Is there a risk that people steal my idea if I publish it ?

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Is there a risk that people steal my idea if I publish it ?

[Home > How to use PatentAuction.com.com ? (for Inventors)]

Indeed, there is a risk if you do not havs a patent. This is why FreePatentAuction only allows the listing of patent or patent pending inventions.

People also sometimes ask what happens if they have a patent in only one country and someone wants to use their invention in another country.

Theorethically, the person in another country could simply copy the invention. This is how patent laws work... the protection is territorial.

The only way out of this rule would be to apply for patent protection in other countries as well.

In practice however, people will often want a license from you anyway because :
- you may have a know how related to your invention that would make it easier for them to start right away; and
- because if the products end up in the country where you have a patent, they would be at legal risk.