Startup Weekend-like events and intellectual property rights
Events such as Startup Weekend or TechCrunch Hackathon are becoming more popular among startup folks.
The idea is simple. People with different skills meet, join teams and work together on an idea for 48 hours (or more).
Usually, it's something they brainstormed on the spot but sometimes people come to these events with their existing product idea, often a startup they've been working on for some time.
What does it have to do with IP?
The details may vary based on where you live but basically, everyone involved in a project gets some level of intellectual property rights and ownership to the project as a whole.
You just got yourself a new co-founder(s). Congratulations!
Where it gets tricky is the days and weeks after the event. More often than not, these kind of "we just met, let's build a company" relationships don't last. People lose interest and move on. Some people can't keep up and have to leave.
However, they still get to keep their IP rights, unless ...
How to deal with IP issues?
Actually, it's quite simple. Have everyone sign an prenup agreement, where you outline who owns what and prepare for all kinds of "what happens if" type of situations - prior the event. Or don't attend :-)
Make sure you don't miss Mark Suster's This Week in Venture Capital where this topic gets discussed in detail and Mark offers some suggestions of his own.
