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I have a great idea for a new product and I am thinking about launching it on Kickstarter, but I have one major problem. I am afraid that someone will steal my product and/or accuse me of stealing "their" product (which I did not do and I would never do). You can't just put up a vague description; you need prototypes, features, specifications, etc. to attract Backers, although I don't need a huge amount of money. ($5,000 at the very most; I doubt I'll need half of that money, but you never know.) I am afraid that if my product gains too much popularity (which is always good except for one thing) that a larger company can see my timeline, etc. and launch a cheaper product faster than I can roll it out and I would loose all of my popularity and efforts in the market. I couldn't sue them because they "had it in the works longer than I did" and I have no proof really. On some posts about speaking with investors, they mentioned an idea is nothing without great execution, but someone may have great execution browsing the web. You open a new door to millions of people and the chances that one of them will try to do something similar is pretty high. I do not have enough money for a patent; that's why I need financial backing for something under $5,000, although some of the money would be for patents and trademarks.

I just thought of this: should I be worrying about someone copying my name? It isn't like Kickstarter takes it down instantly, it could be up for a couple of years, not to mention if anyone posts anything about it on another site. (I'm not saying anybody would but I am paranoid I admit.) I didn't want to post another question that's why I threw this in.

This is still in the works, but I am just thinking theoretically would this be possible to try to do this? Thanks in advance.

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Take a look at this other question answers.onstartups.com/questions/47044/… Just asked today! – frenchie Jan 31 at 2:52
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"I do not have enough money for a patent".. really? There are good DIY guides on how to file a provisional patent cheaply - Nolo has a bunch of good guides. – jimg Jan 31 at 6:10
Or.. let someone else take the lead and keep an eye on them to let them make the mistakes and don't repeat them. :) – CaseySoftware Feb 1 at 5:03

4 Answers

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Let's summarize: Your question asks How do I prevent someone from stealing my idea on Kickstarter? and then imposes the condition I have no money for a patent.

So you want to go public with your unpatented idea to crowd source funds for a patent application and development. You will probably want to read the Wikipedia entry on Prior Art before you use Kickstarter, and then consult a patent attorney (try a free consult). Basically, if you describe your idea well enough on Kickstarter to get funding, you are creating published prior art on the idea- which rules out obtaining a patent.

So the basic answer to your question, How do I prevent someone from stealing my idea on Kickstarter? is pretty simple. Without first obtaining a patent you can not protect your idea. Anyone can copy it.

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+1 excellent point on the prior art. – jimg Jan 31 at 20:09
I never realized this would be a problem. Thanks for the answer. – Annonomus Person Jan 31 at 22:25
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AFAIU, Not entirely true, Gary E; For U.S. patents, a patent is barred if "the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent in the United States." So this means if you "Kickstart" today, you have 364 days before filing your patent. – Chelonian Feb 2 at 1:27
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@AnnonomusPerson Just a clarification on what you said: whether you get enough backers on Kickstarter or not, in "a couple of years" you technically can't get a patent on it if you described it on Kickstarter; that's Gary E's point. It's become "prior art". My point is there is one year's grace period on this. You can look into filing a cheap provisional patent application (currently $150) that will "hold your place" for a year, but you'd need to Kickstart enough the first part of that year to pay for the attorney's fees + nonprovisional patent fees to apply for the real thing later. – Chelonian Feb 3 at 3:27
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@AnnonomusPerson Btw, I wonder how eager people will be to be contributing mostly to pay for a patent? At least in the software patent world, the vox populi is not very happy about 'em. I know your idea is not software, though. – Chelonian Feb 3 at 3:29
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up vote 8 down vote

Guess I disagree with Frenchie. Or I may agree. Not quite sure.

If the idea lives only in your head, without validation or execution, I would say that its "value" approaches zero.

Consider the following:

  1. You may have a great idea that can set a market on fire, but that's your opinion.
  2. Objectively validating that idea within market segment(s) makes your idea more valuable.
  3. Determining which market segment (or collection of segments) will actively use (pay) for your idea turns it into a product.
  4. Product demand that generates revenue to sustain operations (or attract funding until such venture becomes profitable) makes your idea a business.

I tend to believe that ideas are just a multiplier of execution.

This is best described by Derek Sivers .. who created the following diagram.

To make a business, you need to multiply these two

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Yea, and that's how VCs you also get a) Brilliant execution and b) Awful idea and end up building pets.com or many other bad businesses. You need both: the idea AND the execution. But I think the idea is more important than the execution because brilliant visionaries are rare but great great executioners are a dime a dozen. – frenchie Jan 30 at 22:57
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:) could argue either way. Would love to own a so-so idea with brilliant execution. Not everything has to be an earth shattering brilliant idea to make good returns to those involved.. if they execute properly. – jimg Jan 30 at 23:01
@frenchie that is a totally ridiculous statement. I see a few great ideas pitched every week. I think you misunderstand what the term execution is if you believe that just about everybody executes. There are a handful of brilliant ideas, and there are a handful of brilliant executioners. Typically, these two fall under the category of highly experienced entrepreneurs. But I'll bet you any day that I could take a so-so idea, and turn it into a $5 mil company, whereas if I gave you a brilliant idea, it would just maybe make it to prototype stage... Hopefully. – jsksma2 Jan 31 at 3:55
I absolutely agree with the diagram posted by @jimg. So let's analyze: A brilliant idea with no execution equals $20, while an awful idea with brilliant execution equals $1mil. I'll go ahead and take my skills at executing, and you can have your 20 bucks... – jsksma2 Jan 31 at 3:57
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There should be a big dumb luck factor in there, too. Companies that get acquired for ridiculous sums simply are not meriting that money in any way other than due to a wildly capricious marketplace; it's a very bizarre time in history that we live in. – Chelonian Jan 31 at 18:08
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up vote 6 down vote

I'm going to tell you something that a lot of people who are new to entrepreneurship don't like to hear: Ideas are cheap. Yes, someone could steal your idea, but the truth is that it's not the idea that's valuable. It's about your execution.

When Facebook was first created, it was not the first social media site; it was not even the first anything really. But Zuckerburg & Parker (more Sean Parker) understood exactly how to execute their product so it could be big.

Besides, chances are that out of 6 billion other minds, someone has likely thought of your idea. I think the real answer your looking for out of this question is actually a common piece of advise in the startup world. If you have an idea, it's only going to be an "idea" until you actually do something to create a real value out of it.

Biz dev from Yelp actually talks about this in the iPad and iPhone Development iTunesU course. I think the title is: "Building apps that people want". There he talks about exactly what I just told you.

Best of luck with your idea. And seriously, get off your ass and do something about it! :)

One thing that nobody has touched on yet:

You're ability to network and create useful connections. I have been in the startup game long enough to know that your success is not going to be won by yourself. Donald Trump didn't go from rich-broke-rich again because he's smart (because we all know that's a laugh). He did it because he still had the connections.

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By the way, isn't there 7 billion people? :) (Or are you excluding babies...) Anyway, it may be hard to face. I guess I was expecting a perfect solution, but does anybody have any tips that may help me? Should I try to make my product as different as I can from competitors to make it harder? I know when writing software, it's a good idea to store revisions. On pictures, your only release slightly cropped images and keep the original so no one else can have it unless they broke into your house. For now, thanks. – Annonomus Person Jan 30 at 21:23
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I have found that it is much more counter-productive to hide my idea from the world than it is to share it prior to building it. Talk about market validation... There is no formula to creating a successful startup, you can forget about that. As far as differentiating yourself from competitors or not, it depends. My friend walked up to a famous investor at a convention and said I want to build an app that competes with Airbnb, and the investor ended up investing $1mil in his idea. The truth was he had no idea whatsoever, he just knew that competition is good. – jsksma2 Jan 30 at 22:13
Well take a look at this question answers.onstartups.com/questions/47044/… that was asked just today. People say "ideas are cheap" just because that's what everybody says. – frenchie Jan 31 at 2:53
up vote 2 down vote

People will tell you "ideas are a dime a dozen": I totally disagree.

Ideas are a dime a dozen, good ideas are rare and GREAT ideas are far and few between. So if you have a good idea, or even a great idea (the market will actually determine that later), you will not be respected for it because people focus on the execution capabilities. But in reality, at the beginning of it all, there's the idea of the visionary. What does it matter if the execution is great but the initial idea is bad? Those who succeed on that path simply achieve failure.

People focus primarily on the execution, on the know-how; I disagree: what matters more is the know-what, knowing WHAT to do. For instance, knowing how to program is hard but knowing WHAT to program is even harder. And people who poo-poo ideas are usually a) bad visionaries and b) looking for great ideas.

So, if you are a visionary that's awesome, but it will not be enough. You must also be able to build the business out of your ideas. Don't get me wrong, execution is critical: you need to put a business together and then make it scale. Provided that you start out with a great idea, great execution IS what will make or break your business. For instance, at the moment you need resources, and you need to execute on getting them. But I think that if you go on KickStarter and share your great ideas you will not get anything because people will not respect you just for your ideas. And if people think your idea is actually good, some will take it and there's nothing you can do to prevent that. So at the stage you're in, I recommend you figure out another way to get the resources you need because there's just no way to prevent intellectual property theft. And I'm sure that happens...

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An interesting perceptive... So you are saying I should skip Kickstarter in general and go to one investor? I picked Kickstarter because I didn't have any connections besides family/friends and it isn't a good idea to work with family or friends. Also, an investor would want royalties or shares of the product. – Annonomus Person Jan 31 at 22:31
What I'm saying is that for now, you're only at the idea stage and you're most likely NOT going to find an investor. Look at all the other responses you got: "ideas are worthless", "ideas are a dime a dozen". That's what most people think (I don't BTW). So if you want to get funding from Kickstarted or AngelList or some other kind of investor marketplace, you need to have more than an idea. And if an idea is all you have, and it's a good to brilliant idea, then it will be taken, which is what you wanted to avoid in the first place. So I recommend you find another way to get started. – frenchie Jan 31 at 23:08
I never meant that I would've have a prototype and diagrams and timelines and schematics and so and so- I am deciding whether it would even be a good idea to make a prototype that would cost a fair amount of money. If I cannot protect my idea, why would I start making it? – Annonomus Person Jan 31 at 23:14
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Because if you start building a prototype, then you'll have more than an idea and that's when you'll be in a better position to raise money on Kickstarter for instance. Why would it cost money? Is it a manufactured product or a software? If it's software, can't you start building it on your own time? – frenchie Jan 31 at 23:51
No, it isn't software. [Unfortionatly] Thanks for your time. I learned a lot from everybody. – Annonomus Person Feb 1 at 0:07

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