Invention Intelligence Lab

I always say it doesn’t harm to enter for an award or grant funding so long as it doesn’t sidetrack in a big way from you actually developing your idea.

There’s another key proviso.

So long as you don’t lose control or ownership of the Intellectual Property in your invention or innovative product or service in the process.

Case in point - the third design competition for Japanese retailer, Muji, is open for entries next month (1 to 31 July 08).

Now I really like Muji’s innovative take on a lot of everyday household items. I really like their eye for popularizing current design trends and watching out for the environment.

But I’m hugely disappointed to read in the competition’s small print…

“All intellectual property pertaining to the prize winning articles including copyright is surrendered to Ryohin Keikaku [Muji’s parent company] on acceptance of the prize. ”

Unless you’re working to a daring and huge IP game plan along the lines of losing ownership to one of your brilliant commercial ideas in order to give shine to the even better ones you know you have up your sleeve, entering the Muji Award International Design Competition amounts to IP suicide.

They say the theme for this year’s competition is “Found Muji”. Found and lost, more like it.

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