Idea for a new product (?)

[Raffi]

(New York)
I have an idea for a product to sell that I would like to suggest to an established company, but I don't know how to do that without them stealing my idea (save for hiring a lawyer to handle the whole thing for me, which I suspect would cost a lot of money).
This is sort of similar to suggesting that Pillsbury, for example, start making chocolate danishes. Once I've put the idea on the table, what's to stop them from saying, "Thanks a lot, goodbye," and then using the idea themselves?

 

[Sande Vucinaj]

Usually the idea is patented and then a license is sold to the established company. Go to the USPTO website. It explans how to patent your idea (if necessary) and also how to get in touch with potential companies.

Sande

 

[T-DESIGNER]

I am not an attorney, and an attorney is better qualified
to answer your question.

In reply to a question posted on this web site by member
SUSIEQ, dated 09/05/2001, senior member I AM ALWAYS LIABLE
provided a two part discussion of copyrights in general. The
following is a quote from his discussion:

"No protection for ideas

In no case does copyright protection extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied. [17 USC §102(b)] Copyright protection extends only to the expression of an idea or theme, not to the idea or theme itself. [Midas Productions, Inc. v Baer (1977, CD Cal) 437 F Supp 1388; see also Allen v. Academic Games League of Am. (1996, CA9 Cal) 89 F.3d 614]] "

=============================================

How much benefit do you think your idea will be to the
company in question? If they are going to make millions
and millions of dollars from your idea, then go the attorney
route; i.e., this is another quote from I AM ALWAYS LIABLE
in the same thread:

"Contractual protection

Although an idea is not property subject to exclusive
ownership protectable under copyright law, it may
be subject to protection by contract. The disclosure
of an idea maybe of substantial benefit to the person
to whom it is disclosed, and the disclosure may, therefore,
be consideration for a promise to pay."

The following is a link to the thread, from which the
above quotes were taken. Once you are in the thread,
do a Find (if using MSN explorer); e.g., find "disclos",
find "idea", etc.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74506&highlight=disclos*

Citizen Brown