Do idea theft prevention measures you read about online really work?

When I read articles online suggesting ways to pevent idea theft, two thoughts frequently go through my mind:

First - yes, these sound like reasonable steps to take. But also:

Second - in many cases, these measures do not apply.

Take this article, for example, which recommends:

1. Don't give away too much information
2. Sign an NDA, or at least insert a confidentiality clause into your contract
3. File a provisional patent
4. Do your due diligence on the person you are sharing the information with
5. File a trademark

And here's another, which repeats these and adds:

1. Follow your instincts, and
2. Write things down, so you have a paper trail.

While written with the best intentions, none of them work for people pitching their ideas to prospective customers, partners or investors. Here's why:

1. You have to present your key selling points if you want your customers to buy the product, or investors to invest in your business. Refusing to reveal the "secret sauce" might be intriguing at first, but no investor worth their salt is going to invest in a company whose unique and sustainable selling proposition they don't fully understand.
2. NDAs are great - if you can get the other party to sign them. Sadly, this is not usually the case, especially if you are in the creative space where NDAs are not common. Investors also usually don't sign NDAs because they get simply too many business ideas pitched to them.
3. Confidentiality clauses are easily ignored without repercussions - 'nuff said.
4. Patents and trademarks are a good idea, but cost too much time, money and effort, and may not apply when you pitch a creative idea.
5. Doing due diligence and following your instincts is precisely what gets people into trouble. You think the prospective client or investor is very nice and friendly. But in some cases, unscrupulous operators bid you a warm farewell, then head back to their office and happily share or implement your idea. In other cases, the client might not even realise they are stealing your idea because they are innocently sharing it with a colleague and, hey presto, your idea finds its way into their project without them compensating you for it.

So, what can you do?

What's missing in most solutions is the threat that the idea thief will be exposed. Idea thieves don't shout from the rooftops that they have stolen someone's idea. They either pass it off as their own, or invent a vague story as to where they got it from.

That's why we invented PitchMark. It puts the client or inventor on notice that they are being watched. There are three ways PitchMark deters idea theft:

1. PitchMark Certificate - upload your sensitive documents (password protected, if you like) and immediately download them together with a Certificate and a limited-use license. This communicates to the recipient that you take your ideas seriously, and you are prepared to defend your claim.
2. PitchMark PitchFeed - on the homepage of www.pitchmark.org, you will find a public notification of your pitch, once you've filed it. It's now official that your pitch exists (although, of course, your documents are never shared).
3. PitchMark PitchRating - you can rate clients according to your experience with how they have treated your ideas. Give five stars if they always respect you as the intellectual property rights owner, fewer if they don't. Other creators - and the client themselves - can see an aggregated rating. This is a concrete way that you can do your due dilligence on your prospective clients and investors.

PitchMark is free for both creators and clients, and the best way to deter idea theft.