[Southack]

You are mistaken. Publishing something more than one year before your patent is filed is grounds for having it invalidated by the courts.

And since you don't know if you will have to re-file your patent based upon the USPTO's concept of "Errors", you could find yourself in a world of hurt if you publish at anytime before your patent is officially granted. There simply isn't reason-enough to take the chance that your application will be rejected.

This happened to 3M. Their patent for laser-perforated sheets was invalidated because they published their idea more than a year before they filed their patent application.

[UnBlinkingEye]

Once you have a pending patent you are free to approach others with your idea and you have full protection of the laws pertaining to intellectual property. Of course a pending patent does not mean that the patent will be allowed.