Protecting Your Ideas & IP
How to share enough to find collaborators without unnecessarily exposing sensitive information.
At Step One is designed to help creators publicly communicate enough about an idea to attract collaborators.
Ideas vs. expression
Under U.S. copyright law, general ideas, concepts, procedures, systems, and methods themselves generally are not protected by copyright, although the original expression of those ideas may be protected.
This means that simply sharing an idea does not automatically give you legal ownership of it. However, you can still make smart choices about how much detail to share publicly.
What to share
Share enough information to explain the project's purpose, goals, creative direction, roles, and expectations so that collaborators can decide if they're a good fit.
What to keep private
Avoid publishing sensitive information such as:
- Confidential business information
- Passwords or private credentials
- Unreleased technical secrets
- Anything else you reasonably intend to keep confidential
Once your team is formed
Once a team begins working together, visit the Legal & Collaboration Help Center category for additional information about collaboration agreements, ownership, credit, compensation, and external contracts.
At Step One does not itself protect an idea from being copied or guarantee intellectual-property ownership.