Legal Question in Business Law in Michigan

Re: Patent an idea

There are a number of questions to be answered however there are a number of ways to protect an idea. First of all the idea could be protected as a trade secret. A trade secret is a secret of your business that gives you an advantage over the next business. This is protected by contract in contrast to a statutory right such as patent or copyright. To be protected by a patent the idea must be novel, useful and non obvious in comparison to the prior art in ther field. The simple answer is that the idea must meet all of these criteria to achieve patent protection. Since September of 1998 when the CAFC ruled that methods of doing business were patentable, business methods can be patented.

On the little information which you presented, this is the best answer that I can give.

Good Luck!