AWS Data Exchange Challenge Official Rules – (the “Official Rules”)[Updated 9/25/20]

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. 

Hackathon Name: AWS Data Exchange Challenge (the “Hackathon”)

Hackathon Website: https://awsdataexchange.devpost.com (the “Hackathon Website”)

1. POSTER & ADMINISTRATOR

Poster (the “Poster”): Amazon Web Services, Inc.(“AWS”), 410 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109-5210.

The Poster is the sponsor of the Hackathon.

Administrator (the “Administrator”): Devpost, Inc. (“Devpost”), 222 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10038.

The Administrator is responsible for the rules, administration, and operation of the Hackathon. The Poster, AWS, is not responsible for the rules, administration, or operation of the Hackathon.

2. DATES AND TIMING

Update as of August 21, 2020 (Submission Deadline Extension)
Updated as of September 25, 2020 (Judging Period Extension)

Hackathon Submission Period: June 29, 2020 (10:00am EDT) – September 1, 2020 (5:00pm EDT) (the “Hackathon Submission Period”)

Judging Period: September 18, 2020 (9:00am EDT) – September 29, 2020 (5:00pm EDT) (the “Judging Period”)[Updated 9/25/20]

Winners Announced: On or around October 2, 2020 (2:00pm EDT)[Updated 9/25/20]

The Administrator will be the official timekeeper for the Hackathon.

3. ELIGIBILITY

A. The Hackathon IS open to:

• Individuals who are at least the age of majority where they reside as of the time of entry (“Eligible Individuals”) (*NOTE: The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as recognized or declared by law. Most countries set the age of majority at 18 including the US, UK, Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_majority).
• Teams of Eligible Individuals (“Teams”)
• Organizations (including corporations, not-for-profit corporations and other nonprofit organizations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other legal entities) that exist and have been organized or incorporated at the time of entry and employ no more than 50 people (“Organizations”).

UPDATE MADE ON JULY 21:

• Organizations that employ more than 50 people are only eligible for the Large Organization prize. See section 7 for further details.

(the above are collectively, “Makers”)

An Eligible Individual may join more than one Team or Organization and an Eligible Individual who is part of a Team or Organization may also enter the Hackathon on an individual basis. 

If a Team or Organization is entering the Hackathon, they must appoint and authorize one individual (the “Representative”) to represent, act, and enter a Submission, on their behalf. The Representative, each Team member and each member of a participating Organization who participates in the Challenge must meet the eligibility requirements above. By entering a Submission on the Site on behalf of a Team or Organization you represent and warrant that you are the Representative authorized to act on behalf of your Team or Organization.

B. The Hackathon IS NOT open to:

• Individuals who are residents of, or Organizations domiciled in, Brazil, Quebec, or any country, state, province or territory where the laws of the United States or local law prohibits participating or receiving a prize in the Hackathon (including but not limited to, the Balkans, Belarus, Burma, Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and Zimbabwe and any other country designated by the United States Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control)
• Organizations involved with the design, production, paid promotion, execution, or distribution of the Hackathon
• Employees, representatives and agents** of such organizations, and all members of their immediate family or household*
• Any other individual involved with the design, production, promotion, execution, or distribution of the Hackathon, and each member of their immediate family or household*
• Any Judge (defined below), or company or individual that employs a Judge
• Any parent company, subsidiary, or other affiliate*** of any organization described above
• Any other individual or organization whose participation in the Hackathon would create, in the sole discretion of the Poster and/or Administrator, a real or apparent conflict of interest

*The members of an individual’s immediate family include the individual’s spouse, children and stepchildren, parents and stepparents, and siblings and stepsiblings. The members of an individual’s household include any other person that shares the same residence as the individual for at least three (3) months out of the year.

**Agents include individuals or organizations that in creating a Submission to the Hackathon, are acting on behalf of, and at the direction of, an Organization involved with the design, production, paid promotion, execution or distribution of the Hackathon through a contractual or similar relationship.

***An affiliate is: (a) an organization that is under common control, sharing a common majority or controlling owner, or common management; or (b) an organization that has a substantial ownership in, or is substantially owned by the other organization.

4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Makers must do the following to participate in the Hackathon:

• Register for the Hackathon on the Hackathon Website by clicking the “Register for this Hackathon” button. To complete registration, sign up to create a Devpost account, or log in with an existing Devpost account. There is no charge for creating a Devpost account. This will enable you to receive important updates and access the “Enter a Submission” page.
• Sign up for a developer account on Amazon Web Services (“AWS”). You can get started with AWS for free. The AWS Free Tier includes select services available for 12 months following your AWS sign-up date, as well as additional service offers that do not automatically expire at the end of your 12 month AWS Free Tier.
• The Sponsor will provide $100 in AWS Credit to individuals registered for the Hackathon. In order to receive AWS Credits, you must complete the form at: https://challengepost.wufoo.com/forms/z1xijq361hqgdvi/. The sponsor reserves the right to only provide credits to participants who demonstrated a valid submission idea.

Note: AWS Credits can only be applied to AWS services. Additional charges incurred by the Maker for the use of AWS Data Exchange or AWS Marketplace products are the responsibility of the Maker. Makers are encouraged to monitor their usage of free trials as to not incur additional charges. 

• After receiving the credit code, redeem it here https://aws.amazon.com/awscredits/
• Use at least two AWS services and at least one AWS Data Exchange 3rd-party data product to build a data-driven solution that fits into one of the following categories: data visualization, data analysis, and/or data and machine learning. NOTE: Makers are not required but are encouraged to use one of the featured providers stated on the Hackathon site. 
• Create a demonstration video that shows your solution in action.
• Enter your solution during the Hackathon Submission Period:
• Include a link to your solution code on GitHub or another code repository sharing service. Your code repository may be public or private. If your repository is private, access must be given to testing@devpost.com and adxhackathon2020 and indicated in the testing instructions provided with your submission. Code will be used only for solution review and testing.
• Include deployment files and testing instructions needed for testing your solution.
• Complete and enter all of the required fields and questions on the “Enter a Submission” page of the Hackathon Website. Follow the additional requirements outlined below.

(each a “Submission”)

At any time, and at its sole discretion, the Poster will have the ability to disqualify a submission for not sufficiently fitting the main requirement.

A. Language Requirements

All materials submitted in connection with the Hackathon must be in English or, if not in English, the Maker must provide an English translation of the demonstration video, text description, and testing instructions as well as all other materials submitted.

B. Solution Requirements

(i) What to Create:  Makers must build (or update) a data-driven solution that tells a story by employing at least one of these categories: data analysis, machine learning, and data visualization. The solution must meet the following requirements: 

• Uses at least two AWS services.
• Uses at least one dataset from 3rd-party data providers on AWS Data Exchange.
  

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Solutions may integrate 3rd-party data, SDKs, APIs and services, provided the Maker is authorized to use them.
• Solutions are recommended but not required to provide an automatic update mechanism should the dataset get updated.

Prize Categories: Solutions must be entered into one or more of the following prize categories (the “Categories”). As part of your Submission, you must select the categories which best applies to your Solution.

• Data Visualization: A graphical representation of data through visual components such as maps, graphs, or other visual formats (e.g. tools that display trends or patterns). 
• Data Analysis: Solutions that collect, interpret, and present data (e.g. tools that identify relationships or detect anomalies). 
• Data and Machine Learning: Solutions that use pre-trained models or train machine learning models using a specific dataset (e.g. predictive analytics tools). 

Bonus Prizes: Solutions may also be entered into one or more of the following bonus prizes categories (“Bonus Prizes”). As part of your Submission, you may select one of the bonus prizes which best applies to your solution.

• Healthcare: Solutions that help the healthcare industry, enhance ways to lower costs and improve the quality of patient care.  
• Financial Services: Solutions that help financial institutions manage compliance, mitigate risk, and modernize systems.
• Retail: Solutions that improve the retail experience such as tools around customer behavior, merchandise effectiveness, and sales promotion.  

At any time, and at its sole discretion, the Poster will have the ability to re-assign a submitted Submission from one Category to another or to disqualify a submission for not sufficiently fitting the main requirement.

(ii) Functionality: The Solution’s code must function as depicted in the video and/or expressed in any other materials submitted in connection with the Hackathon.

(iii) New & Existing: Solutions must be either newly created by the Maker or, if the Solution existed prior to the Hackathon Submission Period, must have been updated during the Hackathon Submission Period.

(iv) Testing: The Maker must make the Solution available free of charge and without any restriction, for testing, evaluation and use by the Poster, Administrator and judges during the Hackathon and until the Judging Period ends. Makers must make their Solution available for testing by:

• Including a link to the Solution code on GitHub or another code repository sharing service. The code repository may be public or private. If the repository is private, access must be given to testing@devpost.com and adxhackathon2020 and indicated in the testing instructions provided with your Submission. Code will be used only for Solution review and testing.
• Include all deployment files and testing instructions needed for testing your Solution.

(v) Multiple Submissions: A Maker may submit more than one Submission, but each Submission must be unique and substantially different from each of the Maker’s other Submissions, as determined by the Poster and/or the Administrator. “Submission” means, collectively, the Solution, video, entry information and any other material or information submitted by a Maker in connection with entry in the Hackathon.

(vi) SDKs, APIs, & Data: Solutions may integrate third-party SDKs, APIs and services, provided the Maker is authorized to use them.

(vii) Submission Recommendations: Makers are encouraged to use the featured tools and products stated on the Hackathon site. 

(viii) Intellectual Property: Your Submission and all components thereof must: (a) be your (or your Team or Organization’s) original work product; (b) be solely owned by you, your Team or Organization with no other person or entity having any right or interest in it; and (c) not violate the intellectual property rights or other rights, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, contract, and/or privacy rights, of any other person or entity. A Maker may contract with a third party for technical assistance to create the Submission provided the Submission components are solely the Maker’s work product and the result of the Maker’s ideas and creativity, and the Maker owns all rights to them. A Maker may submit a Submission that includes the use of open source software or hardware, provided the Maker complies with applicable open source licenses and, as part of the Submission, creates software that enhances and builds upon the features and functionality included in the underlying open source product. By entering the Hackathon you represent, warrant, and agree that your Submission meets these requirements.

(ix) Financial or Preferential Support: A Solution must not have been developed, or derived from a Solution developed, with financial or preferential support from the Poster or Administrator. Such Solutions include, but are not limited to, those that received funding or investment for their development, were developed under contract, or received a commercial license, from the Poster or Administrator any time prior to the end of Hackathon Submission Period. The Poster, at their sole discretion, may disqualify a Submission, if awarding a prize to the Submission or Maker would create a real or apparent conflict of interest.

C. Text Description, Image, and Video Requirements

(i) Text Description: The text description should include a brief explanation of what the Solution does and how the data was used.

(ii) Images: The image(s) should be photographs or screenshots of your working Solution.

(iii) Video: The video portion of the Submission:

1. should be less than five (5) minutes;
2. must include footage that clearly explains the Solution’s features and functionality through a comprehensive demonstration;
3. must be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook Video, or Youku, and a link to the video must be provided on the submission form on the Hackathon Website;
4. must not include third party trademarks or copyrighted music or other material unless the Maker has permission to use such material;
5. should include appropriate disclosure on the video or text description that it is being posted as part of entry into the Competition (#AWSDataExchangeChallenge);
6. must comply with Amazon Community Guidelines; and
7. must not depict or identify any person unless the Maker has obtained for the person prior written consent to such person’s being depicted or identified in the video and to the video being used in connection with the Hackathon as permitted pursuant to these Official Rules.

D. Submission Modifications

a. Draft Submissions: Prior to the end of the Hackathon Submission Period, you may save draft versions of your Submission on Devpost to your portfolio before submitting the Submission materials to the Hackathon for evaluation. Once the Submission Period has ended, you may not make any changes or alterations to your Submission, but you may continue to update the project in your Devpost portfolio.

b. Modifications After the Hackathon Submission Period: The Poster may permit you to modify part of your Submission after the Hackathon Submission Period for the purpose of removing material that potentially infringes a third party mark or right, discloses personally identifiable information, or is otherwise inappropriate. The modified Submission must remain substantively the same as the original Submission with the only modification being what the Poster permits.

5. SUBMISSION RIGHTS

A. Maker Rights: Subject to the licenses described below, any applicable intellectual property rights to a Submission will remain with the Maker.

B. Poster Rights: By entering the Hackathon, you grant to the Poster, Administrator, each of their parent companies, subsidiaries and affiliates, and any other third parties acting on behalf of any of the foregoing, and the successors, licensees and assigns of each of the foregoing (all of the foregoing, collectively, the "Contest Entities”), a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide perpetual license to display publicly and use for promotional purposes the Submission, in perpetuity. This license includes, but is not limited to, posting or linking to the Submission on Poster’s, Administrator’s, and partners’ websites and applications, including the Hackathon Website, and display and promotion of the Submission in any other media, worldwide.

C. Submission Display: Without limitation of any of the Contest Entities’ rights pursuant to these Official Rules, the following Submission components may be displayed to the public: name, description, images, video URL, website URL, team members, the Submission category and platform, and submitter type. Other Submission materials may be viewed by the Poster, Administrator, and Judges for screening and evaluation.

D. Makers represent and warrant that the Contest Entities are free to use Makers’ Submission in the manner described above, as provided or as modified by the Administrator, without obtaining permission or license from any third party and without any compensation to Makers.

6. JUDGING

A. Judges: Eligible Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges selected by the Poster (the “Judges”). Judges may be employees of the Poster or external, may or may not be listed individually on the Hackathon Website, and may change before or during the Judging Period. Judging may take place in one or more rounds with one or more panels of Judges, at the discretion of the Poster.

B. Criteria: The Judges will score eligible Submissions using the following equally weighted criteria (the “Judging Criteria”):

(i) Quality of the Idea (Includes creativity and originality of the idea.)

(ii) Implementation of the Idea (Includes how well the idea was executed by the developer and the extent to which the underlying data was leveraged by the developer.)

(iii) Potential Value (Includes the extent to which the solution has the most positive impact for users and/or customers.)

The Judging Criteria above may not apply to every prize. See Section 7 below for the Judging Criteria that apply for each prize. The Maker(s) that are eligible for a prize, and whose Submissions earn the highest overall scores based on the applicable Judging Criteria, will become potential winners of that prize.

C. Submission Review: Judges are not required to test the Solution and may choose to judge based solely on the text description, images and video provided in the Submission.

D. Tie Breaker: For each prize listed in Section 7 below, if two or more Submissions are tied, the tied Submission with the highest score in the first applicable criterion listed above will be considered the higher scoring Submission. In the event any ties remain, this process will be repeated, as needed, by comparing the tied Submissions’ scores on the next applicable criterion. If two or more Submissions are tied on all applicable criteria, the panel of Judges will vote on the tied Submissions.

7. PRIZES

IMPORTANT NOTES MULTIPLE PRIZE ELIGIBILITY: 

• The same eligible Solution may win a Category Prize and a Bonus Prize.
• The same eligible Solution may win Honorable Mention and Bonus Prize.
• The same eligible Solution may not win more than one Category Prize or more than one Bonus Prize.

All prize details that are not expressly specified in these Official Rules will be determined by Administrator or Poster, as applicable, in their discretion. The prize will be awarded if properly claimed. No cash redemption or transfer of the right to receive the prize is permitted, except at the discretion of the Administrator. All expenses or costs associated with the acceptance or use of the prize or any component of the prize are the responsibility of the winner. The prize is awarded “as is” and without any warranty, except as required by law. In no event will more than the number of prizes stated in these Official Rules be awarded. Any use of the AWS promotional credits will be in accordance with and subject to the terms and conditions available at http://aws.amazon.com/awscredits/, as updated from time to time. AWS Credits are not redeemable for cash and can only be applied to AWS Services.

8. VERIFICATION OF POTENTIAL WINNERS

A. Verification Requirement: THE AWARD OF A PRIZE TO A POTENTIAL WINNER IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION OF THE IDENTITY, QUALIFICATIONS AND ROLE OF THE POTENTIAL WINNER IN THE CREATION OF THE SUBMISSION. The final decision to designate a winner shall be made by the Poster and/or Administrator.

B. Required Forms: Potential winners will be notified using the email address associated with the Devpost account used to enter the Submission (the submitter is the “Representative” in the case of a Team or Organization). In order to receive a prize, the potential winner (including all participating team members in the case of a Team or Organization) will be required to sign and return to the Poster or Administrator, affidavit(s) of eligibility (or a similar verification document) and liability/publicity release(s), and any applicable tax forms (“Required Forms”).

Deadline for Returning Required Forms: ten (10) business days after the Required Forms are sent.

C. Disqualification: The Poster and/or Administrator may deem a potential winner (or participating team members) ineligible to win if:

(i) the potential winner’s Representative or any participating member does not respond to multiple emails or fails to sign and return the Required Forms by the deadline listed above, or responds and rejects the prize; 

(ii) the prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable; or 

(iii) the Submission or the potential winner, or any member of a potential winner’s Team or Organization, is disqualified for any other reason.

In the event of a disqualification, the Poster and/or Administrator may award the applicable prize to an alternate potential winner.

9. PRIZE DISTRIBUTION

A. Substitutions & Changes: The Poster has the right to make a prize substitution of equivalent or greater value. The Poster will not award a prize if there are no eligible Submissions entered in the Hackathon, or if there are no eligible Makers or Submissions for a specific prize.

B. Prize Delivery: Prizes will be payable to the Maker, if an individual, to the Maker’s Representative, if a Team, or to the Organization, if the Maker is an Organization. It will be the responsibility of the winning Maker’s Representative to allocate the prize among their Team or Organization’s participating members, as the Representative deems appropriate. A monetary prize will be mailed to the winning Maker’s address (if an individual) or the Representative’s address (if a Team or Organization), or wired to the Maker, or Organization’s bank account, only after receipt of the Required Forms.

Failure to provide correct information on the Required Forms, or other correct information required for the delivery of a prize, may result in delayed prize delivery, disqualification or the Maker, or forfeiture of a prize.

C. Prize Delivery Timeframe: Within 45 days of the Poster or Administrator’s receipt of the Required Forms

D. Fees & Taxes: Winners (and in the case of Team or Organization, all participating members) are responsible for any fees associated with receiving or using a prize, including but not limited to, wiring fees. Winners (and in the case of Team or Organization, all participating members) are responsible for reporting and paying all applicable taxes in their jurisdiction of residence (federal, state/provincial/territorial and local). Winners may be required to provide certain information to facilitate receipt of the award, including completing and submitting any tax or other forms necessary for compliance with applicable withholding and reporting requirements. United States residents may be required to provide a completed form W-9 and residents of other countries may be required to provide a completed W-8BEN form. Winners are also responsible for complying with foreign exchange and banking regulations in their respective jurisdictions and reporting the receipt of the prize to relevant government departments/agencies, if necessary. The Poster, Administrator, and/or prize provider reserve the right to withhold a portion of the prize amount to comply with the tax laws of the United States or other Poster jurisdiction, or those of a winner’s jurisdiction.

10. ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE

A. By entering the Hackathon, you (and, if you are entering on behalf of a Team or Organization each participating members) agree(s) to the following:

(i) The relationship between you, the Maker, and the Poster and Administrator, is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship.

(ii) You will be bound by and comply with these Official Rules and the decisions of the Poster, Administrator, and/or the Hackathon Judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Hackathon.

(iii) You release, indemnify, defend and hold harmless each of the Contest Entities, the prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Hackathon, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (hereafter the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury, arising out of or relating to the Hackathon, a Maker’s entry, creation of Submission or entry of a Submission, participation in the Hackathon, acceptance or use or misuse of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, transmission, performance, exploitation or use of the Submission as authorized or licensed by these Official Rules. 

B. Without limiting the foregoing, the Released Parties shall have no liability in connection with:

(i) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by the Poster or Administrator’s electronic or printing error, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Hackathon;

(ii) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines, internet connectivity or electronic transmission errors, or network hardware or software or failure of the Hackathon Website;

(iii) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Hackathon; 

(iv) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Hackathon or the processing of Submissions; or 

(v) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from the Maker’s participation in the Hackathon or receipt or use or misuse of any prize.

The Released Parties are not responsible for incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, lost, illegible, or incomprehensible Submissions or for address or email address changes of the Makers. Proof of sending or submitting will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by the Poster or Administrator.

If for any reason any Maker’s Submission is determined to have not been received or been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, the Maker’s sole remedy is to request the opportunity to resubmit its Submission. Such request must be made promptly after the Maker knows or should have known there was a problem, and will be determined at the sole discretion of the Poster.

Each Maker acknowledges that each of the Contest Entities engages and has engaged and will in the future engage in the development, preparation, production, acquisition and dissemination of software, technology and other material (collectively, “Materials”), including without limitation Materials that may be similar or identical to a Maker’s Submission, and that other people may previously have submitted to one or more of the Contest Entities Materials that are similar or identical to a Submission. Each Maker agrees that it will not be entitled to any compensation or credit in connection with, and will not have any other legal, equitable or other rights of any nature with respect to, the use by any of the Contest Entities of any Material that is similar or identical to any Submission or any component thereof. As an inducement to Administrator to accept the Maker’s entry, each Maker hereby waives any claim or right of action against any of the Contest Entities in connection with the Contest Entities’ use of any Materials (or any portions thereof), whether or not such Materials are similar or identical to an Maker’s Submission or contain any features, ideas, material and/or elements that are similar or identical to those contained in an Maker’s Submission. Without limitation of the foregoing, the Contest Entities will have the right to use, without any payment or other obligation whatsoever to any Maker, any part of any Submission, and any idea or concept contained therein, that (a) is similar or identical to, or contains elements encompassed in, any material or concept that has been developed, produced or disseminated or is under consideration or in development by or for any of the Contest Entities before or at the time of the Maker’s submission of the Submission, (b) is not unique, novel, original and concrete so as to be entitled to protection under applicable laws, (c) has been made public by anyone at the time of its submission in the Hackathon or otherwise is in the public domain, (d) would be freely usable by a third party if it had not been submitted as a Submission or the subject of any agreement, (e) is not protected by United States copyright law or (f) is similar or identical to, or contains elements encompassed in, an idea, concept or material that is independently created by any Contest Entity or any third party. Acceptance of a Submission is not an admission by any Contest Entity of the novelty or originality of the Submission.

11. PUBLICITY

By participating in the Hackathon you consent to the use of personal information about you, if you are a winner, by the Poster, Administrator, and third parties acting on their behalf. Such personal information includes, but is not limited to, your name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, comments and hometown and country of residence. It may be used in any existing or newly created media, worldwide without further payment or consideration or right of review, unless prohibited by law. Authorized use includes advertising and promotional purposes.

The duration of your consent is for a period of three years following the conclusion of the Hackathon. This consent applies, as applicable, to all members a Maker’s Team or Organization that participated in the winning Submission.

Each Maker consents to Poster documenting, recording, and publishing each entry in order to promote the Hackathon, its results, and participation.  Without limiting any other grant contemplated in the Official Rules, each Maker consents to his or her name and/or likeness and a description and/or photo of such Maker’s Submission being posted on: (a) any website (including, but not limited to, a blog) owned and/or operated by Poster or any of its affiliates, Poster pages on any social media websites (including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Tumblr); and (b) any other website or other online point of presence through which any Poster products or services are described, syndicated, offered, merchandised, or advertised (the websites described in (a) and (b), collectively the “Poster Sites”).  Poster’s decision to post information regarding a Maker or Submission on any Poster Site does not mean that such Maker or Submission has been selected as a winning Maker or Submission.

12. GENERAL CONDITIONS

A. Poster and Administrator reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to change the Official Rules or to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Hackathon at any time.

B. Poster and Administrator reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual or Maker it finds to be actually or presenting the appearance of tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Hackathon or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in a manner that is inappropriate, unsportsmanlike, not in the best interests of this Hackathon, or a violation of any applicable law or regulation.

C. Any attempt by any person to undermine the proper conduct of the Hackathon may be a violation of criminal and civil law. Should Poster or Administrator suspect that such an attempt has been made or is threatened, they reserve the right to take appropriate action including but not limited to requiring a Maker to cooperate with an investigation and referral to criminal and civil law enforcement authorities.

D. If there is any discrepancy or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of the Official Rules and disclosures or other statements contained in any Hackathon materials, including but not limited to the Hackathon Submission form, Hackathon Website, advertising (including but not limited to television, print, radio or online ads), the terms and conditions of the Official Rules shall prevail.

E. The terms and conditions of the Official Rules are subject to change at any time, including the rights or obligations of the Maker, the Poster and the Administrator. The Poster and Administrator will post the terms and conditions of the amended Official Rules on the Hackathon Website. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any amendment will become effective at the time specified in the posting of the amended Official Rules or, if no time is specified, the time of posting.

F. If at any time prior to the deadline, a Maker or prospective Maker believes that any Official Rule is or may be unclear or ambiguous, they must submit a written request for clarification.

G. The Poster or Administrator’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Should any provision of these Official Rules be or become illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction whose laws or regulations may apply to a Maker, such illegality or unenforceability shall leave the remainder of these Official Rules, including the Rule affected, to the fullest extent permitted by law, unaffected and valid. The illegal or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid and enforceable provision that comes closest and best reflects the Poster’s intention in a legal and enforceable manner with respect to the invalid or unenforceable provision.

H. Excluding Submissions, all intellectual property related to this Hackathon, including but not limited to copyrighted material, trademarks, trade-names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source codes, drawings, illustrations, slogans and representations are owned or used under license by the Poster and/or Administrator. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any copyrighted material or intellectual property without the express written consent of its owners is strictly prohibited. Any use in a Submission of Poster or Administrator intellectual property shall be solely to the extent provided for in these Official Rules.

13. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

By entering, all Makers (including, in the case of a Team or Organization, all participating members) agree to be bound by the Official Rules and hereby release the Released Parties from any and all liability in connection with the prizes or Maker’s participation in the Hackathon. Provided, however, that any liability limitation regarding gross negligence or intentional acts, or events of death or body injury shall not be applicable in jurisdictions where such limitation is not legal.

14. DISPUTES

A. Except where prohibited by law, as a condition of participating in this Hackathon, Maker agrees that:

(i) any and all disputes and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Hackathon, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action lawsuit, and exclusively by final and binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association and held at the AAA regional office nearest the contestant;

(ii) the Federal Arbitration Act shall govern the interpretation, enforcement and all proceedings at such arbitration; and

(iii) judgment upon such arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.

B. Under no circumstances will Maker be permitted to obtain awards for, and contestant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, other than contestant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., costs associated with entering this Hackathon), and Maker further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

C. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of Maker and Poster in connection with this Hackathon, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of New York, USA without regard to New York choice of law rules.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

15. ADDITIONAL TERMS THAT ARE PART OF THE OFFICIAL RULES

Please review the Devpost Terms of Service at https://info.devpost.com/hackathon_terms for additional rules that apply to your participation in the Hackathon and more generally your use of the Hackathon Website. Such Terms of Service are incorporated by reference into these Official Rules. If there is a conflict between the Terms of Service and these Official Rules, the latter terms shall control with respect to this Hackathon only.

Participation in the Hackathon constitutes Maker’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules. By entering, a Maker agrees that all decisions related to the Hackathon are final and binding, and that all such decisions are at the sole discretion of the Poster and/or Administrator.

The Administrator collects personal information from you when you enter the Hackathon. The information collected is subject to the privacy policy located here: https://info.devpost.com/privacy.

16. MISCELLANEOUS

Poster and Administrator may, in their sole discretion and at any time, disqualify any Maker: (a) not complying with the Official Rules; (b) found to be tampering with the entry process, the outcome of the Hackathon, or the operation of the Hackathon Website; or (c) acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other Maker.  ANY ATTEMPT BY ANY INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE HACKATHON MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, POSTER, ADMINISTRATOR AND THEIR AFFILIATES RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND/OR OTHER RELIEF FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

By participating in the Hackathon, each Maker unconditionally accepts and agrees to comply with and abide by the Official Rules and the decisions of Poster and Administrator, which will be final and binding, including Poster’s right to verify eligibility, to interpret the Official Rules, and to resolve any disputes relating to the Hackathon at any time.

17. CONTACT

If you have any questions or comment, or wish to send us any notice regarding this Hackathon, please email us at Support@Devpost.com.