CANNIBALS? THIEVES? WHO OWNS AN IDEA? JOIN THE DISCUSSION

So who is stealing from whom? We fret over competitors stealing our ideas or snatching vendors. But that's a distraction. Here is the real problem, and I will quote directly from an RFP so you'll know the villain. Let me set the stage.

XYZ Corporation sent us an RFP that involved the following:

-General Sessions
-Welcome Reception
-Team Building
-Break-Out Rooms
-Tours and Transportation
-Off-Site Dinner
-Gala Awards and Ceremony
-Dance Party with Interactive Experiences
-And more

The project would be awarded based on creativity and costs. All subcontractors were to be named, their roles defined, and contacts submitted. The program was to be designed in three different locations (two of them international) with renderings, photographs, videos, floor plans, and fully detailed budgets. With all costs transparent.

The RFP required that we agree to the following:

"Ownership of Proposal Documentation: All proposals (and related materials), once submitted, become the property of XYZ Corporation. By submitting a proposal, The Provider licenses Corporation to reproduce the whole or any portion of this Provider's proposal."

In effect, to do this correctly could easily have cost us $20,000 or more in time and work product. Now get this. All the work we did and all the vendors we secured would be owned by XYZ Corporation and either shared with the winning bidder or are executed by XYZ themselves.

So, in my opinion the only reason I would ever worry about a competitors would be if XYZ shared my proposal and all of its inclusions with that competitor and asked them to reproduce it. I know that if I were asked to do this I would run like the wind to get away from that client. But a lot of companies don't. They are so dazzled by the big bucks (yes, this program for 900 people for five days and four nights ran into the millions) that they forget that they are agreeing to theft. Yes, THEFT, THIEVERY. Who has the right to own our ideas, our drawings, our list of vendors?

We spend countless hours securing relationships with partners who trust us. Our Rolodex has taken years to develop. Do we want to give all of this away?

The best news is that XYZ Corporation has been honest. They have told us (and this is the part that could be considered "ethical") that they are going to do this and if we respond to the RFP we are agreeing to it. Not all companies are so forthcoming.

It's a good reminder to always read the small print and understand what you are signing off.

With all this in mind, I need your help. What do you do to prevent this from happening? I would never agree to it. How about you?

Andrea Michaels is the founder and president of Extraordinary Events, an international, multi-award-winning event agency based in Los Angeles. She is the author of Reflections of a Successful Wallflower - Lessons in Business; Lesson in Life. She may be reached via amichaels@extraordinaryevents.com.