Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Dear All,

I have a brilliant idea for a web application. After some extensive search, I realized that there`s no existing web application that does the same as my idea. (There may be some just being developed, not yet visible.)

The idea itself is rather simple, and that`s the beauty of it. It costs relatively little to develop, but it has a great potential (wide outreach, huge traffic and revenue generation) if marketed properly.

The idea is based on open source software (Google Map API), plus some extra coding that`s required for the main functionality of the web application. Now the big question: is it possible/necessary to patent an idea that`s based on open source software?

Google can afford giving away their products for free as open source, but if I do the same, I fear that some existing large companies simply copy my idea and develop it into something big at no time (given their vast resources). At the same time, my "invention" can only exist because of Google Maps code is free. And honestly, my idea is much less complicated than most of existing open source products out there.

Shall I protect/patent my idea or not? If so, at what stage?

Now I`m writing up a detailed description of the web application should do, how it should look like, etc. I`m about to hire a web developer/designer firm to start coding at the end of August.

thanks,

Csaba
(Hungary)

You should check on licensing restrictions with the free Google code. I`m not an open source expert, but I am a programmer and have used Linux for many years. In the case of Linux and other things covered under the Gnu Public License (GPL), you can use it, and add to it, and sell a product that uses the code, but I believe you must then turn your source code over to be freely available to anyone that wants it. I suspect that Google`s open source will have some sort of restrictions like that. You need to make absolutely sure that you understand this before you invest much money.

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Brian O`Keefe
Web Designer & Writer @ YiNZCO
Athlete & T-Shirt Guy @ STR!VE NATiON

I have no solid info about this, but wasn`t there a lawsuit not long ago about where Microsoft tried to claim that blocks of open source code were actually owned by MS? It seems I remember they lost that suit, but you`ll want to check with an attorney.

It is fascinating, though, to me. This whole idea of open source programming and applications....what`s free and what isn`t. I`m thinking too, that there`s the "fruit of the tree" thing, where if you`re building upon a foundation that`s based on the GNU license and free, wouldn`t whatever you build up from there have to be free?

Craig,

Yes, and that`s what I was referring to about having to turn your code over as open source, meaning that it too would become free to others. For a product that I worked on, we moved away from Linux to FreeBSD because of the restrictions of the GPL. We would have had to make our proprietary code available to others, thus eliminating our intellectual property advantage.

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Brian O`Keefe
Web Designer & Writer @ YiNZCO
Athlete & T-Shirt Guy @ STR!VE NATiON

So how do you protect yourself from competitors moving into your business? Is it enough to be the first in a niche and carve out a niche segment fast?
(using massive guerilla marketing to attract zillions of users fast)
(so while others may be copying your idea in coding, you are already covering the market)

Csaba

Well, that`s the sure way to build any business, regardless of whether you`ve written some new code or invented an engine that runs on water. I`m just saying that you need to really do your homework about open source licensing before you invest much money or effort into a product that you may not be able to thoroughly protect. As I said, I`m not an open source expert, but there is plenty of information out there about it, since this is a common problem these days. I hope you`re able to move forward with this. Please don`t let my comments deter you from pursuing this. Learn all you can!

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Brian O`Keefe
Web Designer & Writer @ YiNZCO
Athlete & T-Shirt Guy @ STR!VE NATiON

Y`know....another thing just came to mind. I know that Linux is free, and a lot of other parts of it are free. But on the other hand, you have these distribution companies like Red Hat (?), and they have commercial interests based on the OS.

I`m also thinking of the "give away the razor free, then charge for the blades."

What if you were to build this application, letting the source coding go to the Open Source community, but then charge on support, consultation, and application ideas? All that supportive effort would be unique to you, and since it`s person-to-person, not programming, it wouldn`t be subject to code licensing, right?

Absolutely. When Red Hat first came on the scene, I was surprised that any company could make money selling a product that was available for free. But they provided a "package" that was much more appealing to the millions of people that didn`t want to compile their own operating system. And they`ve also provided valuable services and expertise for the Linux community.

 

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Brian O`Keefe
Web Designer & Writer @ YiNZCO
Athlete & T-Shirt Guy @ STR!VE NATiON

We are an Open Source company and can assure that it is possible to make money even when you have free download and the source code is available to everyone.

Our business model consist in offer the product and the source for free and charge when some client needs support, add-on or customization (none all of them needs those services).

The results have been grate so far, once the community helped us reporting bugs and translating the software to more than 12 languages.   

  
O range HRM Inc.
Telephone:
+1-914-458-4254 (USA)
+94-11-550-5500 (Asia)
web : www.orangehrm.com

538 Teal Plaza
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Open Source HR Management

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OrangeHRM Inc.
Telephone:
+1-914-458-4254 (USA)
+94-11-550-5500 (Asia)
web: www.orangehrm.com

538 Teal Plaza
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Open Source HR Management