Can an Idea be Stolen?

[mamamia88]

Can an idea really be stolen? If somebody does something good once, then it's impossible for someone to do something remotely similar without other people claiming that they stole the idea? If this is the case then all the operating systems out there wouldn't resemble each other in the slightest. Heck Linus Torvalds himself didn't set out to reinvent the wheel he set out to develop a unix clone for his personal use. Seriously when will people stop bickering and realize that smart people will come up with similar ideas. also if someone copied my idea i would be flattered not offended. So please people stop claiming that somebody stole this idea or that idea from someone else. It's impossible to steal something as intangible as idea.

[KiwiNZ]

Can an idea really be stolen? If somebody does something good once, then it's impossible for someone to do something remotely similar without other people claiming that they stole the idea? If this is the case then all the operating systems out there wouldn't resemble each other in the slightest. Heck Linus Torvalds himself didn't set out to reinvent the wheel he set out to develop a unix clone for his personal use. Seriously when will people stop bickering and realize that smart people will come up with similar ideas. also if someone copied my idea i would be flattered not offended. So please people stop claiming that somebody stole this idea or that idea from someone else. It's impossible to steal something as intangible as idea.

Once you build an idea or code an idea or write an idea it is tangible.

[mamamia88]

Once you build an idea or code an idea or write an idea it is tangible.

true but what about parallel thinking? with apple suing samsung over android it's kind of ridiculous they are bound to come to same conclusions. there is only so much you can do with an os designed for a 5 inch screen with no buttons. if two people try and solve the same problem they will often come up with similar ideas. Also past experiences will effect the way they address the problem and most computer engineers probably have similar experiences as far as what os they ran. So in terms of operating systems they will design something similar to what they've used before whether or not they consciously do so

[KiwiNZ]

Whilst I disagree with the current ludicrous management of Patents and Copyright I do believe in the protection of intellectual property.

[mamamia88]

Whilst I disagree with the current ludicrous management of Patents and Copyright I do believe in the protection of intellectual property.

oh if you have an actual unique idea then you should be able to profit off of it. but most ideas aren't unique they are improvements on other ideas. but if you put work into it and make it a reality then by all means make money off it. airplanes weren't a unique idea it was common sense. they took something that they knew flew and modeled something on it. but they were the first so they should profit. i just hate it when something even remotely similar to something else comes out and people jump all over it.

[UltimateCat]

In some places there are law suits over the copy right infringements and law suits over the patents- It's bad where I live at. Almost everyone in the most popular part of my town where all the lawyers are up to their ears in law suit's over this kind of stuff.

Seriously when will people stop bickering and realize that smart people will come up with similar ideas.

Perhaps the bickering will stop when the practice of being consumed by 'greed' goes out the window or comes to a hault- Other than that a large majority is also only concerned with pure profit which doesn't help either.

[UltimateCat]

Whilst I disagree with the current ludicrous management of Patents and Copyright I do believe in the protection of intellectual property.

I agree with you; it is ludicrous but this practice of managing these Patents and Copyright's are also another way if someone comes along with a similar idea and make a profit off of someone that already owns it. This is kinda twisted.

As an Artist I see this kind of stuff all the time,
Which is one of the reasons why I don't have my Oil Paintings online because of this nonsense and bickering that leads to lawsuits-

[davidvandoren]

The only problem I see with stealing ideas is, when someone else patents it.
I had some design ideas and the only way to protect them from getting stole is to publish them on youtube, flickr etc.
Once something already entered the public domain, it can't be patented any-more.

[Chdslv]

Can an idea really be stolen? If somebody does something good once, then it's impossible for someone to do something remotely similar without other people claiming that they stole the idea? If this is the case then all the operating systems out there wouldn't resemble each other in the slightest. Heck Linus Torvalds himself didn't set out to reinvent the wheel he set out to develop a unix clone for his personal use. Seriously when will people stop bickering and realize that smart people will come up with similar ideas. also if someone copied my idea i would be flattered not offended. So please people stop claiming that somebody stole this idea or that idea from someone else. It's impossible to steal something as intangible as idea.

"also if someone copied my idea i would be flattered not offended."

The best words I heard for sometime!
My friend Mamamia88, you are on the way to immense success!

[M7S]

Whilst I disagree with the current ludicrous management of Patents and Copyright I do believe in the protection of intellectual property.

I don't believe in intellectual property at all. It's a silly term. Something can't be both intellectual and a property at a the same time. You can't own a thought. The problem is that people somehow seem have lost the ability to differ between creating and owning and being a creator and being an owner.

To think there is an intellectual landscape out there where you can say "This peace of land is mine because I was here first. Keep off!" is just dumb. Thoughts interlace and overlaps and you can't make simple paths around and avoid thoughts. Thoughts that are published belongs to the public.

I do believe in copyright. The thought that you should be able to profit from your work as a creator - getting paid for the work you put in - is good one. It has gone overboard quite a bit when works are protected practically forever though.

I can accept that some fields (not software) might benefit from patents. It might make companies more interested in investing in science and inventions.

Trademarks and design patents also makes some kind of sense. What doesn't make sense is combining all these things under the name intellectual property and pretending they somehow are connected with each other. They are all different things and serve different purposes.


Just my 2 c.