Seven professionals, one shared problem.

Advising senior management on diversity and inclusion, Roger presented his proven system to a major retail group. A contract was signed and his invoice sent. When it wasn’t paid and the start date was delayed, he was told he was too expensive and they’d found another company. Roger reminded the head of HR he was an Ideas Union member (during beta) and, after legal review, they paid him for his pitch, for using his concept, and to run the program — with more staff included than anticipated.

A soil-microbials specialist, Sue helped an organic asparagus farmer kill weeds by burning them with a gas fire rigged behind a row-cropping tractor. A local engineering company built the machine. Months later they saw the exact machine being sold through a tractor franchise — copied by the engineering company, leaving them with nothing. The concept had been stolen.

After months with a big car-parts retailer, Dave presented a concept to reduce reverse-logistics costs by enabling mechanics to order parts more accurately. Management claimed they had the idea before (they hadn’t). It saved the group hundreds of millions. When David asked for payment he was told to have deep pockets, while the manager who stole it was promoted. This theft was a key trigger for forming Ideas Union. (Hi Jamie!)

Designs housing, hospitals and major spaces. In competitive tenders he submits concept drawings; when unsuccessful, adaptations of his designs are often built with no compensation — structural walls, floors over waterways, roofs designed to let light through.

Runs her own PR business. Pitches reveal strategy and an overriding ‘big idea’. Enthusiastic prospects who delay decisions often turn out to have handed the pitch deck to an internal team or the agency that won the business. She now requires a pitch fee prior to presentation.

Designs gardens for botanical gardens, tourism sites and large residences via competitive tenders. Clients repeatedly copy submitted designs, saying “you can’t own a garden design, it’s just an idea and we found someone cheaper.”

A cyber-security specialist who tenders for government and large-company IT. Clients use parts of her team’s approach — app combinations, data-storage processes, cloud and mirroring choices. As confidentiality agreements are signed before the pitch, companies present that document as ‘proof’ her firm doesn’t own its ideas. IT firms have their ideas stolen most frequently.