Contest Rules
IP Hero Awards
2011 Contest Official Rules
IP Hero Awards was established on August 1, 2011, and will continue on a monthly basis. Winners will be announced on or about the 15th of every month. NO PURCHASE OR DONATION NECESSARY TO PARTICIPATE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
1. SPONSOR: Murgitroyd & Company, Scotland House 165-169 Scotland Street, Glasgow, G5 8PL United Kingdom (“Sponsor”).
2. ELIGIBILITY: The IP Hero Awards are open to all intellectual property professionals in all countries and who are at least 21 years old. All Contest participants (“Entrants, Nominees or Winners”) must check off the release portion of the Nomination Form authorizing Sponsor’s use of the Photograph(s) and statement(s) in public relations and marketing efforts, and agree to be bound by all terms set forth in these Official Rules. The Nominations Panel (consisting of past winners, sponsors and industry advisors) has the right to accept or reject nominations for any reason. This Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws.
3. TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE OR DONATION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER. Beginning August 1, 2011, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“EST”) (“Nomination Period”), you may enter or nominate a person who meets requirements by submitting a nomination form.
4. CATEGORIES: All Entries must meet the criteria of one of the following (1) Categories:
- Intellectual Property Professional
5. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: During the Nomination Period, visit www.iphero.net and submit nomination of the person believed to be an IP Hero in one of the Categories along with a completed Nomination Form that must include a short narrative description telling the Sponsor about the person nominated and explaining why they deserve the title of an IP Hero. Follow the directions provided to complete the Nomination Form: Provide (Your information; name, email, company and t-shirt size) and (Nominee information; name, email, company and reason for nomination). Entrants are encouraged to select a Nominee carefully – the Nominee cannot be changed after Nomination is submitted. All elements of the Nomination Form must be complete, and all Nomination must be received within the Nomination Period to be considered. There is no limit on the number of Nominations you can submit; however, each nomination must be entered into only one Category and submitted with a separate Nomination Form. Nominations generated by script, macro or other automated means and Nominations by any means which subvert the entry process are void. Nominations may only be submitted online. All other methods, whether or not defined herein, are void.
By submitting an Nomination, Entrant warrants and represents that he/she is placing a nomination for the person they believe is an IP Hero. Any photographs sent by the person nominated in the photo and that he/she consents to the submission and use of the Entry in the Contest and to its use as otherwise set forth herein, and grants permission for the photograph to be posted on www.iphero.net and/or any other websites controlled by or affiliated with Sponsor. Entrant agrees that Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of Entries by third parties. Released Parties do not guarantee the posting of any Entry.
6. NOMINEE WINNER DETERMINATION: NO PURCHASE OR DONATION IS NECESSARY TO VOTE. All eligible Nominations submitted will be posted by Sponsor within a commercially reasonable time on www.iphero.net during the Nomination Period. Beginning on August 1, 2011 at 12:00 a.m. (“VOTING PERIOD”), individuals who are at least 21 years of age may visit www.iphero.net to nominate and vote for individuals. A voter may vote for more than one Entry, however, voters are limited to one vote per nominee each day. Voters are instructed to follow the guidelines and criteria for judging the grand prize winner set forth herein when voting for individual entries. Entrants are prohibited from obtaining votes by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, including, without limitation, offering prizes or other inducements to members of the public in exchange for votes, 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. Subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules, The Contest will operate as follows: The Nominee that receives the highest number of valid votes in each applicable Category, as tabulated and determined by Sponsor, will be deemed the “IP Hero Awards Winner”. Subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules, the Nominees that receives the second highest number of valid votes will be rolled over to next month’s voting process.
7. PRIZES:
IP Hero Award Winners:
The IP Hero Winners will be given prizes including the following; (1) A bottle of Murgitroyd & Company labeled 12-year old whisky, (2) A custom award with the winners name engraved, (3) An IP Hero T-shirt, (4) An invitation to a special IP Heroes-only dinner at IPO 2012. These prizes are subject to change at any time. Prizes are awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor. Winners may not substitute, assign or transfer prize or redeem prize for cash, but Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value. Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state and local taxes. WINNER NOTIFICATION: All Winners will be notified by internet posting. If winner has not been responsive, Sponsor may contact them via telephone, mail and/or email. Prizes will be awarded provided there are a sufficient number of eligible Entries received. Odds of winning depend upon the number of votes casted during Nomination Period and the quality of the Entries.
8. GENERAL CONDITIONS: All Nominations submitted become the property of Sponsor upon submission. By participating, each Entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these Official Rules and decisions of Sponsor and judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Contest; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, Murgitroyd & Company, Unleashed Public Relations, and their affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, consultants, contractors, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from Entrant’s participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activity or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any awarded prize (including any travel or activity related thereto); and relating to entrant and finalist nominee (c) to the use of his/her and his/her name, voice, performance, photograph/video, image and/or likeness for programming, advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide and on the Internet, and in perpetuity by Sponsor and its designers, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so whether or not such Entry is selected as a winner. Submission of a Contest Nomination Form and/or participation in a prize further constitutes the Entrant’s irrevocable waiver of any moral rights and assignment and transfer to Sponsor of any and all rights, title and interest in and to the elements of the Entry. By participating, entrant also agrees not to release any publicity or other materials on their own or through someone else regarding their participation in the Contest without the prior consent of the Sponsor, which Sponsor may withhold in its sole discretion.
BY SUBMITTING A CONTEST ENTRY FORM, ENTRANT AND NOMINATION FINALIST REPRESENTS AND WARRANTS THAT HE/SHE HAS ALL NECESSARY RIGHTS TO HAVE THE ENTRY AND PHOTOGRAPH(S) POSTED ONLINE, INCLUDING CONVEYANCE OF THE COPYRIGHT TO SPONSOR.
9. ADDITIONAL TERMS: Any attempted form of Entry, other than those previously stipulated, is prohibited; no mechanically reproduced, facsimile, automatic, programmed, robotic or similar means of entry are permitted. Entries not complying in any way with these Official Rules are subject to disqualification. No correspondence regarding Entries will be entered into with Entrants except as provided herein. Entrants waive all rights and remedies at law or in equity for any claim they may have relating to this Contest.
10. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Entrants acknowledge and agree that Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered or garbled Entries or votes; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of Entries, the tabulation of votes, the announcement of the prizes, the incorrect uploading of the photo, or in any Contest-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the Contest website or Sponsor’s website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Contest or website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated Entries will be void. Should any portion of the Contest be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of Entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest and, if terminated, at its discretion, select the potential winners from all eligible, non-suspect Entries received prior to action taken using the judging procedure outlined above. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.
11. OFFICIAL RULES: Rules are available online at http://iphero.net/contest-rules/. Sponsor may modify Official Contest Rules in its sole discretion upon notice provided online at www.iphero.net.
12. WINNERS LIST: Winners will be posted on www.iphero.net, and may be announced in a press release via web, publication, email or social media. A list of winners may found on the www.iphero.net.
