Discussion:
What is the name of your state? Maryland
I have a unique question. I'll use the example of the ESPN SportsZone. Let's say that I first had the idea of the SportsZone where you have a restaurant that has a sports theme as well as adds the ESPN personalities to the atmosphere. If I, as an independent person, had this idea before the ESPN execs did, would there be some way for me to mark (not sure which term applies here) my idea so that I could benefit financially from it if it came to light? If so, what exactly would that be? A trademark, patent, etc.? I have an idea for a restaurant but it involves a trademarked company. I'm sure I'd have to negotiate with them to make it work but I want to know if they didn't like the idea now and later they decided to do it without me, would I be able to protect an idea like that? I'd appreciate any help on this one.
Answer:
What is the name of your state? Maryland
I have a unique question. I'll use the example of the ESPN SportsZone. Let's say that I first had the idea of the SportsZone where you have a restaurant that has a sports theme as well as adds the ESPN personalities to the atmosphere. If I, as an independent person, had this idea before the ESPN execs did, would there be some way for me to mark (not sure which term applies here) my idea so that I could benefit financially from it if it came to light? If so, what exactly would that be? A trademark, patent, etc.? I have an idea for a restaurant but it involves a trademarked company. I'm sure I'd have to negotiate with them to make it work but I want to know if they didn't like the idea now and later they decided to do it without me, would I be able to protect an idea like that? I'd appreciate any help on this one. It's generally pretty tough to protect just an "idea." Trademark and patent would certainly not apply; copyright might apply, but copyright has limitations on what exactly is the protectable materials. Probably your best bet would be to protect your idea as a "trade secret" -- basically, you just keep it secret. Of course, eventually you will need to tell someone about it, but if you do it under an NDA, you can still keep the secret "secret," and therefore protected.
However, from a practical matter, most companies won't discuss unsolicited ideas under an NDA, so who knows if the trade secret route will work.
The problem with copyright is that copyright only protects the "creative" aspects of the idea, and not the idea itself. The idea of a "sports-themed restaurant" is certainly unprotectable under copyright; the specific ESPN Zone concept might be protected. What this means is that if you had a copyright on the ESPN Zone restaurant, someone else could see your copyright, and come up with their own restaurant, maybe even a sprts-themed restaurant, without infringing on your copyright.
Further, even if you had the ESPN Zone copyright, if ESPN (or anyone else) came up with the idea completely independently then no infringement has taken place. So, it's not like you can copyright an idea, sit on it, and wait for someone else to come up with the idea themselves, then claim infringement and demand payment. Patents may work that way (sort of), but copyrights certainly do not.
If you really have a good idea, maybe the best bet is to simply try and approach the trademark holder themselves, and see if you can get them to talk under an NDA (nondisclosure agreement).
Answer:
Thank you very much for the info. Well I guess my next step is to put together a presentation and go from there. Now what if I go to them and they reject my idea but later use it? Would I have a case against them? Or would my only protection be the NDA?
Answer:
Thank you very much for the info. Well I guess my next step is to put together a presentation and go from there. Now what if I go to them and they reject my idea but later use it? Would I have a case against them? Or would my only protection be the NDA? Well, you would probably rely on the NDA -- which is why youwill probably want to insist on having a lawyer help you draft one, and why they might not want to sign it, or might want to amend it before signing. The NDA creates a "contract" situation, and would potentially allow you to sue them for "breach of contract" if they were to use your idea without paying you while the contract was still in effect -- usually the "breach of contract" action is much easier to sue for than, say, copyright infringement, or some other IP infringement, and can help protect your idea even in a situation such as this, where it would be tough to even prove an IP ifnringement case.
Start with the NDA.
Answer:
Ok, I'll start with that. Thank you once again for your helpful information!