Official Rules for the Design a VGVN Badge Contest
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Void outside the United States and where prohibited by law. Subject to all federal, state and local laws, regulations, and ordinances. Promotion begins on August 4, 2010 at 12:00:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on September 6, 2010 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET (the “Promotion Period”).
1. Eligibility: The Design a VGVN Badge Contest (the “Promotion”) is open to legal residents of the United States currently residing in the 50 United States, including the District of Columbia, who are members of the Video Game Voters Network and are the age of majority or older in their jurisdiction of residence as of August 4, 2010. Employees, officers, and directors of the Entertainment Software Association (“Sponsor”) or any of its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, representatives, consultants, contractors, legal counsel, advertising, public relations, promotional, fulfillment, and marketing agencies, web site providers, web masters, and members of their immediate families (spouses, parents, siblings and children, regardless of where they live) and those living in the same household are not eligible to enter or win. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and to Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Promotion.
2. Sponsor: The Entertainment Software Association, 575 7th Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20004.
3. How to Enter: To enter, during the Promotion Period, (1) create a badge design incorporating the name “Video Game Voters Network,” the acronym “VGVN” (Video Game Voters Network), and/or the website address “www.vgvn.org”; and (2) visit www.videogamevoters.org/BadgeContest and follow the posted instructions to upload your badge design (“Design Submission”) and complete and submit an entry form, including providing your name, telephone number, and email address. The file for the Design Submission must be in JPEG, GIF, or PNG format and no more than 3 megabytes in size. The Design Submission must be appropriate for a badge publicizing the Video Game Voters Network. There is no limit on the number of Design Submissions a person may provide to Sponsor. Entries received without a complete and accurate entry form and all information described above will be disqualified. All entries must be received during the Promotion Period.
All entries, including Design Submissions, become the sole property of Sponsor when submitted and will not be acknowledged or returned. Entrant explicitly acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor reserves the right to publish in any media, including online, any or all content of the Design Submissions without first and last name credit to the entrant; and entries that attempt to restrict this right will not be considered. Design Submissions must be original and cannot have been previously produced in any medium, or submitted in any other competition or contest. Modification of an existing work does not qualify as original. By submitting a Design Submission, the submitter of the Design Submission warrants and represents that his/her Design Submission is original, has not been previously published or won any award, does not contain any material that would defame or otherwise violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including patents, copyrights, trademarks or rights of privacy or publicity, and will not violate any federal, state or local laws or ordinances. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole and unfettered discretion to disqualify any Design Submission that it believes contains obscene, offensive or inappropriate content, violates in law, regulation, or ordinance, that does not comply with these Official Rules or that is not consistent with the spirit or theme of the Promotion. Sponsor hereby grants a limited, non-exclusive license to display its products, product packaging, brand names, logos, company name, trademarks, or service marks only for the purposes of submitting a Design Submission in connection with this Promotion and not for any other purpose.
Entries must be submitted by the participant. Sponsor is not responsible for late or unsuccessful attempts to enter. Entries submitted by third parties will be disqualified. Entries must be submitted by the participant. Normal Internet access, phone and usage charges imposed by your online or phone service may apply. Use of automated entries or programs or entries submitted by third parties is prohibited and will be disqualified. Incomplete, corrupted, or untimely entries are void and will be disqualified. Proof of sending or submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.
Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same email address. Entries will be attributed to the authorized account holder of the email address submitted during registration. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of an entrant, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter will be deemed to be the registrant or participant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, Internet service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Winning participants may be required to provide Sponsor with proof that the claimed winner is the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the winning entry, or forfeit the prize. Entries specifying an invalid, non-working, or inactive email address will be disqualified and ineligible to win.
4. Winner Selection: FIRST ROUND: Between August 4, 2010 and August 23, 2010, all eligible Design Submissions will be judged by a panel of judges (the “Judging Panel”) based on the following criteria: relevance to message (50 points); visual appeal (25 points) and creativity (25 points) (the “Judging Criteria”). On or about August 24, 2010, the Sponsor will select ten (10) entrants whose Design Submissions received the highest scores from the Judging Panel based on the Judging Criteria as the Finalists. In the event of a tie, the tied entrants’ Design Submissions will be re-judged by the Judging Panel based on visual appeal (50 points) and creativity (50 points).
SECOND ROUND: Between August 24, 2010 and September 6, 2010, the Finalists’ Design Submissions will be displayed on www.videogamevoters.org, where members of the public will be able to vote for their favorite Design Submission. On or about September 9, 2010, Sponsor will select one (1) potential Grand Prize Winner whose Design Submission received the highest number of votes, and one (1) potential Second Prize Winner whose Design Submission receives the second highest number of votes. In the event of a tie for the most votes for either the Grand or the Second Prize, the Design Submission with the highest score from the First Round will win. Limit one (1) vote per Internet Protocol (IP) address. Votes received from any IP address in excess of the stated limitation will be void. Entrants are prohibited from obtaining votes by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, including, without limitation, offering prizes or other inducements to prospective voters, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Use of script, macro or any automated system to vote or with the intent to impair the integrity of the voting process is prohibited and all such votes will be void.
Sponsor will attempt to notify the potential Finalists and Winners by telephone, email, or mail within seven (7) days of being selected. If a potential Winner does not respond within seven (7) days after the first attempt to contact him/her, or the prize notification is returned as undeliverable, the potential Winner will be deemed to have forfeited the prize, and Sponsor will select the eligible winner whose Design Submission received the next highest number of votes as an alternate potential Winner in place of the disqualified potential Winner. Alternate potential Winner must satisfy all eligibility requirements. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
Except where prohibited, upon selection as a potential Finalist, each potential Finalist/Winner will be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release along with an Assignment of Intellectual Property Rights for the Design Submission (the “Affidavit/Release”) within seven (7) days of being notified. If a potential Finalist fails to sign and return the Affidavit/Release within the required time period, or fails to comply with these Official Rules, that potential Finalist will be disqualified and an alternate potential Finalist will be selected from all eligible entries received in his/her place in accordance with the Judging Criteria described above within seven (7) days of the date the potential Finalist is determined to be ineligible. If a potential Winner fails to sign and return the Affidavit/Release within the required time period or is unavailable to accept the prize within the time period specified by Sponsor, or the prize notification is returned as non-deliverable, that potential Winner will be deemed to have forfeited the prize, and the Finalist whose Design Submission received the next highest number of votes will be selected as an alternate potential Winner in place of the disqualified potential Winner within seven (7) days of the date the potential Winner is determined to be ineligible. Only those selected as Finalists are eligible to be selected as potential alternate Winners. If no eligible Finalists remain to be declared an alternate potential winner, the applicable prize will remain un-awarded. Only eligible entries for which all required documentation has been provided will be judged and awarded prizes.
EACH POTENTIAL FINALIST/WINNER IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION BY SPONSOR, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE CONTEST. AN ENTRANT IS NOT A FINALIST OR WINNER OF ANY PRIZE UNLESS AND UNTIL ENTRANT’S ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN VERIFIED AND ENTRANT HAS BEEN NOTIFIED THAT VERIFICATION IS COMPLETE.
5. Prizes: Grand Prize: One (1) Grand Prize will be awarded, which consist of a $750 Best Buy Gift Card. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of the Grand Prize: $750.
Second Prize: One (1) Second Prize will be awarded, which consist of a $250 Best Buy Gift Card. ARV of the Second Prize: $250.
Total ARV of all prizes to be awarded: $950.
Additionally, each of the Winners’ Design Submissions will be posted on www.videogamevoters.org, where visitors to the website can download the Badge advertisement and post it on other websites where permissible. However, Sponsor is not obligated to use any Design Submission in this or any other manner, except to the extent required by law, and any use of Design Submission is at the sole and exclusive option of Sponsor.
Prize Restrictions: Any and all applicable federal, state, and local taxes and all fees and expenses related to acceptance and use of prize not specifically stated herein are the sole responsibility of the Winner. Prize cannot be substituted, assigned, transferred, or redeemed for cash; however, Sponsor reserves the right to make equivalent prize substitution at its sole discretion. Sponsor will not replace any lost or stolen prize. Only the number of prizes stated in these Official Rules is available to be won in the Contest. The Grand Prize Winner will be issued a 1099 tax form for the appropriate value of prize. Gift cards are subject to terms and conditions; see front and back of gift card for details. Winners may waive their right to receive prizes.
6. General Conditions: This Promotion is governed by the laws of the United States. This Promotion is void outside the United States and where prohibited. If, for any reason, the Promotion is not capable of running as planned, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, void any suspect entries and/or (a) cancel or terminate the Promotion (or any portion thereof); (b) modify the Promotion or suspend the Promotion to address the impairment and then resume the Promotion in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules; or (c) award the prize at random from among the eligible, non-suspect entries received up to the time of the impairment. Sponsor and its agencies are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, stolen, misdirected, or illegible entries; lost, interrupted, or unavailable network, server, or other connections, telephone transmission problems; or other errors or malfunctions of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, or otherwise. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
WARNING: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW, AND, SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PROSECUTE AND SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be attempting to tamper with or undermine the entry process and/or the legitimate operation of the Promotion; to violate the Official Rules; or to act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person.
7. Nature of Relationship/Waiver of Equitable Relief: Each entrant understands and acknowledges that the Sponsor has wide access to ideas, designs, and other materials, and that new ideas are constantly being submitted to it or being developed by its own employees. Each entrant also acknowledges that many ideas may be competitive with, similar or identical to the Design Submission that the entrant submitted in connection with this Promotion (referred to in this section as “Design Submission”) and/or each other in theme, idea, format or other respects. Each entrant acknowledges and agrees that such entrant will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of Sponsor’s use of any such similar or identical material and no additional consideration will be provided for the Design Submission or ideas contained therein, except as provided under these Official Rules. Each entrant acknowledges and agrees that the Sponsor does not now and shall not have in the future any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of the copyright in and to the Design Submission. Finally, each entrant acknowledges that, with respect to any claim by entrant relating to or arising out of Sponsor’s actual or alleged exploitation or use of any Design Submission or other material submitted in connection with the Promotion, the damage, if any, thereby caused to the applicable entrant will not be irreparable or otherwise sufficient to entitle such entrant to seek injunctive or other equitable relief or in any way enjoin the production, distribution, exhibition or other exploitation of the Design Submission or any material based on or allegedly based on the Design Submission, and the entrant’s rights and remedies in any such event shall be strictly limited to the right to recover damages, if any, in an action at law.
8. Releases and Limitations of Liability: By participating in this Promotion, entrants agree that Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, franchisees, representatives, consultants, contractors, legal counsel, advertising, public relations, promotional, fulfillment and marketing agencies, and their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents (the “Released Parties”) are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion; (2) technical failures of any kind; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Promotion; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Promotion or the processing of entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Promotion or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. If for any reason an entrant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, entrant’s sole remedy is another entry in the Promotion.
BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROMOTION, ENTRANTS AGREE THAT THE RELEASED PARTIES WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR, AND SHALL BE HELD HARMLESS BY ENTRANTS AGAINST, ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY INJURIES, LOSSES OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND TO PERSONS, INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, OR PROPERTY RESULTING IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, MISUSE, OR USE OF THE PRIZE, ENTRY, OR PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROMOTION OR IN ANY PROMOTION RELATED ACTIVITY, OR ANY CLAIMS BASED ON PUBLICITY RIGHTS, DEFAMATION OR INVASION OF PRIVACY, OR MERCHANDISE DELIVERY. THE RELEASED PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF ANY PRIZE CANNOT BE AWARDED DUE TO ACTS OF GOD, ACTS OF WAR, NATURAL DISASTERS, WEATHER, OR TERRORISM. BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROMOTION, PARTICIPANTS AGREE THAT THE RELEASED PARTIES WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY INJURIES, DAMAGES, OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES TO PERSONS, INCLUDING DEATH, OR TO PROPERTY ARISING OUT OF ACCESS TO AND USE OF ANY INTERNET SITE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROMOTION OR SPONSOR, OR THE DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM ANY SUCH SITE.
EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW, EACH WINNER GRANTS TO SPONSOR (WHICH GRANT WILL BE CONFIRMED IN WRITING ON REQUEST OF SPONSOR) AND ALL OTHER RELEASED PARTIES AND THOSE ACTING PURSUANT TO SPONSOR’S AUTHORITY, THE RIGHT AND PERMISSION TO PRINT, PUBLISH, BROADCAST, AND USE, WORLDWIDE IN ANY MEDIA NOW KNOWN OR HEREAFTER DEVELOPED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WORLD WIDE WEB, AT ANY TIME OR TIMES, DESIGN SUBMISSION, PORTRAIT, PICTURE, VOICE, LIKENESS, AND BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION FOR ADVERTISING, TRADE, AND PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES WITHOUT ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION, COMPENSATION, PERMISSION, OR NOTIFICATION. By submitting an entry, entrant agrees that Sponsor shall own any entry, communications or submissions, creative suggestions, ideas, notes, concepts or other materials (“Submissions”) that entrant may submit to Sponsor in connection with this Promotion, including all rights embodied therein, with the exception of personally identifiable information, such as name and contact information. SUCH SUBMISSIONS SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE NON-CONFIDENTIAL AND NON-PROPRIETARY AND SPONSOR SHALL HAVE NO OBLIGATION OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO SUCH SUBMISSIONS AND SHALL BE FREE TO EDIT, EXPLOIT, MODIFY, PUBLISH, REPRODUCE, USE, DISCLOSE, DISSEMINATE AND DISTRIBUTE THE SUBMISSIONS TO OTHERS WITHOUT LIMITATION IN ANY AND ALL MEDIA NOW KNOWN OR NOT CURRENTLY KNOWN, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN PERPETUITY FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT COMPENSATION, PERMISSION OR NOTIFICATION TO ENTRANT OR ANY THIRD PARTY. ENTRANT HEREBY GRANTS SPONSOR A ROYALTY FREE, IRREVOCABLE, AND WORLDWIDE, IN PERPETUITY LICENSE TO USE THE SUBMISSIONS IN ANY FORM OR FORMAT AND TO MODIFY THE SAME, AND ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT IF SPONSOR DOES USE THE SUBMISSIONS ENTRANT SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO ANY CREDIT, CONSIDERATION, NOTICE OR PAYMENTS OF ANY KIND. ENTRANT WAIVES ANY MORAL RIGHTS HE OR SHE MAY HAVE TO THE SUBMISSIONS, AND AGREES THAT IF SPONSOR ELECTS TO USE SUBMISSIONS FOR ANY PURPOSE, ALL RIGHTS UNDER COPYRIGHT OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THAT RELATING TO ENTRANT’S SUBMISSIONS OR FROM USE OF THE SAME BY SPONSOR SHALL BE THE SOLE PROPERTY OF SPONSOR. ENTRANT FURTHER AGREES THAT IF SPONSOR ELECTS TO USE ENTRANT’S SUBMISSIONS, ENTRANT WILL EXECUTE ANY DOCUMENTS REQUESTED BY SPONSOR REGARDING THIS ASSIGNMENT. IF ANY USE BY SPONSOR OF THE SUBMISSIONS CAUSES IT TO BE LIABLE TO ANY THIRD PARTY, ENTRANT AGREES TO INDEMNIFY SPONSOR, ITS AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, REPRESENTATIVE AND ALL RELATED PARTIES FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL DAMAGES, COSTS, JUDGMENTS AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES) WHICH IT INCURS AS A RESULT OF ITS USE OF THE SUBMISSIONS.
WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EVERYTHING REGARDING THIS PROMOTION, INCLUDING ANY WEBSITE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROMOTION AND ALL PRIZES, ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY. CHECK LOCAL LAWS FOR ANY RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS REGARDING THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS.
9. Official Rules and Winners List: For a copy of the Official Rules, visit www.videogamevoters.org. For a list of winners, available for 60 days after verification of all winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: The Entertainment Software Association, 575 7th Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20004. Vermont residents may exclude return postage.
Copyright ©2010 Entertainment Software Association. All trademarks or logos used herein are trademarks of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries. All rights reserved.
