Protecting an idea before you pitch it

You are preparing a meeting with an investor, an industrial partner or a future client. You are going to present a project that matters to you. One question often comes up: how do you stop someone from taking the idea for themselves?

The answer means separating the idea itself from what you have made of it.

An idea alone cannot be protected

Under French law, ideas are said to be free to circulate. Anyone can use them. An idea for an app, a shop concept or a service therefore belongs to no one as long as it remains an idea.

This rule has a simple purpose: it lets everyone create and innovate from the same ideas. It also has a practical consequence. What you can protect is everything your work has added to the idea.

What can be protected: the expression

As soon as an idea takes a concrete and original form, it comes within the scope of protection. A presentation text, a mock-up, a logo, a plan, source code, a market study or a business plan are creations. Copyright protects them from the moment they are created, provided they bear the personal mark of the person who made them.

Your strategic information can also be protected as a trade secret. This covers information that is not known to the public, that has commercial value and that you protect with reasonable measures. A customer file, a manufacturing method or a pricing strategy are examples. To benefit from this protection, you must be able to show the precautions you took.

In both cases, proof plays a central role. You need to be able to establish what you had produced, and on what date.

The case of inventions

If your idea is a technical solution to a technical problem, it may fall under patent law. A patent grants an exclusive right to exploit the invention. It has one essential requirement: the invention must be new on the filing date.

Any public presentation before filing can therefore jeopardize a future patent. If you think your project contains an invention, consult a patent attorney before any presentation. Dated proof documents your work. It complements a patent and does not replace it.

Good habits before a presentation

Formalize your project. The more it is written, drawn and detailed, the more protectable elements you have. An idea described in one sentence offers little to hold on to. A complete file tells the story of your work.

Timestamp each version before sharing it. Before sending a file, a presentation or a mock-up, timestamp the exact file you are going to send. You will then be able to show what you had produced, and on what date.

Have a non-disclosure agreement signed. A non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, commits the other party not to disclose or use the information they receive. Timestamp the signed version too: you will know exactly which text was accepted.

Share in stages. At a first meeting, present the vision and the expected results. Keep sensitive details, such as methods, formulas or code, for later discussions, once trust has been established.

Keep a record of your exchanges. Keep the emails, meeting notes and the list of documents sent to each contact. These elements complement your dated proof.

With Ipocamp, in practice

Before each meeting, deposit on Ipocamp the files you are going to present: project file, presentation, mock-up, business plan. Within seconds you get a certificate showing the date and the fingerprint of each file. The file fingerprint is a unique string of characters computed from the file's content, which lets you check later that it has not changed.

Keep the original files with their certificates. If your project evolves, deposit each new version. Over time, you build the complete history of your work.

With a subscription, you also get legal support if a contact reuses your project, and insurance that covers your defense costs in a dispute.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For a specific situation, the advice of a legal professional remains necessary.