Protecting Non-Patentable IP

[richardo]

Hello,

I was recently contacted by a large player in our market regarding integrating our service with their products. We have agreed to discuss this further within the next few weeks however we have a number of lucrative concepts not yet launched that we consider would be very beneficial to the company. The issue we have however is that none of the Intellectual Property is protectable under the patent system and due to the resources at their disposable the company could easily develop the technology themselves, leaving us with nothing. We have drafted a Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement however I am unsure of the protection this would offer us if the company as a result of our disclosure went on to develop our ideas?

Many thanks,

Richard

 

[profitxchange]

Its always a risk as your primary recourse is through the courts to claim for losses.
One thing to look at is whether the company is looking to use your software to support its business activities or is it a sofware developer looking to make its products better by adding yours?
If its the first - would they want to invest/ divert the necessary resources to "copy" clone or whatever your software? Not usually.
If its the second - be very prudent.