Visa Climate Tech Hackathon 2024 Official Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
PARTICIPATION IS OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE TERRITORY (DEFINED BELOW) WHO ARE WILLING AND ELIGIBLE (DEFINED BELOW).
PARTICIPATION IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.
The Visa Climate Tech Hackathon 2024 (“Contest”) is a virtual Contest. Eligible participants in a Team can submit a solution (either a “Project Solution”, or “Submission”) to the available Contest challenges by publishing a project page (“Project Page”) on the dedicated Event Platform (defined below).
Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of Judges (defined below) who will choose the winning Team in accordance with the Project Submission Requirements (defined below), Judging Criteria (defined below) and these official rules (“Rules”). See below for the complete details.
1. SPONSOR AND ORGANIZER: The Contest is sponsored by Visa Europe Limited (“Sponsor” or “Visa”), Visa Europe, 1 Sheldon Square, Paddington, London W2 6TT, and organized by BeMyApp Corporation (“BeMyApp” or “Organizer”), 535 Mission Street, 14th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA. The Contest is hosted on Organizer’s dedicated Event Platform (defined below).
2. BINDING AGREEMENT: In order to enter, an individual (hereafter a “Participant” or “you”) must agree to these Rules. Participation is subject to these Rules and any additional rules or guidelines provided by the Sponsor. The Contest will be conducted exclusively in English and each Participant must read these Rules prior to entry and ensure they understand and agree. Participant agrees that registration to the Contest and/or submission of a Project Solution in the Contest constitutes agreement to these Rules. You may not submit a Project Solution and are not eligible to receive a Prize (defined below) unless you agree to these Rules. The Sponsor’s decisions concerning the Rules or any other matter relating to the Contest are final and binding.
3. ELIGIBILITY: Participation in the Contest is intended for collaborative participation only, with individuals working in pre-formed teams .To be eligible to enter the Contest, all Participants in a team must: (1) be willing and able; (2) be a legal resident of, and/or be part of an organization registered in, an Eligible Market (as defined in Addendum A below); (3) be at least 18 years old (or have reached the legal age of majority in their country of residence at the time of entry, whichever is older); (4) be registered on the Event Platform; and (5) accepting of these Rules. Additional criteria for team registration and approval will be provided on the Event Platform.
The Contest is void where prohibited by law. Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of Visa, Organizer, and/or invited Judges 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. Individuals who are prohibited by their employer, organization, employment agreements or applicable law are ineligible. Individuals who are sanctioned and appear on the EU and/or UK and/or US sanctions list are also ineligible. Sponsor and Organizer reserves the right to verify eligibility, including with respect to identity, corporate organization (if applicable), age and other relevant documentation, and may disqualify a Participant (including the Team the Participant is in) at any time without notice for any reason, including, without limitation, if Sponsor determines (in its sole discretion) that the provided proof is not sufficient or the Participant does not otherwise meet the Contest’s eligibility criteria, or the Participant fails to comply with these Rules or attempts in any way to disrupt or undermine the Contest or to circumvent any of these Rules.
4. CONTEST PERIOD: The Contest begins at 00:00 on May 27, 2024 and ends at 19:00 on July 1, 2024 (“Contest Period”). Times indicated for the Contest are reflective of UK time zones.
5. HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Contest, visit the Contest’s Event Page at visaclimatechhackathon2023.bemyapp.com (“Event Page”), which will direct you to the dedicated event platform at visaclimatechhackathon2023-platform.bemyapp.com (“Event Platform”) to complete registration. Participants must complete registration on the Event Platform before the Contest Period and must form part of a Team. You must register individually and indicate your Team on the Event Page. Participants are required to provide the following information to complete registration: first and last name, email, phone number, and country of residence/location, in each case of each Participant member of a Team, as well as but not limited to accepting these Rules and the Visa and Organizer privacy policies (set out below). By entering, Participants hereby consent, where lawful, to the use of their name, team name, image, likeness, voice, location and/or biographical information, submitted Project Solution, and feedback by the Organizer and/or Sponsor and their agencies, in any and all media now known or hereafter developed worldwide, including on the Internet, without compensation, and without the right of review, notification, or approval, in connection with the Contest.
LIMIT ONE (1) SUBMISSION PER TEAM. The Project Solution must, at a minimum, support English language use. Participants will form a Team, defined as [one (1)] or more Participants (“Team”), to submit a Project Solution. Teams cannot exceed 6 Participants. Participants cannot be on more than one (1) Team. A Team cannot submit more than one (1) Project Solution. Teams will have their choice of only one (1) Challenge Statement to solve. Subsequent entries will be disqualified. All entries must be received by [7:00 pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)] on July 1, 2024. Submissions are void if they are in whole or part illegible, incomplete, damaged, altered, counterfeit, obtained through fraud, or in violation of applicable laws and regulations, including any intellectual property laws, or late. All Submissions will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at the time of entry, and the potential winning Team may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder for that email address. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person assigned to an email address by an Internet service provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email address for the domain. The Contest Entities will be evaluating each Submission to ensure that it meets the minimum project submission requirements set out below. Sponsor and/or Organizer reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Participant or Team who submits a Project Solution that does not meet the Project Submission Requirements (defined below). Participants are responsible for all costs related to their Project Submission or participating in the Contest.
The Project Submission Requirements:
(Together, the “Project Submission Requirements”).
6. JUDGING: Submissions will be judged by a panel of judges, consisting of one (1) Sponsor authorized representatives, and [two (2)] external third party judges (“Judges”). Judging will take place from July 8, 2024 to July 12, 2024. Submissions will be evaluated based on the below Judging Criteria (defined below).
The Judging Criteria:
(Together, the “Judging Criteria”).
Each Judge will evaluate the eligible Submissions and give a score to each of the 5 Judging Criteria on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best, for a maximum of 25 points per Submission. The Judges will select the winning Submission(s) based on the scores received. Scores will not be made public by the Organizer or Sponsor at any time. Decisions of Judges are final and cannot be challenged.
7. PRIZES: Prize offerings will include:
Provided that any possible collaboration to further develop the winning idea would be subject to Visa and the winning Team entering into a separate written agreement that contains terms and conditions governing the particular collaboration and any associated activities, and which Participants acknowledge and agree will be based on Visa’s standard terms.
8. PRIZE DISTRIBUTION AND TAXES:
Prizes will be announced by BeMyApp and distributed/fulfilled by Visa to the winners within 120 days after the prize winners announcement. Where applicable, any additional terms between the Sponsor and winners will be agreed to in a separate written agreement. Winners will be awarded non-cash prizes, which may include certificates or other non-monetary awards. Sponsor cannot be held liable should they face an inability to contact the winner.
9. GENERAL CONDITIONS: All applicable laws and regulations apply. The Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Participant from the Contest if, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion, it reasonably believes that the Participant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest, including by cheating, misrepresentation, harassment, abuse or other unfair practices or fails to comply with any term under these Rules. Participation in this Contest is subject to these Rules. Participants agree to abide by and be bound to these Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and/or Organizer, which are final and binding in all respects. These Rules may be amended or varied at any time during the Contest Period by the Sponsor and/or Organizer, at their sole discretion. The revised Rules will be accessible on the Event Platform. Participants are entitled to withdraw from the Contest if they do not agree to such revised Rules. By continuing participation in the Contest, the Participant is agreeing to the revised Rules without any objection.
The Sponsor and/or Organizer reserves the right to disqualify and take legal action to the fullest extent permitted by law against any Participant who, in their reasonable suspicion, tampers with the Event Page, the Event Platform, the entry process, violates these Rules, or acts in an inappropriate or disruptive manner.
10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (“IP”) RIGHTS:
During the Contest, the Participants will collaborate with members in their Team in developing Project Solutions, which may include concepts, data, materials, ideas, suggestions, improvements, modifications or comments, or other works or information (“Team Submissions”).
Participants shall only use elements, content and materials, which are clear of any intellectual property or other third-party rights. Sponsor reserves the right to request from Team members at any time proof that a Team maintains all necessary rights in their Team Submission in order to grant Sponsor the rights required herein in a form acceptable to Sponsor. Failure to provide such proof may lead to, among other things, the Participant being disqualified from the Contest.
By entering, each Participant/Team acknowledges and expressly agrees that their Team Submission may be promoted by the Sponsor and/or Organizer on its website and/or in various media (including via paper, data and digital media) at the Sponsor’s discretion.
Participant teams retain ownership of their Team Submission, subject to Visa’s right to use.
[Rights To Team Submissions: Participants will retain ownership of any intellectual property rights in their Team Submission, except to the extent of any Sponsor Content (defined below), including, without limitation, Sponsor technologies, materials, content, ideas or intellectual property rights embodied or incorporated therein.
All Team Submissions are and shall be given entirely voluntarily and no Team shall have any obligation to give or provide Team Submissions. If a Team does submit a Team Submission, then the Sponsor and its affiliates shall have and are hereby granted a sub-licensable right to use, disclose and otherwise exploit all IP in such Team Submission for any and all purposes, including, without limitation, incorporation and distribution as part of the programs, products or services of Sponsor or the right to modify or create derivative works.
Waiver of Idea Submission Claims: Each Participant acknowledges that Team Submissions are not being submitted in confidence or in trust to Sponsor and that no confidential or fiduciary relationship is intended or created. Each Participant acknowledges that Sponsor and other Participants may have created ideas and concepts contained in their Team Submissions that may have familiarities or similarities to their Team Submission, and that they will not be entitled to any compensation or credit for use of similar or the same ideas presented in Team Submissions or right to negotiate with the Contest Entities because of these familiarities or similarities.
Notwithstanding any custom and practice in the industry to pay an individual for an idea (if any), nothing herein shall create an implied or express contract to compensate Participants for their Team Submissions and there is no obligation for any Contest Entity to pay or otherwise compensate Participants for any of their ideas or materials in any communications with Sponsor, whatsoever. By entering the Contest, Participants acknowledge that Sponsor may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to Team Submissions and Participants waive any claims (including without limitation, copyright infringement or moral rights claims to the extent permitted by law) resulting from any similarities to a Team Submission incorporated in commercial products/services of Sponsor. Team Submissions are not confidential and the Contest Entities’ only obligations to Participants regarding Team Submissions are to award the prizes to the winning Team Submission. The Participant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor has a strong reputation for innovation, may be working on similar ideas independently whether now or in the future and no Participant will receive any compensation or credit for use of similar or the same ideas presented in Team Submission in Sponsor products or services.
Limited License from Sponsor to Participants To Use Sponsor Content: Except for the limited license granted in the immediately following sentence, the Participant shall not acquire any rights of any kind to the name, trademark, materials or other IP owned or controlled by Sponsor (including any Enhancements irrespective of who created them). As Participants may include ideas, materials or content (including the IP therein) provided by Sponsor for use or inclusion in Team Submissions (collectively, “Sponsor Content”), Sponsor grants each Participant a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable, limited right and license solely to use the Sponsor Content in connection with the development and submission of their Team Submissions. This license shall automatically cease on conclusion of the Contest. Further, Participant acknowledges that as between Sponsor and Participant, Sponsor is the owner of all right, title and interest in and to all copyrights, trademarks, trade-dress and other rights, associated with its name, intellectual property, its services, products and product designs; and any Enhancements and the goodwill pertaining to all of the foregoing. “Enhancements” means any derivatives, submissions, recommendations, suggestions, ideas, modifications, debugs, inventions, discoveries, concepts, data, know-how, requests, original expressions, working models, prototypes, or improvements of any Sponsor Content, patentable or not.
11. PRIVACY AND DATA: Participant acknowledges and agrees that BeMyApp and Sponsor may collect, store, share and otherwise use personally identifiable information provided during the registration process and the contest, including, but not limited to, name, mailing address, phone number, and email address. Organizer and Sponsor will use this information in accordance with their respective Privacy Policy and Global Privacy Policy (https://privacy.bemyapp.com, https://www.visa.com/privacy and https://usa.visa.com/legal/privacy-policy.html), including for administering the contest and verifying Participant’s identity, postal address and telephone number in the event a Team Submission qualifies for a prize. Participant has the right to request access, review, rectification or deletion of any personal data held by the Organizer and/or Sponsor in connection with the Contest. Access your data collected by BeMyApp at https://data.bemyapp.com. Request access to your data collected by Visa as indicated in the applicable privacy policy or by contacting Sponsor at privacy@visa.com.
12. PUBLICITY: By accepting a prize, each Participant in the winning Team agree to the use of their name and/or likeness and/or voice and Team Submission by the Organizer and/or Sponsor and its agencies, for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.
13. WARRANTY, INDEMNITY AND RELEASE: Participants warrant that their Team Submissions are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Team Submission and that they have the right to submit the Team Submission in the Contest and grant all required rights and/or licenses. Each Participant warrants that their participation in this Contest and the entry of their Team Submission does not conflict with any existing commitment on their part, whether professional, legal, or contractual. Each Participant agrees not to submit any Team Submission 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 any applicable law or regulation. Participants agree and undertake that they will disclose and provide any information pertaining to their use of Generative AI (defined below), which disclosure will include the nature of the Generative AI being used, the purpose for which it has been used (or intended to be used) and any other relevant consideration (including any potential impact on data privacy or intellectual property rights). To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Participant 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 or undertaking 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 legal fees) arising out of or accruing from (a) any Team Submission or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by the Participant 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 Participant in connection with the Contest; (c) any non-compliance by the Participant 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; and (e) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in this Contest. For the purposes of these Rules, “Generative AI” will mean any system of artificial intelligence that can be used to create new content and/or media using sets of training data.
Participant releases Sponsor and Organizer from any liability associated with: (1) any malfunction or other problem with the Event Page and Event Platform; (2) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry information; or (3) any error in the announcement, offering or distribution of any prize.
14. ELIMINATION: Any false information provided within the context of the Contest by any Participant concerning identity, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right or non-compliance with these Rules or the like may result in their immediate disqualification and elimination from the Contest.
15. RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY OR DISQUALIFY: If for any reason the Contest is not reasonably 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, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any Participant who tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest or Event Platform. Any attempt by a Participant to deliberately damage any website, including the Event Platform, or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such Participant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.
16. NOT AN OFFER OR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT: Under no circumstances shall the submission of a Project Solution into the Contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these Rules be construed as an offer or contract of employment with either Sponsor, Organizer, or the Contest Entities. You acknowledge that you have submitted your Project voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. The Sponsor and/or Organizer makes no representations or warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, regarding your participation in the Contest or any prize awarded for your Submission in the Contest.
17. GOVERNING LAW: These Rules shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. If any provision(s) of these Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, 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.
18. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: Contest Entities are not responsible for damage to Participants' computer or website development equipment or technology or to any other person's or entity’s computer or website development equipment or technology related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of web sites. Any use of Contest or sweepstakes clubs (or similar methods), robotic, automatic, macro, programmed or like entry methods will void all such entries by such methods, and disqualify any Participant using such methods. If, for any reason, the Contest n is not capable of running as planned by reason of, but not limited to, infection by computer virus, worms, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which the Organizer deems, in its sole opinion, could corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Contest, the Organizer reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest and select the winner from entries received prior to the action or as otherwise may be deemed fair and equitable by the Organizer, including should unforeseeable events make the Contest impossible or impracticable. Contest Entities shall not be liable to winner or any other person for failure to execute the Contest, or supply a Prize or any part thereof, by reason of any action(s), regulation(s), order(s), or request(s) by any governmental or quasi governmental entity (whether or not the action(s), regulation(s), order(s), or request(s) prove(s) to be invalid), equipment failure, terrorist acts, earthquake, war, fire, flood, explosion, unusually severe weather, hurricane, embargo, labor dispute or strike (whether legal or illegal), labor or material shortage, transportation interruption of any kind, work slow down, civil disturbance, insurrection, riot, or any similar or dissimilar event beyond their reasonable control.
In no event will Contest Entities, their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and related companies, their advertising or promotion agencies, and/or all their respective officers, directors, independent contractors, representatives and agents, be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential loss arising in connection with the Contest and/or these Rules or their subject matter, regardless of the theory of liability giving rise to such damages or losses. Nothing in these Rules shall exclude or limit the liability of either party for (i) death or personal injury caused by a party's negligence or that of its employees or agents; (ii) loss caused by fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation or (iii) any loss which by law cannot be excluded or limited. Without limiting the foregoing, everything on the sites and/or related to the Contest (including the prizes) is 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, and non-infringement to the fullest extent permitted by law. Some jurisdictions may not allow the limitations or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages or exclusion of implied warranties. This Contest is governed by the laws of England and Wales. [As a condition of participating in this Contest, Participant agrees that any and all disputes that cannot be resolved between the parties and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a court located in England.]
19. COMPLAINTS/DISPUTES PROCEDURE:. All disputes arising out of or in connection with these Rules can be submitted to the Organizer via email to makenna@bemyapp.com. Written complaints must be issued within 30 (thirty) days after the event. Complaints submitted in writing will be handled and provided with a response within 30 (thirty) days. Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests. The Organizer will do their very best to deal with the complaints as soon as reasonably possible. The parties shall attempt to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to this Contest through negotiations between senior leaders of the parties, who have authority to settle the same.
Addendum A
Each market in the each of the regions below is referred to as an “Eligible Market”:
North America: United States of America
Europe: Andorra; Austria; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Iceland; Republic of Ireland; Israel; Italy; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Malta; Monaco; Netherlands; Norway; Portugal; Romania; Slovenia; Sweden; Switzerland; United Kingdom.
Asia: India