Betacup

Starbucks, Core77, Jovoto, and Denuo are a few companies sponsoring Betacup, a competition to solve the disposable paper coffee cup problem. This recycling effort aims to make paper coffee cups completely recycled. $20k will be awarded to the winning solution. The contest is different than others because of the fact that all ideas will be open to the public to ad comments and suggestions, kind of like a blog. Although I understand the possible appeal of this plan, I don't think the competition is designed very well. This open posting feature might deter serious innovators to publicly disclose their ideas in fear of it being ripped off. Intellectual property rights are very valuable and publicly disclosing your great ideas is not always prudent. Watch the video here.