Who are you allowed to share your invention with?
You came up with a great invention and worked countless hours to bring that idea to life. You also either have a prototype or enough details (descriptions and drawings) to make this invention happen. You are very excited about your new invention and want to shout it through the roofs. Believe me, I get it! But before you do so, let’s see who you should be discussing your ideas with, and what precautions you should take before sharing your invention with others.
Necessary precautions before sharing your idea.
Ideally, you should not be publicly discussing your invention without proper precautions. Sure, you’ll need a manufacturer to make this happen, engineers to help you bring your invention to life, or others to take your invention to market. But before you tell anyone about your invention, make sure that the conversation is protected by a confidentiality agreement or non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
Now, if this conversation is part of your work, and you are sharing this with your engineering team or other people in your company, you should already have a confidentiality clause in your employment agreement.
With manufacturers, draftsmen, or any third party that you’ll need to share your invention with, make sure your invention is either protected through a patent (provisional application or non-provisional patent application for a utility and/or a design patent) or at the very minimum, through an NDA in place.
Precautions for sharing your invention with investors, potential licensees, and crowdfunding.
Investors and/or potential licensees will usually refuse to sign your NDA. They see countless inventions and ideas from new businesses, and do not want to be burdened by your NDA or bound by any obligation to you. In these situations, it’s always best to walk in with either a non-provisional filed, or a provisional application if you’re still in the early stages.
Stephen Key, a famous inventor, once described crowdfunding as “a catalog for copycats”. Before launching a Kickstarter campaign or other crowdfunding campaign, make sure to appropriately protect your intellectual property.
Sharing your idea with your patent attorney
As for your patent attorneys, they are bound by ethical duties to maintain confidentiality and could be disbarred for sharing your invention with others. You should feel comfortable sharing your invention with your patent attorneys.
Talking about your invention to friends and family
Talking to your friends and family about your invention is considered a public disclosure. What that means is that your 12 month grace period to obtain a patent on that invention with the USPTO starts ticking. Also, there are no guarantees that someone else won’t file a patent application before you, barring you from receiving protection on your invention. That’s why it’s always best to file a provisional in the early stages of your invention. And this includes sharing your invention on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms.
Curious about who you can share your invention with?
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Innovent Law helps innovators protect, maintain and defend patent, trademark, copyright, and other intellectual property rights in the United States and around the world.