Page 81 - 597 Business Ideas You can Start from Home - doing what you LOVE! (Beginner Internet Marketing Series)

Step 4. Understand Legal Issues 71

Companies are very reluctant t o sign these agreements because
they may be working on a similar idea and do not want to be accused
of stealing the idea from you. Each company's protocol is different
when it comes to dealing with "outsiders ."

With Patented Ideas

You are in a much better position to get a company to talk with
you if you have a patented product that may be helpful to a large
corporation. If your idea is covered by your patent, an NDA wouldn't
be necessary.

Other Uses

There are other uses for NDAs that are closer to home, namely, the
people helping you build your business. Your employees and inde­
pendent contractors should sign some form of an NDA or confiden­
tiality agreement since they will be coming into contact with your
confidential and proprietary information. In fact , it is not uncom­
mon for entrepreneurs to insist that friends and family sign an NDA
as well. While having friends and/or family members sign a formal
agreement may seem over-the-top paranoid, it is an effective way to
communicate the need for secrecy. After all, if your idea is easily
compromised by a simple slip of the tongue, you certainly wouldn't
want your mother using your idea as the subject of small talk with
friends, who could then inadvertently pass your idea on to others.

I know this information isn't necessarily the "fun" part of
following your dream, but it's neces sary. The important thing
is not to get overwhelmed with the legal aspects of intellectual
property and business ownership. Do lots of research on
your own and do your best to learn about these legal issues,
and then hire a professional to get a qualified opinion and to
execute your filings . This will be money and time well spent.