Hackathon agreement
Hackathon agreement for team members: who owns the code, how prize money is split, employer non-competes and forming a company. Fill in, sign and download.
Sections of the template
Parties
- Team members. Write the names of all members. The agreement binds only those who sign it, so anyone who joins later signs it before starting work.
Background
- No background. When everything is made at the event. Some hackathons ban code written in advance altogether.
- Background is listed. List everything, so it is clear later what belongs to whom. The event rules may require pre-existing code to be declared in the submission. A copyleft licence (such as GPL) may require you to publish your own code as well.
Foreground
- Joint ownership in equal shares. The most common choice. Without an agreement, the copyright in a work created together belongs to its authors jointly (Finnish Copyright Act, section 6), and no one’s right to use the work is clear. Written consent prevents solo decisions.
- One member owns it. When the idea belongs to one member who continues it, for example in their own company. Agree then what the others get for their work. Check the event rules: some hackathons exclude projects related to an existing company.
- Open source. When the aim is learning or visibility rather than a company. The licence of code already published cannot be withdrawn.
Employers, non-competes and confidentiality
- Each member’s obligations are respected. During employment, an employee may not engage in competing activity that manifestly harms the employer (Finnish Employment Contracts Act, chapter 3, section 3) or use the employer’s trade secrets (chapter 3, section 4). If an invention falls within the employer’s field of business and has some connection to the employment, the employer may obtain a right to use it even if it was not made in the course of work duties. If there is no connection to the employment, the employer only has a preferential right to agree on the invention (Employee Inventions Act 656/1967, section 4). A computer program passes to the employer only if it was created in the course of work duties (Finnish Copyright Act, section 40 b).
Event and challenge terms
- Event terms come first. For example, under the Junction 2026 terms a partner may set its own intellectual property terms for a challenge, which override the general terms, and may test a submission for judging for up to 7 days after the event.
Prizes
- Equal split. Event terms usually leave the taxes on a prize to the winner, for example section 5.5 of the Junction 2026 terms. If the event pays each member directly, no payout is needed.
After the event
- A majority may form a company. Suits a team that may want to start a company. It is too early to agree on vesting numbers now. The signing deadline stops one member from blocking the company, and a standard model as the starting point stops the majority from dictating unreasonable terms. In a team of four, a 2–2 split means no company is formed.
Member leaving during the event
- Share stays with the team. Encourages everyone to stay until the end and keeps the work available to the team.
Decisions
- Majority decides. Speeds up decisions when time is short. The biggest matters still need everyone’s consent.
Confidentiality
- Until continuing is decided. Protects the idea if the team is considering a company. The confidentiality terms of the event and the challenge providers apply as well.
Publicity and code repository
- Code is private. The safest choice if the team may want to continue as a company. Hackathons often require access to the source code for judging, but it usually need not be public.
- Code is public. Visibility and portfolio. Public code without a licence gives no one else the right to use it, but the idea and the implementation are visible to all.
Costs and data
- Own costs paid by each, shared costs split. Prevents disputes over small bills. For example, the Junction 2026 terms require that credentials given for judging do not give access to personal data.
Breach
- Notice and remedy. Without this clause, a breach leads only to damages, and the amount of damage is hard to prove. For copyright infringement, reasonable compensation can also be claimed (Finnish Copyright Act, section 57). The template has no contractual penalty, because it would feel heavy in a light team agreement.
Liability and term
- No partnership, limited liability. Makes clear that the members are not business partners and are not liable for each other’s commitments. The limitation keeps the risks small for an event that lasts a few days.
Governing law and disputes
- Finnish law, negotiation first. Negotiation is the cheapest and quickest way to settle a disagreement.
Signatures
- One copy each. Sign before you start coding. A PDF signed electronically in the team’s shared channel is enough.
Hackathon agreement: what to agree before you start coding
The copyright in work created together belongs to its authors jointly (Finnish Copyright Act, section 6), unless the event’s terms or an agreement say otherwise. Without an agreement, a single member can later block further development or dispute how a prize is split. Sign a light team agreement before coding starts. If the team forms a company, make a proper shareholders’ agreement.
- Read the event’s terms. Under the Junction 2026 terms, for example, work created at the event belongs to the participant or their employer (section 7.1). A partner may set its own intellectual property terms for a challenge, which override the general terms (7.3), and the organiser and partners may use the project description you publish for marketing (7.2).
- Pre-existing code: Junction 2026 allows it when it is declared in the submission (8.2). Some hackathons ban code written in advance altogether. List your Background in the agreement, so it is clear later what belongs to whom.
- During employment, an employee may not engage in competing activity that manifestly harms the employer (Finnish Employment Contracts Act, chapter 3, section 3) or use the employer’s trade secrets (chapter 3, section 4). A non-compete after employment binds only if a non-compete agreement has been made, which may also be a term of the employment contract, and the employee must be compensated for the restricted period (chapter 3, section 5).
- If an invention falls within the employer’s field of business and has some connection to the employment, the employer may obtain a right to use it even if it was not made in the course of work duties. If there is no connection to the employment, the employer only has a preferential right to agree on the invention (Employee Inventions Act 656/1967, section 4). The copyright in a computer program passes to the employer only when the program was created in the course of work duties (Finnish Copyright Act, section 40 b). Still check your own employment contract, because it may have wider terms.
- Under joint ownership, no one can commercialise the work alone. Agree now how the decision to form a company is made and what a member who stays out receives.
- It is too early to agree on vesting numbers at a hackathon, because you do not yet know who will work full time. It is enough to agree that the shareholders’ agreement will include vesting. In a Finnish limited company, vesting is implemented through redemption terms in the shareholders’ agreement.
- No one can be forced to sign a shareholders’ agreement. That is why the template ties shares to signing the shareholders’ agreement within a time limit and gives a member who stays out agreed compensation. A standard model as the starting point stops the majority from dictating unreasonable terms.
- Damages can be claimed for a breach, but the amount of damage is hard to prove. For copyright infringement, reasonable compensation can also be claimed, which does not require intent or negligence (Finnish Copyright Act, section 57). In practice, what matters most is that the signed agreement, the version control history and the team’s messages show what was agreed and who did what.
What to do
- Read the terms of the event and of the challenge you pick.
- Each member checks their own employment contract and their institution’s rules.
- Fill in the agreement and sign it before coding starts. Send the PDF to the team’s shared channel.
- If you form a company, make a shareholders’ agreement before subscribing for shares.
Sources: Junction Terms & Conditions, sections 5.5, 7.1–7.3, 8.2 and 8.7 (hackjunction.com/terms-of-service, read 28.10.2026); Finnish Copyright Act (404/1961) sections 6, 28, 40 b and 57; Employment Contracts Act (55/2001) chapter 3, sections 3–5; Employee Inventions Act (656/1967) section 4; Rome I Regulation (EC) 593/2008, Article 4, and Brussels I Recast Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Article 4, read in oik.ai on 30.10.2026. English version 28.10.2026; the Finnish version is the original.
Related templates
- Will you continue the project after the event? Founders’ agreement
- Are you founding a company? Shareholders’ agreement – startup
Open the template and choose the terms · All templates (in Finnish) · FAQ (in Finnish)