Hi there,
Should I copyrigh/patent my app idea before designing in bubble.
Where should I do so, kindly help.
Thanks
Thomas
Chicken and egg scenario @billingneinei. Why go through all of that hassle (not to mention) time and cost without any validation. If your bubble apps causes mass hysteria and breaks the web, surely that is a good thing. Don’t overthink… just make, make and keep on making… the rest will fall into place.
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Nope.
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Hi. If you have something you believe is potentially valuable intellectual property, and it’s not something you want to share with the world for whatever reason, you can in the U.S. file what’s called a “provisional patent application.” That will give you one year to decide whether it makes sense to file a full application, with claims.
They are very inexpensive, you can roll your own, and it sets a priority date for your invention. (U.S. is a “first-to-file” not a first to invent jurisdiction).
Search provisional patent and you’ll find a lot of advice about how to do this. In the meantime, you don’t want to be public about your idea. Note also: business processes are generally not patentable, so you will want to also research “software patentability” and familiarize yourself with the requirements.
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Hey @billingneinei – I agree with @ron2. The key operative word being “if”.
I wrote 3 provisional patent applications myself (1 for hardware, 2 for software) and had an IP lawyer review and edit them before filing. Did it myself to keep costs down, but have to say its a lot of work, its costly, and worth it only if you feel that the idea is fairly unique. Or if your chances of raising capital are higher because you can brag about being “patent pending”.
Even before you figure out how to write a provisional patent, find out if someone has already patented the idea. Visit the USPTO website and do multiple searches in various patent categories (or hire an IP firm to do this for you). Searching for prior patents is a whole art by itself and many articles are available online to help you here.
One important thing to keep in mind is the USPTO does not publish provisional patent applications for 18 months (a quiet period). So if you are searching today and someone filed an exact same idea 2 months ago, it will not show up in your searches.
I am not a lawyer and perhaps you should consult one to determine the best way forward for your circumstances.
A young man, founder a decacorn in my country said:
Everybody can steals your idea, but nobody can steal your execution🙂
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Decacorns are rare. And we should pay heed to their founders, yes.
But most will not built and have the resources of a world-changing company.
In which case someone with a patent for what you’ve executed can indeed steal the fruits of your execution. Not something we want to believe, but it is a fact. In building an industry-scale defensive patent portfolio for a large internet company, I saw it again and again. Best to have eyes wide open about this.
And good luck in any event! Without execution there may still be value in your inventions, but making a difference with them in the world is what we, many of us, probably most here, live for.
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