How to pitch an idea to a company without it being stolen

Disclosure: I’m Inna Hall, co-founder of TimeBinder^®, the file timestamping tool this guide mentions. This page is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, speak to a lawyer or patent attorney.

How to pitch an idea to a company without it being stolen: the short answer

1. Read the company’s submission policy before you send anything.
2. Ask for an NDA when you’re sharing something confidential. It can be worth checking whether the company will sign one before you pitch.
3. Share the problem and the result, not every detail of how it works.
4. Turn the idea into something concrete: a written pitch, sketches, a mock-up or a script.
5. Keep a dated record of exactly what you sent, and to whom.
6. For an invention, talk to a patent attorney first.

Why ideas alone are hard to protect

Most IP rights protect something more specific than an idea. IP Australia says copyright “protects your original expression of an idea as soon as you document it”. So your written pitch, sketches and script can have copyright, but the underlying idea usually doesn’t. Someone who has the same idea independently, or who uses the idea without copying your expression, may not infringe.

That’s why the practical protection comes from three things: agreements (an NDA or the company’s own terms), secrecy (sharing less), and records (what you sent, and when).

Read the idea submission policy first

Many companies publish a policy on outside ideas. Some say no outright. Apple’s Unsolicited Idea Submission Policy says Apple and its staff “do not accept, review or consider any unsolicited ideas”, and asks people not to send them.

Others accept ideas only through a form or portal, often with terms you have to accept first. Read those terms before you submit. If they say the company owes you nothing, or that it may already be working on something similar, decide whether you’re comfortable with that. If you aren’t, don’t send it, or ask a lawyer.

NDAs: when to ask for one

An NDA is, in IP Australia’s words, “a legal contract used to protect sensitive information that needs to be shared with others”. IP Australia suggests getting one signed “before telling or showing someone else your: Ideas Inventions Designs…”. The UK Intellectual Property Office publishes example NDAs and says to “use a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to keep your invention a secret when talking to others.”

In practice:

• Check before a first pitch. It can be worth checking whether the company will sign an outsider’s NDA at all. Read its submission policy, and ask.
• Manufacturers and consultants. When you need a quote or advice, it can be worth checking whether they’ll sign your NDA, or offer their own, before you share the details.
• Keep the NDA itself free of secrets. IP Australia says a good NDA “describes why you’re sharing the information without specifying the confidential information”.

If a company won’t sign, you can still pitch, but share less: the problem, who it’s for and the results, not the method.

Keep a dated record of exactly what you sent

If a dispute ever comes up, the first question is often simple: what did you show them, and when? Make that easy to answer.

• Freeze the pitch. Export the final deck, one-pager, sketches or script to fixed files, like PDFs.
• Timestamp those exact files before you send them. A TimeBind records each file’s SHA-256 fingerprint on the Bitcoin blockchain, which shows the file existed no later than the recorded time. Files are fingerprinted in your browser and never uploaded, and one TimeBind can cover up to 10 files.
• Send the same files. Don’t edit after timestamping. Even a one-letter change gives a new fingerprint.
• Keep the send record. The email, the portal receipt or the meeting invite, plus your notes from the meeting.

There are two ways to TimeBind:

• Pooled (1 Token): Your fingerprint is grouped with other users’ in one shared Bitcoin entry, usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity. It’s verified through TimeBinder.
• ASAP (3 Tokens): It gets its own Bitcoin transaction, sent straight away, and can be verified independently from the certificate and the Bitcoin blockchain.

If the pitch date is tomorrow, ASAP may suit you better. The Pooled vs ASAP explainer covers the difference.

What a TimeBind does NOT do

• It doesn’t stop anyone copying your idea.
• It doesn’t show who made the file, or who had the idea first.
• It doesn’t show the contents are true or original.
• It doesn’t show whether AI was used.
• It can’t say how a court or anyone else will treat it.

Your options compared

Option	What it protects	Cost and effort	Limits
NDA	Confidential information you share under it	Low to moderate; a lawyer review helps	Only binds people who sign it
The company’s submission agreement	Whatever its terms say	Low	Terms are written by the company, often in its favour
Patent application	An invention, once granted	High: attorney and filing fees	Inventions only; disclosure before filing can cause problems
Copyright in the written pitch	Your words, drawings and script, not the idea	Free and automatic in many countries	Doesn’t stop use of the underlying idea
Trade-secret practices	Information you keep secret	Moderate: ongoing secrecy	Lost once it’s public
Timestamping (TimeBind)	Nothing on its own; it records that your files existed no later than a time	Low; the Free plan includes 1 Token every month	Doesn’t stop copying or show who made the file

An NDA or a patent does things a timestamp can’t. A timestamp is a record that works alongside them.

Special cases

Inventions. IP Australia says to keep your invention secret until you’ve applied for a patent or chosen another option, and when you need to discuss it, to “talk only about the problem your invention solves, rather than your solution.” It also says a 12-month grace period applies after public disclosure in Australia, and “if you try to file beyond the 12 months, the initial public disclosure can stand in the way of your application.” Rules differ by country, so see a patent attorney before pitching. See also how to show you invented something first, keeping trade secret records and what to do before sending a product design to a manufacturer.

Film and TV scripts. Check whether the company accepts unsolicited scripts, and whether it asks you to sign a release form first. Read the form. Keep each draft of the script as you write. TimeBinder’s free Draft Streak tool is a daily draft log for writers: it counts the words in the day’s file and makes a SHA-256 fingerprint in your browser, without uploading it. Its dates come from your device’s clock, so on their own they aren’t a timestamp; the page suggests you TimeBind the same file for a recorded time others can check.

Toys and games. It can be worth checking whether a company takes pitches only through agents or a set submission route. Its own submission page is the place to start. See how to protect a board game idea.

Apps. Most of an app’s value is in building it, so a pitch usually needs less detail than founders think. See how to protect an app idea. If you’re in Australia, see also how to protect a business idea in Australia.

If you think your idea was used

1. Don’t make public accusations. It may be a coincidence, or independent work.
2. Gather your records in date order: the pitch files, timestamps, emails, meeting notes and any NDA.
3. Compare carefully what you sent with what they released.
4. Talk to a lawyer before contacting the company.

When TimeBinder isn’t the right tool

• You need to stop the company using the idea. That’s what an NDA or a patent is for, not a timestamp.
• The company won’t accept outside ideas. Respect the policy; a timestamp doesn’t change it.
• You’ve already sent the pitch. A timestamp made now can’t date what you sent before. Keep the sent email instead.
• Your pitch is mostly a spoken idea. A timestamp only covers files, so write it down first.

TimeBinder pricing

• Free: $0. The Free plan includes 1 Token every month (1 Pooled TimeBind). No credit card required. The Free plan’s monthly Token doesn’t roll over, and a paid plan replaces the Free plan’s Token.
• Essential: $20 a month for 5 Tokens (5 Pooled, or 1 ASAP + 2 Pooled).
• Expert: $50 a month for 15 Tokens (15 Pooled, 5 ASAP, or a mix).
• Business: $149 a month for 60 Tokens. Business Plus: $299 a month for 150 Tokens.

Prices are in US dollars. Enterprise plans have custom Token limits and dedicated support. Service terms for every plan are set out in the TimeBinder Terms and Conditions.

TimeBind your files

Before your next pitch, TimeBind the exact files you’re about to send. The Free plan includes 1 Token every month, and no credit card is required.

TimeBind your files →   See plans and pricing →