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These are the Official Rules that govern how Imagine Cup 2012 will operate its Competitions and Challenges (the "Competition"). In these Official Rules (i) "Organizer," "we," "our," and "us" means Microsoft Corporation, the organizer of this Competition; (ii) "Sponsor" means each company and organization referenced in the "Sponsor" section of the Competition website that supports and contributes to the organization of this Competition; and (iii) "You," and "yourself" means an eligible Competition entrant.
If you meet the eligibility criteria stated below, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, then you should ask your parents or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry.
By entering this Competition, you are agreeing (i) that you will abide by the Official Rules written and referenced below; (ii) that this Competition is governed by the laws of the State of Washington, USA, and that you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington, USA, for any disputes arising out of this Competition, and (iii) that Microsoft’s Privacy Policy will apply to this Competition and to all information that we receive from you, including your entry and supporting materials, and that by accepting the Official Rules and submitting an entry, you are also accepting the terms of the Privacy Policy. Please read the Privacy Policy on the Competition entry page before accepting the Official Rules and submitting an entry.
If you do not agree to abide by these Official Rules, please do not enter this Competition.
The Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition. While competing with their peers from around the world, students gain real life experiences, make new friends, and turn their ideas into reality. The brightest young minds join together and, using technology, take on the world’s toughest problems. Open to students around the world, the competition spans one year, beginning with local, regional and online competitions, and seeks innovative Competition entries that address the Imagine Cup Theme: Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems. The finalists go on to compete at the Worldwide Finals, which is hosted in a different country every year.
We encourage you to carefully review the details for each Competition before registering or submitting an entry since each Competition may have unique eligibility requirements, methods of entry, content and technical requirements.
All Competitions offered as part of Imagine Cup 2012 are governed by these Official Rules. If there are any inconsistencies between these Official Rules, and the Specific Competition Rules, these Official Rules will govern.
The dates in these Official Rules and in the specific Competition Rules are subject to change at any time, at our sole discretion. Therefore, you must have a flexible schedule.
Competition sign up opens on August 16, 2012 at 5:01 P.M. Pacific Standard Time (PST). Sign Up end dates and other deadlines vary by Competition. Please carefully review the details for each Competition before signing up. All entries must be received within the period designated in the Specific Competition Rules.
It is anticipated that the Worldwide Finals will take place in Sydney Australia, in July, 2012.
Unless otherwise indicated in the specific Competition Rules, you are eligible to enter any specific Competition that is a part of this overall Competition if you meet the following requirements at the time of competition sign up:
PLEASE NOTE: U.S. export regulations prohibit the export of goods and services to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Therefore residents of these countries/regions are not eligible to participate.
If you are a Microsoft campus representative (e.g. a Microsoft Student Partner http://student-partners.com) and you meet the eligibility criteria set forth above, you may enter the competition, but you are prohibited from using Microsoft property or resources, including without limitation: Microsoft networks, hardware tools and technology resources and/or the counsel of Microsoft employees, in connection with the creation or execution of an entry. Very simply, you cannot use any resources which are not also broadly available to all other students. If you have any questions, please contact us.
If you have previously placed first in the Worldwide Finals of a Competition, you are not eligible to enter that same Competition again, but you may enter any of the other Competitions.
This Competition is void in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria and where prohibited by law.
If you advance to compete in the local/regional round of the Software Design Competition, or you advance to the second round of any other Competition, you will be required to verify your eligibility status (including enrollment status) in a form satisfactory to us before we will allow you to advance to the next round.
If, at any time after we verify your eligibility status, you experience a change in eligibility status due to special circumstances such as acceptance of an internship or offer of employment from Microsoft, a Microsoft subsidiary, or anyone else that is involved in the execution and administration of this Competition, you must contact us immediately and explain the circumstances. If you fail to notify us of a change in eligibility status, you may be disqualified from this Competition and will not be allowed to win any prizes.
Each Competition will be designated as a Team Competition or as an Individual Competition in the specific Competition Rules. If you wish to participate in a Competition, you must sign up as instructed in the Specific Competition Rules during the designated sign up period.
If you compete in more than one Competition either as an individual or as a member of a Team, and you and/or your Team is invited to compete in the Worldwide Finals in more than one Competition, you may only compete in one Competition at the Worldwide Finals. In other words, you will be required to choose one Competition in which to compete at the Worldwide Finals. If the Competition is designated as a Team Competition, then the following additional rules and regulations apply:
Entry limits vary by Competition. Please see the specific Competition Rules for requirements. Unless otherwise indicated in the specific Competition Rules, if you submit multiple entries in a single- entry Competition, then we will consider the last entry received your official entry, and we will disqualify all subsequent entries. We will also disqualify any incomplete or illegible entries that we receive. We are not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.
Please note that the intent and spirit of the Competition is to test the skills and creativity of the student entrants. Anyone acting as a team mentor, or in an mentorship role, where allowed (for example, local, regional, or global sponsors), must limit the level of support provided to student entrants to general guidance and must not contribute in any way that may be considered original authorship, or in a way that may enable claims of rights or ownership to the submitted entries. In no event will work-on-behalf of teams or individuals be allowed.
In addition to any Competition-specific requirements and unless otherwise indicated in the specific Competition Rules, to be eligible for judging, an entry must meet the following general standards:
We will disqualify any entries that we, in our sole discretion, find to be a duplicate, or the result of collaborative work contrary to these Official Rules, the applicable Specific Competition Rules and to the spirit of the Competition. If, in any Competition, we do not receive a sufficient number of entries meeting the entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer than the designated number of winners. The decisions of the judges are final and binding in all matters related to the Competition.
Your odds of winning a prize will depend on the number of eligible entries received and the level of skill of each entrant. All prizes will be awarded provided a qualified number of entries are received. If for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, unless to do so would be prohibited by law, we reserve the right to substitute a prize(s) of equal or greater value.
All cash prizes are stated in US dollars, but we, or our local subsidiary or designated agent (on our behalf), may actually award a cash prize in the official currency of the winners country of residence based on the exchange rate on the date of payment. Unless otherwise indicated in the Specific Competition Rules, all cash prizes will be divided equally among all officially registered members of a Team.
If you are selected as a potential winner:
Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and/or terms and conditions. We are not responsible for any dispute regarding prize dispersal.
Each Worldwide Finalist will be awarded a trip to New York, USA to compete in the Worldwide Finals. Trip includes round trip coach airfare from major airport closest to winners home, standard hotel accommodations, and select meals during the Worldwide Finals.
In addition to the general prize conditions described above, all travel prizes are subject to the following conditions:
If you/your Team is selected to advance in any Competition, we may notify you by sending a message to the e-mail address or mailing address (if any) you provided at time of sign up within the timelines designated in the specific Competition Rules.
If we require that you affirmatively accept an invitation to compete in a subsequent round of any Competition, and the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable for any reason, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may disqualify you and extend an invitation to the next highest scoring Team/entrant.
If there is a dispute as to the identity of a particular entrant, we will consider the entrant to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used register for the Competition.
If you are selected as a prize winner, we may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release and W-9 tax form (for U.S. residents) or W8-BEN tax form (for non-U.S. residents). If you are a winner and you meet the eligibility criteria for the Competition, but you are a minor in your place of residence, then we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all required forms on your behalf. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select the next highest scoring Team/entrant.
A full list of all winners will be published within 30 days following the Worldwide Finals.
By accepting a prize you agree to participate in promotional events and activities that may include, but are not limited to, showcases of your entry on-stage at industry events, and allow us and the Sponsors to use your name, trademarks, image, comments and/or company logos on presentation slides and other marketing materials promoting the Competition.
You agree to assist us and the Sponsors in the creation of case studies or white papers (together "Studies") detailing your entry(ies). Studies will not include any confidential participant information. Upon your approval of the Studies’ accuracy, you agree to give us and the Sponsors permission to display the Studies including trademarks, logos and other identifying information contained therein, on our and the Sponsors websites and in other documentation. This documentation may take various forms, including printed materials, on-line articles, video, audio, and other digital recordings.
Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your entry. However, by submitting your entry, you:
Please note that following the end of this Competition your entry may be posted on a website selected by us for viewing by visitors to that website. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your entry by visitors to this website. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning entry.
If you do not want to grant us these rights to your entry, please do not enter this Competition.
By entering this Competition you agree:
This Competition will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Competition.
If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and/or integrity of this Competition, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Competition. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Competition, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Competition.
If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Competition by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Competitions, so please play fairly.
The Organizer of this Competition is Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA, 98052 U.S.A.
These are the official rules that govern how the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2012 Registration Promotion will operate. This promotion will be simply referred to as the “Sweepstakes” throughout the rest of these rules. In these rules, “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Microsoft Corporation, the sponsor of the Sweepstakes. “You” refers to an eligible Sweepstakes entrant.
This Sweepstakes starts at 11:00a.m. Pacific Time (PT) on October 14, 2011, and ends at 11:00 p.m. PT on November 2, 2011 (“Entry Period”) and will consist of multiple Sweepstakes drawings as follows:
1. The Kinect and Xbox Games Sweepstakes starts at 11:00 a.m. PT on October 14, 2011 and ends at 11:00 p.m. PT on November 2, 2011.
You are eligible to enter this Sweepstakes if you meet the following requirements at time of entry:
This Sweepstakes is void outside of the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.
You can enter the Kinect and Xbox Games Sweepstakes by:
1. Signing up for Imagine Cup 2012 by visiting www.imaginecup.us and filling out all of the required fields.
OR
2. Visiting the 2012 ICUS Sign Up (the “application”) on Facebook and following the links and instructions to register for the promotion. You can also find the application on the 2012 ICUS Sign Up on the Microsoft Tech Student (http://facebook.com/MicrosoftTechStudent) on Facebook. You will advance to the application authorization page where you will be required to authorize the Sponsor to pull your profile information and other content that the application will require to work in order to participate in the Sweepstakes
We will automatically disqualify:
Kinect and Xbox Games Sweepstakes
On or around the close of the Entry Period, we will randomly select six (6) winners to revice the following prizes:
One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive a Kinect for Xbox 360. Approximate Retail Value (ARV) US $144.44 each
Five (5) First Place Winners will each receive an Xbox 360 game. Approximate Retail Value (ARV) US $75.00 each*.
Limit one (1) prize per person for this Sweepstakes.
Your odds of winning this Sweepstakes depend on the number of eligible entries we receive.
By entering this Sweepstakes you agree:
This Sweepstakes will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Sweepstakes.
If cheating, a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Sweepstakes, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Sweepstakes. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Sweepstakes, we reserve the right to randomly select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Sweepstakes.
If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Sweepstakes by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Sweepstakes, so please play fairly.
If you send an email to icus@microsoft.com within 30 days of November 2, 2011, we will provide you with a list of winners that receive a prize worth $25.00 or more.
Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052