Puntz,

I understand what you are saying but as I am not a patent lawyer I have no idea whether you could patent it or not. My gut feeling is that you probably would not be able to as I believe you usually have to have some physical product (or details of the final physical product) to get a patent. Intellectual property, books, computer programs, etc are generally covered by the copyright rules rather than patent.

Assuming you are just concerned about the developer stealing your idea then the Non-Disclosure Agreement I mentioned previously should give you as much protection as a patent anyway. Basically these agreements say that anything you disclose to me (either in writing or verbally) remains your property and I can not sell it, give it away or use it for my own benefit without your approval. If I breach that you can sue me for any money I have made from your idea or any money you have lost (or both).

Of course ideally you want to avoid having to sue anyone so finding an honest programmer is a better option!

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"Computers can do that????" - Homer Simpson