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Telstra Claims 18-Month-Long First Dibs on Ideas Created in Hackathon

posted by cmn32480 on Friday October 30 2015, @07:41AM   
from the we-won't-steal-your-ideas-honest dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

"Read the terms and conditions" is good advice for anybody, but especially if you're participating in a hackathon. Otherwise, as participants in a Telstra hackathon are finding, you might be giving up more than you intend.

Lifx engineer Jack Chen – @chendo on Twitter – has noticed that the terms in the carrier's Internet of Things challenge seem to go beyond what people might expect if they're not paying attention.

The contract (PDF) that challenge participants have to sign contains a clause which seems to the non-lawyer to go far beyond what someone might develop for the hackathon itself.

The document seems to plant Telstra's flag in a participant's development work not just during the challenge, but for the following 18 months.

For any "New IP" (as the contract puts it) developed in that period, the participant agrees to:

• Give Telstra a first right of refusal
• Negotiate with Telstra about possible licensing
• Not offer the IP to anyone else without Telstra having had the first refusal
• If someone else is interested, give Telstra a chance to make a matching offer
• Not give anyone else an exclusive on the IP until after Telstra's said "no".

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Original Submission

• The Lesson is: DON'T DO THINGS The Lesson is: DON'T DO THINGS (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 30 2015, @08:52AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 30 2015, @08:52AM (#256387)

  Do not help scum make money. Stop doing things. STOP. NOW.

  But but but the Internet of Things is trendy, bro!! Trendy!!! Trendy!!! Trendy!!! Trendy!!! Trendy!!! BRO!!!!!

  Fuck you.

  All of you.

  FUCK

  YOU.

  Starting Score:	0		points
  Moderation		-1
  Troll=1, Total=1
  Extra 'Troll' Modifier		0
  Total Score:		-1

• The Lesson is: BE SOCIAL LIKE SOCIAL LIKE LIKE The Lesson is: BE SOCIAL LIKE SOCIAL LIKE LIKE (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 30 2015, @09:03AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 30 2015, @09:03AM (#256391)

  Mod down the troll! It says on the Facefucks and the Twatter and the ShitHub that being social is the social thing to do and everybody social does the social thing what everybody social is doing! So social!

  Parent

  • Re:The Lesson is: BE SOCIAL LIKE SOCIAL LIKE LIKE Re:The Lesson is: BE SOCIAL LIKE SOCIAL LIKE LIKE (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 30 2015, @09:10AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 30 2015, @09:10AM (#256392)

    Hey, I'm not social, you insensitive clod!

    Parent

    • Re:The Lesson is: BE SOCIAL LIKE SOCIAL LIKE LIKE (Score: 3, Funny) by Bot on Friday October 30 2015, @10:10AM

      by Bot (3902) on Friday October 30 2015, @10:10AM (#256404) Journal

      > Hey, I'm not social

      says Anonymous Coward, author of terabytes of comments in big social sites.

      --
      Account abandoned.

      Parent