Starting a social network, what kind of legal action must I take?

I am interested in starting a social network. It vaguely resembles that of Myspace and Facebook. However, there is a social network that it resembles a great deal, right down to the very niche that I am targeting. With that, my questions are as follows:

What kind of legal action must I take to protect myself and this idea before I begin? Did the creators of Facebook and Myspace file for any kind of patent or copyright?

Secondly, am I infringing on someone elses idea? Or is it "may the best man win?" As I said, the social network that I want to create resembles one that is already in existance. It does not seem to be doing too well and I think that I could trump it. Much like Myspace and Facebook are very similar, mine would be similar to another, smaller network that I have discovered; is this ok?

Thanks for your knowledge

Starting a social network, what kind of legal action must I take?hack myspace

%26gt; What kind of legal action must I take to protect myself and this idea before I begin?

None are required.

There are many that are advised, but those are related to incorporation and creation of a framework for making money and protecting investors then anything else. Also, asking sure that anyone who has access to the ideas is under proper NDA and ownership of any work is 100% assigned to you if others work on it.

%26gt; Did the creators of Facebook and Myspace file for any kind of patent or copyright?

Copyright exists for the moment each page is created in fixed form - i.e. served up. there is nothing to apply for.

Patents? Maybe who knows, I haven't looked.

It is my understanding that the fundamental patents in social networking are held by LinkedIn.com or its CEO, who bout them from an earlier pioneer in the space.

%26gt; Secondly, am I infringing on someone elses idea?

Maybe - without the details it is impossible to tell one way or the other. Ideas themselves are not protectable except via trade secret - but if you came up with the idea independently, well too bad for them.

%26gt; is this ok?

May the best man win.

that being said, if you want to "win" or "trump" anything or even remotely dream of growing something as buig as Myspace or Facebook (IOW you are in this for the money) then you need to have a business plan that covers strategy, financing, marketing, sales, operation and so forth so you don't do anything that will hinder your growth should your product actually catch on.

Starting a social network, what kind of legal action must I take?fake myspace myspace.com

There are way too many variables you have not provided. If you want to start this as a business, you should definitely talk to a local lawyer knowledgeable in business organization/planning (for setting up your corporation/LLC/etc.) and internet intellectual property (for any legal ramifications concerning this unknown website; creating your site's terms of use agreement; etc.). It is much smarter to pay this money upfront than to get sued/charged with a crime later because you were acting without any idea of what was legal.

Good luck.