This article is written by MS. KHUSHI BAJPAI, a 2nd year learner of SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, NOIDA
DO COPYRIGHT PROTECT IDEAS?
I often get asked if concepts can be patented. The quick response is no. Sadly, there is no practical way to secure an idea with any type of intellectual property protection, despite what you may have heard from late-night television advertisements. Not innovation, but speech and creativity are protected by copyright. Patents give inventions protection. Ideas are not covered by copyright or patents. This is not to imply that ideas lack value; rather, they do not possess the value that many people have been made to believe by pop culture.
Of course, it goes without saying that a concept is the foundation of any invention. Ideas are an essential and useful component of the whole innovation equation because nothing can or will happen without them. Ideas, however, have no intrinsic worth in and of themselves. There can be no intellectual property protection achieved and no exclusive rights will flow without some sort of recognizable representation of the idea.
Ideas are free without any protection, whether actual (in the form of a patent that has already been issued) or perceived (in the form of a pending patent application that describes the innovation and could eventually result in a patent that has already been issued). The concept can be stolen and utilized without payment in the absence of patent protection or a confidentiality agreement that recognizes the responsibility not to use or disclose an idea, both of which are exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with merely an idea.
Confidentiality agreements, or non-disclosure agreements as they are frequently called, are crucial for innovators in the early stages to safeguard their concept. However, the problem with them is that they only offer protection with regard to those who have agreed to the confidentiality requirement. The trade secret that was your invention will no longer be a secret when the confidentiality obligation is broken, and you will only be able to sue for breach of contract (i.e., breach of the confidentiality agreement) instead. Therefore, you should take the time to grasp the goals and constraints of confidentiality agreements and trade secrets before being seduced to believe there is a broad approach to protect an idea without it developing into an invention that can be patented or even an innovation without a patent. This does not imply that innovators or people who want to be inventors should quit up when they realize that all they have is an idea and nothing else, but it does imply that more work is required to develop the idea and move it beyond the idea stage into the innovation stage. The objective is to develop the concept to the point where it is sufficiently tangible to go beyond what the legal system would define as a mere idea.
This does not imply that innovators or people who want to be inventors should quit up when they realize that all they have is an idea and nothing else, but it does imply that more work is required to develop the idea and move it beyond the idea stage into the innovation stage. The objective is to develop the concept to the point where it is sufficiently tangible to go beyond what the legal system would define as a mere idea.
The lesson of the story is that ideas alone cannot be protected, so creators must consider their ideas in the context of an invention. Inventive works are patentable. Ideas are not patentable. Therefore, if you persevere on your path and don’t give up, you either don’t have an idea, you do, or you will have an innovation. The innovation portion of the voyage only requires getting from the concept, which unavoidably starts the process, to an invention, which is its conclusion. And when the innovation journey’s goal is attained, that’s when it’s time to submit a patent application.
A dose of reality is required as one considers progressing from idea to innovation to patent and, ideally, wealth. First, give up on the notion that you can make a fortune by pitching your concept to business, then sitting back and collecting royalty payments while doing nothing. That may be what late-night TV ads want you to think, but that is not how things actually are. Practically everyone would be a wealthy inventor if invention were as simple as coming up with an idea and riches would follow! Ideas are in abundance. They are significant because they are an essential component of the invention process, but it is the valuable offer innovators make to those who are considering purchasing or licensing their ideas that generates financial value.
By identifying a problem, developing a plan on how to address it, and then developing a solution, inventors earn money. For instance, everyone who has ever shoveled snow will agree that it is a physically taxing activity to use a shovel to clear snow. The desire or conviction that there must be a better technique to clear snow from a home driveway is also not very novel or beneficial. The notion that a mechanical solution would speed up the procedure, make it simpler, and result in fewer muscular injuries is a nice one, but without providing any form of solution, the notion that a mechanical solution would be wonderful would be worthless. However, if you were the first to create a motorized system that could toss (or blast) snow off a driveway, you would have a patentable innovation that, in the hands of the proper licensee, might be quite lucrative. If royalty payments started to come in, would they be for doing nothing? The work done to develop an effective solution to the issue is what is responsible for the mailbox income that could appear every three months for years. The concept developed into a distinct manifestation that was useful in someone else’s hands. Although the inventor’s job is frontloaded in this monetization scenario, it is an inventor’s dream, but there isn’t much money for doing nothing.
Many people will have ideas, and you have probably heard many of your friends and family members discuss their potential inventions. Why hasn’t someone thought of Y? This would be better if it did Z. I need a tool that does X. For most people, that is as far as they get. However, inventors will often go further but occasionally still find themselves in the idea phase. If it occurs, resist the want to give up. If you find yourself trapped in the idea stage occasionally, you are not alone. Many, many inventors experience this.
First, it might surprise you to learn that you might already have an invention without even being aware of it. You just think you’re stuck in the idea phase. The only need for filing for a patent under American law is the ability to explain the invention in enough detail for others to be able to create and utilize it. Therefore, even though you do require an obvious manifestation, you can start by putting your idea on paper.