Question 1

What is an Entrepreneurship of America Protection Certificate?

Accepted Answer

An Entrepreneurship of America Protection Certificate is a timestamped registration record that proves you wrote down a specific idea on a specific date and time. It includes a unique Protection ID, an exact UTC timestamp, your idea's title and category, and a SHA-256 cryptographic fingerprint of the content. It is strong evidence of when you came up with an idea, but it is not a patent, trademark, or copyright registration.

Question 2

Does an Entrepreneurship of America certificate replace a patent or trademark?

Accepted Answer

No. An Entrepreneurship of America certificate is a private timestamped registration, not a government filing. For enforceable intellectual property rights, you must file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (patents and trademarks) or the U.S. Copyright Office. Entrepreneurship of America's Filing Package tool helps you compile what you need for those filings.

Question 3

How is Entrepreneurship of America different from a USPTO provisional patent?

Accepted Answer

A USPTO provisional patent ($320 filing fee) gives you 12 months of 'patent pending' status and an official priority date with the U.S. government. An Entrepreneurship of America certificate is a private timestamped record that costs less and takes minutes, but does not grant patent rights. Many entrepreneurs use Entrepreneurship of America first to lock in their idea history, then file a USPTO provisional once the concept is ready.

Question 4

Are my submitted ideas kept confidential?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every idea is private by default — no other user can see it. Ideas only appear in Investment Rooms if you explicitly opt in per-idea, and even then only the title, tags, category, and a 180-character excerpt are shown (you appear as 'Entrepreneurship of America Member'). Entrepreneurship of America does not train AI models on your idea content, does not sell idea data, and only the platform owner has admin access for fraud review and legal requests, under a written confidentiality obligation.

Question 5

What does the certificate actually do in court if someone steals my idea?

Accepted Answer

The timestamp and SHA-256 content hash together are strong evidence of when you documented an idea. This can help in trade-secret and NDA disputes, prior-art arguments against later patent filings, and authorship disputes between co-founders. It does not stop someone from independently inventing the same thing, and it does not replace formal IP protection.

Question 6

How much does Entrepreneurship of America cost?

Accepted Answer

Joining is free. Paid plans are Basic ($9.99/month, up to 5 ideas), Pro ($24.99/month, up to 25 ideas), and Premium ($49.99/month, unlimited ideas plus all AI tools). Annual billing is also available at a discount. Custom enterprise plans are available on request.