How to Present a Business Idea Without it Getting Stolen

So you’ve got a great business idea but you’re not ready to launch a business (no money or no time). What can you do? You can sell your business idea to big companies or investors that will pay you upfront and then take the item to market.

This form of business model is called licensing. It involves you receiving licensing fees and being paid royalties on product sales because you are allowing others to profit from your intellectual property, i.e., your business idea.

How to sell a business idea to either big companies, small businesses, or investors. And secondly how to protect your idea and defend it from being stolen while you pitch and present your proposals.

The first order of business while pitching your product idea to investors or companies is to make sure it does not get stolen!

Here are our top three recommendations to protect your business idea from dishonest investors:

1. Provisional Patent – Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to be issued a patent to protect your intellectual property. You can start by quickly getting an inexpensive provisional patent that will allow you to mark your invention as “Patent Pending.”
2. Trademark – Another way to provide protection to your business brands and product names is with a trademark. For just a few hundred dollars, you can greatly expand the legal protection to your brand. When you register your trademark, it puts the public on notice that you intend to use your brand for commercial purposes. You are granted the exclusive right to use your registered mark on goods and services.
3. Copyright – Original ideas such as board game graphics, books, and ideas for screenplays can be protected by copyrights. Once you register your copyright, you establish public record which helps support your claim in potential infringement claims.