To give yourself the ‘ultimate protection’ from having your idea stolen, it is a good idea to have a three step process.

Step 1. Apply for patent protection

If your invention can be protected by a patent, applying for this protection should be your first step before discussing it with anyone except a patent attorney.

Step 2. Prepare a non-disclosure agreement (and get it signed)

This is also referred to as an NDA or confidential disclosure agreement, a non-disclosure agreement is a standard business practice when one person or entity must disclose confidential information to another.

Step 3) Disclose only as much as necessary

Even with a patent application on file and a signed NDA, you should still take one extra precaution. Do not say more than you need to, even if the details are exciting and you want to share them.

Source: http://hyraip.com/