How do you copyright an idea?

You cannot copyright an idea. Copyrights are for "works", i.e. the text that describes the idea.

Read this link to see about the difference about a "patent" and copyright protections.
http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/article.cfm/ObjectID/380B6EC6-E760-41AE-92A9B5C7EB430B1A/catID/21B0B82E-AFD4-4452-85E9E85A1E836322[/url]

Good luck to you.

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Copyright applies to "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression." Your idea for a new business is not an "original work of authorship." It's an idea. It's not subject to copyright protection. If you developed a business plan, that would probably be an original work of authorship. But it would not stop someone from starting a business based on the same idea.

Good luck.

There is NO alternative to rolling up your sleeves and directly learning the basics of how to articulate, protect, and promote your business ideas. Asking others to feed you that information before you do any of that homework does not bode well for the success of your endeavor.

There are a bazillion sources to which you can turn. Google "small business assistance," decide which resources are best for your situation, and reach out to them. I also suggest that you buy the book "How to License Your Million Dollar Idea" by Harvey Reese, absorb its information, and then follow the suggestions that make the most sense to you.

As my colleagues have noted, "ideas" per se are not protectable under the law. If you've conceived of a new product, then perhaps what is new about that product is protectable (under patent law). If you have come up with a new way of doing business then that is very likely not protectable --- what would be protectable is the trade name, trademarks, and trade dress that you create to engage in that new way of doing business.

Good luck with your research.

Some of the foregoing advice is fine, but I'm afraid some of it is dead wrong.

It's true that the Copyright Act specifically excludes ideas from its coverage. Section 102 of the Act provides: "In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery." Copyright law only protects a specific expression of an idea (e.g., the street gang the Jets enter and sing "The Jet Song," after which their long-time member Tony enters and expresses his growing restlessness through "Something's Coming"...), but not the underlying idea (a romance between a couple from warring factions ends tragically).

But ideas and other intellectual property not protected by copyright law (distinctive or unique ideas, procedures, processes, methods, names, titles, characters, facts and databases) may qualify for protection under patent, trademark or unfair competition law, depending on the specifics of your particular idea. Unfair competition law uses several other theories to justify such protection: passing off (to stop infringers from duping consumers into thinking they’re buying the goods or services of a better known maker); misappropriation (to stop infringers from getting a free ride on the labor expended by the creator of the original work, such as special research about the work’s subject or effort to gather the facts in a phone directory or database); and dilution (to stop infringers from diluting the value built up by the earlier creator in a title or name by the earlier creator by using a confusingly similar title or name).

But the best protection for a novel business idea is usually a business one and not a legal one: first mover advantage, or being the first in the marketplace with your idea and getting a sufficient jump on competitors that you stay ahead of them. Regardless of which protection you seek, this exchange should show that as you proceed, you need to consult an attorney knowledgeable about the area of intellectual property.

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