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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
copyrighting idea
I have an idea to improve an existing program I use. It's like my current program is a hot dog and I have an idea to put ketchup on it and it will be a hot dog with ketchup which will be great.
Is there anyway I can copyright this idea? If so I would like to do this then get a prototype then approach the hot dog company and see if they want to buy the idea?
I really have no idea how to go about the copyright process or if I even can since it's an improvement on an existing product. Anyone have any advice?
Re: copyrighting idea
My brother's an IP lawyer, so while I have some basic knowledge here, I can't tell you everything you need to know. If you're very serious, that's who you need to talk to - an intellectual property lawyer.
You can't copyright an idea, but you can file a patent for an improvement on an existing product (or, obviously, a new invention), provided that the improvement isn't obvious. If the example you gave is accurate and it really is just putting ketchup on a hotdog, then you likely won't be approved. But if it's creating the corndog, you might be onto something. But if you get the patent, that doesn't give you the right to actually create the product (though I'm not sure about creating a prototype). What it does give you the right to do is assert your patent against the original company if they start manufacturing the product with the improvement that you previously patented.
Does that make sense?
(Here's where I'm really not sure and you definitely want to talk to an IP lawyer if you want confirmation. You can file a patent yourself but if you have questions, ask a lawyer.) Since you would want to work with the original manufacturer, I think what you'd want to do is attempt to file the patent, then, if it's approved, approach the company with your idea. I don't think you need to create a prototype (and may actually violate the original patent if you walk into a meeting with one), and your patent will protect you should the company decide to manufacture something with your change on it within 20 years.