d21lewis on 18 December 2009
A poor man's patent (it's actually called that): Write your idea, in detail. Mail it to yourself, and never open it. Then submit your idea. Let the recipient know you've done this.
The downside is that your idea is going to have to be pretty damned unique. Every body thinks of everything. I thought up a movie plot, years ago when I was bored at work, years ago. Never mentioned it out loud. A few years later, it was released as a (bad) video game!
