Sharing Confidential Prototype Information? 7
Blockshrimp asks: "I have had an idea for creating a hardware device and developing a business based around that hardware. I have been kicking the idea round for about 5 years while I've tried to kick holes in the concept and I think that it should be a disruptive technology for at least another 5 years. I once approached a venture capital group where apart from their lack of understanding of the technology liked the idea and the market enough to suggest that if a prototype was successful they would be interested in the idea. My main problem is that I have two small children and the concept is very risky (from my perspective) to invest the amount of money to create a prototype (~$40000 Australian, $20000 US). How do I share this information with a group of interested people with letting some amoral person/company with available finances from taking the idea and running? "
"My other problem is that my main training is in IT and physics and I'm pushing my basic electronics into places that it probably shouldn't be going. I currently work for a reasonably large research organisation (~7000 souls) doing system administration however the area I'm in caters primarily in the biological sciences. The idea is simple enough so that the benefits of approaching them are outweighed by the disadvantages due to their size, loss of control and so on.
ps. I was once described to someone by a physics teacher as the most gifted student he had taught in over 30 years so there may be some merit in the idea."
Re:If it is valuable... (Score:1)
Second, VCs almost never sign NDAs. That's just the way it goes and if you talk to them, you need to play the game the way they play it. They talk to so many people about ideas that if they were signing NDAs for all of them they'd be totally boxed into a corner.
Third, there's no reason to have your lawyer sign your NDA. And there's no reason to write it yourself rather than just having a lawyer pull his standard NDA from his files. The ethical restrictions of attorney-client privledge that he is obligated to follow are more stringent than an NDA is going to be.
Classic slashdot. Clueless poster pulls a bunch of crap out of his ass, clearly doesn't have any real experience in what he's talking about, and gets modded up as insightful since he sounded authoratative.
Patent (Score:2)
If it is valuable... (Score:2)
Virtual prototypes have been discussed for physical objects, like a "brand new cake pan" or something similar - where you model it in Autocad or whatnot, and show how it all works - sometimes it is possible to get VC money or even a patent with such an approach (use NDAs for everything though - I hope you did that with the VCs you met). If it is an electronic device, then maybe a SPICE model or similar approach will work (not sure what you would use for modeling a silicon process for say, a new chip - but I am sure it can be done - VDSL?).
I would say draw up a good NDA, go to a lawyer, have him look over the NDA, make recommendations/changes to it to make it legally strong, then have him sign it, and the discuss with him your options and what you can do...
Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!
Re:If it is valuable... (Score:2)
You say VC's almost never sign NDAs - that doesn't mean at least one won't, otherwise you wouldn't have prefaced that with the word "almost". I can see how a VC would balk at such a thing.
As for a lawyer and NDAs - well, if the idea is valuable enough, then a lawyer (and a VC) is going to use whatever they can to get the idea away from you, and not give you shit. People (esp lawyers and VCs) suck like that, there is a reason they call them sharks. All the lot "ethical restrictions" would do, right. Money runs it all, and they will bend you over in a second to get more.
Perhaps this individual should just open up the IP, and let EVERYONE run with it. If he can't afford to do it himself, and it is truely revolutionary, then the proper thing to do would be to make it completely public.
Finally, I don't know what your last line is supposed to mean, since I didn't get modded up at all. I am probably just being trolled by an AC, but I am far from clueless. While I will admit I have no real-world experience with patents or VC's, I do have common sense, which is why I recommended that the guy get himself to a lawyer. I just know that if the lawyer happens to be a crappy shark, he is going to be taken, hence, the use of an NDA with the lawyer.
Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!
Put the design on the Internet and GPL it (Score:1)
Hardware devices should be Free anyway!
Just GPL it and thousands of independent developers will design it for you!
Here's a TLA... (Score:1)
Oh, and FP.
Hmmm.. (Score:2)
Why do I get the idea that the poser is trying to create some sort of weapon or another distasteful invention? Disruptive technology? Amoral company to invest in it?