Terms and Conditions

1.1. This competition is organized and administered by the James Dyson Foundation, a charity registered in England and Wales under number 1099709 (the “JDF”).

1.2. These terms and conditions govern entrants’ participation in the competition known as the James Dyson Award (the “JDA”).

1.3. By participating in and submitting an Entry (as defined below) to the JDA, all entrants agree to be bound by these terms and conditions in full.

1.4. Entry into the JDA is prohibited for employees (and their families) of the Dyson group of companies and/or the JDF.

1.5. The JDF reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or suspend the JDA should causes beyond its control interfere with the administration of or proper participation in the JDA.

1.6. The JDF assumes no responsibility for postal, technical or natural conditions that prevent the reception and/or judging of an Entry.

1.7. These terms and conditions shall in all respects be governed by English law. The parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in respect of all disputes (whether contractual or non-contractual) arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions or the JDA.  

1.8. The JDF reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time without notice by publishing updated terms and conditions at www.jamesdysonaward.org (the “Website”).

1.9. Where these terms are provided in a language other than English, in the event of any conflict or inconsistency the English version of these terms shall apply. 

2.1. Subject to clause 2.2, in order to be eligible to enter the JDA all entrants must, on the date on which their Entry is submitted, be at least 18 years of age and either: 

2.1.1. be enrolled on an undergraduate/bachelor or postgraduate course of study in either engineering, design or a related discipline (and have been enrolled on such course of study for at least one semester), at an institution situated in the Eligible Country (as defined below) in respect of which their Entry is submitted; or

2.1.2. have graduated from an undergraduate/bachelor or postgraduate course of study in either engineering, design or a related discipline at an institution situated in the Eligible Country in respect of which their Entry is submitted within the preceding four years

2.2. In the case of team Entries, on the date on which their Entry is submitted all team members must be at least 18 years of age and at least one team member must fulfill the eligibility criteria set out in clause 2.1 for the team to be eligible to enter the JDA. All other team members must, on such date, be university-level students, or have graduated within the preceding four years from a course of study in any discipline at an institution in the Eligible Country in respect of which their Entry is submitted. Team entries are restricted to a maximum of 10 members.   

2.3. All entrants shall, on reasonable request by the JDF, promptly provide written evidence that they meet the eligibility criteria set out in this clause 2. Without prejudice to any other right or remedy which the JDF may have, in the event that an entrant is unable to provide such evidence to the JDF’s reasonable satisfaction, or if it otherwise comes to the JDF’s notice that an entrant does not meet the eligibility criteria, the JDF shall be entitled (at its discretion) to:

2.3.1. reject an Entry; 

2.3.2. terminate an entrant’s (or that entrant’s team’s) participation in the JDA; 

2.3.3. refuse to award a prize to an entrant (or that entrant’s team); or

2.3.4. require the repayment forthwith of any monetary prize awarded to an entrant (or that entrant’s team).  

2.4. For the purposes of clause 2.3, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the JDF, the following documents shall be considered to be appropriate evidence that entrants meet the eligibility criteria (in .doc, .pdf or .jpeg format):

2.4.1. a copy of a signed letter from the entrant’s tutor or lecturer stating they attend a particular course within a particular university;

2.4.2. a copy of the entrant’s degree certificate;

2.4.3. a copy of a signed letter from the entrant’s educational institution to the JDF confirming the entrant’s place and degree title;

2.5. The countries in which the JDA is operated by the JDF (each an “Eligible Country”) are set out on the Website. The list of Eligible Countries may be updated from time to time by the JDF at its discretion.

3.1. In order to enter the JDA, entrants shall upload a profile of their invention (“Invention”) to the Website (an “Entry”). Entrants should seek to ensure that their Entry includes as a minimum:

3.1.1. the name of the Invention, which will appear on all communication and media coverage concerning the Invention;

3.1.2. a succinct description (no longer than 200 words) of the Invention, outlining its principal purpose and function, which should describe the problem solved and how the Invention does this; 

3.1.3. an explanation of the inspiration behind the Invention, along with the entrant’s personal motivation;

3.1.4. an explanation of how the Inventions works;

3.1.5. an explanation of the development process that the entrant/team took to develop the Invention;

3.1.6. an explanation of the Invention’s novelty, including an explanation of how it is different to other products already on the market;

3.1.7. an explanation of future plans for the Invention, including further design development;

3.1.8. low resolution images including (without limitation):

3.1.8.1. sketches;

3.1.8.2. plans;

3.1.8.3. 3D models or prototypes; and

3.1.8.4. photo-realistic 3D CAD renderings (optional); and

3.1.9. one high res (300dpi) image of the Invention on a white background.

3.2. Entrants shall endeavor to also provide a video of the concept or prototype in action.

3.3. Entrants shall submit all written elements of an Entry in the English language. A version of the Entry in the Entrant’s mother tongue may also be submitted. 

3.4. Entrants may submit Entries for as many Inventions as they wish, but may not submit more than one Entry per Invention. 

3.5. The JDF will not accept Entries which include profanity, pornography, indecent images or references or which infringe the rights of third parties (including without limitation intellectual property rights). The JDF reserves the right to reject any Entry it considers (acting reasonably) to be incomplete or to contain inappropriate content, or which is not submitted with a sufficiently good standard of English.

3.6. By entering the JDA, the entrant accepts that the Entry (including all materials described in clause 3.1 and 3.2) will be made publicly available and will be capable of being shared by members of the general public across any and all media channels including the Internet. Subject to clause 3.7, the entrant further accepts that the JDF has no duty of confidence to the entrant regarding the Entry. 

3.7. The JDF shall keep all entrants’ contact details confidential and shall not disclose them to third parties without the written consent of the entrant. Entrants accept that they are responsible for ensuring that their Entry does not contain contact details or other personally identifiable information and the JDF shall have no liability in the event of the entrant’s failure in this regard.

3.8. Entrants shall, on the JDF’s reasonable request, make materials regarding the Invention (including without limitation models and prototypes) for exhibition and display purposes. The JDF shall cover the cost of transporting such materials to and from desired locations and shall insure items against loss and damage. All items will be returned to the owner once any publicity and promotional activity surrounding the JDA and future awards has finished.

3.9. The JDF reserves the right (at its sole discretion) to contact entrants to request amendments and/or additional information following submission of an Entry to ensure that such Entry meets the minimum requirements set out in clause 3.1.  

4.1. The Website will open for entries from 6 March 2024 and close on 17 July 2024 at 11.59 PST. The JDF is not responsible for and will not accept any Entry received after this time.

4.2. During July 2024 a panel of local judges in each region will select up to three inventions from each Eligible country which they consider to be the best. The JDF shall ensure that the judges will be academics or professionals with design acumen and that Inventions will be judged purely on their merits and quality. For the avoidance of doubt, the JDF reserves the right not to select a “National Winner” from entries submitted to an Eligible Country in the event that the competition does not reveal suitable winners. The decision as to whether there are suitable winners for each Eligible Country is at the discretion of the JDF trustees. If there are no suitable winners, the prize money as set out in clause 4.11.1 shall not be awarded.

4.3. The JDF shall ensure that, subject to clause 3.7, contact details of entrants will not be available to judges. A total of up to 90 Inventions will be selected by the local judging panels (consisting of up to three Inventions from each Eligible Country) (the “Shortlist”). The Shortlist will go through to a second round of judging. Each panel of local judges will also select one Invention from the Shortlist as the “national winner” from each Eligible Country.

4.4. During the second round, the Shortlist will be further scrutinized by an industry panel comprising experienced engineers from the Dyson group of companies, who will reduce the shortlist to the Inventions which they consider to be the best 20 (the “Final Shortlist”). The JDF shall ensure that the Final Shortlist will be selected purely on the merits of how well they respond to the brief – there will not necessarily be one entry selected from each Eligible Country.

4.5. The JDF trustees will select, at their discretion, the international JDA winner as well as any international JDA runner-up from the Final Shortlist. For the avoidance of doubt, the JDF reserves the right to award more than one international JDA winner in any one year and the right not to select an international JDA runner-up or runners-up if the competition does not reveal suitable runners-up. The decision as to the number of winners and as to whether there are one or more suitable runners-up is at the discretion of the JDF trustees. If there is more than one winner or runner-up, then the prize money as set out in clause 4.8 or 4.9 shall be shared equally between the winners or runners-up as applicable, unless the JDF trustees decide to award additional prize money in any one year. If there is no suitable runner-up or runners-up the prize money as set out in clause 4.9.1 shall not be awarded.

4.6. As of 2020 the JDF trustees, at their discretion, will choose the sustainability winner. This will be the best entry that addresses a sustainability issue or has incorporated sustainability into the design process, materials or manufacturing. For the avoidance of doubt, the JDF reserve the right not to award the sustainability award in the event that the competition does not reveal a suitable winner. The decision as to whether there is a suitable winner is at the discretion of the JDF trustees. If there is no suitable winner then the sustainability award prize money as set out in clause 4.10.1 shall not be awarded.

4.7. The international winner, runners up and sustainability winner will be announced in November 2024. 

4.8. The prize for the international JDA winner is:

4.8.1. £30,000 for the winning individual or team; 

4.8.2. a James Dyson Award Certificate.

4.9. The international JDA runners-up will receive:

4.9.1. £5000 to the entrant (or as applicable the team); and

4.9.2. a James Dyson Award Certificate.

4.10. The prize for the sustainability winner is:  

4.10.1. £30,000 for the winning individual or team.  

4.11. Subject to approval by the JDF trustees the national winner from each Eligible Country will receive:

4.11.1. £5000 to the entrant (or as applicable the team); and

4.11.2. a James Dyson Award Certificate.

4.12. All monetary prizes shall be payable in the entrants’ local currency at the exchange rate applicable on the day on which the winner of the relevant prize is announced. The JDF shall pay (or shall procure the payment of) all applicable amounts into the bank account(s) nominated by the winner within 60 days of the international winner announcement in November 2024.  The JDF is not responsible to pay for any deductions to the prize money as a result of a local country or region’s tax regulations. Where a monetary prize is payable to a team, the JDF will pay the amount due into the nominated bank account and will have no responsibility for dividing such amount between team members. 

4.13. In the event that the winner refuses the prize the JDF will decide (at its discretion) how the prize money will be distributed (if at all) and the winner will not have any rights in respect of the prize money or its distribution. 

4.14. All entrants accept: 

4.14.1. the JDF has no involvement in or influence over the judging process of Inventions; and

4.14.2. the judges’ decisions as final and binding, and no further correspondence or discussion will be entered into.

5.1. The JDA is not responsible for obtaining or verifying any intellectual property rights relating to an Invention. It is the responsibility of the entrant(s) to secure protection for an Invention which is being entered before submission of the relevant Entry. Proof of any patents, design applications or registrations, trademark applications or registrations, other rights, permissions or applications should be referred to in the Entry.

5.2. By submitting an Entry, each entrant confirms that they are the owner or licensee of all appropriate intellectual property (and moral rights) in the Invention. 

5.3. The entrant shall fully indemnify, keep indemnified and hold harmless the JDF and the Dyson Group of companies against all costs, expenses (including legal expenses), damages, losses or liabilities suffered or incurred by the JDF and/or the Dyson group of companies (howsoever arising) as a result (directly or indirectly) of the entrant’s infringement of the intellectual property rights of a third party. For the avoidance of doubt, where the relevant Entry is submitted by a team, the liability of each team member under this clause shall be joint and several. 

5.4. Subject to clause 5.4, each entrant hereby grants the JDF a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual and royalty-free license (with right to sub-license) to use, display, publish, disseminate and adapt the materials submitted in an Entry for the purposes of advertising or promoting the JDA and/or the JDF.

5.5. All intellectual property rights in the Invention shall at all times remain (as between the parties) the property of the entrant(s). Nothing in these terms and conditions or an entrant’s participation in the JDA shall operate to assign or license any intellectual property rights in the Invention to the JDF or any third party (including without limitation the Dyson group of companies).

6.1. Nothing in these terms and conditions shall be deemed to limit or exclude the liability of any party for death or personal injury caused by that party’s negligence, fraud, or any other liability which cannot by law be validly limited or excluded. 

6.2. Subject to clause 6.1, the JDF shall have no liability (howsoever arising) for any indirect or consequential loss or damage. 

6.3. Without prejudice to any other right or remedy which it may have, the JDF shall be entitled, on written notice, to terminate the participation of an entrant (or their team) in the JDA for breach of these terms and conditions or for bringing into disrepute the JDF and/or the Dyson group of companies. 

6.4. An entrant may at any time withdraw an Entry from the JDA on written notice to the JDF. When an Entry has been submitted by a team, an Entry shall not be deemed to be withdrawn unless and until each team member has notified the JDF of this in writing.

7.1. By submitting an Entry, entrants expressly authorize the JDF to use personal data collected during the registration process for the purposes of administering the JDA. The JDF shall collect, store, use, handle and process entrants’ personal data in accordance with its privacy policy (available on the Website) and all applicable laws and regulations. Entrants shall be entitled at any time to access or amend their personal data held by the JDF by the means of an e-mail or letter addressed to the JDF.

7.2. The JDF will not pass on the entrant’s personal data to third parties without the entrant’s prior written consent.

8.1. All entrants agree to take part, on the JDF’s reasonable written request, in any publicity or promotional activity surrounding the JDA and future awards in any Eligible Countries. The JDF shall meet the costs of entrants’ transport and accommodation and will reimburse (subject to the provision of reasonable evidence) all reasonable expenses incurred by entrants as a result of participating in such activities.