Stealing Ideas – Prevention is Better than Cure
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rcan Demiralay, Partner at Wellers, one of the UK’s leading accountancy firms, looks at why prevention is better than cure when it comes to protecting your business ideas and explains how to ensure they stay safe. Perhaps it is a reflection on how easily connected we are nowadays, making us unguarded and more open than ever, but it no longer comes as a surprise to hear that the act of stealing business ideas occurs. No matter whether it happens intentionally or accidently, it can have a huge impact on even the most established of businesses.
So, how can businesses protect, plan, and respond? In its most simplistic form, it is always better to be proactive and plan ahead, so that your business concept is protected, rather than react to a situation once it has happened. Playing catch 92 europeanbusinessmagazine.com
up after the event is much harder than setting plans in motion when things are operating smoothly. For those that want to follow the prevention line, there are some established ‘safety measures’ that can be put in place to stop business ideas being stolen, for example, trademarks, patents, and/or copyrights. If a business uses any of these solutions, they are in an incredibly strong position from which to fight against anyone looking to steal their concept. However, the process of actually putting these measures in place can be lengthy, so in the meantime, I would suggest taking three steps to protect your intellectual property: Non-compete agreement – It is important that you ask all employees to sign a non-compete contract. This prevents them from starting any business that might rival or impede yours. Non-disclosure agreement – Similar to the non-compete, asking everyone who has worked/is working on your
idea to sign an NDA is an absolute must. By doing this, they are bound by confidentiality, and are therefore not able to talk to third parties about your idea. Do be wary of an expiry date, because not having one might be preferable. Work-for-hire agreement - If you have people helping you improve your idea or product, then make sure that you have it in writing that all improvements are owned by you. Doing this means that any advancements that are made during their work will still come under your ownership.
Cure not prevention I have discussed why prevention is better than cure, but in some instances you might not have been aware it was necessary, or never got around to doing it because you were so carried away with your fantastic idea. So, if no protection measures
