Provided the idea is new and meaningfully different from any other existing business. Is there a way to prevent others from profiting off that idea?
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2 Answers
Here are the means of protecting intellectual property in the U.S. (and in most other industrialized jurisdictions):
- patent
- copyright
- trademark and "trade dress"
- contract (a special case of which is "Trade Secret")
- Statute or executive order – pretty rare these days that you can get a government to protect your monopoly, but perhaps still not rare enough!
If your idea doesn't satisfy the requirements for protection under one of these mechanisms then you can't legally protect it.
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@DaleM - Yes, a "Trade Secret" is functionally and statutorily distinct from simply "keeping it secret." But if not with legal protection how do you keep a working business idea a secret? Crime syndicates have shown us plenty of illegal ways to protect a business idea....– feetwet ♦Commented Jul 6, 2016 at 1:42
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2Something that you need to do in the open cannot be a secret. If competitors can see what you are doing, it's not a trade secret. If you discuss it loudly with a partner in a restaurant while a competitor is sitting on the next table, it's not a trade secret anymore. If the competitor bribes your secretary, an ordinary secret wouldn't be secret anymore, but a trade secret would be protected. Commented Jul 6, 2016 at 15:40
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Note: Copright ony protects the expression, not the idea - Feist v Rural– TrishCommented Sep 24, 2021 at 8:53
Not legally. Not the business idea itself. You can keep it a secret though.
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1The idea can be kept secret by use of an NDA. It can be protected against malicious or unauthorized disclosure by trade-secret law. By stating an absolute m"no" without mentioning either, the answer becomes inaccurate. Commented Sep 20, 2021 at 19:25