How can you start a online company without it being ripped off?

[hardin]

So I have an idea for a website but I have no idea how to actually build it so it will work! So in order to build the website I would need to hire employees to run the code and everything but sense you can't patent an idea how do I protect the idea from being stolen if I need to hire employees to build it? Take Facebook (obviously I'm not building a social network but for the point of argument) mark Zuckerburg supposedly stole the idea of Facebook from those brother guys... (I'm not saying its true as I have no idea what actually happened but supposedly) so how would you protect your idea without having it built so you could put patents up? Does anyone know?

[aenedleah10]

So I have an idea for a website but I have no idea how to actually build it so it will work! So in order to build the website I would need to hire employees to run the code and everything but sense you can't patent an idea how do I protect the idea from being stolen if I need to hire employees to build it? Take Facebook (obviously I'm not building a social network but for the point of argument) mark Zuckerburg supposedly stole the idea of Facebook from those brother guys... (I'm not saying its true as I have no idea what actually happened but supposedly) so how would you protect your idea without having it built so you could put patents up? Does anyone know?

Nicigil:

The answer it PATENT it...

Here is an example of a social network business method patent..

http://www.google.com/patents?id=DVrVAAAAEBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=social+network+method&source=bl&ots=1u6HZwuQr8&sig=3QwZsjZT_8xstK42HDBMNqfiJ1M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NL4WUOahOoKsrQHS4IHIBQ&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg

The GREAT news is you can START with just $125 to the Federal Government's USPTO with the provisional application for patent... You can see their website on it but it is pisser hard to use..

See this website with videos on how to do it as well as a freebie NDA.. Use the NDA (modified for your use) with employees and you will not have the ZUckerburg "effect"...

http://provisionalpatentvideo.com/patent-instructions/Provisional_Patent/Patent.html

PM me with questions..

Thanks,

Dave