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Legal Protection of Website

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:09 pm
by mbshaf4
How can i legally protect my websites idea? What is stopping someone from stealing my idea and out advertising me and putting me out of business. Is there any kind of patent i can get?

Thanks in advance!

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:10 pm
by Luke
no

Re: Legal Protection of Website

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:42 pm
by Christopher
mbshaf4 wrote:How can i legally protect my websites idea? ... Is there any kind of patent i can get?
There are patents, copyrights, licenses, etc. etc. all of which can do the things that they do. But this is hardly the place to ask about them. You should consult a lawyer about those subjects.

And honestly, I seriously doubt that you have an idea that is that novel or interesting that it is patentable. And it you do, again, here is not the place to discuss it. Find a lawyer and approach venture capital if you really think you are the next Google.
mbshaf4 wrote:What is stopping someone from stealing my idea and out advertising me and putting me out of business.
Last I checked it is called out competing the competetion. It will be your business abilities, not a "websites idea," that will make you a success.

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 4:54 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
And honestly, I seriously doubt that you have an idea that is that novel or interesting that it is patentable.
Never underestimate the power of patents... There are patents covering quite a number of concepts on the internet. Some are quite original, others are plain stupid common sense ideas that were patented not on originality but simply because someone lodged the first application. DVD queueing for example (creating a queue of DVDs you wish to rent in sequence) has been patented, and a case in progress against one site which uses such a mechanism. Stupid patent - how is that anything but common sense?

If you are working from the US and you have an original concept you can patent it as a business method or software concept - don't expect such an action to have any effect outside the US. Europe in general does not support patents of this variety.

You would do well to focus on the business, not on creating barriers to entry for new competitors. It's a poor substitute for decent marketing, quality service offerings and post sales support...the things most customers or end-users will rate you on.

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:40 am
by R4000
i completly HATE the idea of patenting something that is online...

its just stupid and unfair, id rather everybody had access to everything i make, that way it can be made better and more secure. im sure its been mentioned somewhere else on the forums too... but open source encryption software is generaly more secure than closed source!..... that tells me something :P

anyway if your still persistant in doing this, find a lawyer (wtf i cant spell)

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 12:47 pm
by alvinphp
Your idea needs to be original (not just another way of doing something that is already done) and it must be something that a reasonable person is not able to think of. If you apply for a patent on your own its a few hundred bucks and it takes a couple years. If you get yourself a Patent lawyer it will be cost considerably more. And even if the Patent office was to issue a patent that does not mean you are clear. Any patent can be challenged in court and struck down for a variety of reasons. This is happens every day.

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:57 pm
by feyd
Patent upkeep prices aren't cheap either.