Your agreement to the following Terms & Conditions is a prerequisite for the successful registration and submission of an Application to this Competition. The Team agrees to be bound by the following:
1. Competition Outline & Eligibility
1.1. TERMIS Global Business Plan Competition (TERMIS Global BPC, the “Competition”) is an initiative of TERMIS Global BPC & PAP Committee (the “Organiser”). This is a sub-committee of TERMIS-EU Industry Committee, which in turn is a sub-committee of TERMIS-EU (TERMIS European Chapter), which in turn is a regional chapter of TERMIS (Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society).
1.2. The Organiser welcomes submissions from groups (the “Team”) of one to five young investigators (the “Team Members”). The Competition is open to Team Members from, residing in or working in any country. Every Team Member must be enrolled on an undergraduate or postgraduate degree programme or employed as a postdoctoral researcher at a university or equivalent institution. Team Members who are enrolled/employed at such an institution at the time of the Round 1 Application, but graduate before the date of the Final Competition, are eligible to participate in the Competition. Proof of study/employment may be requested by the Organiser.
1.3. Competition submissions consist of three “Rounds”, which are separately and jointly termed the “Application”. The Rounds are summarised below:
1.3.1. “Round 1” (Preliminary Screening): executive written business plan summary submitted via online form at www.termisbpc.org/apply, open to anyone eligible;
1.3.2. “Round 2” (Project Development): comprehensive written ten-page business plan and two-minute video pitch, open to the top ten invited Teams from Round 1;
1.3.3. “Round 3” (Final Competition): oral pitch with presentation slideshow at Final Competition at Conference, open to the top five invited Teams from Round 2 (refer to Section 1.4).
1.4. Round 3, the final round of the Competition, (the “Final Competition”), and the networking event (the “Networking Dinner”) are hosted at the annual TERMIS Global Conference (the “Conference”). Upon submission of an Application at Round 2, at least one Team Member from each Team must commit to attending the Final Competition to present their business plan. This includes a commitment to make payment of at least one Conference registration fee (early-bird student, young investigator or regular rate) by the specified conference deadline and to cover the travel expenses of any Team Members attending the Conference. All Teams invited to participate in the Final Competition are offered a complementary ticket to attend the Networking Dinner.
1.5. The Application must describe a novel, real-world breakthrough, invention or innovation with potential commercial opportunities, based on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) treatment solutions and/or associated devices for the diagnosis, manufacturing, delivery and/or monitoring of those treatments, including products or services. The idea must belong to the Team and the Team must have freedom-to-operate with the developed technology. The Application must not describe a fictitious business idea, or be based on imaginary science or technology.
1.6. Applications are evaluated by a panel of “Judges” at each round. Teams are advised and guided by two experienced “Mentors” chosen by the Organiser during the preparation of Round 2 Applications. The top three Teams, as selected by the Judges at the Final Competition, will be awarded cash prizes to help them develop their business ideas. The values of the cash prizes will be announced prior to the Final Competition.
1.7. A Team is not required to have registered a company. A Team is allowed to participate if it has officially registered a company concerning the topic of their business plan no more than two years before the date of the Round 1 Application deadline, in which case proof of the date of registration must be provided during the Round 1 Application process. A Team is not eligible to participate if it has registered a company concerning the topic of their Application more than two years prior to the Round 1 Application deadline.
1.8. Where know-how or intellectual property (IP) exists that underpins the proposed plan, a Team must either own, or have secured permission to exercise any IP rights prior to applying to the Competition.
1.9. Any individual may participate as a Team Member in up to two different Teams, with different Applications concerning different technologies. A Team may contain up to two Team Members that are also members of other Team(s). Each Team is limited to only one Application per year. Each Team can only receive one Award.
1.10. Unregistered individuals and those who do not meet our eligibility requirements are not eligible to participate in the Competition or receive awards. This includes senior academics involved in the research, such as collaborators or principal investigators in more senior positions than that of postdoctoral researcher.
1.11. The Organiser retains the right to refuse entry to the Competition at its sole discretion and a Team may be disqualified if the Organiser, at its sole discretion, considers in its opinion that a Team or any individual Team Member violates the rules or the spirit of the Competition.
2. Privacy & Usage
2.1. The Organiser endeavours to respect the privacy of Team Members by only collecting personal information required to process Applications, such as relevant biographical and contact information.
2.2. By submitting a Competition Application, all Team Members grant the Organiser the right to contact them regarding such including, but not limited to: updates or progress with regards to Applications, the Competition in general, TERMIS Global Pre-Accelerator Programme, TERMIS and its events and issues in general, other news and marketing that the Organiser deems relevant, or to request your support and feedback.
2.3. By submitting a Competition Application, all Team Members grant the Organiser the right to distribute the aforementioned personal and contact information to third parties that the Organiser deems appropriate for the successful handling and evaluation of the Application, including, but not limited to Mentors and Judges.
2.4. The Organiser may collect certain anonymous (non-personally identifiable) information to help improve the TERMIS Global BPC website and evaluate the access and use of the materials, including but not limited to cookies and web analytics tools.
2.5. Should a Team choose to withdraw an Application, or should an individual Team Member choose to withdraw from participating in the Competition, the Organiser will remove the personal and contact information of the corresponding Team Member(s) from its formal records, upon request, as best as is reasonably possible. The Organiser cannot, however, be held responsible for ensuring that any Mentors or Judges remove any Team Member(s) personal or contact information held in their personal files. Any Team or Team Member that has withdrawn from the Competition will no longer be eligible to participate in any portion of the Competition within the same Competition year.
3. Application & Submissions
3.1. Each Team must designate a “Team Representative”, who will be the main contact person responsible for Applications and other communication with the Organiser.
3.2. The submission of an Application by the Team Representative constitutes acknowledgment and acceptance of the Terms & Conditions in this document by the Team Representative on behalf of the Team, all Team Members and the principal investigator of the research.
3.3. Applications and relevant content must be submitted by the deadlines as communicated by the Organiser and the Organiser’s official website. Submissions and content received after these deadlines will not qualify for the Competition. The Organiser reserves the right to reject Applications received after the relevant deadlines and Applications that have not been properly completed.
3.4. The deadlines for Application submission at any Round, as well as any information provided by the Organiser relating to dates concerning the introduction of Teams to Mentors, evaluation of Applications by Judges, selection of winners at any Round of the Competition and announcement of the winning teams are subject to change at the sole discretion of the Organiser. Team Representatives will be notified of any changes to these dates in writing, via the email address of the Team Representative provided during the Round 1 Application.
3.5. During Round 1 Application submission, the Team Representative must complete the online Application at www.termisbpc.org/apply by the specified deadline, in which they must indicate that they have read and agree to the Terms & Conditions, available at www.termisbpc.org/terms, on behalf of all Team Members. This includes a commitment to register at least one Team Member for Conference attendance by the relevant deadline.
3.5.1. Round 1 submissions will be evaluated and the Team Representative of each Team will be notified about whether the Team has been successful or not in proceeding to Round 2 by email. Each Team Representative should ensure that [email protected] is on their list of approved senders, to prevent the confirmation email being filtered as junk mail.
3.6. During Round 2 Application submission, the Team Representative must send a completed template containing a full business plan and video pitch via email to [email protected] by the specified deadline.
3.6.1. Prior to Round 2 evaluation, the Organiser will check with the Conference organiser to ensure that at least one Team Member from each Team has registered to attend the Conference.
3.6.2. Round 2 submissions will be evaluated and the Team Representative of each Team will be notified about whether the Team has been successful or not in proceeding to Round 3 by email.
3.7. Prior to the Final Competition, the Team Representative must send presentation slides via email to [email protected] by the specified deadline.
4. Confidentiality
4.1. Members of the Organiser (sub-)committee, Mentors, Judges and Advisers (collectively termed “Officials”) are voluntary and unremunerated contributors to the Competition. Officials act in their own capacity and not on behalf of TERMIS or any sub-group or committee of the TERMIS umbrella organisation.
4.2. All Team Members acknowledge that in an open Competition such as TERMIS Global BPC, it is difficult to maintain confidentiality whilst at the same time enabling ideas to be shared and developed by Teams with Officials that advise and support them. Team Members understand that Officials will take reasonable steps to keep details of Applications confidential, subject to the need to share and circulate information as necessary to facilitate the smooth running of the Competition.
4.3. Officials agree and undertake (the “Undertaking”) to uphold reasonably a duty of confidentiality towards any confidential information received during the Competition. For the avoidance of doubt, all liability for breach of confidentiality is the responsibility of each individual Official. Team Members should therefore be aware that, whilst the Undertaking binds individual Officials to “respect the confidentiality of any Confidential Information disclosed” by Teams in the Competition, this clause and the Undertaking provide minimal protection in law.
5. Liability
5.1. Teams acknowledge that Officials are volunteers, assisting with a free competition, and have no duty to provide any advice or service to any Team or Team Member. In particular, but without limitation, any views expressed by Officials are their own opinions, given in good faith, and not those of the Organiser, TERMIS and any of its sub-committees, other Officials or any other person or entity. Mentoring is provided as an aid to product development within the context of the Competition, and is not a substitute for professional advice necessary to develop any idea into a commercial venture.
5.2. Teams acknowledge and agree that legal protection of the IP rights mentioned in Applications at all rounds or in any other capacity, both in writing and verbal, is the sole responsibility of the Team. In consequence, Teams understand and agree that, save in relation to personal injury or death caused by negligence or in respect of fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation:
5.2.1. No warranties are made in relation to the Competition or views expressed by or conduct of Officials;
5.2.2. Neither Officials nor the Organiser, TERMIS and any of its sub-committees or other Officials shall be liable for any damages or expenses of whatsoever nature and howsoever arising (and whether in contract, tort, negligence or for breach of statutory duty or misrepresentation) in connection with an Application, the Competition or views given by Officials, including without limitation any indirect, incidental or consequential loss.
6. Disclosure of Intellectual Property for Application
6.1. Since IP status is critical to a Team’s success, the Organiser reserves the right to request an official statement from the institution(s) or employer(s) of any Team Members or any other relevant organisation(s) holding rights to IP connected with the Team’s business idea confirming the Team’s IP rights during Round 2.
6.2. Participation in the Competition signifies public disclosure and may impact the Team’s future ability to protect its innovation. Teams are strongly advised not to disclose any information that may compromise their ability to secure protection of their IP, since such information may become available to Officials and spectators of the Final Competition. We encourage you to consider carefully the degree of detail disclosed in advance of any disclosure, so as not to jeopardise any future prospects, and we recommend seeking professional advice.
6.3. We further encourage all Teams to discuss their Applications with their employer(s) or university technology transfer office(s) regarding their respective IP policy. All Applications and presentations (including verbal and written material) made as part of the Competition should be made with full understanding of each Team Member’s institution’s regulations on IP rights.
6.4. It is the responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that no third party, such as a research sponsor or another member of your Institution who participated in your research, has any rights on the contents which may prevent its disclosure and exploitation. Any such proprietary information relating to the idea should not be disclosed.
7. Intellectual Property
7.1. Teams retain their IP rights regarding their proposed idea, pending other agreements entered into voluntarily. However, all applicants agree to allow the Organiser to use the following aspects of their application for marketing purposes: Team Name, Team Description, Team Logo, One Line Pitch and Non-Confidential Idea Description.
7.2. TERMIS and all of its subcommittees, including the Organiser, bear no responsibility and offer no guarantee about the protection of proprietary or confidential information provided by Teams.
7.3. The protection of IP or other rights of the Teams and Team Members is the ultimate responsibility the Team Member in who possesses such IP or other rights. If in doubt, Applicants should seek professional advice on the issues surrounding IP ownership and rights.
7.4. In particular, Teams should consider their goals for their product development, the underlying “invention” and whether it is in the Team’s interest to patent the technology or seek other appropriate forms of IP, such as trade secrets or know-how. It will be fundamentally important to the Team’s commercial viability to clarify all who own any IP in connection to the technology, how or whether IP rights will be shared and whom is responsible for seeking and maintaining that protection. Effective management of the IP is important to the success of the idea and the Organiser encourages the Team to seek professional advice.
8. Awarding of Prizes
8.1. The decision of the judges is final. The opinion of the judges is their own and represents no one else’s. The judges act in their personal capacity and not on behalf of their company or employer. TERMIS Global BPC retains the right to, at any time and not withstanding any prior written or oral understanding, grant, suspend, deny or withdraw the Competition award(s) from any Applicant.
8.2. Three Teams will be selected from among the finalists and ranked Gold, Silver or Bronze award winners (cash prizes subject to announcement).
8.3. Teams that are selected for Round 2 and Round 3 but do not win one of the top three awards will receive an Honourable Mention.
9. Creative Commons License
9.1. To the extent, Teams post or upload content onto the TERMIS Global BPC website Teams hereby license, and give consent for, any and all users of the TERMIS Global BPC website, including without limitation for TERMIS, to copy, reproduce, display, distribute, and make derivative works of, such content.
Teams are free:
9.1.1. To Share – to copy, distribute, and display TERMIS Global BPC content
9.1.2. To Remix – to make derivative works
Under the following conditions:
9.1.3. Attribution – You must attribute the work to the appropriate user or team and to its origination from the TERMIS Global BPC website and include a link to the URL.
9.1.4. Non-commercial –You may not use work for commercial purposes.
9.1.5. Share alike –If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
9.2. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this page.
9.3. Apart from the remix rights granted under this license, nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights.
9.4. Your fair use and other rights are in no way affected by the above.
10.Use of TERMIS-EU Names
10.1. The name “TERMIS”, “TERMIS-EU”, “TERMIS Global” and all other TERMIS name and logo and seal are trademarks of the TERMIS organisation.
10.2. Except for the purposes of attribution as required by the Creative Commons License, Team Members may not use the TERMIS names or logos, or any variations thereof, without prior written consent.
10.3. Team Members may not use TERMIS’s names in any of their forms nor seals or logos for promotional purposes, or in any way that deliberately or inadvertently claims, suggests, or in the Organiser’s, respective, sole judgment gives the appearance or impression of a relationship with or endorsement by TERMIS, including TERMIS Global and/or the Organiser.
11.Interpretation of “Non-commercial”
11.1. Non-commercial use means that users may not sell, profit from, or commercialise TERMIS materials or works derived from them. The guidelines below are intended to help users determine whether or not their use of TERMIS materials would be permitted under the “non-commercial” restriction. Note that there are additional requirements (attribution and share-alike) outlined within the license terms.
11.2. Commercialisation is prohibited. Users may not directly sell or profit from TERMIS materials or from works derived from related materials. For example: A commercial education or training business may not offer courses based on TERMIS materials if students pay a fee for those courses and the business intends to profit as a result.
11.3. Determination of commercial vs. non-commercial purpose is based on the use, not the user. Materials may be used by individuals, institutions, governments, corporations, or other business whether for-profit or non-profit so long as the use itself is not a commercialisation of the materials or a use that is directly intended to generate sales or profit.
11.4. Incidental charges to recover reasonable reproduction costs may be permitted. Recovery of nominal actual costs for copying small amounts (under 1000 copies) of Organiser content on paper, CDs or other portable storage devices is allowed for educational purposes so long as there is no profit motive and so long as the intended use of the copies is in compliance with all license terms. Purchasers must be informed that the materials are freely available on the TERMIS-EU BPC & PAP website and that their purchase of copied materials is optional.
11.5. For any questions about the acceptable use of TERMIS materials, please email [email protected]
In conclusion, by registering for the TERMIS Global BPC you voluntarily agree with the terms of this policy and to use the information on the site only for the purposes and aims of the Competition.
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Version dated, 20th May 2018 (v9)