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Ask HN: How to proceed if you have a mind blowing idea

5 points by ujjwalg ↗ HN
I have an idea which I am implementing right now. It is taking advantage of a feature provided by a multi billion dollar company who hasn't realized that it can make huge sum of money by making it a paid feature or limiting its use. I have signed a contract with the company and the contract is currently has no regulations on what I am doing, but I am afraid that the company will change the contract as soon as it realizes that I am using the system. What kind of legal protection I should try to obtain? I cannot share the idea with anyone unless I have fully implemented it? I am an owner of a small startup and am afraid that I might get screwed over. I just want to make sure that whatever I have done before the company changes it policy remains mine as mentioned in the contract. Any suggestions?

15 comments

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johnnybgoode
The answer to this question depends almost completely on the specifics.
ujjwalg
Without sharing the idea, I can give you specifics of something very similar. Say, wikipedia is the big company I am talking about and they have a contract which states how to use their content. Now, if I figure out a way to use their content the way it is and commercialize it without breaking any contractual terms, what should I do to make sure that whatever efforts I have put in before they change the contract remains mine.
johnnybgoode
How can they change the contract? Is the existing one about to expire?
ujjwalg
No, its not going to expire anytime soon, but the contract states that they can change the terms whenever it needs to be.
johnnybgoode
Is whatever you need to do a one-time thing, or ongoing? If it's one-time and you're worried they'll change something retroactively, they probably can't but you should check with a lawyer just in case. If it's ongoing, you're probably screwed with that contract.
ujjwalg
I am not sure. According to the contract I own it, but I need the company to sell it. At the same time the contract expires in less than an year.
lacker
If they can change the terms whenever they want, you don't really have any protection at all. So you are likely going to be screwed if the big company ever wants to stop you from doing this. The solution is to either make sure the big company is happy with what you are doing, or line up alternative sources for your data. A lawyer won't help you.
timf
Hire a lawyer.
ujjwalg
I am going against a BIG company, how do I chose a lawyer for that? Moreover, the idea is highly replicable, but I am 100% sure that no one has figured it out yet. I am not doing anything illegal but I am very sure that the company will change it contractual terms or just might suspend my contract.
michael_dorfman
Wait: you've signed a contract with the big company, but you don't have a lawyer? If so, big oops.

Get a lawyer, have him review the contract, and ask him to advise you.

CyberFonic
As a small startup you are not going to win against the big boyz. They can drop millions in the lawyers' pockets to win. And they will. Have you seen the lengths that Google went to appeal a $761 case > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-greenspan/why-google-bot...

Erin Brockovich style success is very rare.

A game plan is as follows:

1. Get it working

2. Market your awesome idea, start making serious money

3. Identify your billion dollar company's arch enemy / competitor or similar who can set lawyers upon your billion dollar company and win.

4. Sell the running and growing business to them

5. Send me 10% for this great piece of advice :-)

michael_dorfman
Unfortunately, without more specifics, it's really hard to give specific advice (besides the obvious, and necessary: get a lawyer).

What do you mean when you say "I want to make sure that whatever I have done [...] remains mine"? Are you writing code? If so, it is difficult to imagine a scenario where you wouldn't you retain the rights to your own code. (Naturally, that doesn't prevent anyone else from implementing the same idea).

Clearly, you need to make sure your business plan can survive changes from the big company-- if your idea is that dependent upon what sounds like a loophole in their TOS, you're odds of success are slim indeed. How do you know they don't have a team working on an identical system now, ready to launch next week?

ujjwalg
Thank you guys, I just talked to a lawyer (from a reference) and he is helping me out.