BIO Contest Rules

Buzz of BIO® – Contest Rules

OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
VOID IN PUERTO RICO AND WHERE PROHIBITED

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1) Eligibility: The Buzz of BIO® contest (the "Contest" or “Sweepstakes”) is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 21 years of age or older at time of entry. Employees, officers, directors (and their immediate families and those living in their same household) of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (“BIO” or "Sponsor") are not eligible to participate or win. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. The Contest will be construed and evaluated according to U.S. law.

2) How to Enter: Log on to http://community.convention.bio.org/Summit09/Contest-Signup/tabid/57/Default.aspx and upload an image, audio or video file along with a story to describe your project, telling us how your technology, business or idea can impact the biotechnology community. When you're satisfied with what you've written, just submit and you'll be automatically entered in the "Be the BUZZ of BIO" contest for a chance to win one of the four Grand Prizes of one (1) full convention access registration plus Registration to BIO Business Forum (up to $2,195 in value) and an option to present in the BIO Business Forum Presentations (up to $1,200 in value). The contest is open between 12:01:00am Eastern Time (ET) on March 2, 2009 and ends at 11:59:00pm ET on April 2, 2009. Story files will be accepted as the following submission type: Video - one video (avi or mpeg) less than 50 MB. Story details must be less than 2,048 characters in length. Entries must be complete to be eligible. Entries become the property of BIO and the BIO International Convention, and will not be returned. One entry is allowed per person, regardless of method of entry. Any form of entry by electronic message into this Contest will be deemed made by the named account holder (for the form of electronic submission) who is assigned at the time of entry to the electronic device so used.

Limit of one entry per person for this Contest, regardless of method of entry. All complete and appropriate entries will be considered for judgment for the Grand Prize. The Sponsor, Administrator and any Internet access providers, their respective parents, affiliates, divisions, and agencies and each of the foregoing entities' respective employees, officers, directors, shareholders, and agents (the "Released Parties") are not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate transfer of entry information, human error, technical malfunctions, lost/delayed data transmissions, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, line failures of any telephone network, computer equipment, software or any combination thereof, inability to access web site or cell number, damage to a user's computer system (hardware and software) due to participation in this Contest or any other problem or error that may occur. No responsibility is assumed for entrant information that is incomplete or incorrectly entered. All entries become the property of the Sponsor. Any entry information collected from the Sweepstakes shall be used only in a manner consistent with the consent given by entrants at the time of entry, with these Official Rules, and with Sponsor's Online Privacy Policy which can be found at http://convention.bio.org/attendees/BIO_2009_privacy_policy.aspx. Sponsor has contracted for the services of R2I.ntegrated, an independent third party contest administrator (Administrator). The entry information is shared with Administrator for the sole purpose of the judging, selection, notification, and the fulfillment of prizes. Participants who submit inaccurate entry data and/or exceed the entry limits may be excluded from participation at any time during the promotion. Entrants agree to be bound by these rules and consent to use of their names and/or photographs for advertising and/or publicity purposes by Sponsor and its designees in any and all media without further consideration, except where prohibited by law.

3) Judging for the Grand Prize: All completed entries appropriately received between March 2, 2009 and April 2, 2009 will be eligible for one of the four the Grand Prizes being given away. The Sponsor is the official timekeeper for this Contest.
Each Contest entrant that becomes a finalist is displayed with a "Vote for Me" button. Users may vote for the stories that best meet the judges' criteria set forth below. The stories that have gained the highest number of votes from the “Vote for Me” posting (“community voting”) will be listed on the leader board. The official Contest judges will then select winners at the conclusion of the voting period, based on the criteria below. The community voting period begins at 12:01:00am ET April 3, 2009 and continues through 11:59:00pm ET April 17, 2009.Accepted submissions will be posted to the BIO2009 youtube channel on April 3, 2009. BIO will announce winner(s) on April 21, 2009.
Submissions will be judged on the following criteria, weighed equally: Innovative Technology, Quality of Presentation and Strength of Ideas. Submissions can be disqualified if the submission either subjects the submitter, BIO, BIO’s members, or the BIO International Convention to legal jeopardy or compromises BIO's or BIO’s members’ good will and/or reputation, intellectual property or trade secret interests. This includes words or imagery that are sexually charged or suggestive, that depict acts of violence or cruelty, that attack or disparage or present in a false light any individual or group of people, that are otherwise vile, nasty or otherwise uncivil, that makes false performance claims about BIO, BIO members, or the BIO International Convention, or that use the likeness, words, or other intellectual property of a third party or celebrity (for example, a movie star, rock star, or company) without appropriate permission to do so. Decisions of the contest judges are final - no substitutions will be available.
4) Grand Prize Notification. Each of the winners of the four Grand Prizes will be notified on or about April 21, 2009 by email, or telephone or regular mail. If contacted by telephone or regular mail, potential winners who entered via electronic message methods will be required to provide phone number and mailing address information (e.g., full name, phone number, street address, city, state, and ZIP) in order to receive any necessary prize documents and/or to receive any prize. Entering an incorrect or incomplete e-mail address in the registration process, or failing to meet the eligibility requirements above, will result in contest disqualification. By accepting any prize, winner grants BIO the right to use his/her entry, name, likeness and biographical information in any and all media for advertising/promotional purposes. Entrants also agree to the release of their name, address, and e-mail information for posting and winner notification purposes. Otherwise, please review this site's privacy policy for more information on how we use any personal data we collect from you.
The judging and selection of each potential Grand Prize winner will be conducted from among all eligible entries received as outlined in Rule #3 above. The official Contest judging will be conducted by BIO in coordination with its Administrator, and their decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to this Contest. Potential winners are subject to eligibility verification and compliance with these official rules. Each potential Grand Prize winner will be required to sign, have notarized and return to BIO or Administrator an affidavit of eligibility/release of liability, and, where legal, publicity release within fourteen (14) days of issuance of notification. Failure to complete and return the documents in the time noted or if prize notification is undeliverable for any reason will result in disqualification and an alternate winner(s) will be selected and notified. Each Grand Prize winner must be 21 years of age or older at time of entry. Acceptance of the prize constitutes permission for the Sponsor and its designees to use the winner's name and likeness for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation unless prohibited by law. Odds of winning a prize are subject to the total number of eligible entries received.

5) Prizes: Up to four (4) Grand Prize winners will each receive one (1) full convention access registration plus Registration to BIO Business Forum (up to $2,195 in value) and an option to present in the BIO Business Forum Presentations (up to $1,200 in value). Taxes on prizes are solely the responsibility of the winner. The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded.
If, for any reason, a Grand Prize winner cannot accept one of the grand prizes, the Sponsor shall have no further obligation to the Grand Prize winner. All other expenses relating to acceptance of Grand Prize not explicitly stated herein, including but not limited to travel costs, hotel expenses, taxes, ground transportation, meals, beverages, alcoholic beverages, and gratuities or any other miscellaneous travel expenses are the responsibility of Grand Prize winner. Specifics of the Grand Prize are subject to availability and Sponsor's sole discretion. Complete terms and conditions of Grand Prize will be furnished with prize notification. Prize is non-transferable. Any element of the Grand Prize, once awarded to the Grand Prize winner, may not be transferred to any other party; no substitutions or cash awards allowed. All details of prize not specified herein shall be determined solely by Sponsor. The registration awarded to a Grand Prize winner will become responsibility of the winner upon possession of same and will not be replaced. The terms and conditions of the registration awarded as a prize will govern in the event that the Convention is unable to take place as planned, is cancelled or postponed, for any reason whatsoever, including an event of force majeure. Sponsor has no responsibility to the winner except to provide the registration, and the registration shall constitute full satisfaction of Sponsor's prize obligation to the Prize winner, and no other compensation will be awarded. The Sponsor, or any of its officials at the BIO International Convention, and/or any other relevant party reserves the right to remove or to deny entry to the winner who engages in an unprofessional or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person at the Convention. The Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of each registration is $2,195 and the ARV of the Business Forum Presentation, if required, is $1,200. Actual value of prize may vary based on whether the winner exercises the option to present in the BIO Business Forum Presentations. Approximate retail value of all prizes is $13,580. Any and all guarantees and warranties for the registrations are subject to the terms and conditions of the BIO International Convention, and each winner agrees to look solely to such Convention for any such warranty or guarantee claim. There is a limit of one prize per household.

6) Limitations of Liability: BIO is not responsible for late, lost, stolen, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, or illegible entries; or entries that are lost due to computer, Internet, or electronic malfunction. BIO reserves the right to cancel or modify contest and award the prize through an alternate means if fraud or technical failure compromises the integrity of the contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Entrants agree that BIO and Released Parties shall not be liable for injury, losses, damages, or costs of any kind resulting from participation in this contest or acceptance of or use or misuse of a prize or parts thereof. By entering, participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting an electronic entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the e-mail account is registered or authorized account holder. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the person assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the email address in question.
Each participant agrees (i) to abide by the terms of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsors and judges which are final and binding on all matters relating to this Contest, and (ii) to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsor and the other Released Parties from any and all claims, actions, and/or liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with participation in and/or for entry into this Contest, any related activities, or acceptance or use of any prize won.

7) General Conditions: BIO reserves the right to withdraw or terminate this Contest at any time without prior notice. If for any reason this Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Sweepstakes, the Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes. Should this Sweepstakes be terminated, Sponsor reserves the right to select potential winner(s) from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received as of the action requiring such termination. BIO and Released Parties are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any computer system, server, or service providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems, human error or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer equipment relating to or resulting from participation in this sweepstakes. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

8) Winners List: For the name of Prize winners, available after April 21, 2009, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: BIO, C/O Erin Lee, 1201 Maryland Avenue SW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20024. Requests received after June 1, 2009 will not be honored. Do not send entries or other correspondence to this address.

9) Sponsor/Administrator: The Sponsor of this Sweepstakes is the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO, 1201 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20024. The Administrator is R2i.ntegrated, 2400 Boston Street Suite 312, Baltimore, MD 21224.