Can a Bigger Company Steal My Product Idea During a Pilot?

You just gave a much bigger company access to test your product.

Nine months later, they launch something that looks remarkably similar.

Can you prove what they saw? Can you show what was yours before the pilot started?

That question is now more than hypothetical. On July 28, 2026, startup Runlayer sued Rippling in the Southern District of New York. Runlayer alleged that Rippling ran an uncontracted pilot of its AI agent security platform for nearly a year, studied how it worked, and later built a competing feature internally.

Rippling then countersued Runlayer in Delaware on August 10, 2026, alleging that Runlayer’s product infringed three of its patents. Nothing has been decided, and both sides’ allegations remain unproven. But there is an important lesson for startups: a mutual NDA alone may not protect you during a product pilot.

Your NDA Does Not Govern the Entire Pilot

An NDA is useful for protecting confidential information from unauthorized disclosure.

But it does not necessarily prevent the other company from studying your product and developing something similar.

That distinction becomes important during a pilot because you may give the potential customer access to far more than confidential documents. They may see your workflow, product architecture, demonstrations, technical decisions, roadmap, and how the product solves a particular problem.

A typical NDA may not address what happens after the pilot ends or whether the counterparty can use what it learned to build a competing product.

That is why a pilot should have its own agreement.

Put the Rules in a Trial Agreement

Before giving a larger company meaningful access to your product, put the pilot terms in writing.

The agreement should address who owns the IP if the commercial relationship never happens.

It should also address restrictions on what the counterparty can do with information learned during the pilot. Depending on the relationship and applicable law, that can include a no-build or no-hire restriction tied specifically to what the company sees during the trial.

The pilot should also have a defined end date.

An open-ended arrangement where the customer keeps access for months without committing to a commercial agreement creates unnecessary uncertainty.

You should know when the trial starts, when it ends, what access is permitted, and what happens afterward.

Document Exactly What You Showed Them

If a dispute arises months later, saying “they saw our product” is not enough.

You need evidence.

Save the demos, specifications, architecture documents, product roadmaps, presentations, and other materials shared during the pilot. Record when they were provided and who received them.

This creates a timeline showing what existed before and during the pilot.

That record can become important if the counterparty later develops a similar feature and claims it was created independently.

Without documentation, you may be forced to rely on employee recollections and informal communications.

A dated paper trail is much stronger.

What Happens When the Pilot Ends?

The agreement should not stop at the question of whether the customer signs a commercial contract.

It should also explain what happens if they do not sign.

Consider what happens to:

• Product access and credentials.
• Confidential information.
• Customer data.
• Technical documentation.
• Copies of specifications or other materials.
• Information the customer received during demonstrations.

The goal is to make the transition clear when the pilot ends.

A defined process also gives your team a record of what was returned, deleted, or disabled.

Common Founder Mistakes

• Treating the pilot as informal: Founders sometimes let a large company “just try” the product because they see the pilot as a sales opportunity rather than a legal arrangement. Months can pass while the counterparty gains extensive visibility into the product. If the NDA does not address product development, IP ownership, or what happens after the trial, the company may have limited contractual protection.
• Signing a trial agreement with no fallback terms: Founders may accept a short agreement simply to get the pilot started. The problem appears when the commercial deal falls apart and the document says nothing about IP, continued use, or what the counterparty can do with what it learned. Those protections are much harder to negotiate after the pilot has already happened.
• Keeping no record of what was shared: Teams often assume they will remember which features, technical documents, and roadmap details were shown. Months later, employees may leave and memories may differ. A dated record of every material disclosure creates evidence of what the counterparty actually received during the pilot.
• Leaving the pilot open-ended: A pilot without a defined end date can quietly turn into long-term access. The customer may continue seeing product changes, technical improvements, and roadmap decisions without ever committing to a commercial relationship. Setting a clear end date and defining what happens to access afterward gives the startup much greater control over the relationship.

10-Minute Pilot Self-Check

Before allowing a larger company to test your product, ask:

• Do we have a written pilot agreement beyond the mutual NDA?
• Does it address IP ownership if the commercial deal never closes?
• Are there appropriate restrictions tied to what the counterparty sees during the pilot?
• Does the agreement have a specific end date?
• Are we documenting every important demo, specification, and roadmap discussion?
• Do we know what happens to product access and company information when the pilot ends?

If you cannot answer yes to all of these, the pilot may need another legal review before access is granted.

Bottom Line

A pilot with a larger company can be a major sales opportunity. It can also give that company an unusually detailed view of your product, technology, and roadmap.

The Runlayer and Rippling dispute shows why startups should not assume that a mutual NDA solves every risk associated with a product pilot. The allegations remain unresolved, but the broader lesson is clear: define the relationship before granting access.

Use a proper trial agreement, establish what happens if no commercial deal follows, document exactly what was shared, and set a clear end date.

The time to protect your product is before the pilot begins.

Is Your Product Actually Ready for a Major Customer Pilot?

Join our upcoming Product Launch Master Class on September 29, 2026, where we’ll cover legal risks founders can miss before launch and the agreements and policies that can help protect your business.

Register here: Product Launch Master Class