Rules
Code For Science – Boston (the “Challenge”) is a skill-based online competition as announced on http://www.codeforscience.com/boston (“Challenge Site”) which invites participants to submit one or both of the following two sets of materials: (a) concept description (“Concept”) of an application as defined on Competition Site and/or (b) working application for use in connection with Elsevier’s online services along with video demonstrating use case of the submitted Application. All entries are to be submitted for consideration based on the criteria listed below. NO ELSEVIER SUBSCRIPTION OR OTHER PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
Please read these rules and the CodeForScience Boston website at http://www.codeforscience.com/boston (“Challenge Site”), incorporated into these rules by reference (together, the “Official Rules”) thoroughly before entering the Challenge. By entering the Challenge, you agree to be bound by the Official Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements set forth herein.
1. Eligibility
The Challenge is open to any participants who are at least the age of legal majority in their jurisdiction of residence and who are professionals, instructors, students or enthusiasts in the field of science. Entrants may be individuals or teams of individuals, provided each member of the team meets the eligibility criteria. Entrants may be subject to rules imposed by their institution or employer relative to their participation in competitions and should check with their institution or employer for any relevant policies. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED. Applicants are responsible for determining if the Challenge is legal in their jurisdiction. Directors, officers, and employees of Elsevier B.V. (the “Sponsor”), its parents, subsidiaries and affiliates, and any participating vendors, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, the Challenge judges, and the immediate families and those living in the same household of the foregoing are not eligible to enter the Challenge. Any Application or Challenge entry that violates these Official Rules, applicable laws or regulations, or participant's employer's or affiliated institution's policies will be deemed ineligible.
2. How to Enter
To enter the competition, participants must follow the instructions on the Challenge Site and submit Concept through the Challenge Site according to the Challenge instructions between 12:01AM Central European Time on October 13, 2012 and 11:59PM Central European Time on October 27, 2012 (“Concept Stage”). A panel of judges will score the Concept entries based on judging criteria. The final scores will determine the winning Concept entries. All participants who submitted Concepts are hereby invited to move forward in the Competition to submit an Application. Participants who were not a part of the Concept Stage are also hereby invited to submit an Application.
Stage Two (11/10): Onsite all-day Linked Data-thon including demos, judging and prize giveaway will take place on Saturday, November 10th at MIT Stata Center in Cambridge, MA. Stage Two is not limited to concept winners; participation is open to everyone, provided that space is available.
Following Concept submission, participants may submit an Application which must be done through http://www.developers.elsevier.com/action/devprojects according to the submission instructions at http://www.developers.elsevier.com/cms/documentation and submit an optional maximum five-minutes demo video according to the Competition instructions between 12:01AM Central European Time on October 19th, 2012 and 05:55AM Central European Time on November 9th , 2012 (“Application Stage”). The Application entry may or may not follow the Concept entry previously submitted.
After you submit your Application and optional video demo entry, your Application will be locked and you will not be able to make any further changes. A panel of judges will score the Application entries based on judging criteria. The final scores will determine the winning Application entries.
Entries that are (i) submitted in any manner other than as specified; (ii) submitted before or after the Competition period; or (iii) incomplete, defective, forged, or irregular in any way or not in compliance with these Official Rules will be disqualified. Primary Sponsor’s servers and clock shall serve as the official clock for the Competition and participant’s proof of submission does not constitute proof of receipt by Primary Sponsor. Entry materials will not be acknowledged or returned.
3. Original Work
All entries submitted for consideration in the Challenge must be the original work of and created solely by the participant(s) submitting such entries. Modifying, enhancing, or altering a third-party's pre-existing work does not constitute an original work. Entries submitted shall not: (i) violate the intellectual property rights (copyright, patent, trademark, etc.) of any third party; (ii) defame or invade the publicity or privacy rights of any person, living or deceased; or (iii) otherwise infringe upon any person's or entity's personal or proprietary rights. Each participant must have a non-restricted right to submit the entry for consideration. Any participant whose entry includes elements not owned by the participant (including, but not limited to, third-party APIs, trademarks and logos) must be able to provide legal releases for such use in a form satisfactory to the Sponsor. Entries must not be obscene, profane, or unsuitable for publication in Sponsor’s sole discretion.
4. Provided Content Terms of Use
Participants who access the collection of full-text Elsevier content, either through the SciVerse Developer APIs or through a full-text XML repository, provided by Elsevier (“Elsevier Content”) are bound by their respective terms and conditions of use (http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/termsconditions.cws_home/termsconditions) and shall use the Elsevier Content solely for the purposes of the Challenge.
5. Use of Information
None of the entry materials and information submitted by participants will be treated as confidential, so please do not submit proprietary information. Participants further agree that personally identifiable information may be processed, stored, and otherwise used for the purposes of the Challenge, including, but not limited to, checking participant's identity, postal address, and telephone number, or to otherwise verify eligibility to participate.
6. Competition Judges
The Competition Judges will comprise the panel of judge’s select by the Primary Sponsor. The Primary Sponsor may at their discretion reveal the names of the Competition Judges on the Competition Site. The constitution of the panel of the Competition Judges may change at the sole discretion of the Primary Sponsor.
Judging Criteria
All eligible entries will be evaluated and ranked by a panel of qualified judges based on the following criteria, which are more completely described in the Challenge Site:
•Quality of the project/entry
•Usefulness to potential users
•Innovation over current options
•Feasibility of implementation
•Scope of applicability of the Application
7. Winner Selection/Conference Presentation/Prizes
Prizes for Concept entries:
Concept winners (3) – USD 400 (each)
Excellence awards (3) – USD 100 (each)
Prizes for Application entries:
Grand prize winners (3) – USD 2,000 (each)
Excellence Awards (3) – USD 200 (each)
Participants of winning concept entries will be notified via e-mail or phone on November 5th, 2012 and invited for the Conference satellite event in Cambridge, MA to be recognized as winners on November 10th, 2012. Participants of winning Application entries must sign and return to Primary Sponsor a Declaration of Eligibility/Liability and Publicity Release (“Declaration and Release”) to be eligible to win prizes announced at the Awards Ceremony.
If a potential winner: (i) is determined to be ineligible for any reason; (ii) cannot be located or contacted, including but not limited to an e-mail notification returned as undeliverable; (iii) fails to return the completed Declaration and Release by the required time; or (iv) declines or cannot or fails to accept a prize for any reason, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected based on the judging criteria and notified according to the procedure above. Individual winners and, for team winners, at least one member of the winning team must remain present at the awards ceremony to receive their respective prizes.
Primary Sponsor reserves the right to select fewer or more winners than mentioned above if, in its sole discretion, Primary Sponsor does not receive a sufficient number of eligible or qualified entries, or if Primary Sponsor is unable to notify and retrieve signed Declarations and Releases from the winners prior to the awards. Limit one prize per entrant. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony and the prizes will be awarded at that time. The prize for a winning team will be awarded to the individual signing the Declaration and Release on behalf of the team. Disposition of prizes is at the sole discretion of members of a winning team and Primary Sponsor will not be responsible or liable for any disputes which may arise among winning team members.
GENERAL PRIZE RESTRICTIONS
Prizes may not be transferred or assigned prior to award. No cash or other substitution may be made, except by the Primary Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute a prize in whole or in part with another prize of comparable or greater value if the intended prize is not available for any reason as determined by the Primary Sponsor in its sole discretion. Winners will be responsible for all applicable taxes (not limited to federal, state, local and/or income) on the prize. Winners are solely responsible for any costs associated with use of the prize. Gift cards are subject to the terms and conditions generally applicable thereto.
Conference satellite event on stage two Participants and prize winners are responsible for all costs and expenses associated with travel to the Conference satellite event held Saturday, November 10th, 2012 in Cambridge, MA. , including but not limited to airfare, hotel, meals, insurance, and other costs.
Cash prizes will be awarded in the form of a check made payable to the individual(s) listed in the entry form. Disposition of prizes is at the sole discretion of members of a winning team and Sponsor will not be responsible or liable for any disputes which may arise among winning team members.
8. Right to Use Entries
By entering the Challenge, participants grant to Sponsor and its affiliates, the rights, without limitation or further permission or compensation, to: (i) use and publish their name and likeness; and (ii) use, reproduce, publish, display and distribute the abstracts submitted with the entries and the website URLs to the Applications. Finalists must also grant to Sponsor and its affiliates the right to publish, reproduce, edit, and display, in any media without limitation any video, film, sound recording, photographs, or similar images recorded or taken during finalist’s presentation at the Conference. Finalists grant to Sponsor first publication rights for Finalists’ paper submissions. Finalists also grant to Sponsor the right of first refusal for the exclusive commercial development of any Finalist’s submissions. Finalists are not obliged to develop their Application commercially. However, should they wish to do so, Sponsor retains the right to be the first to negotiate with the Finalist on the potential commercial development of the Application. Sponsor shall have until 31 July 2013 to present an offer for commercial development of the Application. If for any reason, both parties cannot reach an agreement, each party may at is sole discretion terminate the negotiations and the Finalist can take his or her Application to a third party.
Winners’ full names and city and state/province/country of residence and their Applications will be announced and, with their photograph, may be featured on the Challenge Site and websites of the Sponsor and its affiliates. By accepting a prize, winners grant Sponsor and its affiliates, the additional rights, without limitation or further permission or compensation, to use and publish their photograph in conjunction with their credited name. Rights granted by participants and winners are for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in perpetuity and in any medium Sponsor sees fit, including, but not limited to, website, television, radio, or printed materials.
By submitting an entry, each participant grants Sponsor and the judges an unrestricted right to use, review, assess, test, and otherwise analyze the entries and all of their content in connection with the Challenge. Participants agree not to instigate, support, maintain or authorize any action, or lawsuit against Sponsor on the ground that any use of the entry materials infringes any of the participants’ rights as creators of the entry materials.
Participants acknowledge that Sponsor may currently, or in the future, be developing internally, or receiving from a third-party, information or applications similar to those submitted by participants. Nothing contained in these Official Rules will be construed as a representation or agreement that Sponsor will not develop or have developed products, concepts, systems, or techniques that are similar to or that compete with the products, concepts, systems, or techniques contemplated by or embodied in any of the entry materials. Further, Sponsor shall be free to use for any purpose the residuals resulting from access to work with entries. The term ”residuals” means information in intangible form, which is retained in memory by persons who have had access to the Applications, including ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained therein. Sponsor shall have no obligation to limit or restrict the assignment of such persons or to pay royalties for any work resulting from the use of residuals. Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to grant Sponsor a license under the participants’ intellectual property rights.
9. Disclaimer/Limitation of Liability
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in these Official Rules or elsewhere, Sponsor makes available the Challenge and any prizes on an ”as is” basis and disclaims all warranties, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose in connection therewith. Sponsor, the organizers of the Conference, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, and directors, officers, and employees thereof, shall not have any obligation, liability or responsibility for: (i) lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, damaged, garbled, or misdirected entries, prize claims or notifications; (ii) inaccurate entry information, whether caused by participant or by any of the equipment or programming associated with the Challenge; (iii) any errors or malfunctions that may occur; (iv) any condition caused by events beyond Sponsor’s control that may cause the Challenge to be delayed, disrupted or corrupted; (v) any error in any materials associated with the Challenge; and (vi) any damages or losses of any kind resulting from participation in the Challenge, accessing, transmitting, uploading or downloading data in connection with the Challenge, or acceptance, possession or use of any prize.
10. Release
By entering the challenge, participants shall release and hold harmless sponsor , the organizers of the conference, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, and directors, officers, and employees thereof, from any and all claims, injuries, loss, damage, expenses, or liabilities of any kind arising out of or in connection with the challenge, participants’ participation in the challenge, or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, and use of, or inability to use, any prize, to the extent permitted by law. In no event will sponsor be liable to a participant for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages arising out of, or in connection with the challenge, whether or not sponsor has been advised, had reason to know, or in fact knew of the possibility of such damage.
11. Governing Law and Venue
The laws of the Netherlands govern the Challenge and these Official Rules. Participants irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of The Netherlands with respect to any action or suit arising out of or pertaining to the Challenge and these Official Rules (except where local law requires). RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.
If for any reason, the Challenge is not capable of being run as planned, the Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to change these Official Rules, disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process or operation of the Challenge Site, and to modify, suspend, cancel or terminate the Challenge. If the Challenge is terminated early, the Sponsor may select Semi-Finalists based on the entries received prior to the termination date, or take any other action in its sole discretion to carry out the letter and spirit of these Official Rules.
12. Rules
Participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor in regards to the Challenge. Any participant found to be acting in violation of these Official Rules may be disqualified in Sponsor’s sole discretion. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of a winner, the winning entry will be declared made by the license holder of the Application submitted.
13. Winners List
A list of winners will be posted on the Challenge winners’ page of the Challenge Site after November 10th, 2012
PRIMARY SPONSOR
The Challenge is sponsored by Elsevier B.V., Radarweg 29, 1043 NX Amsterdam, The Netherlands