Google - Photography Prize

The iGoogle Photography Competition Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. CONTEST IS OPEN TO OPEN TO STUDENTS AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AS DEFINED BELOW WHO ARE RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND WORLDWIDE, EXCEPT FOR ITALY, BRAZIL, QUEBEC, CUBA, IRAN, IRAQ, SYRIA, NORTH KOREA, SUDAN, LIBYA, LIBERIA, ZIMBABWE, MYANMAR (BURMA)).

ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

BINDING AGREEMENT. In order to enter the Contest, you must agree to these Official Rules (“Rules”). Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entry to ensure you understand and agree. You agree that submission of an entry in the Contest constitutes agreement to these Rules. You may not submit an entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive the prizes described in these Rules unless you agree to these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between you and Google with respect to the Contest.
ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to enter the Contest, you must be: (1) enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate course at any higher education institute, college, the equivalent of college, graduate school, or trade school (“Higher Education Institution”); (2) not a resident of Italy, Brazil, Quebec, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, Libya, Liberia, Zimbabwe, or Myanmar (Burma); (3) have access to the Internet as of May 5, 2009; and (4) able to attend the private exhibition and announcement of the Contest winner, as detailed in Section 8, on June 23, 2009 at the Saatchi Gallery in London, UK. Entrants may be asked to submit original electronic files/negatives of their photographs; failure to do so may result in disqualification from the Contest. Minors who enter must have the written consent of a parent or legal guardian in order to be eligible to receive any prizes, as described in Section 8 of these Rules. Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of Google, the Saatchi Gallery London and their parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, advertising and promotion agencies, representatives, and agents (“Contest Entities”), and members of the Contest Entities’ and their immediate families (parents, siblings, children, spouses, and life partners of each, regardless of where they live) and members of the households (whether related or not) of such employees, officers and directors are ineligible to participate in this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to verify eligibility and to adjudicate on any dispute at any time.
SPONSOR. The Contest is sponsored by Google Inc. (“Google” or “Sponsor”), a Delaware corporation with principal place of business at 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA, 94043, USA.
CONTEST PERIOD. The Contest begins at 12:00:00 A.M. Pacific Time (PT) Zone in the United States on May 5, 2009 and ends at 11:59:59 P.M. PT on May 31, 2009 (“Contest Period”). ENTRANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS.
HOW TO ENTER. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. To enter the Contest, visit the Contest website located at http://www.google.com/intl/en/landing/photographyprize/ (“Contest Site”) during the Contest Period and follow the instructions for submitting your five photographs that will make up your entry for the Contest (“Photographs”). Sponsor will not accept entries submitted via any other means. The Photographs must meet the “Photograph Requirements,” described below.
LIMIT ONE (1) ENTRY PER PERSON. Subsequent entries will be disqualified. Team entries and entries on behalf of entities are void. All entries must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. (PT) on May 31, 2009. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Entries are void if they are in whole or part illegible, incomplete, damaged, counterfeit, obtained through fraud, or late. All entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the account used to submit the Photographs at the time of entry, and the potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder for that account. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person assigned to the account by at the time of account creation.
PHOTOGRAPH REQUIREMENTS. Entrants must submit five (5) Photographs. By submitting an entry in the Contest, regardless of country of entry, each entrant represents and warrants that his or her Photographs conform to these Official Rules and meet the following criteria:
1. It must be an original, unpublished work that does not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, material or element that is owned by a third party or entity.
2. It must not have previously been submitted in any competition and/or won an award or prize of any kind.
3. It must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libelous or contain any content that is in appropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, indecent, tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Contest.
4. It must not contain content, material or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to all applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws and regulations the laws or regulations in any state where the Photographs were created.
5. It must not contain any content, material or element that displays any third party advertising, slogan, logo, trademark or otherwise indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by a third party, commercial entity or that is not within the spirit of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.
6. It must not reference any person, group, or organizations without their written permission.
7. It cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party’s intellectual property rights, including but not limited copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, logos, contract and licensing rights, rights of publicity or privacy, moral rights, or any other intellectual property rights.
8. It must not be subject to any third party agreement(s) which may require Sponsor to pay any sum of money to any person or entity as a result of its use or exploitation of the Photographs or rights therein.
During the Contest Period, the Sponsor, its agents and/or the Judges (defined below) will be evaluating each entry to ensure that it does not violate the Photograph Requirements. While the Sponsor, its agents and/or the Judges will make every effort to review the submitted Photographs to ensure that they meet the Photograph Requirements, they may not be able to view all Photographs during the Contest Period.
JUDGING. Each entry will be judged by a panel of judges selected by Sponsor (“Judges”). There will be three rounds of judging, the first round by Judges, the second round by public voters, and the third round by another panel of judges selected by Sponsor (“Final Judges”). On or about June 1, 2009, each set of Photographs will be evaluated by the Judges based on the following criteria, each of equal weight:
1. How original are the Photographs?
2. How creative are the Photographs?
3. How coherent are the five Photographs together as a theme?
4. How effectively has the student utilized the iGoogle format?
Judges will evaluate and attribute a score to each entry made up of scores based upon the above-listed criteria. The thirty-six (36) entries that receive the highest overall scores will be selected as the potential “Semifinalists.” In the event of a tie, the Photographs that received the higher score from the Judges in the category of “how creative are the Photographs” will be selected as one of the potential Semifinalists. In the event a potential Semifinalist is disqualified for any reason, the Photographs that received the next highest total score will be chosen as the potential Semifinalist.
On or about June 3, the potential Semifinalists will be selected and notified by telephone and/or email, at Sponsor’s discretion. If a potential Semifinalist does not respond to the notification attempt within 2 days from the first notification attempt, then such potential Semifinalists will be disqualified and an alternate potential Semifinalist will be selected from among all eligible entries received based on the judging criteria described herein. With respect to notification by telephone, such notification will be deemed given when the potential Semifinalist engages in a live conversation with Sponsor or when a message is left on the potential Semifinalist’s voicemail service or answering machine by the Sponsor, whichever occurs first. Except where prohibited by law, each potential Semifinalist may be required to sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release and provide any additional information that may be required by Sponsor. If required, potential Semifinalists must return all such required documents within 7 days following attempted notification or such potential Semifinalist will be deemed to have forfeited the prize and another potential Semifinalist will be selected based on the judging criteria described herein. In the event the potential Semifinalist is a minor, his or her parent or legal guardian must sign the documents and return them as described herein. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Rules, will be strictly enforced. If there are less than 36 entries in the Contest then all of the entries will be considered as Semifinalists.

Further, potential Semifinalists warrant that they are able to attend the private exhibition and announcement of the Contest winner on June 23, 2009 at the Saatchi Gallery in London, UK. If a potential Semifinalist is unable to attend the event on June 23, 2009, such potential Semifinalist will be disqualified and an alternate potential Semifinalist will be selected from among all eligible entries received based on the judging criteria described herein.

Second Round: During the Second Round of judging, Google users will evaluate and attribute a score to each Semifinalist’s Photographs made up of scores based upon the below-listed criteria during the period beginning on June 11, 2009 and ending on June 17, 2009 at 11:59 PM PT (the “User Voting Period”).
1. How original are the Photographs?
2. How creative are the Photographs?
3. How coherent are the five photographs together as a theme?
4. How effectively has the student utilized the iGoogle format?
Users are limited to one vote per entry per day during the User Voting Period. Subsequent votes by a single individual exceeding this limit will be disqualified.
The six (6) Semifinalist’s Photographs that receive the highest overall scores will be selected as the potential Finalists. In the event of a tie, a panel of judges selected by Sponsor will determine the potential Finalist(s) from the entries that are tied.

On or about June 18, 2009, the potential Finalists will be selected and notified by telephone and/or email, at Sponsor’s discretion. If a potential Finalist does not respond to the notification attempt within 2 days from the first notification attempt, then such potential Finalist will be disqualified and an alternate potential Finalist will be selected from among the remaining Semifinalists based on the judging criteria described herein. In the event a potential Finalist is disqualified for any reason, the Semifinalist’s Photographs that received the next highest total score will be chosen as a potential Finalist.

Final Round: Each of the six (6) Finalist entries will be judged by a panel of Final Judges selected by Sponsor. On or about June 22, 2009, each entry will be evaluated by the Final Judges based on the following criteria:
1. How original are the Photographs?
2. How creative are the Photographs?
3. How coherent are the five photographs together as a theme?
4. How effectively has the student utilized the iGoogle format?
Final Judges will evaluate and attribute a score to each entry made up of scores based upon the above-listed criteria. The entry that receives the highest overall score will be selected as the potential Grand Prize Winner. In the event of a tie, the entry that received the higher score from the Final Judges in the category of how creative are the Photographs will be selected as the potential Grand Prize Winner. In the event a potential Grand Prize Winner is disqualified for any reason, the Finalist’s Photographs that received the next highest total score will be chosen as the Grand Prize Winner. The potential Grand Prize Winner will be announced at the private viewing held at the Saatchi Gallery on June 23, 2009, as detailed in Section 8, and subsequently on the Contest Site and the iGoogle site.
In the event that no Photographs are received, no prize will be awarded. Determinations of judges are final and binding.
PRIZES. The thirty-six entries selected as potential Semifinalists will have their Photographs transformed into iGoogle themes and will be awarded a T-shirts. The six (6) individuals selected as Finalists will receive an invitation to exhibit his or her Photographs in the Saatchi Gallery in London for one week beginning on June 23, 2009 and ending on June 29, 2009. Each Finalist will also receive an invitation for the Finalist and one (1) guest to attend a private viewing of the exhibition to be held at the Saatchi Gallery on June 23, 2009.
Prize will also include (1) round-trip airfare (coach) for each Finalist and guest (or parent or legal guardian if the Finalist is a minor) to travel from the major airport closest to each individual’s residence to London, UK; (2) double-occupancy hotel accommodation for two nights in London, UK; (3) return transfers from a London airport to accommodations and return transfers from accommodations to the Saatchi Gallery; and (4) Reasonable meal costs of up to $150.00 USD for two days. Hotel accommodations at Sponsor's discretion. You are responsible for any other expenses including cost to obtain a passport or visa and any other incidental travel cost not expressly stated above, including but not limited to, additional meals, additional ground transportation, passenger tariffs or duties, surcharges, airport fees, service charges or facility charges, personal charges at lodging, security fees, taxes or other expenses are the responsibility solely of the winner. Prize is not redeemable for cash. The Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of the Prize is $3000.00 USD. The ARV may be adjusted depending on the state or jurisdiction of residence of the winner.
Once the travel schedule has been arranged, it cannot be altered and failure of a Finalist and/or guest to follow such schedule shall not obligate Sponsor in any way to provide the Finalist and/or guest with alternate arrangements. In the event that a Finalist is unable, for whatever reason, to accept any Prize then Google reserves the right to award the prize to another Semifinalist. It is the responsibility of all Finalists who are rewarded with a prize involving travel, to ensure that they hold a valid passport and visa (if required). Prior to ticketing both Finalist and companion must possess required travel documents (e.g. valid passport and visa if applicable). Acceptance of the prize is subject to permission from a parent or legal guardian. In the event that a Finalist is a minor, his or her parent or legal guardian must sign a travel companion liability release and a travel companion publicity release prior to issuance of travel documents (unless prohibited by law). Failure to return any required forms by June 11, 2009 may prevent the Finalist and the Finalist’s parent or legal guardian from participating in the trip.
GRAND PRIZE. The Finalist selected as the Grand Prize winner will receive a monetary prize in the amount of $7,500 USD. The Grand Prize Winner will also receive an opportunity to spend a day with British photographer Martin Parr following the Saatchi Gallery exhibition. Grand Prize will also include (1) double-occupancy hotel accommodation for two additional nights in London, UK; and (2) reasonable meal costs of up to $150.00 USD for two additional days. Hotel accommodations at Sponsor's discretion. The Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of the Prize is $11,000.00 USD. The ARV may be adjusted depending on the state or jurisdiction of residence of the winner.
Terms Applicable to All Prizes. Odds of winning any prize depends on the number of eligible entries received during the Contest Period and the skill of the entrants. No transfer, substitution or cash equivalent for prizes is allowed, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize, in whole or in part, of equal or greater monetary value if a prize cannot be awarded, in whole or in part, as described for any reason. Value is subject to market conditions, which can fluctuate and any difference between actual market value and ARV will not be awarded. The prize may be subject to restrictions and/or licenses. Contest Entities have not made and Contest Entities are not responsible in any manner for any warranties, representations, or guarantees, express or implied, in fact or law, relating to the prize, regarding the use, value or enjoyment of the prize, including, without limitation, its quality, mechanical condition, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose, with the exception of any standard manufacturer's warranty that may apply to the prize or any components thereto.
TAXES. PAYMENTS TO POTENTIAL WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS REQUIREMENT THAT THEY SUBMIT TO GOOGLE ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED BY GOOGLE TO PERMIT IT TO COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, PROVINCIAL, LOCAL AND FOREIGN TAX REPORTING AND WITHHOLDING REQUIREMENTS. ALL PRIZES WILL BE NET OF ANY TAXES GOOGLE IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO WITHHOLD. ALL TAXES IMPOSED ON PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNERS. In order to receive a prize, potential winners must submit the tax documentation requested by Google or otherwise required by applicable law, to Google or the relevant tax authority, all as determined by applicable law, including, where relevant, the law of the potential winner’s country of residence. The potential winner and his or her parent or legal guardian are responsible for ensuring that (s)he complies with all the applicable tax laws and filing requirements. If a potential winner fails to provide such documentation or comply with such laws, the prize may be forfeited and Google may, in its sole discretion, select an alternative potential winner.
GENERAL CONDITIONS. All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. Google reserves the right to disqualify any entrant from the Contest if, in Google’s sole discretion, it reasonably believes that the entrant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other entrants, viewers, Google, or the Judges.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. As between you and Sponsor, each entrant shall retain ownership of all intellectual property rights in the entry (including moral rights) subject to these Official Rules. However, by entering the Competition, and to the extent allowed by law, entrant grants Google and its affiliates, licensees, promotional partners, developers and third party marketing entities ("Permitted Users") a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to modify, rearrange, copy, reproduce and adapt the images only to fit the format required for an iGoogle theme, product web pages and marketing materials, and to publish and use the Photographs themselves and the content of and elements embodied in the Photographs, including any names, locations and likenesses, for the duration of the rights, in any and all media, including but not limited to digital and electronic media, computer, and audiovisual media (whether now existing or hereafter devised), specifically for use as an iGoogle theme, in any language, throughout the world, and in any manner, for advertising, promotional, commercial, or any other purposes related to the Google Photography Prize or in iGoogle branded content without further review, notice, approval, consideration, or compensation, provided that after the fifth anniversary of the awarding of the Photography Prize entrant may terminate this agreement with Sponsor by contacting Sponsor in writing, in which event entrant's Photographs and other materials in which entrant has intellectual property rights will no longer be reproduced or used by Permitted Users and will be removed within 30 days after receipt of notice by sponsor, except that Sponsor may continue to use such Photographs and materials in connection with the Photography Prize and the promotion thereof.
PRIVACY. Participants agree that personal data entered during the registration, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address may be processed, stored, shared and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest. This data will also be transferred into the United States. By entering, entrants agree to the transmission, processing, sharing and storage of this personal data in the United States.
Participants also understand this data may be used by Sponsor in order to verify an entrant’s identity, postal address and telephone number in the event an entry qualifies for a prize. Participants have the right to access, review, rectify or cancel any personal data held by Google in connection with the Contest by writing to Google at the address listed above in Section 3. If a participant does not provide the data require at registration, that participant’s entry will be ineligible. By accepting a prize, participant agrees and consents to Google and its agencies use of entrant’s name and/or likeness and Photographs to name the entrant for a reasonable time after completion of the Contest in promotional and advertising material of Google (or its agents) as a winner of the Contest without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.
PUBLICITY. By accepting a prize, entrant agrees to Sponsor and its agencies use of his or her name and/or likeness and Photographs for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.
WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY. Participants warrant that their Photographs are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Photographs and that they have the right to submit the Photographs in the Contest and grant all required licenses. Each entrant agrees not to submit any entry that (1) infringes any third party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity or confidentiality obligations; or (2) otherwise violates the applicable state, federal, provincial or local law. Participants also warrant that they have not submitted their entry on behalf of a team or any other entity.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, each entrant indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified Contest Entities at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the entrant and/or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each entrant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Contest Entities from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or accruing from (a) any Photographs or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by the entrant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy, (b) any misrepresentation made by the entrant in connection with the Contest; (c) any non-compliance by the entrant with these Rules; (d) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to the entrant’s involvement with the Contest; (e) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in this Contest; (f) any malfunction or other problem with the Contest Site; (g) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry information; or (h) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any prize or winners.
ELIMINATION. Any false information provided within the context of the Contest by any entrant concerning identity, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right or non-compliance with these Rules or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the entrant from the Contest.
INTERNET. Contest Entities are not responsible for any malfunction of the entire Contest Site or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed Photographs due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Contest Site, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital or satellite malfunctions which may limit an entrant’s ability to participate.
RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY OR DISQUALIFY. If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, Google reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Google further reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest or Contest Site. Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any web site, including the Contest Site, or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Google reserves the right to seek damages from any such entrant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.
NOT AN OFFER OR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT. Under no circumstances shall the submission of an entry into the Contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these Rules be construed as an offer or contract of employment with either Google, or the Contest Entities. You acknowledge that you have submitted your Photographs voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. You acknowledge that no confidential, fiduciary, agency or other relationship or implied-in-fact contract now exists between you and Google or the Contest Entities and that no such relationship is established by your submission of Photographs under these Rules.
FORUM AND RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL PROCEDURES. These Rules shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, United States of America, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded, and all Participants expressly waive any and all such rights.
ARBITRATION. By entering the Contest, you agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute, claim, or demand related in any way to the Contest will be decided by binding arbitration. All disputes between you and Google of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of these Rules, shall be submitted to Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (“JAMS”) for binding arbitration under its rules then in effect in the San Jose, California, USA area, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. The parties agree to share equally in the arbitration costs incurred.
WINNER’S LIST. You may request a list of winners after June 30, 2009 but before January 30, 2010 by send a self addressed stamped envelope to:
Google Photography Prize
iGoogle Team
Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheater Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
USA
(Residents of Vermont need not supply postage).

On May 16th 2009, we made an update to the Terms & Conditions for the contest, based on feedback we got about Section 13 entitled 'Intellectual Property Rights'. We revised this in favour of entrants, to clarify that we will use the photographs in the entry only for the iGoogle product and our marketing of it. This was always our intention, but hopefully the new wording makes it crystal clear. We have notified everybody who had entered the contest under the old T&Cs of this change.