Expert: Shannon Moore - 11/15/2008

Question
Hi Ms Moore,

I was wondering... I have an idea for a product that is already out. By making only a small change, it would make a whole new product.

What would I do?
Who can you trust?

I've heard too many stories of people writing to companies with their ideas, and they take the idea and make a fortune and the poor sap who made it up gets no credit.

A hand shake isn't good enough these days :(  sad too say.

Thanks
Char

Answer
Dear Char,

Without knowing details, it's hard to say. There are 2 avenues I'd recommend exploring further.

First, contact an intellectual property attorney to see if this is even feasible. It's reasonable to assume that the manufacturer of the product has a patent on the product already. You'll want to make sure you're not stepping on any toes in that respect. I'd be happy to refer you to one of our attorneys though would rather not do so on a public forum. Please feel free to email me at shannon at tmexpress dot com for further details.

Second, I'd suggest looking into Non-Disclosure Agreements. A NDA or confidentiality agreement "is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential materials or knowledge the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to. It is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the agreement." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement

Nolo is a great site to check out. I recommend reading a bit further here: http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/2ECF62E6-B334-4E83-9A94FA20A3FAFD38/310...

Hope this helps! Please let me know if I can assist you with anything else. Thank you & I wish you much success and happiness in all of your ventures.

Warmest regards,
Shannon Moore
http://www.tmexpress.com