if it's not originally your idea

[konquer]

I submit to you this question.


If someone has this great idea, and plans to get it up and running, are you legally allowed to use that idea yourself (and possibly become more popular than the original person)?

also, another question related to that.

if someone has a great idea, and plans to get it up and running, are you allowed to use that idea if you make changes to the original idea (for example, a better way for it to perform or an add-on to the original idea)?



Would you use someone elses idea as your own (possibly with improvements to the original idea)? (morals and all that... lol?)

[mtatum4496]

I'll use the example of two tea rooms that started up in my neighborhood.

The first business owner decided to open a tea room that would be ideal for providing high teas and afternoon teas by appointment, as well as having an area for anyone to come off the street and have a sip of specially blended herbal and other teas.

Business owner # 2 loved the idea of a tea room and opened up one across the street. However, she geared her business toward offering tea parties for little girls, like in a birthday party setting.

Same idea, but no direct competition.

There is not really any idea under the sun that has not already been thought of. Whether it is ethical to use the foundational idea of someone else depends on whether you can put your own spin on the idea and go after your own share of the market.

As to legal - well, as we all know, what is legal is not necessarily ethical. There your conscience will have to be your guide.

[konquer]

YAY! luckily I don't have a concience. lmao

I actually thought through the idea that I was planning on changing/acting upon and I came up with something that is very different to it. lol


so it would seem like a 100% unique idea (to the other persons idea).

[Scott]

As mtatum said, there's not really a lot of things that haven't been thought of that is left to do, it's like Michael's comment about moving into/from Niche markets, there's not really a lot of Niche markets left to gain something from...

[mtatum4496]

LOL, the idea may seem to be 100% new to you, but somewhere there is somebody who has come up with an idea that is mighty close to your new brainstorm. Go ahead and get it out there before anyone else though, and make sure you trademark your name etc. Remember it is legal in many localities for someone to set up shop under the same name, then incorporate it and start to siphon off your clientele.

[konquer]

it's 100% internet based... lol
so I shouldn't worry about that.
i'm sure that someone has thought of this and there is most likely a site out there already with this idea going on... and they could be doing pretty well for themselves... BUT I want to get MY site bigger than theirs ever could be... lol

it seems like an alright idea in my opinion but the more I think about it, the more it seems like a hard thing to become 'big'.

i'll have to just get the site out there (when it's done) and hope for the best.

[Scott]

Isn't that what you always do with this sorta thing? :P

[konquer]

I don't know... this is like my first idea that I plan to go all the way with... lol

[Scott]

Valid Point, you win this round, but yes, that is generally what you do...

[mtatum4496]

Word of warning - don't ever think that just because an idea is internet based that it can't be highjacked by someone else. I had a friend who lost a lot of business simply because someone set up a copycat site and got hold of his client list - the copycat site was a "biz" instead of an "org" so it didn't take much to derail him, especially since he didn't have any legal title to the company name he was using. It is always a good idea to protect your intellectual property.