I said that ideas were not IP, not one of the recognized forms of intellectual property rights. Everyone is of course free to invent new concepts via contract, but that only creates obligations between the parties. Any dispute will be governed by contract law, not IP. Nobody outside the agreement will be bound.

The classic case in this area is Warner-Lambert v. Reynolds 178 F. Supp. 655 (1959). (It's about a contract covering the formula for Listerine)

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/17...