Can I be reported/sued for "stealing" an idea?

[FastlaneTiger]

My friend told me that smartphone brand A reported smartphone brand B because B has "stolen" a feature that A had used before B. (Damn my writing style is complicated )

So I was thinking about this today:
What if I invent a product that already exist and I become a millionaire?
Can they report me for "copying"? Can I loose all my work that I've put in my product? Can I be sued?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[healthstatus]

So I was thinking about this today:
What if I invent a product that already exist and I become a millionaire?
Can they report me for "copying"? Can I loose all my work that I've put in my product? Can I be sued?

Yes, but keep in mind, I could sue you over that post, in other words, anything.

 

[FastlaneTiger]

Yes, but keep in mind, I could sue you over that post, in other words, anything.

Haha, true!
EDIT: If any of you have any experiences like this then please post it here.

 

[sle3pyguii]

Wouldnt that just be rebranding? Snuggie did that.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Angus]

some random guy thinks you stole the idea from him
could he sue you?
sure
will he get money from you?
doubt it, and it's not really worth it... lawyers, time etc etc

 

[Pupper Master]

If the idea is patented already, you will be sued and will lose. But don't just steal an idea, think of what the "idea" is missing and improve the said "idea". Apple and other huge coorps do it all the time.

 

[Angus]

If the idea is patented already, you will be sued and will lose. But don't just steal an idea, think of what the "idea" is missing and improve the said "idea". Apple and other huge coorps do it all the time.

patents are almost worthless, you can change the design a bit and BOOOOM the patent isn't infringed

if you have the opportunity to steal a winner then do it, but customize it under your brand

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[FastlaneTiger]

1. I don't want to steal anything.
2. I'm just asking it because everybody is saying that you don't have to invent something new, take something older and improve it.

 

[sle3pyguii]

1. I don't want to steal anything.
2. I'm just asking it because everybody is saying that you don't have to invent something new, take something older and improve it.

No need to justify yourself. It's pretty common in all industries. Very few products nowadays are brand new inventions anyway. Heck, I'm looking at successful products right now and seeing if there's anything I can improve!

 

[Angus]

the majority of human progress was based on "theft"

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[FastlaneTiger]

I meant not stealing by this: I don't want to copy something 100% and putting a different logo in it
Obviously I will "invent" something that already exist.

 

[Vigilante]

You can be sued for anything. I could sue you right now if I wanted. You don't have to agree with my reason.

 

[FastlaneTiger]

Yea I know but how likely is it that they will win the sue?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[CarrieW]

Depends how much of the idea is identical and how much can he prove you stole it. There is no answer to such z broad general question. Theres dozens of interpretations of specific problem. Cant pull answers out of thin air

 

[jon.a]

Yea I know but how likely is it that they will win the sue?

It depends. And, when it happens you will or should know the answer.
Many times you know it's coming. We're expecting at least 3 suits within the next five years. 1 within the next year and the other 2 later.
We will win, but at what cost? This is why many sue and why some sued settle. We will have to weigh the cost of defense against the cost of settling.
Because of this, I'm interested in others experiences also.

 

[Vigilante]

Yea I know but how likely is it that they will win the sue?

More likely that you won't have the $$ to defend it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jon.a]

It depends. And, when it happens you will or should know the answer.
Many times you know it's coming. We're expecting at least 3 suits within the next five years. 1 within the next year and the other 2 later.
We will win, but at what cost? This is why many sue and why some sued settle. We will have to weigh the cost of defense against the cost of settling.
Because of this, I'm interested in others experiences also.

Oops, I misread/misunderstood the OP. Our suits will be frivolous and predatory. But, they will come and we can't stop them short of a hit man. Scumbags have rights.

 

[GuestUser113]

 

[FastlaneTiger]

Business is tough maaaan. :|

@Raoul lol

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Vigilante]

Real business people avoid litigation, but aren't afraid of it.

 

[jon.a]

To address the OP, if you haven't lied, cheated or stole something, you probably have a higher chance of being sued by a "customer" than a competitor.

 

[FastlaneTiger]

Yea I've found other threads about customers suing entrepreneurs.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Franky Neizer]

If the idea is patented already, you will be sued and will lose. But don't just steal an idea, think of what the "idea" is missing and improve the said "idea". Apple and other huge coorps do it all the time.

I'll go what you said, you need to tweak the idea and research about the patents of the original idea. By the way, there are no new inventions in the world now everyone is improving upon the old ideas already invented and making a fortune out of it. But you should be careful.

Why not reproduce the idea in a way the world hasn't seen before, that way you can say ''Your Idea''.

 

[Mattie]

I think it depends on the person you steal from. I've seen people sue people over images, and stuff made on second life.Which isn't even real products. It still came down to money, infringement, and copy rights. There are some people that don't care. Others that do get really ticked. Internet is more of a powerful way to ruin your business and reputation than being sued these days. Depends on who you're dealing with and how vicious they are and whether they have money to waste and make your life miserable.

 

[Justin.p]

You are *supposed* to copy others' ideas and force them to deal with competition by entering existing markets. This is the whole reason governments do antitrust (I oppose antitrust personally). They believe that in an efficient market each need ought to be served by multiple vendors, keeping innovation up and prices down. To prevent blind copying that reduces the reward true innovators get from the market for a limited period thought sufficient as repayment by society, there are patents, trademarks, and copyright. If something is not patent, trademark, or copyrightable it is MEANT to be fair game.

OTOH copying someone on this forum is a completely different matter; it is an ethical rather than legal issue. People share with the forum out of the goodwill expectation it may help others doing unrelated businesses; and with the expectation others will not use the gifted information against the kindly gift-giver.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kyle Tully]

You can't steal ideas because no one owns an idea.

However you can infringe on copyrights and patents or break an NDA.

Big difference.


Sent from my iPhone using magic.

 

[BeingChewsie]

Can you be sued?

It depends. If the product you develop violates somebody's patent then the potential exists. In fact, there is a large part of the Patent Bar, whose practice involves designing around existing patents. Here is a simple example: We all remember liquid paper. Liquid paper was used to fix typographical errors on typewritten documents. When it came out, there was nothing else like it in the market. The people at LP were concerned that someone would copy their product and steal market from them. So they decided to patent their formula. As part of their application, they included a key part of their formula, the % of absorption into the paper. Since patent applications are public, competitors looked at the formula and designed around it by altering the absorption %. No patent violation. Obviously, this is a very simple example and many other factors can come into play, but it gives you a little idea of how patents work and how you may be able to get around one if one does exist. Be sure to consult with an attorney. Professional driver, closed course. Do not try this at home. Your results may vary. Good luck with your product!

 

[Tony Nguyen]

No you can't sue for an "IDEA" no one owns a "IDEA" the only thing the person can own is the process to the idea, unless somehow your idea is already copyrighted or patented by you then you can sue if not I highly doubt you could win 95-5 odds and if you told someone your idea and didn't have a non-disclosure agreement ready then you can't sue either, but if you had the agreement then you can sue.

Long story short NOPE.

Then again anyone can sue anyone for anything nowadays.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.