Can you copyright a idea for a website before hiring a website developer?

November 7, 2009 - 2:00 pm


Ideas cannot be copyrighted, though some ideas can be patented.

If you want to protect your work, have the developer sign a
non-disclosure agreement before discussing your idea.
Also, you want to make sure that the website developer’s work
belongs to you alone by having him assign the copyright
for the site to you.

One Response to “Can you copyright a idea for a website before hiring a website developer?”

  1. Craig Says:

    Ideas cannot be copyrighted, though some ideas can be patented.

    If you want to protect your work, have the developer sign a
    non-disclosure agreement before discussing your idea.
    Also, you want to make sure that the website developer’s work
    belongs to you alone by having him assign the copyright
    for the site to you.
    References :
    Not a lawyer, but I every job I’ve worked on has a non-disclosure agreement and an assignment of copyright.

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