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Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: elmatador who wrote (8195)	8/25/2000 12:08:54 PM
From: lml	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

El Mat What you should NOT have done was merely "pass" the idea onto this executive because once you put your idea "out there," it is free for anyone to use. What you SHOULD have done was express your idea in writing, and then before presenting to this executive, obtain his signature on an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Had you done the latter, then you would have had legal recourse against the executive for stealing your idea. Ideas can & should be protected. Ideas are what drives America's economy today. Without protection of ideas, our economy, particularly the hi-tech sector, would fall apart. The European model is based upon the morality that one should profit from his/her ideas. In contrast, the US model is based upon public policy that society benefits when individual ideas are protected by rewarding those whose ideas benefit society. If an individual is not motivated to develop an idea, then society does not benefit. You are correct. It is much more difficult to protect against intangible property than tangible property. If I possess an automobile, you cannot possess it at the same time I do. It is easy to realize and seek out the property if not in possession of the rightful owner. OTOH, you & I can possess the same intangible IP at the same time, one rightfully, the other unlawfully, and unless someone is keeping "an eye on the road," the unlawful possession may never recognized, let alone remedied. Even if one takes the necessary steps to protect one's idea by obtaining a copyright, trademark or patent, and obtaining an NDA for trade secrets, there is NO guarantee that the idea as protected. The burden is on the owner of the idea to enforce whatever rights he/she has in the idea, and will often need to incur much time & expense to not only enforce one's rights, but have such rights challenged on its merits in a court of law. In sum, IP requires much more effort, time & expense to protect than tangible property. Even if you take all the necessary steps, there is still no guarantee that such property will be protected. This is why the entertainment companies are so protective of their content.