Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Massachusetts

Re: How to protect idea before applying for patent

You should absolutely proceed with this in a very thoughtful and careful manner. Retaining legal counsel to do the (modest) work necessary to protect you is very strongly recommended. You have described the most common scenario for the hundreds -- probably thousands -- of Mass cases involving claims by someone in your position that the person to whom the idea, product, prototype, etc. was disclosed 'stole' it from the owner. Very often, this is because there was no written agreement in place first, prior to disclosure.

It is relatively common practice for parties in your situation to negotiate and agree upon the terms for how the consultation will go, compensation, confidentiality/nondisclosure, who owns the rights (or some of them) to the final product thereafter, etc. Tailoring the appropriate document to the specific situation is important, but can be done without tons of legal work, then pitched to the other party. If that person in your case is experienced, they would likely expect you to propose some form of agreement anyway.

Of course, that person will also state his/her preferences/objectives, and you negotiate until you arrive at something you can both agree on (or not).

While litigation can still ensue, you are much better protected and a dispute is far less likely with a document in place. Do NOT make the mistake of rushing through this casually; it is not unprecedented that a more sophisticated party seeks to prey upon and take advantage of someone in your position who did not insist on a written agreement (in fact, not requesting agreement can signal inexperience in the area).

Feel free to give me a call to discuss this further if you wish.