What most naturally follows?

How to protect a marketing idea
Avoid talking about the idea until you have a plan in place.
Pitching an idea or sharing it with friends can lead to someone else taking it. It is legal for another person to take a marketing idea and use it and improve on it.
Determine if your idea can be copyrighted, trademarked or patented. Although the rules vary slightly depending upon your country of origin, the following are general rules for these 2 legal concepts : A copyright protects original works of authorship, and it is mainly used for creative arts, like writing, music and painting.