Lpc2000

> I doubt it. There are many international competitions. All that is 
> required is some disclaimer (required in the USA anyway) that the 
> rules etc are subject to the laws of the state of California or 

Ridiculous though it sounds, in some jurisdictions you are required to
obtain a lottery/gaming/raffle permit to hold a contest of this sort.

> More likely it is just coming out of a certain USA division's budget 
> and the division isn't "thinking globally".

There's a shade more to it than just parochialism. Philips USA is only
interested in US design wins, preferably wins that will source their
parts directly through Philips US (rather than buying in, say, China).
Ditto for, say, Philips Europe. So they are interested in attracting
attention locally. Advertising to overseas contestants (a) steps on the
toes of other global divisions (who might be contemplating running their
own local contests of the same sort), and (b) dilutes marketing dollars
by opening up entry to people who won't possibly be buying parts from
Philips USA.

The rationale is easily understandable.

-- 
-- Lewin A.R.W. Edwards (http://www.zws.com/)
Learn how to develop high-end embedded systems on a tight budget!
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