If someone takes your idea, you still have your idea, right? So, they didn't really steal it—they copied it.
I used "steal" in the title because it's catchy, but let's talk about the real issue.
How to Stop People From Copying Your Idea
People will always copy good ideas. Here's how to stop them from copying yours:
DON'T TELL ANYONE:
Don't seek feedback, don't seek constructive input, partners, help, support, investors, or funding. Just keep it to yourself, and your idea will be secure, safe, and die with you.
But you don't want that, right? You want to share your idea but not have it copied?
The Reality Of Sharing Ideas
What's the point of sharing if you must control how others use the idea?
If you don't want the idea to die with you, why worry about people copying it? When people copy you, it means you're doing something impactful.
Do you really want them to stop copying you? You should fear the opposite. If no one is copying your ideas, your ideas suck.
Nothing is Really 100% Original
Where did you get the ideas? Likely a mix of other people's ideas.
The originality of the idea is proportional to the rate at which it was remixed. Anyone with similar inputs can come up with it.
The Wright brothers and Whitehead both created planes independently. Newton and Leibniz developed calculus without ever meeting.
Great ideas are truths about solving problems, and NO ONE OWNS THE TRUTH.
It's Not The Copycats You Should Worry About
Copycats are limited. They might understand how the idea works but not why it works. When it breaks, they won't know how to fix it.
Ideas evolve. If you want your solution today to still be valuable in 10 years, you'd have to adjust a few things.
One idea is not enough to do something great. You have to continue to generate new ideas for the new problems you face in making the thing a reality.
Copycats can't keep up with continuous creativity. While they're catching up, you're already ahead.
You can't beat innovators like Vitalik Buterin or Sam Altman by copying them—they're always moving forward.
What You Should Worry About
Competition. If competitors get vital details and significantly improve on the idea, it can affect your business.
Smart competitors can iterate and improve based on your architecture. The difference is your vision and execution style.
They're not "stealing your idea"—they're being creative and competitive. To beat them, you have to be a better executor.
Thomas Edison didn't invent the lightbulb from scratch. He perfected existing ideas.
It's selfish to hate somebody because they took an idea you think is yours and did something that's better for the world with it, that you couldn't do.
In the end, you should pay less attention to competitors to make sure your creativity stays fresh so that you can be more visionary instead of putting out reactions to other people's visions.
The Only Thing That's Yours
The only thing that's truly yours is your expression of an idea—your tangible creations.
This article is an expression of my ideas. I can protect my content from plagiarism, but I can't claim exclusive rights to the discussion on whether ideas can be stolen.
Inventions, recipes, and formulas can be patented, as they are tangible expressions. Protect these, not the idea.
Consult legal advice to safeguard your work, and beware of people who could cheat you.
But if someone's expression of an idea is better than yours, improve and compete. It's survival of the fittest.
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