Idea protection?

[JP66]

Let's say I have an idea for a product that is food based. If I come up with the idea, is it a product that is open for anyone to make/sell as well? For example, someone came up with the idea of peanut butter. Since there are many brands/types of peanut butter, does the guy who invented peanut butter still get paid? (Not sure how to say it otherwise). What about the guy who decided to make peanut butter crunchy? Does he get paid if someone else makes a crunchy peanut butter, and then the guy who had the idea for regular peanut butter also get paid again? Another example, let's say I came up with the idea for apple juice, and then try to manufacture and sell it. Can someone like TreeTop come along with more money than I have and also make apple juice, and then use their money to advertise and sell way more than I could, and put me out of business, or does TreeTop have to pay me if they want to make apple juice. Is there a way to copyright or protect my idea from someone else doing the same thing.

 

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[TOLDUSO]

It really all depends on what the idea is. If it is something that no one has ever tasted/discovered before or something that requires a specific manufacturing process, then you are good to go.

Peanut butter, for example, is probably not a good example of someone collecting royalties off of the idea. Just as there are no billionaire heirs to the caveman who chiseled out the first wheel. When it comes to intellectual property, there are criteria based on the exclusivity of the idea.

Something to keep in mind, though, is that the manufacturing process can be the real money maker of the idea. Just as you mentioned the "crunchy peanut butter" variation, the best example I can think of is ice-cream. There are thousands of places making ice cream every day, from nationally known brands to your local dairies. However, the idea of Dippin Dots was a patented variation on manufacturing that made it an amazing cash-cow.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Your formula would be your brand. Think about it, Coke has been around for years and it has many competitors -- but it still is different and has yet to be copied.

 

[TaxGuy]

Peanut butter, for example, is probably not a good example of someone collecting royalties off of the idea.

George Washington Carver - Wikipedia

"He is often credited with the invention of Peanut Butter, a claim that has been cited in American schools and educational programs for decades. While he may have made peanut butter during his time studying the peanut, peanut butter has existed since the time of the Aztecs who made it from ground peanuts."

Either way, one of his principles of life was his rejection of economic materialism, thus the many innovations he made probably wouldn't have been for financial purposes, much like Jonas Salk, the inventor of the Polio vaccine

But as both responses state it's in the branding and marketing, much like ANY invention, the U.S. patent office is full of great ideas with patents that never made their inventors rich b/c they didn't finish the entire process, a great book to read is: From Patent to Profit by Bob DeMatteis- he invented the t-shirt style plastic shopping bag and has several other patents, however, he explains that you need a TEAM- creative(YOU), sales, marketing and legal

 

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