How to Protect Your Business Idea Without a Patent

BY Stephen Key | May 8, 2013
Article from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226595#ixzz2TAiTio6s

It's natural to fear that your idea might be stolen. But you can't turn your vision into reality without the help of others. Sooner or later, you're going to want to ask an industry expert to evaluate your product or service. You're going to need to collaborate with a manufacturer or distributor. But patents cost thousands of dollars and take years to be issued. You can't afford to wait that long to start bringing your product to market.

Thankfully, there are creative ways to actively protect your idea without applying for a patent. Here are four affordable strategies that will protect your business idea from being stolen:

Do your research. Before you begin working with anyone new, be it an individual or organization, do some research online. Do they have a good track record? Can you find any complaints about their business practices? Try to get a sense of what they're all about. If you find cause for concern, consider asking about it. As we all know, not everything you find online is true. But if their business practices seem sketchy before you've even begun to work with them, that's not a good sign.

Use these three legal tools -- with the help and oversight of an attorney:

•     Non-disclosure agreement (NDA): Have anyone you work with sign a non-disclosure agreement that commits them to confidentiality. An NDA can be a mutual agreement between two parties not to share information with third parties, or it can go one-way (since you're sharing information about your idea with them). If the agreement doesn't have an expiration date, that's powerful.
•     Non-compete agreement: If you hire someone to help you, have him or her sign a non-compete agreement. A non-compete agreement prevents an individual or entity from starting a business that would compete or threaten yours within an established radius.
•     Work-for-hire agreement: If you hire someone to help fine-tune your product, make sure to establish that you own any and all improvements made to the idea. Anything they come up with, you own. That way, the individual is unable to claim co-inventorship and you retain your rights as the primary inventor.

Turn to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for help. Fortunately, patents aren't the only tools available to protect our ideas. First, file a provisional patent application. You can do this yourself online or use a template such as Invent + Patent System or Patent Wizard to help you. The USPTO also has call centers available with staff members on hand to answer questions and offer guidance.

Filing a PPA costs a little over $100, while patents can easily cost thousands of dollars in legal fees, depending on the complexity of your idea. A provisional patent application protects your idea for up to one year and allows you to label your idea as "patent pending." You can then use the year to gain valuable insight into your idea.

Also, consider applying for a trademark, which you can also easily do online. This costs several hundred dollars and will help you establish ownership. Because names become synonymous with products, having a registered trademark cements the impression that the idea you're selling is closely associated with your product.

Build relationships with your competitors. This may sound counterintuitive, but establishing mutually beneficial relationships with your greatest competitors is one of the best ways to protect your idea. When I launched my own novelty guitar pick business, I hired the largest producer in the industry to manufacture our picks. They had little motivation to rip me off because they were already profiting from the success of my business. By giving them business, we were not seen as a threat (even though, in reality, we shared the same market space). We respected one another.

These tips will make it harder for others to steal your idea. With any legal document, be sure to consult an attorney to guarantee accuracy and protection of your idea.

Stephen Key | May 8, 2013
Article from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226595#ixzz2TAiTio6s

Entrepreneur Develops Make Money Online Tools

James Taylor   May 07, 2013

Article from http://www.newswire.net/newsroom/pr/73667-entrepreneur-develops-internet-marketing-tools-and-then-offers-t.html

Wayne Atkinson, a software developer for over 25 years and now an Internet Entrepreneur, has spent the last 10 months developing an online Internet Marketing Tool Suite only then to give access to it, to a privileged few, for free. The software, Campaign Tracker Tool Suite, enables you to track any marketing you do online, simplifies complicated processes and has a number of Facebook apps and tools built in to give you an edge over everyone else in the make money online marketplace.

(Newswire.net -- 7, May, 2013) Leicestershire, UK -- Wayne’s career started way back when the IBMPC had not long become a fixture in the office environment.  From the age of 18, he was thrust into an IT dept for a large steel company and very quickly started to develop software that enhanced the day to day running of the business.

At the age of 22, he started his own software company which was geared around writing bespoke software for companies that needed computers to do things that just could not be found in off the shelf packages.  In 1994, Borland came out with the RAD development tool Delphi and Wayne became a beta tester for the product.  His company was very successful for 10 years until he was approached to give it up in favour of a much larger company offering him a directorship with them.

Specialising in Microsoft .Net and mobile development, innovative products were being developed that started to use the power of the Internet.  In 2007, Wayne headed a team that developed a biometric access control system, an automated biometric weapon management system and also, an Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) product that was installed nationally into a popular UK supermarket.

The experience that Wayne has now gained throughout his career, coupled with the exposure to Internet development, attracted him to the Internet Marketing niche and in 2012, Wayne gave up the Rat Race and is now an Internet Entrepreneur, helping others to make money online.

His latest product, Campaign Tracker Tool Suite, easily tracks all your advertising online, from anywhere, even if your ads are on someone’s blog.  Then, with one click of the mouse, the tracking link can be created, shortened and socialised instantly.   Squeeze pages can be built in minutes and integration of all the popular auto responders are included. Facebook apps are built in, offering auto posting to timeline, groups, fan pages and many viral techniques and tools are built in too.

Campaign Tracker Tool Suite has an affiliate system built in, so not only does it help you with your marketing, you can make money online with it too.

Amazingly, the system is not expensive which for a package with over 20 modules and growing is very pleasing.  That said, Wayne has another great opportunity to offer.

Wayne is looking for 20-30 serious candidates that are willing to make a change in their life.  They must be dedicated, able to listen and most of all want to learn how to make money online.  Each successful candidate, that is selected, will be given direct access to Wayne so that he can show you how to make money online.  Each of the candidates also get FREE access to the Campaign Tracker Tool Suite another great saving.

James Taylor   May 07, 2013

Article from http://www.newswire.net/newsroom/pr/73667-entrepreneur-develops-internet-marketing-tools-and-then-offers-t.html

What to Do When Customers Trash Your Brand Online

BY JIM JOSEPH | May 3, 2013
From http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226563#ixzz2SmNiAtlj

Social media has opened up a whole new world of opportunities to engage with our customers like never before. We openly ask for their feedback and opinions on our brands, products and marketing programs.

Of course, asking those questions can be like opening a can of worms. Many times that commentary is inspiring, as brands look to continuously improve. Other times, though, it can be potentially damaging to the brand.

McDonald's recently learned the hard way, yet again, with its Twitter hashtag promotion #UnwrapWhatsFresh to launch their new Premium McWraps. As if the drama around #McDStories -- a hashtag overrun by negative, often disturbing recounts of McDonalds experiences -- earlier in the year wasn't enough, the brand got more than it bargained for when consumers responded with all sorts of things they'd like to "unwrap." While it may have made for an entertaining stream to some, it certainly wasn't where McDonald's was prepared to go.

Over on Amazon, there's an equally intrusive string of more than 4,000 comments about the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer, essentially mocking the product. The reviews have taken over the brand's page and completely overshadowed its messaging.

So what's a brand to do when consumer engagement runs out of control?

First of all, you have to anticipate it. When planning marketing programs, you have to think ahead and anticipate how consumers will engage with the brand. When coming up with a program, think through all the ways it can be interpreted, misinterpreted and reinterpreted, down to the worst-case-scenario. If you plan around these issues, you may be able to avoid a disaster.

If your brand takes a hit, go with the flow and be transparent. There's nothing worse than a brand that shuts down commentary when it doesn't like what people are saying. Excluding offensive content, the best thing you can do is to embrace and participate in the discussion. Show your humanity and roll with it. Remain true to your brand, but jump right in with your consumers and comment along with them.

If the content gets offensive, you do have every right to protect the integrity of your brand and the audience that does admire you. Just be transparent about it and tell participants you are deleting offensive content. Leaving most of it visible will show you are being honest, but you should transparently delete content that offends or is utterly ridiculous. It can be wise to seek a trusted outsider's perspective when trying to determine this, given your emotional connection to your company. Use your judgment and be honest about it.

Ask yourself: Is this social media campaign worth it? Before embarking on any social marketing campaign, ask yourself if the one you are creating is appropriate. It's one thing to anticipate certain reactions, but it's vitally important to decide if you should even be in the game. Throwing yourself out there in social media is like going to a party naked -- you're going to get comments.

Opening a hash tag in Twitter invites people to say what's on their minds. You need be honest with yourself about whether you are ready to invite people to talk about your brand so publicly. Asking people to scream about your brand will likely get them screaming right at you.

BY JIM JOSEPH | May 3, 2013
From http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226563#ixzz2SmNiAtlj