# If you send your product idea to a company, can they take it as their own? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-send-your-product-idea-to-a-company-can-they-take-it-as-their-own/498440 "2009-06-02T01:41:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-send-your-product-idea-to-a-company-can-they-take-it-as-their-own/498440/21 "2009-06-03T12:56:13Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > INote that you can patent something like “a rope having greater than X strength” if it doesn’t already exist and you teach at least one way of making it. You get to claim ropes stronger than X as the scope of your patent, not just those ropes made by your teachings. No, that’s not how it works. To get a patent, you have to make claims, and the claims have to be specific enough that someone can actually practice the patent, that is, repeat your invention. If someone comes up with a way to make stronger ropes that have nothing to do with how you did it, then your patent doesn’t cover it. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-send-your-product-idea-to-a-company-can-they-take-it-as-their-own/498440/22 "2009-06-03T22:34:23Z")
I remember talking research with a company who mentioned that they had an outside contractor answer any letters sent to them about new ideas, so they could truthfully say that they did not steal anyones invention. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-send-your-product-idea-to-a-company-can-they-take-it-as-their-own/498440.md?page=1)