tips:\n\n1. Hire a patent lawyer who can help you start the process of protecting your idea and give you advice on legal steps you can do to protect your idea\n\n2. Keep extensive records tracking the development of your idea by having a logbook or notebook, dating each step to show a complete product development process.\n\n2. Proceed with the patent process first. In some countries such as Australia, it will be harder to obtain a patent for your product if you publicly discuss, publish, demonstrate or sell your product before you file a patent application. Having at least a provisional patent (or "patent pending") can give you more confidence that you are \n\n4. Document where, how and to whom you showed your idea. ask him or her to sign a non-disclosure agreement before you discuss or show your idea. Also ask the person to initial and date the page of your sketches in your logbook. These tools can give you ammunition in the event that the other party copies or steals your idea. Document every phone conversations, patent applications, and brainstorming sessions.\n\nIt is better to hire a patent attorney at this point, rather than hire a lawyer battling out those people who stole your idea later on. By keeping extensive records of how your business idea developed and getting those you talk to to sign NDAs can give you stronger ammunition. It does not always work (especially if you say you are in a country full of corruption), but at least you have stronger legal grounds.
142851
If it's a really good idea, I'd get a patent on it first... If you call carrier all those dirty crooks will do is steal your idea and make tons of money off it.
469623
From the article "How to Protect Your Idea or Intellectual Property" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol81/protectidea.htm here are some steps you need to take:\n\n1. Consult a patent lawyer and check if your idea can be patented. \n2. Keep extensive records tracking the development of your idea.\n3. Conduct an extensive research to find out if there are similar patents. \n4. Document where, how and to whom you showed your idea.\n5. Do your own market research if your idea is marketable\n6. Explore the possibility of developing the product yourself, or licensing someone else to make the product for you. \n\nTo bring your idea to market, you may want to read "How to Get Your Consumer Invention to Market" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/012006/invention.htm \n\nGood luck
246891
patent it. go to the government service. if you go to the attorneys they will charge you around 2000-5000. you can also document and date the design, then show it to the manufacturer. they can tell you if it is marketable; but be careful. they can steal you idea/design. so document and date it well. go see an attorney that doesn't try to sell you patent service.
766053
The best thing you can do is get the advice of a qualified patent professional.  If you can't afford to, then for only $100 you can file a complete description of the invention as a provisional application for patent with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (see the link below), explaining exactly how to make, perform, and practice it.  Then you have a year before you have to get a nonprovisional patent (which should only be prepared by a patent professional).  In the meantime you can call your invention "patent pending" and you can show your idea to companies who might want to buy it.\n\nIf they do want to buy it, aside from paying you for it they will probably be happy to prepare, file, and prosecute the nonprovisional patent application (which is very expensive to prepare in a way that will produce a valid and valuable patent) in return for your assigning the patent rights to them.
766960
It is not possible to protect ideas but rather the representation of that idea.\n\nAssociations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.\n\nI posted some relevant links in the source box.\n\nHope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
514274
One thing you can do to guarantee not getting ripped off, is whats called a "poor man's copyright". This is how you do it. First, make a copy of your script, outline, storyboard etc., whatever you have. Put the original in a shipping envelope (the manila colored ones with padding work best), now, take it to the mailbox, and mail it to yourself, honestly, the post office will do this. They will take the letter, process it, in processing they will stamp it with their location, and the date, then when it comes back to you, DO NOT OPEN IT, literally leave it closed, forever, but keep it safe. The reason being, if someone steals your idea, the "poor mans copyright" will hold up in court if the date is visible (and before the other person says they made theirs), and the envelope is unopened, that way they know it was not tampered with in any way. This is a great help to struggling writers who dont have the money to spend on copyrighting their ideas.
1001737
You need a prototype or demo. \n\nDepending on the specifics, a patent may be a huge waste of time and money. \n\nIf you don't have money, you need a partner or licensee. Ideally a company who's already in that business or selling to those cusotmers who would buy your thing.  \n\nYou will need a lawyer. The specialty is called "intellectual property"\n\nYou will have to work hard and be persistent; there are plenty of people like you who think they have the better mousetrap but have no money. You will hear a lot of no's.\n\nIf I may suggest: "marketing" is more critical to your success than "designing" or "making"
1029455
A company called Davison Inventegration at davison@mail.davisongetsresults.com can help you with the promotion of your product. They will send you an inventors package in the mail. everything is confidential and your rights protected. Good Luck!
333274
If you're really paranoid about financial and legal details, do this: \n\n1. Write the ideas details completely and thoroughly down on paper and mail it to yourself as a REGISTERED letter.  \n\n2. Before divulging your material to someone in a meeting, have them sign a privacy agreement.  Recording such a meeting on tape - with their verbal agreement - would also be a good idea, if you are meeting face to face.\n\nIf the person/group tries to later claim they created your material before you did, you have two legally valid proofs that they are lying.  This has stood up in courts in the past as proof of copyrights and who created such works.
849784
Unfortunately, there is no way to patent an idea or theory. Many people will have great ideas, but will not be able to put that idea into a package appropriate for a patent because there is no invention, only a concept, or in your case a theory. To be sure, the idea, concept or theory is the all critical first step in the invention process. After you come up with the idea, concept or theory you now need to put together a game plan on how to carry that through to come kind of completed invention, which can be a process, device, machine or composition. The idea and game plan together form what the law calls conception. Conception is an important concept in patent law because in the United States it is the first person to invent that will ultimately receive the exclusive rights on an invention. That being said, it is critical that once you conceive (idea + game plan) you will need to be diligent and not let any grass grow under your feet as you move forward toward defining and experimenting with your invention.\n\nWhile you are refining your theory and developing some kind of tangible invention or describing a patentable process, you can and should keep an invention notebook.  This will help you prove that you are the inventor, what you invented and most importantly when you have invented what you have.  The best way to do this is to keep a notebook tracking progress and periodically have someone who is familiar with the subject matter (and who has signed a confidentiality agreement) review the notebook and sign and date the notebook.  This will provide an independent third party who can verify that you had something on a particular day.  If you do not have such a person, or don't trust anyone, you can find a notary public to verify the notebook.  Notaries are available at all banks, but having someone who is not knowledgable about the invention sign is not legally ideal, but is better than no verification.  You can also put copies of your notebook into an envelope and mail it to yourself.  It is important to understand, however, that this does not translate into any exclusive rights.  It would just help you prove date of invention.\n\nInsofar as copyright is concerned, copyright protects expression and patent law protects inventions.  In other words, copyrighting your theory, as was suggested by others, will not protect the functionality of the theory or any use thereof.  With a copyright you will merely protect the prose used to describe the theory, not the theory itself.\n\nOnce you have an invention the first thing to do is a patent search, and if nothing related is found then you can move on to filing either a provisional or non-provisional patent application.