Mentez.com, a FB app competition and ownership issues
Filed Under (Random Note) by Nic on 13-11-2007
Tagged Under : App, Application, Competition, Facebook, FB Apps, Mentez.com, Random Note, South Africa
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This sort of thing is really dodgy sometimes and thanks to the Sharepointexpert I got wind of this one.
The idea that Mentez.com is proposing is immediately enticing. Especially when R40 000 is up for grabs. But at a second look the terms and conditions are somewhat concerning.
The competition seems to be run in rounds. First you send in an idea, then the best ideas are accepted by judges then you have until sometime in January, 2008 to develop the app. Then, simply by entering the compeition you:
11. By submitting a registration form, each Participant fully and unconditionally
a. Agrees to these Terms and Conditions
b. Authorise Mentez to use their personal data for the purposes of running and promoting the Contest this year and/or in subsequent years;
c. Will be deemed to have read, accepted and agree to be bound by these Contest Terms and Conditions. Participants are advised to print and keep safe these Terms and Conditions.
The full terms and conditions are available here. But let’s move on.
To me, the R40 000 is miniscule when considering the potential of a brilliant local FB app. IT feels like the website is asking brilliant SA developers to write these apps. Then host them with Mentez and negotiate a contract regarding the app thereafter. Hmmm… and who owns the app? The competition winner? The writer of the app? The company, Mentez, who?
15. For the applications that are selected to pass to the development phase of the contest, the participants will have to sign a development, hosting and monetization agreement with Mentez.com. This agreement is readily available for your review and is required to qualify for the second stage of the contest.
Then it seems that if you are unhappy with the outcome of the event you are not allowed to say anything:
22. Participants must not act in any way or fail to act in any way or be associated with any cause or group which would have a negative impact on the reputation of Mentez, the Contest or the Judges.
What happened to freedom of speech? We’ve seen this before on the local scene with the podcast competition earlier this year and others. Now can these competition people stop taking us for accepting, naive bafoons and realise that if we are going to make FB apps, we want the glory, which probably equals more than R40 000 if the app is great. Just my thoughts.
I invite Mentez.com to email me and let me know their thoughts and clearly explain the terms and conditions. I am intererested to focus on the questions of hosting the app, ownership and profit share specifically.
What do you think?
Well for R40,000 I have already submitted my idea for the comp…
Yes, but will you own your idea if you win?? That’s my question? Is R40 000 enough to sell you brilliant ideas for?
It’s a valid point and I do see the issues with this damn thing but I have to say I need the cash so it’s worth giving my idea away.
R40k is nothing to laugh about but the flip side is if you don’t win you lose the idea and you get nothing for it.
Your point is valid. Let me explain our intention:
We want to promote the development of applications for social networks in SA. We know the potential of the people in SA and we are sure there will be great applications. Our value is to help the developers to make this application global and monetise it. We have experience and resources to do it. The developer will own the intellectual property of the application. I want to make this clear!
We will host the application, protect the Intellectual Property and find ways to monetise the applications. The developer will get 50% of all money we can create from their applications.
There is an agreement to rule all these conditions. We will modify our site during this week as to sign the agreement is not mandatory to be part of the contest. We will sign the agreements with the developers that see value in Mentez and want to leverage from our experience, resources and global presence.
Thanks,
You have to admit its a brilliant idea. For two months worth of a web developer’s salary they get hundreds of ideas to sift through. Should any of them look like moneyspinners, they get them developed still within the two month salary, and they get to make 50% of all the profits.
Keeping the IP just means that they won’t reverse engineer the app and put up their own.
Lets have more of these competitions please! It must be cheaper than coming up with and developing ideas inhouse.
I’ve sent in my idea for the what-I-had-for-breakfast application already.