All that said... it does not mean that you have to scrap your entire idea, just make it non-IP violating, that's all.

In fact should you remove all unauthorized IP, you can actually take your game and use it for something beyond this competition, even do something commercially viable with it. There is more benefit to keeping your game non-IP than there is to sticking to a false sense of taking a stand. Making a point is one thing, but to do so at the detriment of yourself is not a smart play. Besides, I've seen some of your original ideas, they turn out pretty darn good.