How to prevent an idea / innovation from being stolen or plagiarised

Question

I have come up with an innovation to obtain linear motion without using any external source of energy. The idea arose from a paper I wrote on an alternative model of magnetism. I have built and tested the innovation and have written a paper describing it, which I wish to submit for publication.

My worry is that considering the novelty of the idea, it may get stolen or plagiarized. How do I prevent this from happening?

Answer 1

If you have an invention, patent it. It's an expensive and long process though. But it may be dangerous to publish the paper first. Your patent could possibly be denied if the paper is deemed "prior art". This varies by jurisdiction, of course. Keep it as a trade secret until you file the patent.

You can't actually "prevent" plagiarism. You can only try to reveal it.

If you publish the paper without obtaining patent on the "invention", then people are free to use the idea. They just can't legally violate your copyright nor morally plagiarize the paper. But, ideas are free to use.

If the idea is valid and novel, you might be able to partner with some company to exploit it. Don't reveal it, however, without non-disclosure agreements in place first.

Much of this requires a lawyer, of course.

Answer 2

If you have a truly new idea, it's very unlikely anyone will want to steal it. You will have to sell it, first. Think of Steve Ballmer's reaction to the iPhone.

But to take your question a bit more seriously, you have basically four strategies for protecting your intellectual property:

1. Trade secret. You license your IP to licensees who promise to keep it secret as well. Your protection is that your IP is so clever that you don't think it's likely anyone can independently recreate it without knowing how you did it. Works surprisingly well (think formula for Coca-Cola). But if your idea is recreated, there's nothing you can do about it, especially if they decide to patent before you do.
2. Patent. This applies to inventions, like what you're describing. You publish your idea by submitting it to the patent authority in your country. If your patent is granted, you can prohibit others from using your idea without licensing it. But it's expensive, both to get the patent and to enforce it and whether you got the patent or not, everyone can read your idea.
3. Copyright. This applies primarily to written, audio or video material and would include, e.g., any computer source code in your product. Copyrights exist from the moment of conception, though if you want to sue someone for copyright infringement you must first register your copyright (very cheap).
4. You can give it away. You can publish it with, e.g., a GNU or similar open source license. This lets anyone use your IP but that also ensures you can always use it as well.