"What if someone steals my idea?" is one of the first worries people have. Here's what the law in the UK actually protects, what it doesn't, and the simple steps that matter. This is general information, not legal advice.
The short answer
In the UK you can't own an idea on its own. What you can protect is what you make from it: the name, the designs, the code and the way it's presented. In practice, the best protection is building it well and getting it to customers first.
What you can protect
- The name and logo: a trade mark. You can register a trade mark with the UK Intellectual Property Office. For software, the usual classes are 9 (software) and 42 (software services). Search the register first to check nobody else has the name.
- The code and designs: copyright. Copyright protects written code, screen designs and text automatically in the UK. You don't register it. What matters is who owns it, which should be written into your contract with any developer.
- Your confidential information. Details you share privately, like your customer list or how your process works, can be protected by a confidentiality agreement or a clause in your contract.
- Patents: rarely. Software on its own is very hard to patent in the UK. It's usually only worth exploring with a patent attorney if your idea includes a genuinely new technical method.
Should you ask for an NDA?
A non-disclosure agreement is a promise to keep information confidential. Many studios and investors won't sign one before a first conversation, because they hear lots of similar ideas and can't risk a dispute. That isn't a warning sign.
A sensible approach: share the problem and the outline freely in a first call, and keep the sensitive details, like customer names or your exact method, for after a contract or confidentiality agreement is signed.
What to check in a developer's contract
- You own what you've paid for: the code, the designs and the product, once paid.
- Confidentiality: they won't share your information or reuse your idea for someone else.
- The accounts are in your name: the domain, app store listing and hosting, so nobody can hold them back.
- Handover: what you get if you part ways, so another developer could carry on.
Why speed matters more than secrecy
Most ideas have occurred to several people. What makes the difference is who understands the problem best and gets something useful into customers' hands. Talking openly to potential customers is far more valuable than keeping the idea hidden, and far less risky than it feels.
Next step
At Pulseni, ownership and confidentiality are written into every contract before work starts, and you own what you've paid for. Read what to do when you have an app idea, or tell us yours. For anything specific to your situation, take advice from a solicitor or a patent attorney.