i have a few projects i have completed and would like to know is there anyway i can protect my own idea and company name??

your stuff is already copyrighted (in theory), assuming you can prove the date you thought it up, and can afford a lawyer that'll take it up with whoever is stealing your idea. you can register it though, which gives you better court leverage if you need it. there have been posts about this before, where you can get the website of the US copyright office for more [official] info...

EDIT: oh... you're from the UK, huh (sorry, i'm very new-jersey-centric sometimes)? i believe it is similar, but i'm not sure, sorry. hell, yous guys must have some sort of copyright bureau over there...

--- krez (krezisback@aol.com)

Edited by - krez on January 4, 2002 11:27:30 AM

Yes you can protect your ideas (sort of) by registering them. Note that it won''t help you very much, if someone steals them, you still have to fight him with good lawyers. But registering helps you to get the author proof you need in such a lawsuit.

In Belgium it''s the SABAM, in France the SAVAM, in Germany the GEMA. Don''t know about the UK, though, but it''s something similar.

Registering a company name is something different, you need to register a trademark. You already need a valid company for that (an ltd. in the UK, I think, or an incorporated), and it will cost very much. You will need to do research about existing similar names, and need a very good (an expensive) lawyer, if you want to be on the secure side.