How to Protect Your Idea without Using a Patent

Taking your idea from the drawing board to the store shelf is going to take many months (or, in some cases, years!) of dedicated work. During that development process, someone could swoop in and steal your idea right out from under you.

At least that might be your biggest fear.

This is why you want to make sure your product or idea is patented, right?

Although that may make sense, during the development and start-up phase filing for a patent can be a costly and time-consuming process. So, should you put your great idea on hold?

Absolutely not! Here are some ways you can protect your idea without using a patent.

Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

If you have any proprietary information or plans that you're going to share, you should make sure you get a non-disclosure agreement signed by that person before you show them anything. This is a binding contract that compels the second party to confidentiality. They can't talk about your product or idea to anyone else without your permission. You can get a lot of work done with a NDA without worrying that your idea will get stolen as it is developed.

Non-compete agreement

This is an agreement you sign with someone you are hiring for your company. It will compel them not to start a competing business that could take direct aim at your profits. For instance, if you've come up with a great new ice cream making process and you share that with your workers they can't turn around and use that same process in their own store if they've signed a non-compete agreement. Of course, if you want to sell them franchises go for it!

Work-for-hire agreement

This is an agreement you'll enter into with a freelance worker who will be lending some of their talents on certain elements of your product development. With a work-for-hire contract, you will own all the work that person creates on your behalf. If they design a killer logo for your brand, under this contract, that logo will be all yours.

Go provisional

Another layer of protecting your idea is by filing a provisional patent. This is something you can do yourself using resources found online. The provisional patent can throw a "protection net" over your idea for up to one year. With this type of patent, you can make the claim of "patent pending." In that year, you should be working out the kinks and lining up investors. Then you can pull the trigger on the patent. You might also find that your product has changed greatly in that year. Better to get it right than to rush into a patent. 

How to Protect Yourself From Spam

E-mail has become an integral part of our lives, however, the flipside of it is that it can become annoying.

Especially when it comes in the form of spam.   

The definition of spam is that it is any “…unsolicited message or posting, regardless of its content, that is sent to multiple recipients…”  Not only does it clog up your inbox, it can also be dangerous. Spam can contain viruses or phishing emails that try to steal your online identity and credit cards.

It is reported that as much as 94 percent of all emails you receive is considered spam that is not only slowing down servers, affecting the performance of PCs and other computer hardware, but also your work performance too.

There are many tactics that spammers use to gather email addresses. Some set up fake websites to get you to sign up for something in order to capture email addresses while others use advertising malware to send spam. They can also build their email lists by using scripts to compile email addresses from bulletin boards, websites, newsgroups and forums.  Some unethical webmasters will even sell email addresses to spammers.

Just like sending junk mail to your mailbox, spammers send unsolicited email hoping that you’ll buy their products or services. With the cost of emails running in the pennies, spammers can afford to send out millions of emails. They only need a few responses in order to make a profit from their campaigns.

To reduce the amount of spam that comes to your email account, here are a few tips:

1.       Never click on anything in an unfamiliar email.    If you don't know the sender - don't open it! Any response made on an unfamiliar email lets the spammer know that your email address is active and will leave the opportunity for them to send more spam.  Be wary of emails from senders that you don’t recognize that hold attachments. They may certainly have viruses.

2.       Never send personal information through email. Watch out for emails that request any personal information from you. Be careful of any email messages that ask you to send credit card numbers, passwords or any personal information through email. Spammers will create fake e-mails that look like they are from PayPal, Facebook, or other popular sites. In many cases, clicking on these emails will lead you to a third-party site that will try to trick you in providing personal information.  And under any circumstances, do not email anyone your social security number.

3.       Don’t open an unfamiliar email until you have blocked HTML images.  By blocking graphics and HTML images in your emails, it prevents spammers from being alerted when you open the message. Tracking software embedded in the HMTL can identify when an email has been opened by the image that has been uploaded on your browser or email provider.

4.       Watch out for red-flag terms. Beware of phrases, such as "You have won!" , “How to collect your prize!” or "Verify your account." These are ways for spammers to try to get you to click on the email and see if it’s an active email address.

Each of the suggestions above in isolation doesn’t provide you with the best protection. When you combine all of them together, along with using proper anti-spam software, and being wary of divulging personal information online will make for an effective protection against unwanted email.   

Protecting Your Original Content Online

It’s inevitable that as a publisher of original content, someone will steal it.  What’s important is how you deal with it. With the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), there are ways you can protect your content from people who steal from your site. And you don’t need to be a lawyer to understand how it works. 

There are six ways that you can protect your content online.  By taking these actions, you reduce the chances for your online content to be stolen.  

·         Learn the basics of copyright law. According to the DMCA, your post is protected as soon as you publish it. As a creator – the content becomes your intellectual property and no one can reproduce it without your permission. 

·         Post a copyright notice on your website.  Although having a copyright notice on the bottom of your website does not protect you, it does tell everyone that the content is your intellectual property.  It is used as a warning for others that copying your content is not legal.   

·         Post a permissions policy. Create a permissions policy page which clarifies what people can do with your content.  It allows other webmasters a guide to follow on what they can or cannot do with your content. 

·         Request that they remove your post. Ask the offender to remove your post by email or in the comments – politely.  In many cases, people may not know that they have done an offence and just need to be educated. Most likely they will comply once you’ve notified them.

·         Notify the ISP (Internet Service Provider).  The DMCA allows copyright owners to have ISPs comply with “take down” requests. In this case, ISPs can be any website that hosts the offending website or content. You may have to do a bit of research in order to find the right hosting service or even contact name. However, once you’ve sent them an email, the ISPs will do their research into your request.  If the ISP finds that there is a copyright infringement, they will make their own request to the website owner or take down the site.   

·         Hire a copyright lawyer. If nothing else works, you may have to resort to hiring a lawyer who can go after the offender.  Keep in mind that lawyers can be expensive and there can be no guarantee that you will be successful.  

If you use a Wordpress blog, download and install one of their plugins – the WP Copyprotect. This locks your content so that no one can highlight and copy your content. However, for the real pirates, this won’t deter them as they can merely shut down their website and appear elsewhere with another site.

The best strategy is to create great original content that your readers will love and share. This not only helps build credibility but also brand loyalty that keeps your readers coming back.

How a Shareholders' Agreement Can Protect You and Your Business

Corporate law doesn’t offer a solution for every potential conflict that can occur between partners or shareholders during the course of running your business. Which is why creating a shareholders’ agreement can be a very smart thing to do to protect yourself.  There are many situations in which a shareholders’ agreement can get you of trouble. Here are a few examples:

·         An unfortunate event that occurs such as a conflict with one of the shareholders, an accident, bankruptcy or even death of a shareholder

·         When the shareholders want to maintain equal equity within themselves

·         When shareholders want to participate in company decision-making, such as the introduction of new partners in the company

·         Or changing the shareholder voting rights

Even if you have less than three shareholders, you should write and sign a shareholders agreement. The departure of a partner or even a disagreement between shareholders can often lead to bad blood within your company.  And in situations like these, you want to make sure you’re protected.

If you want to have the best shareholders’ agreement that meets your needs, it is advisable to consult a lawyer. He will determine what clauses should be included in the agreement and suggest solutions tailored to your situation and that of the shareholders. Expect to pay a few hundred dollars for a lawyers’ service.

If there is a dispute or uncertainty on how to proceed in a particular situation, you can refer to the shareholders' agreement for guidance. In the event that the agreement does not cover a particular circumstance or the situation cannot be resolved by the shareholders, an arbitration clause can be inserted in the agreement that requires the dispute to be referred to an independent third party.

Here are some of the clauses that you should be aware of and may wish to put in your agreement:

1.       First refusal: This allows shareholders to have a say over the sale of their shares to someone else who is not a part of the company.

2.       Mandatory offer due to death: Provide what will happen upon the death of a shareholder

3.       Mandatory offer due to withdrawal from business: Provide for situation which could lead to the withdrawal of a shareholder from the company for various reasons

4.       Pre-emptive right: Protects the rights of the shareholders against issuing new shares by the Board of Directors

5.       Shotgun clause: Protection from any disagreements between shareholders

6.       Working conditions: This outlines the working conditions governing the shareholders who work for the company

7.       Voting: Allows shareholders to be elected as board of directors

In starting your business, you should hope for the best, but plan for the worst to occur. By using a shareholders' agreement, you save money, time and frustration in the long run. What you get is greater trust and peace of mind between you and your partners which is fundamental to every successful small business.

Video Series - PatsyPie Trademark

PatsyPie - Trademark Application Filing Services

PatsyPie is a bakery specializing in gluten-free products such as cookies, brownies and biscotti. Started as a home business in St. Laurent, Quebec by Pat Libling, PatsyPie has grown tremendously, with products now being sold across Canada.

PatsyPie was started because Pat herself is celiac. Over the years Pat has tried practically every gluten-free product on the market but found that none of the products measured up to the quality and taste of regular baked goods. So Pat set out to perfect her gluten-free recipes and once she did, she was in business!

For Pat, finding a creative and original name for her company was easy - PatsyPie is a nickname her husband gave her years ago. As PatsyPie started to become a successful business, Pat knew she needed to protect her company name and logo, so she turned to CorporationCentre.ca to register her Trademark.

Check out Pat's story in the video above and for more information on PatsyPie gluten-free baked goods, please visit the website at www.patsypie.com!