Can You Sue a Corporation for Copying Your Idea

[grantjoiner]

Firstly apologies if l do not offer enough information. This is my first toe in the water in relation to this matter so l am happy to answer any and all questions.

Let me deal with location. I am based in the UK but the company in question is based in the USA, the head office being in Beverly Hills, California.

In 1995, at the tender age of 14, i had an idea for website. I went about creating the site and it launched in May 1996. The site was targeted at young teenagers and offered various sectional content, functionality and features. Part of the site was called "myspace", this area of the site allowed visitors to register their information, creating a profile and then add friends (within the network), discuss, chat, etc. In August 1996 a company called My Space launched a website a social media site. I don't think l need to go in-depth into it's inner workings.

Documentation
Before i created the website i documented the idea and sent 2 sealed letters to myself and they remain with me and date stamped by the Post Office. In terms of the website l have copies of the website and it is fully documented and timestamped. The websites launch was covered by a local newspaper and the (1) imagery clearly shows the website with 'myspace' plus (2) a description of the service. Finally the site can be found on the internet Way Back When machine. Here are 4 independent and verifiable sources.

Timeframe
Why have a waited 16 years to do anything about this ? I was, until late, a the Owner of a successful UK design agency for the past 11 years so that has taken up most of my time. I have now sold the business so l am looking to take this forward.

Action To Date
To date i have written to the companies Head Office asking them to discuss the matter. This letter was sent recorded from the UK, so therefore l know it was delivered and signed for, however l have had no response. MySpace is now owned by Specific Media Group and l have emailed them a copy of the letter and asked them to start dialogue but heard nothing.

Essentially what l am asking is do l have a case against MySpace in any legal way ? I do understand that the name, logo or website was not legally copyrighted or trademarked however i believe a case maybe there to answer too.

At this stage l am seeking advice and assistance so that l know the chance of success plus what would be the next appropriate course of action.

Thank you in advance for any and all help.

[flyingron]

Guess what. Nothing illegal has happened here. Your self-mailed envelopes were just a waste of postage. The wayback machine is meaningless. Barring a patent (which you didn't acquire and it's possible that you don't even qualify for), other people are allowed to either copy your ideas or independently develop the same thing. Once you put the site up publicly you lost the novelty required to obtain a patent. Your letters just go into the trash. Even if they thought you had merit nothing short of a letter from an attorney is likely to work and even then they may stone wall things until a civil suit is filed.

I don't buy your story. Your dates are off for myspace's dates of operations and frankly, tender age of 14 you were way ahead of your time. The first practical internet browser was only released less than a year from your claimed inception date. I have my doubts.

[llworking]

Guess what. Nothing illegal has happened here. Your self-mailed envelopes were just a waste of postage. The wayback machine is meaningless. Barring a patent (which you didn't acquire and it's possible that you don't even qualify for), other people are allowed to either copy your ideas or independently develop the same thing. Once you put the site up publicly you lost the novelty required to obtain a patent. Your letters just go into the trash. Even if they thought you had merit nothing short of a letter from an attorney is likely to work and even then they may stone wall things until a civil suit is filed.

I don't buy your story. Your dates are off for myspace's dates of operations and frankly, tender age of 14 you were way ahead of your time. The first practical internet browser was only released less than a year from your claimed inception date. I have my doubts.

Ron, I think that your dates are off. I was using the internet prior to 1994..at least a couple of years prior. There was more than one web browser available although Netscape (I think that is what it was called) was considered the best one. Also, I was by no means one of the first people to be on the internet. I waited a few years before I took the plunge.

[brownj12]

You really need to do more research, where did you get your information about Myspace from? Myspace was launched in 2002/2003, not 1998.

Besides that fact, what exactly do you believe you have claim to? The social media concept? That was patented by Friendster well before you came up with your idea, those patents are now owned by facebook, who is more that willing to through high priced lawyers at any claim you make. The name? Without a copywrite and proof you have been using the term in that field regularly since then you are out of luck.

You have no claim at all for anything that I see. I would be shocked if Specific Media does anything more than laugh at your letter.

[grantjoiner]

You are right l need to check my dates - it's 9pm here in the UK and l am not near all my paperwork.

The claim l thought l might have is IP ? The basis that l had a site mentioning 'myspace' that offered similar functionality to MySpace. So essentially in US law anyone can take anyones idea, recreate it and that is not illegal ?

- - - Updated - - -

I don't buy your story. Your dates are off for myspace's dates of operations and frankly, tender age of 14 you were way ahead of your time. The first practical internet browser was only released less than a year from your claimed inception date. I have my doubts.

Thank you Ron - i was and am well ahead of my time. That's why l was snapped up by the UK's largest ISP (Freeserve) at the age of 18 and started my own business at 21, which ran successfully for over 10 years.

[jk]

The claim l thought l might have is IP ?

IP? Of course it would be based on IP.


but that is a very large topic. What within IP law are you suggesting would be a basis for a cause of action?

[brownj12]

The basis that l had a site mentioning 'myspace' that offered similar functionality to MySpace. So essentially in US law anyone can take anyones idea, recreate it and that is not illegal ?

The name of the site, and the concept are two separate things.

You would be entitled to protect your rights to the name had you trademarked it back when you were using it.

You would be entitled to protect the concept had you patented it (if it was in fact patentable) However whether or not Myspace ever even would have infringed on the patent would be impossible to tell. Whether you could enforce such a patent would also be debatable.

[jk]

You would be entitled to protect your rights to the name had you trademarked it back when you were using it.

well, actually you do not have to register it to be able to claim and defend a trademark but what you do have to do is defend it lest you do lose your claim to it.


and given the time here, even if he had TM rights, his refusal to defend his rights years ago pretty much means he has lost his claim of rights in the name.



rights in a trademark flow from usage of the mark. Registration provides some benefits but lack of one does not mean you don't have a claim to any given mark.

[flyingron]

I might know a thing or two about the Internet. I wrote one of the earliest internet routers and hosted the first Internet Engineering Task Force meeting. I helped roll out IP technology in the Army in 1983. NCSA didn't release Mosaic until 1993. While there were earlier web browsers they were pretty primative and looked nothing like what we'd expect a browser to look like today. I can tell you that we were some of the early computer software companies with a website and ours dates from 1997. The wayback machine at archive.org only goes back to 1996.

Even if every thing you claim is true, you still have no claim. Even if your idea was novel and non-obivous (and hence patentable) you didn't patent it. Mailing yourself letters does nothing. Once you rolled out a website with your ideas on it, the novelty is gone and even if it were patentable, you blew it by not doing so.