This post was first published on 23rd April, 2014.   An idea may be defined as a thought, which cannot be seen, touched or heard. In other words, an idea is entirely intangible in nature. Ideas can be kept secret or commercially exploited, but to gain protection, they need to satisfy the threshold of originality and novelty. Even though ideas act as catalysts for various Intellectual Property protections, by themselves, they are not qualified to obtain protection. Since an idea, taken at face value, does not fulfill the requirements…