CONFIDENTIALITY

Apps and other files or information submitted in relation to the Hackathons are only accessible by the Administrators, the judging panel, and Hackathon IT team members employed or contracted by the Administrators.  The Administrators will take reasonable steps to limit access to Apps submitted.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, Participants acknowledge and agree that the Administrators are unable to guarantee the security of any Apps submitted and Participants waive any claims that may arise as a result of a security breach or other unauthorized access to a Participant’s submitted Apps.

The identity of each Participant, the concept of any App submitted by each Participant, and the final presentation delivered during a final Hackathon judging session, are considered public domain and may be used by the Administrators or others for any and all purposes.

Participant acknowledges that the Hackathons will be held in public spaces with other participants, Mentors and others moving about freely.  Conversations and activities which take place during a Hackathon may be overheard or observed by others, such that Participant does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy or confidentiality with respect to any such conversations or activities. ANY CONVERSATIONS WHICH TAKE PLACE IN, OR ACTIVITIES OR INFORMATION WHICH ARE OBSERVABLE IN, THE PUBLIC HACKATHON SPACES MAY RESULT IN DISCLOSURE TO THIRD PARTIES, INCLUDING OTHER HACKATHON ENTRANTS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU WILL HAVE NO LEGAL RECOURSE IF A THIRD PARTY USES ANY IDEAS OR INFORMATION AS A RESULT OF SUCH DISCLOSURE FOR ANY PURPOSE WHATSOEVER, WHETHER RELATED TO THE HACKATHON OR NOT.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

You must create Apps using technology, data, and intellectual property that you have permission to use.  This could mean that you created the software or technology, acquired ownership of the rights from a third party, or received the express (i.e., written) permission of the third party that owns or has the right to license the intellectual property.  You may not submit any App that contains content that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret, or is otherwise subject to third party intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are either the owner of such rights or have obtained written permission from the owner to use and post such content and to grant the Administrators the rights granted in these Rules.  By submitting an App or accepting any prize, you represent and warrant that the App submitted complies with the requirements of this paragraph.  Any Participant who violates this provision will be disqualified from the Hackathon.  You should consult with appropriate advisors or legal counsel if you have any doubt as to whether you are meeting the requirements of this section (i.e., by reviewing appropriate intellectual property filings, notices, etc. of the third parties that are granting you licenses). 

If you are working as a team, your team is responsible for determining the ownership as between the team members of any intellectual property rights in and to the App and any material developed during a Hackathon.  The Administrators will not be responsible for any disputes amongst members of a team, including in connection with intellectual property ownership issues.

IF THERE ARE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT THE LEGAL STATUS OF YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR THIRD PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, YOU SHOULD SEEK ADVICE FROM INDEPENDENT LEGAL COUNSEL.

 By submitting an App to a Hackathon, you hereby grant to the Administrators and their agents a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license with the right to sublicense under all of your intellectual property rights in and to your submitted App to (a) incorporate all or a portion of your App and related information into reports or research consistent with the Administrators’ charitable purposes, (b) to display all or a portion of your App and related information on the Administrators’ websites, and (c) to include all or a portion of your App and related information in the Administrators’ marketing and promotional materials, including use and mention of such materials at speaking engagements, meet ups, and in and at other events or forums.  You acknowledge that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your App by the Administrators as permitted under this paragraph.  For clarity, the offering of any App submission for use by consumers or companies, whether for profit or otherwise, is not permitted by the license granted to the Administrators under this paragraph.

Subject to the above license, all Apps submitted to a Hackathon by you, and the intellectual property rights in any such Apps, will remain your property.

CONDUCT AND GENERAL CONDITIONS

The Administrators reserve the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Hackathon, or any part of the Hackathon for any reason, including if any fraud, technical failure, or any other factor beyond the Administrators’ reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Hackathons.

The Administrators and the judges reserve the right to disqualify any Participant for the following reasons, as determined by the Administrators in their sole discretion:

a Participant is found to be tampering with (or attempting to tamper with) the entry process or the operation of the Hackathons or the website;

a Participant has acted, or indicates an intention to act, in violation of these Rules;

a Participant has acted, or indicates an intention to act, in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person;

the App submitted by such Participant contains content including inappropriate or explicit language or images, or displays content inconsistent with the Administrators’ reputation and goodwill; or

the App submitted by such Participant is in violation of third party intellectual property rights, or in violation of applicable laws or regulations.

If, for any reason, your submission or other information is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, your sole remedy is another submission to the applicable Hackathon if such submission is practical. 

A computer specified by the Administrators, in their sole discretion, set to local time, is the official time-keeping device for the Hackathons.

The Administrators’ failure, one or more times, to enforce any provision of these Rules will not prevent the Administrators from later enforcing that provision (i.e., will not constitute a waiver of that provision).  These Rules (and, to the extent a Hackathon winner chooses to enter the H2O Hackathon: A Water Challenge 2015) contain the entire agreement between the parties relating to the Hackathon, and no amendment or modification of these Rules will be valid unless in a writing signed by the Administrators.  Should any provision of these Rules be held to be void, invalid or inoperative, the remaining provisions will continue in effect and the invalid provision will be deemed modified to the least degree necessary to remedy such invalidity.  In the event that there is an ambiguity, discrepancy or inconsistency between these Rules and any other disclosures or other statements, whether written or oral, contained in any Hackathon-related materials or made at a Hackathon, it will be resolved in the Administrators’ sole discretion. 

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND RELEASE

By participating in a Hackathon, you agree to each of the following:

to comply with and be bound by these Rules and the decisions of the Administrators and/or the judges, which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Hackathon, including interpretation of these Rules and awarding of prizes; and to release and hold harmless the Administrators and their parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, officers, contractors, subcontractors and any other organizations involved in sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising, or promoting the Hackathon, including the Sponsors, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives, as well as the Mentors (collectively, the “Released Parties“) from and against any and all losses, damages, costs, expenses, liability, and claims of any kind, including, but not limited to, any injury, death, damage, loss of property, revenue, or profits, negligence, invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye, or any other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, misappropriation of trade secrets, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, in each case whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising out of or relating to your creation or submission of an App, participation in the Hackathon (including any travel or activity related thereto), acceptance or use or misuse of any prize (including any activity related thereto), and/or the broadcast, transmission, performance, exploitation, or use of your submission.  Without limitation of the above, the Released Parties are not responsible for:  any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether or not caused by Participants, printing errors, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Hackathon; technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to, malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in electrical power, internet lines or network hardware or software;                                          human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Hackathon; technical or human error that may occur in the administration of the Hackathon or the processing of entries; or any injury or damage to persons or property that may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from your participation in the Hackathon or receipt, use, or misuse of any prize.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Administrators from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to violation of third party intellectual property rights as a result of your participation in a Hackathon or submission of an App.

NO WARRANTY

THE ADMINISTRATORS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE HACKATHONS, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE ADMINISTRATORS, THEIR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, THE JUDGES, ANY MENTORS PRESENT AT THE HACKATHON ON BEHALF OF THE ADMINISTRATORS AND ANY AFFILIATES OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING BE LIABLE FOR ANY ADVICE, INFORMATION, OR DECISIONS MADE FOR OR ON BEHALF OF THE ADMINISTRATORS OR FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING ECONOMIC DAMAGES OR INJURY TO PROPERTY AND LOST PROFITS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE ADMINISTRATORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED, HAVE OTHER REASON TO KNOW, OR IN FACT WILL KNOW, OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE FOREGOING, EXCEPT AS ARISES FROM THE FRAUD OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT OF THE ADMINISTRATORS.

GOVERNING LAW; DISPUTE RESOLUTION

You agree that:

any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action against the Administrators arising out of or connected with the Hackathon, or any prizes awarded, other than those concerning the administration of the Hackathon or the determination of winners, will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; and any and all claims, judgments, and awards will be limited to actual damages and out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering a Hackathon, but will in no event include attorneys’ fees (except with respect to indemnification obligations).

Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Rules that cannot be settled amicably will be finally settled under the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (“CPR“) Rules for Non-Administered Arbitration (the “Arbitration Rules“) by one (1) arbitrator, who must be an attorney with substantial knowledge of the California State law and substantial experience in arbitrating commercial disputes under the Arbitration Rules.  You and the Administrators may, by agreement, nominate an arbitrator, but if no sole arbitrator is nominated within thirty (30) days from the date the claimant’s request for arbitration was served on the other party, the sole arbitrator will be appointed in accordance with the Arbitration Rules.  Unless otherwise agreed, arbitration proceedings will be held in California.  The award rendered by the arbitrator will be final and binding, and judgment upon the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.  The arbitrator will have the authority to award money damages (with interest on unpaid amounts from the date due), specific performance, and temporary injunctive relief, but not the authority to award exemplary or punitive damages, and any claimed right to such damages is expressly waived.

 The Hackathon and any dispute arising under or related to the Hackathon will be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions.