Protecting an idea, startup concept or show format: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Honest answer: copyright does not extend to ideas, methods, concepts or principles (Law of Georgia on Copyright and Related Rights, Art. 5). What is protected is the expression. The right arises from the moment the work is created, when it is expressed in objective form (Art. 9). Examples are a format bible, a script, layouts, or code.
2. Proving priority: the author may deposit the work with Sakpatenti. The person indicated in the certificate is considered the author until proven otherwise (Art. 9¹). Dated letters and versions also help.
3. Before a showing: an NDA is permitted, including contracts not provided for by law as long as they do not contradict it (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 319). The subject, term, prohibition of use and penalty should be set out. An agreement on a penalty requires written form (Civil Code, Art. 418). Secrecy regime: an exclusive right to know-how arises when necessary and sufficient secrecy measures are taken (Civil Code, Art. 1105). Disclosure of a commercial secret, or its unlawful use, is a crime (Criminal Code, Art. 202). Disclose the minimum.
4. A patent covers only a technical solution. The criteria are novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability (Law of Georgia on Patents, Art. 12). Business and management methods, rules of games, algorithms and programs as such are not inventions (Patent Law, Art. 16). File before pitching. The state of the art is everything made publicly available before the priority date, including orally (Patent Law, Art. 12). A disclosure made no earlier than 6 months before the priority date does not destroy novelty only if a third party is at fault or the disclosure was at an official exhibition (Patent Law, Art. 15).
5. Name and brand: an exclusive right to a name-sign arises only upon registration (Law of Georgia on Trademarks, Art. 6). File an application with Sakpatenti before any public launch.
6. If it has “already been stolen”: copied text, design or code is a matter of copyright. If there is an NDA, a penalty and damages apply. If only the idea was taken, there are no claims.
7. Where to apply: Sakpatenti (deposit, patent, trademark); court for NDA and copyright claims; police for disclosure of secrets.
8. Evidence: dated versions, deposit, NDA, correspondence showing what was disclosed and when.
9. Pitfalls: “I'll email it to myself” or “a notary will certify the idea”: the date is confirmed, but the idea does not become protected. A public pitch, post or demo before filing destroys the novelty of an invention. An NDA without a written penalty means you will have to prove the amount of damages. A business model or an app “as such” cannot be patented.

Be sure to check

• an idea, concept or method is not protected by copyright as such; the concrete form is protected
• an NDA with a written penalty and the trade secret (know-how) regime
• deposit with Sakpatenti and other evidence of priority
• a patent covers only a technical solution with novelty; disclosure before filing is dangerous
• the name is protected through trademark registration