tech-company, intellectual-property, funding, investment, investorsI’m a computer science student. I’m doing some robotics project, I have plans for many, I’m finishing them one by one and I already have an investor and people helping me, so I don’t need anyone.
Few days ago, an engineering student (I don’t know what kind of engineering, didn’t ask) asked me to join his team, they are 3 members and he needs one more and will apply to imagine cup, I said no thank you but he insisted.
The thing is I don’t know what this cup is and I’m a Linux user and from what I’ve seen they only give $50,000 to the winner, divide that by 4 and it’s $12,500. And we have to invest in the project from our own money so the net profit, if any, is much less than that.
I believe that my project could be sold for much more than that, at least I’ll have my own company.
I told that to the guy who asked me to join, He would like me to join him on another project so that we apply for that cup, I have many ideas and willing to do them all on my own and am lucky to have the greatest investor and team of all, if I ever apply to the cup, I won’t ask my team nor my investor to help me.
I don’t know much (anything) about this competition, but here goes.
For formatting’s sake, I’ll put my conclusion at the top:
I definitely think you should consider it, barring exceptional circumstances. I’ve known a few people who have gotten picked up by companies after meeting executives at those kinds of events, and even if you want to stay on your own path, that’s not a bad position to be in. Beyond that, you’ll undoubtedly learn from the process, and I don’t really see what you stand to lose by doing it. Of course, I don’t know your full story, so do take into account your circumstances.
If you aren’t willing (that sounds harsh, I don’t mean for it to be) to work on your main project, it’s just a matter of how relevant time-to-market is for that. I think you will gain from taking part in the competition, even for an unrelated matter, but if that would take you away from valuable market time, you probably won’t gain enough. Again, that’s really just up to you.
So should I consider competing for Microsoft cup? what’s in it for me? Is it better to continue doing what I’m doing with my team, not caring about the competition?
I neither can, nor do I want to, tell you whether to take part in it, or whether it’s worth dedicating time towards. That’s really up to you.
But that said, I would seriously consider it. You say “they only give $50,000 to the winner, divide that by 4 and it’s $12,500,” which may not be a lot, but if you’re currently living the standard startup life, that’s probably more income than you’d have investing your time just working. If you can continue to work on what you’re doing, and get guidance from mentors that Microsoft will presumably supply (as is standard at such events), and you get publicity, that could be very good for your business.
You also mentioned having to invest in your own project, which I’m not sure I completely understand. Why would you have to spend $50,000 by entering that you wouldn’t otherwise have had to spent?
Will Microsoft sell my idea as if it was their own or will it still be mine?
I did a bit of research, and came across this Microsoft Blog post from 2013. It explains the IP implications pretty well, so I won’t get into many details, but ultimately no. You’ll own all the rights that you’d probably expect.
From their official rules for this year (starting on the second half of page 8),
HOW WILL MY ENTRY POTENTIALLY BE USED?
Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your entry. However, by submitting your entry, you:
- Are granting us an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to: (i) use, review, assess, test, and otherwise analyze your entry and all its content in connection with this Competition; and (ii) feature your entry and all its content in connection with the marketing, sale, or promotion of this Competition (including but not limited to internal and external presentations, tradeshows, and screen shots of the competition entry process in press releases) in all media (now known or later developed);
…
- Understand that we cannot control the incoming information you will disclose to our representatives in the course of entering, or what our representatives will remember about your entry. You also understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your entry. By entering this Competition, you agree that use of information in our representatives unaided memories in the development or deployment of our products or services does not create liability for us under this agreement or copyright or trade secret law;
There are a number of bullet points under that which you should review, but essentially, they’re taking the rights they need to promote the competition (if they take a picture of you working on your project, they can publish it, that kind of thing), and they aren’t claiming any liability if people remember your project and steal the idea.
Per usual, the only way to be protected here is to get your IP protection (patents, mostly) before the competition begins. You may still have a claim after it does, but you’ll risk many if not all of your rights by doing a public disclosure. Not to mention, if someone else files for your inventions before you do, the most you may be able to do is invalidate their patent.
I’ll go with my usual “you might want to speak with a patent professional before proceeding, to establish what if anything you would like to protect.”
Is their anything in it for me career-wise? Is the cup worth dedicating your time for?
I’d offer a hesitant “yes.” Again, I don’t know much about it, but I figure you have two major advantages if you take part:
The first point may or may not matter to you, depending on what you intend to do with your life, but the second one should. As for résumés, it probably won’t tell any companies that you’re good (although some might draw that conclusion), but it will tell that you’re involved in the community, which, to companies I respect at least, generally counts for a lot.
Speaking back to the point of money, it’s very possible that you’d meet someone there that could expand your business beyond what it would otherwise accomplish. That can be a great investment. At the very least, if you try, you’ll almost undoubtedly learn something.
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