@Sisi_Kill

Just in case your dumb hass wants to come back with more retarded examples:

Examples of Unconscionable Contracts

By Emma François, last updated at 2011-06-28

A skydiving company requires all clients to sign a contract whose terms are fixed and the customer can not negotiate (what is known as an adhesion contract). The customer found that each company offers skydiving only the same kind of contract. The courts would probably find each membership contract unconscionable.

The iniquity of substance occurs when the contract itself contains terms that are unfairly oppressive to some. This usually occurs when one party has significantly greater bargaining power, allowing it to dictate the terms.

A big motorcycle seller creates a standardized contract that contains a lot of fine print ("boilerplate", which shifts the risk of all mechanical defects to the buyer. The mat would be incomprehensible to the average citizen. The courts would probably find this unacceptable.

The procedural unfairness, whenever a contract was unable to understand its terms, and therefore unfairly surprised when it comes time to perform his contractual duties.

Unfair in a contract refers to unfairness in the bargaining process or contract terms. Unfairness is determined by the state of affairs when the contract was concluded.

http://how-to-x.info/513472-examples-of-unconscionable-contracts.htm

Sisi_Kill: This is a standard Contract for Clinicians
SECTION 6. CONDITIONAL REIMBURSEMENT UPON EARLY TERMINATION.
For value received under Section 4 above, Employee agrees to provide the services agreed to in this Contract for a period of two (2) years from date of execution. In the event of termination by Employee before this two-year period expires, Employee agrees to reimburse Employer for all expenses incurred in the Training activity set forth in Exhibit A. Employee agrees to fulfill reimbursement within thirty (30) days following his/her election to terminate. In the event Employer terminates this Contract prior to this two-year period, Employee shall be under no obligation to provide reimbursement for training activity expenses set forth in Exhibit A.

Read the part in red again or have someone read it to you if you can't read. Now go back to the first page and compare that clause to the repayment clause. Can you see why the contract is unconscionable?

Hint (since the fungus don eat your brain):
If you quit, you pay! If I fire you, you pay!

Sisi_Kill:
Talk about English and foreign, why do you wanna be disingenuous? I did not state you said the contract itself was illegal, Dodoyo, I clearly stated the REPAYMENT CLAUSE in the contract is what your arindin self said was illegal.

You just don't get it do you? Oga o! Abi you want me to say it to you in French, didirin dato?! If the repayment clause is illegal that means the contract is unenforceable unless there's a severability clause in there. I know I just went over your korofo head but I'll try to explain to you in a manner that you'll understand since nature has not been kind to you. I can’t blame you; it’s just the hand that you were dealt!

1. If any part of a contract is void or illegal the whole contract, if not yet performed, will most likely be thrown out unless you have a severability clause.
2. A severability clause simply says what to do if any part of the contract is deemed unenforceable.

Sisi_Kill:
You are talking about signing under duress and contract being unconscionable because they need the job. . .Lmao! I'd so love to see you argue that in court.

"Oh your honor, my client is not obligated to payback! That contract is unconscionable. . .when he signed the contract, he had no choice because he needed a job or his family woulda starved"

Hmmm, You know what, I changed my mind. . .maybe you are right after all, that IS a good defense. I can see it now. . . Buy a car on credit, don't feel like paying. . .go to court an argue that you the contract that states you need to pay is unconscionable. You had no choice because you needed a car badly and walking put unnecessary hardship on your family.

Take a loan, don't pay back. . .argue that it was done under duress, when you signed the contact, you didn't have a choice because you needed the money badly and lack of money was putting unnecessary hardship on your family.

Go to a restaurant, order the best meals on the menu. . .oh go ahead, don't be shy, pig out! It's not like you are obligated to pay for it, after all it is unconscionable for you to pay for a decision you made when hunger was wayaring your head. . .you needed food badly when you ordered the food and starvation is an unnecessary hardship. :

I sincerely hope that you're not a lawyer! You need to stop arguing with people above your pay grade! Here’s an actual case with citation that directly contradicts the crap you wrote up there:



Summary of FrostiFresh Corp. v. Reynoso, 52 Misc. 2d 26, 274 N.Y.S.2d 757 (N.Y. Dist. Ct. 1966).

Facts: FrostiFresh (P) sold a combination refrigerator-freezer to Reynoso (D). The sales contract was negotiated in Spanish with a Spanish speaking salesperson and the contract was never translated. The cost of the refrigerator to FrostiFresh was $348 and under the sales contract the price of the refrigerator was $900 with a credit charge of $245.88.

FrostiFresh filed suit against Reynoso to collect on the balance due for the refrigerator. Reynoso asserted that the contract was unconscionable and therefore unenforceable because the price was grossly excessive and because Frostifresh engaged in sharp business practices. At trial the court found that the contract was unconscionable and entered judgment in favor of the defendant. Frostifresh appealed.

Issue: Does a court have the power to refuse to enforce the price and credit provisions of a contract in order to prevent an unconscionable result?

Holding and Rule: Yes. A court has the power to refuse to enforce the price and credit provisions of a contract in order to prevent an unconscionable result.

The principle public policy to be enforced by this modification is the prevention of oppression and unfair surprise. The court held that the sales contract was too hard a bargain and the conscience of the court would not permit its enforcement as written. The court held that Reynoso must reimburse Frostifresh for the refrigerator at cost because he had not returned it.

Disposition: The contract was not enforced but Reynoso was required to pay $348, the amount Frostifresh had paid for the refrigerator.

Sisi_Kill:
Bwahahahahaha!! Count my lucky stars? What the. . .what would you have done??!

See this one oh Mr . . .errr. . .ehmu. . "Lawyer" who claims repayment clause in a standard training contract is illegal. . . calling someone ignorant.

Jeeedus Efffing Christos!! Thank Goodness for the internet where someone who barely touch the cover of a LAW AND ORDER DVD can claim to have a degree in law.

Oponu, who claimed that the contract is illegal? I understand that English language is foreign to you but try reading what I said a word at a time like a didirin. I’ll even highlight the relevant sections for you and if what I wrote is over your head, ask any 8 year old for help.

Wallie:

Things are not always that clear cut. Just because you willingly sign something doesn’t make it enforceable.

This particular contract may [/b]be unenforceable because of (1) illegality, (2) fraud, (3) duress, and (4) unconscionability. Of all the available defenses listed, I think unconscionability and illegality [b]might prove to be the strongest defense.

The contract is unconscionable because it is extremely unfair to ONLY the applicant and an applicant almost has no choice than to sign it (duress) because they have no bargaining power and if not signed, will continue to remain unemployed thereby subjecting their family to untold hardship. The contract is heavily lopsided! They also want you to pay if they fire you?

Won’t you sign a contract like the one above to provide for your family especially when other jobs are almost non-existent? But employment law in Nigeria will determine the legality of requiring refund for training provided by an employer. In the US, most states are "at will" employees and as such can quit or be fired for no reason at all without recourse to either party.

For the benefit of those reading, what I listed above are some of the ways that a properly executed contract can become unenforceable. This particular contract might be enforceable but the only true way of knowing is if the issue has been litigated in the past.

I took a cursory look at the Labor Act but nothing in there about re-payment of training costs. But I did see the text below, which says that an employment contract can be terminated:

(7) A contract shall be terminated-
(a) by the expiry of the period for which it was made; or
(b) by the death of the worker before the expiry of that period; or
(c) by notice in accordance with section 11 of this Act or in any other way in which a contract is legally terminable or held to be terminated.

http://www.nigeria-law.org/LabourAct.htm

*Disclaimer: I'm not a Nigerian lawyer but the only thing that I've posted so far that is peculiar to Nigerian law is the Labor Act.

Sisi_Kill:

I'm sorry, I don't keep track of names and I am too lazy to go look through the comments (That's too much work for a Friday jare ) Did you say it was illegal? If you did then yeah. . .I suppose my comment was directed at you.

Count your lucky stars because I'm a little too busy to engage someone talking out of their hass. Carry on with your ignorant comments.

Sisi_Kill: Choi! Naija. . .we like Awoof! Lmao!!

Go to the website of any Higher institution, under the Tuition, Fees and Grants. . .one of the ways they suggest you could use to pay for your tuition is to find a company who is willing to take up that investment and the return for that company is that you work for them for a specified time.

On the getting sacked and still being asked to pay. . .errr. . .If you get sacked, then obviously you weren't meeting up to expectation. I have never heard of an OUTSTANDING worker getting sacked, so you must really suck at the job to be sacked. . .in that case, why on earth won't they ask for their money back??!!

I am seriously laughing my behind off at the so called lawyer saying it is illegal. Where did you get your law degree. . . at the bottom of a cereal box?!

Is the comment above directed to me?

NaijaNaWaa:

What makes you think that the court will exonerate your wife and/or her guarantor from a contract they signed of their own free will?

Things are not always that clear cut. Just because you willingly sign something doesn’t make it enforceable.

This particular contract may be unenforceable because of (1) illegality, (2) fraud, (3) duress, and (4) unconscionability. Of all the available defenses listed, I think unconscionability and illegality might prove to be the strongest defense.

The contract is unconscionable because it is extremely unfair to ONLY the applicant and an applicant almost has no choice than to sign it (duress) because they have no bargaining power and if not signed, will continue to remain unemployed thereby subjecting their family to untold hardship. The contract is heavily lopsided! They also want you to pay if they fire you?

Won’t you sign a contract like the one above to provide for your family especially when other jobs are almost non-existent? But employment law in Nigeria will determine the legality of requiring refund for training provided by an employer. In the US, most states are "at will" employees and as such can quit or be fired for no reason at all without recourse to either party.

I know people are going to attack me for this but the guy is a fraud; however, he’s not personally broke. The bankruptcy filed was for one of his corporations to avoid paying a $24 million judgment against him in a suit filed by one of his early partners in crime. Thanks to all the mugus that bought his books, he's personally worth about $80 million. He made his money from all the books you guys bought and not based on any advise in his books!

Here's a detailed critic of the guy and the claims his books.
http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html#bothsides

Check the website of the company that makes/sells the map in your car to see if they have a CD for your current location (Africa).

chyka2011: Guys, I am looking for where I can buy a 2008 ford escape abs ring in nigeria. It is normally located at the shaft head. My ride's abs light and the advance trac control lights are showing. After diagnostic, it was confirmed that the abs ring is cracked and will need to be changed. To find where I can buy it is now an issue. Any info will be appreciated.

I have the same exact problem with that car in Nigeria. I can't even begin to tell you how much was spent at Briscoe and one other Lebanese shop! It wasn't until I took a diagnostic scanner home that I was able to tell the mechanics what the problem was. To be fair, I took the car away from Briscoe after watching the bill skyrocket before diagnosis!

The problem is actually the ABS Tone Ring but I also bought a left front ABS sensor just because:-) Here's a video on how to fix it:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tg3kipoLoI

adanny01: My company recently gave me a Toyota Prado 2006 manual gear with Auxillary for site inspection. My work usually is site inspection which involves off roads and occasionally involves a bull dozer ahead to clear the road. Although it was refurbished from an accident it had but most systems are working fine. I learnt from the mechanics that they had to replace its 'clutch plate'. My boss who is an 'I too know' went for a test drive but came back with a burning smell which i guess its the clutch plate again. Starting from stop makes the car vibrate after he did that test. Another problem is starting from stop going uphill, it makes a sound that i hear from under the car.

I was handed the car with aux light lit on the instrument panel. but the aux was at N position. When i move it to H position the light goes off but when on N or L the light is lit.

Having never used aux before i cant say exactly what is wrong or whether the gear is actually engaged or not. Though it moves at normal speed when its of at H position i still feel there is a problem. I also know from when it has been used in bad terrains that the low gear moves slow and raves the engine high.

At this point i hope ppl like SIENNA could possibly understand and advise.

Generally speaking, an auxiliary transmission is a 2nd transmission that's bolted to the output of the 1st transmission to give you more gears by splitting the gear ratios of the 1st transmission. It's like a multiplier for the number of gears you have in the 1st transmission.

In your case, it seems that you have 10 gears if you have a 5 speed tranny but you should understand that the output of the aux tranny is based off the output of the main transmission. In other words, I think it is perfectly normal for the aux to rev the engine high when shifted to "L" at very low speeds.

However, it does sound like you have a problem with the aux tranny; I'll let the more mechanically inclined people chime in.

1. Everybody having unprotected intercourse in a non-monogamous relationship is "a potential HIV carrier"!

2. How is Dino's behavior minus the going raw, assuming he slept around, different from any other "big men" in Africa? Almost all of them including those who are not even rich sleep around. This type of behavior is widely accepted in the society at large! You need to see what happens in Abuja!

3. Dino sleeping around is a problem for him and his family. How many of you can name a single “big men,” that you can vouch for with every single thing you have, that is in a strictly monogamous relationship with a single woman?

By the way, Dino should be canned for going raw!

maclatunji:
Ok, I am waiting for your invention .

Usually, the problem with experiments demonstrating fundamental principles of a particular technology is finding a way to scale it up or make it commercially viable. The invention is not in the idea itself but exactly how it's implemented.

The happier person is the person that is content with their situation. You might be married and miserable, and think that being single will make you happier. On the other hand, you might be single and lonely as hell, and think that finding anything with a heartbeat will make you happier. The bottom line is that you won’t be happy until you’re content with your status, married or single.

The idea behind it is something done in primary school science projects over here. Here’s how to make a battery from coke. This works because of the phosphoric acid in coke that will react with copper.

1. Pour coke into a glass tube.
2. Cut a thin strip of aluminum from the coke can and strip out the paint on it using sandpaper.
3. Cut a thin strip of copper sheet.
4. Place the aluminum and copper on opposites of the glass tube.
5. Place a red (positive) pin of a voltmeter on the top edge of the aluminum strip and the black (negative) pin on the top edge of the copper strip and you should see a voltage of 3/4 volt.

Isoelectric point (IEP) - a point that carries no net electric charge.

I'm working on an invention that uses isoelectric points between QRS waves of an EKG signal of the heart to detect myocardial infarction (heart attack) using a pacemaker-like device.


If I can keep these postings up, it will be interesting for me to go back in a few years to re-read all the obscure things that I’ve worked on. This might just shape up to serve as my own personal diary of knowledge acquired (and probably lost) over the years since I’m the only one posting:-)

Returning to Nigeria might not be a bad idea if your friend is currently wasting away in the UK. You only said your friend is a blue collar worker but not the type of work he does to earn 15k pounds.

If your friend works in a degrading field for someone with a PhD from a 1st world country, then he may be better off going to Nigeria for a trial period. But it is important that he comes alone so that his wife can provide for his kids and maybe him if needed.

The way I see it, if he really has no professional career that requires some sort of expertise, he will not really lose much by coming to Nigeria for a year or two. What’s the worst that could happen, him having to go back to UK to get another non-skilled job? Can you imagine the psychological trauma of putting in the work required to get a PhD only for you to end up sweeping the streets; a job that might not even require a high school certificate?

What was his first degree (B.Sc.) in? Regardless of your answer, I think your friend needs a reality check because I think lacks the in-depth knowledge in any subject, at least on paper, to be a professor or lecturer in a 1st world university, especially in this economic climate. His masters and doctorate degrees are in education; what exactly does he intend to teach in a university, education? If he has his first degree is in a substantive subject, he can easily teach that in most secondary schools and his PhD in education will allow him to quickly rise to the top or even branch out to administer school districts.

Personally, I think he’s more skilled to be in the administrative side of education like being a principal, school administrator, guidance counselor or any of the other experts needed to run an academic institution. In the US, school administrators typically earn more than teachers, I think.

If I were your friend, I would get a teaching job in a secondary school for a couple of years then use that as a platform to launch into the school district (or whatever you guys call it) as an administrator. There’s no denying that he has the educational requirements to be a school superintendent.

Generally speaking, I think most Nigerians that travel abroad to school do not give enough thought to exactly what they want to study or do for a living and are still of the Nigerian-mindset of “let me just get into any course that accepts me”.

I came across a post on “how to drive an automatic” and it got me thinking about different ways of operating the foot pedals (clutch, brake and gas/throttle).

The conventional way of driving is to use your right foot to operate the gas and brake pedals. Your left foot is primarily reserved for the clutch pedal. However, there is a minority of people that can operate the brake pedal with either the right or left foot even in a manual car.

Some people who are left handed find it somewhat easier to control their left limbs and as such use their left leg to operate the clutch and brake pedals. I occasionally left foot brake but only when I’m driving fast.

Do you left-foot-brake or can you? How about heel-and-toe?

Heel-and-toe is when you step on all 3 pedals in a manual car at the same time (right foot on throttle and brake pedals, and left foot on clutch pedal). It allows you to keep the engine revved while turning in preparation for the next gear.


A word of caution: Do not try left-foot-braking for the first time if there’s someone behind or ahead of you because your left foot needs to be properly “calibrated” to apply the needed amount of force to stop the car. The very first time you try it, you will most likely come to a full stop short of your intended desired position.

Some people comment negatively about Nigeria not because they’re “bitter” as you say but because they’re disappointed.

Nigeria is akin to having a talented child that does not live up to his potential. When you look at the child, you’re not mad at him for not making it but for wasting his God-given talent that other countries would die for.

Nigeria holds such a great promise but for one reason or another, we cannot just seem to get our stuff together.

And if we are indeed truly bitter, that’s because we cannot find an authentic buka to buy real food from!

I'm pretty sure the paraga and all the local alcoholic drinks are not far from the concoction these people are making especially the addition of formalin. And people wonder why middle age people drop dead like flies!

Eziachi:
Thanks for your facts and that is why I ask you Mr fact, whether we are airlocked too? When the time come, we will ask those well developed countries today that are equally landlocked how they are coping. If the worse comes to worse, we wil come and beg you for life.
You should know. What happens to people property is the same thing that is happening to their properties now in Cameroon, Ghana, Gabon, Benin Rep'. The same thing that happens to Yoruba, Igbo, Huasa property today in England.
Or we will ask Georgians, Ukranians, lithuanians what happens to their properties in Russia and Russians too.
By the way, Niger has more steady power than your sea-side Nigeria. Try and find other landlocked nations, not just the one you fancy to mention.

Is that that thing called "sarcasm" I detect in your tone? I think that you’re misdirecting your “anger” towards the wrong person. I don’t really have a dog in the fight except for the general well-being of Nigerians. Dissolving the country does not affect me at all as my loved ones still in Nigeria do not rely on the government for their daily meals.

As for me personally, I find it too terrifying to travel within Nigeria and as such, only travel to Lagos and Abuja. And when I do come to Nigeria, as of the last several years, I rarely stay more than a week.

If anything, I’m rooting for Nigeria to break up or the oil dry up because I believe that’s needed to wake the country up!

Eziachi:
If you think Biafra is landlocked, are we airlocked too?
And why must Biafra be restricted in their land?
Why is Nigerians now residing all over the world, instead of BEING restricted to their enclave, according to your great wisdom?
It show the low level of reasoning of many of you. Somalia is not landlocked, I can see how they are leading the world in their sea world.
Its not what you got is issue, it what you do with it.

I do not think SE is landlocked; it is a fact that it is landlocked. What I wrote was based on the premise of a non-amicable dissolution of Nigeria, which will most likely be the case since the dissolution will become extremely messy.

If Nigeria dissolves, what do you do with people’s property in a different zone? Also, do you think people in power will willingly give up “free” oil money for hard labor on the farm without a fight? Can you explain exactly how the dissolution will work?

By the way, traveling over a country by air requires permission from that country. You cannot just fly a plane over the SS unless they give you permission to do so.

I most certainly do agree that it is not what you have that gives you the potential of being successful but how you manage what you have. However, there are some countries that no matter how hard they try, their success will still be mediocre, at most! A perfect example is another landlocked country, Niger. They lack the land, education, and weather to be anything more than a mediocre country. It’s not entirely their fault but the hand they were dealt.

I guess it will depend on how the country splits up. If we go by the 6 geopolitical zones, each zone will face a unique set of challenges but most important determinant of success in today’s world will be education, good governance and peace.

Any zone that depends on “easy” money will turn into a war zone because the country will be too small to avoid easy manipulation.

1. North-Central - Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, and Abuja.
2. North-Eastern - Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe.
3. North-Western - Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.
4. South-Eastern - Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.
5. South-South - Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers.
6. South-Western - Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo.

The SE will have a major problem because they’re landlocked and will have no choice but to get along with their SS brothers if they want to survive. There is no way to get food into the area and finished goods out of the area without going through SS. The North Central zone provides an alternative route but the cost of transportation will make things too expensive to buy or sell.

SS will probably have the greatest challenge of being a successful country because the place is awash with guns and there’s easy money to be made from oil by companies and selfish individuals. If the country breaks up, any small military can wreck havoc to the place. Every single company that’s already a player in Africa’s oil will be jostling for oil contracts and you better believe that they will fund insurrection by the opposition party or local warlords. Do you really think SS can defend itself if a company like Shell funds a coup with the likes of Dokubo Asari against their new President? Where will they get their military from, mercenaries from Sierra Leone? The country will be another Sudan in the making!

The northern zones suffer from low education and arid land but will probably do ok because they typically follow their leader’s rule. They will easily find trading partners for their food but without massive investment in education, it will be hard for them to become a prosperous state.

The SW will probably have it the easiest as long as they can get access to food, which shouldn't be a problem because of the sea ports and airports. However, I think the SE and SW will probably form a very close alliance because the SW will need the tax base and people in the SE zone care more about their entrepreneurial success than fulfilling an ideological dream that is sure to stifle them. Most Igbos are entrepreneurial by nature, why would they want to be restricted to a small landlocked zone that will make it almost impossible for them to do what they do best, which is to trade?

Who will ultimately win if Nigeria breaks up? Those in power in their respective countries because they will rule and steal with impunity and it would be almost impossible to challenge them electorally, judicially, and financially.

seunshow00: Hmmmmmm.

As if you heard my heart murmuring.

I left school in 2008 and server in 2009 in a bank. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in May, 2010 with no job. I eventually got fixed with a firm in lekki in July, 2011 and later resigned 5months down the line due to delay of salary and other bad treatment.

After prayers and fasting at Shilo 2011, I got another job same month(December,2011). I got x2 benefits(compared to last job) though more work. I tried to keep this one not until June this year. I had to resign due to bad management,late working hours(I close 9pm,even on saturdays), work demands(I signed up as an Accountant but the role of a business manager,secretary to the CEO and Auditor was added to it lately).

I resigned June and I have been to different interviews but a new job is not fortcoming. I think I can say I am frustrated at this point and I have learnt how to stick with my job most importantly when things are't fine.

I am seriuosly confused on what should be the next chapter now. I stay with my brother who is now married and I need I place of my own as fast as possible because of the signals I'm getting from the wife.

I pray I just get a job now!!!!!!!!

One thing you have to understand that it is human nature to think that the “grass is greener on the other side.” What makes you think that your next job will be any better?

I don't know what you've been through personally but I have a had time believing that there's nothing wrong with a person that quit 2 jobs in two years especially in this atmosphere. So what you have to be the business manager, secretary to the CEO and Auditor? Have you ever heard of paying your dues? Don’t you think being able to multi-task and learn all those different skills makes you more marketable to the next company or better yet, provide you with the skills necessary to run your own company?

For the life of me, I simply can’t fathom why you would quit a job without a backup plan! You come across as having a sense of entitlement but I guess time will tell if it is deserved or not.

I don't think people should complain about this road being tolled because driving on it is completely optional. Like the article said, there are 3 other bridges that connects you to your destination (Eko, Cater and 3rd Mainland) and if you do not want to pay toll, just get on the other bridges. People are always quick to point to taxes currently being paid to fund new and expensive infrastructural projects but I think they fail to realize that all the tax revenue being collected have already been allocated/spent.

Can you imagine someone living paycheck-to-paycheck being told to come up with money to buy a second house just so his kids will have more room to play? Where is the money going to come from?

Here's an extreme example of a tolled bridge in New York: George Washington Bridge that opened in 1931 at a cost of about $75 million currently charges $12 for Cars plying the bridge. What makes the toll more ominous is that fact that New York is the most heavily taxed state in the country. Why would people that are heavily taxed be made to pay $12 just to take a bridge?

The answer, which is also true for Lagos, lies in the fact that mega cities require mega infrastructures that has to be built and maintained by revenue the city is able to generate or borrow.

drzed:
Secondly, you should understand that you cannot copyright an idea per se, but the 'unique techniques/processes involved' in executing the idea. In plain English, you cannot copyright profit making, but you can copyright an idea about some techniques, processes and steps, which (if taken) can increase profit e.g. by reducing cost and expenditures - all of these, by following a sequence of steps that YOU originated and captured in your document/proposal. In other words, for your proposed idea to be copyrightable, it must have an 'algorithm' to be followed. Dont be scared : an algorithm is simply a sequential order of solving a problem.

Now as for NDA, this is a legally binding instrument designed to protect the "exposure" of your unique idea as long as there is sufficient technical detail to make it 'yours'. For example, let us say your idea is about creating a unique data delivery service (i.e. voice, text and video) for a telecoms company. You can only ask Glo or Etisalat to sign an NDA if your idea involves something like - just an example, please: (a) creating a particular data delivery App for smartphones; or (b) using a GSM/3G network in a particular way that they (Glo/Etisalat) dont currently use; or (c) Creating a web-based service that re-routes data from users through the website to other user....etc/whatever. Any of these (options a, b or c) is clearly a novel solution which you need to protect with an NDA, so that it is not discussed with anyone other than you.

In fact, even a patent can be required/necessary/useful as in case of example (a) i.e. the smartphone App. As for example (b) i.e. a data exchange process via a unique GSM/3G networking system/process that you came up with - this idea can be regarded as a novel solution and can also be patented AND copyrighted. The third example, (a website) for a unique data delivery service via the internet can also be copyrighted, but I am dont think you can patent that. By default, you always own the copyrights to YOUR website - but not many people get documentation to prove this. So if you can design this website already BEFORE speaking to Glo/Etisalat, then you are in a stronger position to (1) demonstrate the feasibility of your idea; and (2) established a bona fide copyright which must not be infringed by anyone.

@ drzed
I think you’re doing a great thing by deseminating knowledge but you’re conflating different bodies of law and what they apply to.

1. Copyright – YOU CANNOT COPYRIGHT an idea. Copyright only protects the exact words and their derivatives written on a tangible medium (paper, Cds etc). For example, you cannot copy the plot of a movie even with slight changes, like changing the names of the characters, unless it is for satire or falls under fair use. However, there’s nothing stopping one in copyright law from copying your code and re-writing it using different functions and variables unless you can claim that I saw the actual code and even then, it’s not a slam dunk case.

2. Patent law is what covers implementation of ideas and NOT the ideas themselves. However, once something is patented you cannot legally create its trivial equivalent but you can improve on it.

3. The data exchange process that you mentioned can only be protected by business methods type claims or methods type claims under patent law.

bandiejay:
…
My Idea is all about migrating to a certain Plan which as not been done by any network in Nigeria and by Migrating to the Plan a customer has to Pay 100 naira stuff like that Please polish me with idea and i will appreciate it thanks.

Just saved this article to my draft.

You CANNOT patent an idea but nothing is stopping you from executing an NDA as that falls under contract law. To patent your idea, you need concrete steps to do concrete things. Here’s an example of what a claim in your patent will look like:

A method for migrating clients to a wireless plan, comprising the steps of:
generating a list of said clients in a processor by listing said clients that pay more than a predetermined amount on said wireless plan;
creating a bulk sms message in a messaging module to include said listing of said clients; and
sending said bulk sms message through a server to said clients.

drzed:
This is because people (inexperienced consultants) misuse NDA's and not because NDAs are a problem per se. The fact is that companies will refuse to sign NDA's because the entrepreneurs are too anxious....and like you said, the company does not YET know what they are signing. Anyone will get put off if you begin to mention NDA or distribute copies of NDA for signing in a first meeting. Go back and read my lines again: because I clearly stated that you need the 'Skeletal Proposal' in the first few meetings; because the Skeletal Proposal is plain and does not require NDA. It only explains that a problem exists and that you (the consultant) have devised a unique way to solve it and the solution basically involves XYZ. And you say no more. Once the company acknowledges that they have such a problem and are willing to listen to your solution and they see its relevance (e.g. usefulness, expected return on investment, etc) - once these basics have been established ...and they want to hear more...only THEN will you ask for NDA to be signed. Not before. If they agree to sign the NDA, then you can bring out the 'Koko Proposal'. In Nigeria as elsewhere, the problem is not the NDA itself, but how (inexperienced) people use or misuse it.

I hope I have clarified myself. Many thanks for your input.

Just in case I gave the wrong impression with what I wrote, I do agree with what you said in the OP and my response was meant to showcase the real world problem of getting companies to sign an NDA.

People might get the wrong impression that companies, especially the big ones, willing sign NDAs with unknown entities. They will more than likely just tell the small guy to take a hike unless they really value the stuff in the skeletal proposal if one can get it past the non-entities between one and the oga that can legally bind the company.

A friend of mine once had a new product idea for Ralph Lauren and wondered how she could approach them with the idea without her idea being stolen. I laughed and gave her two options: the first was just a textbook answer of getting them to sign an NDA and the second was to get a design patent before approaching them. She tried to go the design patent route as they would not even consider signing an NDA but that required her to get a draftsman to do the drawings at about $60 per page, etc. I think she abandoned the idea for now.

However, big companies sign NDAs all the time but they usually sign them for companies that they have an established relationship with, companies/consultants that got noticed somehow, companies with proven results etc.

There are no hard fast rules in business and everything is negotiable but one’s negotiating platform determines the kind of leverage one has. In other words, a one-man-show or the like will just sign/do whatever a multinational company says, if one wants them as a client.

Go ask companies that deal with Wal-Mart with what they’re going through! Wal-Mart sets the price of what you sell them and you can either sell to them or go out of business.

To reiterate what you said with my caveat, NDAs provide the best form of protection for an unpatented idea but keep in mind that companies will usually try to avoid signing one unless they have a compelling reason to do so.

Great thread! However, as someone that does this for a living, the inclusion of copyrights as a way of protecting your business idea is wrong. All copyrights does is to protect original works (creative and artistic) of authorship that is fixed in a tangible medium. In other words, it only protects written “anything” and musical plays BUT does not protect ideas, concepts, systems, or methods of doing something.

If you want to protect concepts, systems, or methods of doing something that’s where patent law comes in. If you want to protect the way something looks, that’s where Design patent comes in. If you want to protect your goods in the market place from other goods and services sold, that’s where trademark law comes in.

But as you correctly pointed out, contract law or NDA is what protects you when disclosing your idea to a company or person.

However, in the real world, the problem the average Akeem runs into when dealing with a big company is that they will almost never sign an NDA with an unknown company/entity.

Put yourself in their shoes for a second, would you want to tie your hands signing away your rights to something that will be disclosed to you that you may currently be working on or thinking of working on? How do you know the company that you’re approaching is not currently thinking or working on the same idea?

True...Samsung is yet to release a commercial version of the window. If it will be used as a true window, it has to be built tough enough to survive drastic changes in temperature that we experience during the Summer and Winter.

AjanleKoko:

Cost of putting all that stuff together as displayed in the videos must be a lot at this point. But definitely achievable.

Achievable? Samsung built one already.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTVPVobDrms

Very interesting! Being in the patent field, my first inclination is to try to determine what the underlying technology for each innovation in the film is and I do recognize most of what makes such a world possible.

1. Microsoft Surface (operating system needed to run such a large touch surface)
2. Electrochromic glass (ability for glass to change luminance based on electric currents)
3. Capacitive, inductive and resistive multi-touch gestures (ability to touch the glass with your fingers and objects)
4. Samsung's transparent smart window (they built a window that incorporated all the technologies above)

I’m guessing Corning is the company that actually builds the glass or a version of the glass.