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So a bunch of friends are always pitching ideas to each other.

One day, one of my friends does one of these "this would be a great idea for a site". It's blown off as another of his 'ideas', but to me, it sounds like pure gold.

If I just go off and make it, does he have any recourse, aside from being a little jealous/angry that the site is not his, even though he may never have ended up making it?

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Kicking you out of the friends club is a likely risk. Or he can contact the department of ideas on you. Worked for that guy on xkcd. – jimg Jan 17 at 23:06
There's so an xkcd for everything, isn't there :) – Mark Mayo Jan 17 at 23:07
Perhaps this could be of merit - hollylisle.com/how-to-legally-and-ethically-steal-ideas – jimg Jan 17 at 23:16
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In the US of course you would go off and make it, then sue him if it didn't work for not disclosing that it was a bad idea – mgb Jan 18 at 0:15
Why not build it together? While it's sometimes legal to screw people, I think you will not find much happiness or success in doing so. – frenchie Jan 22 at 15:48
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3 Answers

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As others have said, legally there is not much your friend can do if you were to take this idea and run with it. Ideas are not worth the paper they are written on, as they say.

However, it might be best to approach your friend and discuss your proposals with him. I wouldn't let on that you think the idea is golden, but rather downplay it slightly, but say you think the idea might be "viable" and are considering making the site mentioned.

The chances are your friend will be happy for you to use the idea, on the other hand he may choose to assist you with the site. Depending on his level of involvement you can then negotiate exactly how much of a share to give him.

This way, you may get the business and keep your friend. If negotiations don't work out satisfactorily for you, then go off and do it on your own anyway!

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up vote 1 down vote

Legally you can use his idea.

I suspect you will have two outcomes:

  1. A failed business
  2. Lost friend(s)
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Entirely possible, and I'm prepared for #1. #2 is the tricky part. – Mark Mayo Jan 18 at 1:25
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Have some faith! #3: The next Facebook :) – Fredrik Jan 18 at 8:17
up vote 1 down vote

To enforce intellectual property rights, one must take steps to protect those rights. It is not automatic. In the US, there is little or no legal recognition of moral rights of authorship. That may mean your friend needs to consider filing a patent or copyright application, or using non-disclosure agreements. Absent these, your friend probably has little legal recourse.

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