Some further thoughts: "How is it possible for a small business to protect their ideas? Under a small business I mean a really small one: two guys in a garage or so. I wish I was wrong but I think that this is not possible. A small business doesn't have enough resources to solve this problem."
There are countless stories (whether or not you believe them) about two guys in a garage with a good idea, getting it off the ground and making lots of money. Somewhere along the line, they must have protected that idea and the execution of it. Being small is not about being incapacitated - it is about being lean and efficient. "My current approach to the problem of protecting ideas: "do not do it" (well, almost). It is better to fail because someone "steals" "your" idea than to fail because you spend time and money trying to protect it. The net result is the same but the first way is much quicker :) " I do not agree with your approach - it is totally defeatist. It is like dying at birth. Unless you give something a go, you can NEVER succeed. Sure, you may get burned along the way but hopefully you are smart, brave and will learn along the way. Maybe you will lose some money - maybe you won't. If you are tight with your resources and prepared to cut your losses if necessary, then you hopefully will not lose too much. If you are thinking ahead of the game (because you truly have a great idea), then the people copying you will always be one step behind. "Patents? In the majority of cases they are for big companies like arms race is for big countries. A patent is just a piece of paper and it protects nothing until a court decision is made. I think a small company is better off spending their very limited resources on something else but drafting patents and defending them later in the court (which seems hopeless). " Patents are not like the arms race. Maybe more like real estate but actually not as expensive as the typical median house price in a major capital city. A land title is also just a piece of paper. You also have to spend money protecting and maintaining your investment there. It may not be cheap but if it houses your dreams then it can change your life and you will benefit from it not only financially. Running a business is also expensive but is it better not to do it? "Non disclosure agreements? It is a mater of a goodwill of a big company to honor the agreement and there are many ways to workaround NDA. Again, it is a matter of resources if one wants to draft an NDA and then to ask a big company to sign it. They may even refuse to talk to you if you start from NDA. " Sure, NDAs are not perfect but the cost of an NDA is minimal and there are numerous NDAs available out there at little or no cost. I see it like crossing at the lights instead of jaywalking - you get additional protection for relatively little effort. "Here is a more specific question along same lines: How would you sell a product to a big company? What would stop them from implementing a similar thing by themselves or outsource it to their partners? The only one thing that helps here is when the idea is well executed. But, by definition of a small company, an idea can't be very well executed (no resources)." We would all love to have unlimited resources but I totally disagree that "by definition" a small company cannot execute an idea well. There are numerous historical examples that true innovation often springs out of difficult economic times - business (big and small) is forced to stretch resources further and to think through ways to do that. There are plenty of examples also where big business (and dare I say it, public service) wastes plenty of resources executing ideas poorly. This might sound a bit like a team-building rave but the Australian economy (like the rest of the world) is actually run on SMALL and MICRO business (i.e. two people at home or in the garage). ... On Nov 16, 12:43 am, Dmitri <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > > Here is a general question I would like to ask after reading the > discussion on "protecting inventiveness": > > How is it possible for a small business to protect their ideas? Under > a small business I mean a really small one: two guys in a garage or > so. > > I wish I was wrong but I think that this is not possible. A small > business doesn't have enough resources to solve this problem. > > My current approach to the problem of protecting ideas: "do not do > it" (well, almost). It is better to fail because someone "steals" > "your" idea than to fail because you spend time and money trying to > protect it. The net result is the same but the first way is much > quicker :) > > Patents? In the majority of cases they are for big companies like arms > race is for big countries. A patent is just a piece of paper and it > protects nothing until a court decision is made. I think a small > company is better off spending their very limited resources on > something else but drafting patents and defending them later in the > court (which seems hopeless). > > Non disclosure agreements? It is a mater of a goodwill of a big > company to honor the agreement and there are many ways to workaround > NDA. Again, it is a matter of resources if one wants to draft an NDA > and then to ask a big company to sign it. They may even refuse to talk > to you if you start from NDA. > > Here is a more specific question along same lines: > How would you sell a product to a big company? What would stop them > from implementing a similar thing by themselves or outsource it to > their partners? > The only one thing that helps here is when the idea is well executed. > But, by definition of a small company, an idea can't be very well > executed (no resources). > > Any thoughts? Prove me wrong. > > Dmitri. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach Australia mailing list. Guidelines on discussion: http://tr.im/ujKF No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself: http://tr.im/ujMm To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
