The problem of thought or idea theft is nothing new, and I agree with Barry (above), it affects a range of industries as well as marketing. Never the less when this happens to a marketing agency that has worked hard day and night, on creating a brilliant idea and pulling together an impressive pitch, it’s incredibly frustrating. But I think there are ways of tackling the problem, agencies just need to be confident and take the right steps.

Agencies need to know how to protect an idea. Unlike a design or a piece of text, there is no copyright in the idea itself. Here at the MCCA we offer our members a pitch protection service in conjunction with legal specialists K&LGates. Using confidentiality laws we are able to give our members confidence that their ideas are subject to standard non-disclosure rules. This might sound simple but actually, in the few cases where prospects have gone on to use the ideas, it has proved to be an effective form of protection. In one case the prospect agreed to pay for the work that they did themselves, as if the agency had been employed.

We’ve been running the service for six years and had excellent feedback. It’s been incredibly effective, the knowledge that the pitch has been through the system seems to act as a deterrent. It’s actually been suggested that the pitch protection actually helps agencies win pitches, as the clients think they must have some impressive ideas if they’ve taken the time to protect them.

The issue is primarily one of ethics enforcement, and the most effective way to do that is politically (with a small 'p') - organise and ostracise. Set up an industry group that monitors this kind of activity and reacts appropriately (however that is) whenever it happens. Of course, this can only work if there are enough agencies (and, hopefully, clients) in the group to provide the teeth and enough will to use them...

It's a difficult one though, because how do you define 'original' for the purposes of a pitch? Some ideas are clearly so distinct and original that it's easy to point the finger at someone who rips you off, but what happens if two agencies just happen to have a similar idea, or the client 'was already thinking of doing' something you suggested to them?

I feel very, very strongly about this topic. Ad ad or design agencies would never tolerate this - and why should we, as PR professionals, when our teams have put thousands of pounds worth of time into a pitch - not to mention blood, sweat, tears and weekends?

One potential solution is to include an agreement into the NDA, stating that ideas can be bought for a negotiated price, even if the agency is not appointed for the full campaign. The reality is less black and white than this, but it's a step in the right direction.

There's very little that can be done to prevent this but it's galling when you come a close second after receiving a positive reaction to 'big idea'. Where there is clear evidence that your idea has been 'lifted', a constructive and diplomatic conversation with the client is in order. Naming and shaming will not achieve much other than to cause embarassment, potentially tarnishing the image of both the client and the agency.

As Wadds says, strong leadership is required in this matter. It obviously links into the question of payment for pitches. Perhaps if this were the case, agencies would invest even more heavily in the idea, take it to the point where the IP could be clearly traced back to the originator and thus protect the concept. But until there is common ground across the agency community, I fear that the leakage of creative IP will continue. It is after all, a buyers market!

Many of my ORM clients are famous faces from the world of comedy - and they experience a similar situation when other comedians steal their jokes. The lesson learnt is a similar one: to create a culture where it's just 'not the done thing' and to expose those who pinch ideas. In comedy, it's a huge taboo, because fans and audiences talk and compare jokes all the time. Perhaps the secret then is not to be secretive with pitches; but the opposite: to be quite public with them and let others know that 'this is *our* idea'.

Perhaps the reason it goes on is because it's difficult to prove that an idea is your agency's, without looking bitter at having been overlooked. Maybe if we were all more open and territorial about it things would be different.

Probably nothing, mainly because many pitches require you to sign an NDA at the outset. An idea is only half the thing, how its executed is key. Finally, part of the reason why I am in agency is ability to constantly innovate and come up with new ideas, or old ideas in a new context.

Thanks for highlighting this issue Vikki, fortunately it only happens in a small minority of cases, but with most of us pitching several times a month, it happens more than we'd like!

I haven't yet done anything in terms of publicising this further for the simple reason that before we do anything we obviously want to contact the client first to get their reaction...we're awaiting their response.