How do I protect my internet intellectual property?

I depends on many things. You gotta have a gimick: and you might be able to get a business method patent to prevent competitors from using your intellectual property.

You should contact a qualified intellectual property attorney. Next, you should be aware that you cannot protect an idea per se. You can protect a name, slogan, logo, document, recording, methodology, etc. You should contact a qualified attorney and explain your idea in detail, without more information any advice would be merely guessing.

The ways to protect intellectual property are with trademark, patent, and copyright. It sounds like you have an idea of a way to utilize someone else's product. If that product is patented or copyrighted, you will need to license use of it from them, if they will agree to that. Basically, you should talk with a lawyer about exactly what you want to do and see if you yourself can protect it or if you will need a license from someone else. You may be able to use existing software and trademark the service created by the way you plan to use it. Or you may be able to have a software company create proprietary software and you or the company may be able to patent or copyright the software, and you may be able to trademark perhaps the software and perhaps the service connected to the software. The more trademarks you can get associated to your service, the stronger your IP portfolio. But it all still comes down to whether the product works and if people want it. It is challenging to get ownership on any patents or trademarks. To get a trademark, you must work with a lawyer who is in good standing with the U.S. Trademark office. To get a patent, you must work with a registered patent agent. Budget enough money for this.