GeniusRocket | GeniusRocket Primary Contest Rules

GeniusRocket Primary Contest Rules

ELIGIBILITY: The “GeniusRocket Primary Contest” (“Contest”) is open to legal U.S. residents physically residing in the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are the age of majority in their home state as of the Contest start date, and who have Internet access prior to the Contest start date and the ability to create and send electronically a digital video of not more than 30 seconds (in some cases, the age of majority may be older than 18 years of age), and who are not employed by, consulting to or otherwise receiving compensation for services from any candidate that has announced his or her candidacy publicly or who is known to be running for president regardless of announcements. This Contest is sponsored by GeniusRocket (“Sponsor” or “GeniusRocket”) 7600 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 650, Bethesda, MD 20814. Employees, officers, directors, shareholders, agents, representatives of Sponsor, any presidential candidate, the legal, promotion and advertising agencies of any aforementioned entity, and their immediate family members and those living in their household, and each person or entity connected with the production or administration of the Contest, and each parent company, affiliate, subsidiary, agent and representative of any aforementioned entity are not eligible. This Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws.

The Contest Submission Period begins on October 25, 2007, at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (ET), and ends on November 30, 2007 at 11:59 PM ET (the “Contest Submission Period”). ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED DURING THE CONTEST SUBMISSION PERIOD. By participating, contestants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Judges and/or Sponsor, which are binding and final on matters relating to this Contest.

For each candidate for whom you choose to create an ad, you may send up to three (3) Submissions per natural person and registered user (please do not enter under multiple identities). Contestant must register on www.GeniusRocket.com in order to enter the Contest. Registration is free.

HOW TO ENTER: Log-on to the contest site at http://www.geniusrocket.com/grprimary and click on your choice(s) for president) or at least your choice for creating a supportive video). Online Submissions only. (1) Create a short video (30 seconds or less) showing why you support this candidate as the Presidential nominee of his or her party or as the next U.S. President (“Submission”) according to the guidelines section contained in these rules (“Submission Guidelines”). Your Submission can be as humorous or creative as you like within the Submission Guidelines set forth below. No negative ads or ads which primary purposes is to denigrate or slander this or another candidate please. (2) Once you have created your masterpiece, go to www.geniusrocket.com, click on the contest link, register or sign in on the site, complete the online entry form in its entirety, and send your Submission according to the directions on the screen.. Submissions must be received no later than November 30, 2007, 11:59 PM ET according to Sponsor’s internal time clock. No hand or e-mail deliveries will be accepted.

Sponsor is not responsible for late, incomplete, void, corrupted, garbled, misdirected, or otherwise unintelligible or incompatible Submissions and for any problems, bugs or malfunctions Contestants may encounter when submitting their Submissions. Incomplete, garbled, corrupted or otherwise illegible Submissions are void and will not be accepted. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify false submissions or submissions suspected of being false. Sponsor will not verify receipt of submissions. All submissions submitted become the sole property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. In addition to the other terms contained in these Official Rules, your Submission must be a video showing why you support your candidate (“Candidate”) as the Presidential nominee of his or her party or as the next U.S. President. Your video must be no longer than thirty (30) seconds in length. You may only submit a video on your own behalf and may not submit it on behalf of the Candidate or his or her campaign. You may not include a Federal Election Commission disclaimer such as “Candidate approved this message” or “Paid for by Candidate for President.” Any actors, music, voice-overs, or images contained in any Submission must be properly licensed, and evidence of such may be requested by Sponsor at any time during or after the Contest Submission Period. Your Submission should be original, truthful, compelling and show creativity. Your theme may be serious or humorous, and may include parody such as social and/or political commentary, but please remember that ‘parody’ is not simply ‘stealing’ someone’s idea and recreating it into something funny: you must be actually commenting on that which you have borrowed. If, in the sole discretion of Sponsor, your Submission constitutes copyright infringement and not parody, the Submission will be disqualified. Submissions that are incomplete or corrupted are void and will not be accepted.
All submissions must be original works of authorship, created by the person who submits the submission. Contestants may not be, nor may contestant use parties who: 1) are represented under contract (e.g., by a talent agent or manager) that would limit or impair Sponsor’s ability to show the video in any media form; 2) have an acting or modeling contract that would make their appearance in the Submission a violation of any third party rights; 3) are under a merchandising agreement; or 4) are under any other contractual relationship, including but not limited to guild and/or union memberships, that may prohibit them from participating fully in this promotion, or from allowing Sponsor to use royalty-free, the Submission worldwide in all media in perpetuity. No video Submission may depict any nudity, animal cruelty, harmful or illegal activity or substance, or offensive or obscene subject matter. No Submission shall portray any U.S. Presidential Primary candidate in a negative light. No Submission shall contain any singing, playing of any musical instrument, or performance that has been broadcast, published or televised on television or as part of a recording of a motion picture film, music performance or television program. Any music or images used in the Submission must be an original work of authorship under U.S. Copyright Law. Contestants may not copy or otherwise plagiarize the Submission from any source, nor may the video include third party copyrighted material, such as music, photographs, or video snippets. Contestant must hold all rights to the entire Submission. Contestant agrees to indemnify Sponsor against any and all claims of infringement from any third party for any use by Sponsor of video Submission. Contestant must secure - and finalists will be required to submit – a written release from any actors and/or any other video participant to use their name and likeness under the terms and conditions of these official rules. Remember that most footage of candidates is not considered to be in the public domain.

JUDGING AND NOTIFICATION: Judging will be completed in two (2) rounds.

Initial Round: Judging Panel. Beginning on or about December 1, 2007, and through and including December 4, 2007, Submissions will be reviewed and scored by Sponsor’s panel of qualified judges on a 100-point scale, according to the following criteria: Ratings of submissions (number of ratings, number of stars, and assessment of comments) (50 points), Creativity and effective advocacy on behalf of the candidate (50 points). Submissions must comply with the submission guidelines and Sponsor’s general standards and practices. Based on the results of this first round judging, a minimum of three (3) and up ten (10) submissions (“Finalists”) will move to the second round of judging (“Final Round”).

Notification of Finalists: On or about December 5, 2007, the Finalists may be contacted using the information each provided on his/her entry form and may be required to complete declarations of original work of authorship and liability and publicity release forms. In such event, the Finalists will have Forty-Eight (48) hours to respond by e-mail or telephone to the notification, and in that time complete and return all forms required, if requested, before advancing to the Second Round. In the event a Finalist: (i) cannot be reached; (ii) fails to obtain all signatures on the Release and to return the documents in a timely manner as required pursuant to these Official Rules; or (iii) cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason, an alternate Finalist, with the next highest score from the first round of judging may be chosen.

During the Contest Period, Sponsor may, in its discretion, post a Contestant’s Submission and his/her GeniusRocket profile(s) on www.GeniusRocket.com, for promotional purposes only. Posting of any Submission(s) will neither increase nor decrease the chance of winning and does not mean that a Contestant has been selected as a Finalist.

Final Round: Public Voting. Starting on or about December 8, 2007 and through and including December 12, 2007, the Finalist submissions will be posted on the contest page at www.GeniusRocket.com. GeniusRocket registered users will be asked to vote once for their favorite Submission (only one vote per account per email address; voting using multiple identities may result in disqualification of all votes). Votes must be received no later than December 12, 2007, 11:59 PM ET according to Sponsor’s time. Votes may be cast by registering and signing in to your account at www.GeniusRocket.com and following the online instructions to cast your vote. Sponsor is not responsible for late, delayed, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible or corrupted votes. The Finalist with the highest number of votes, which conform to the guidelines and standards specified herein, will be deemed winner (“Selected Contestant”).

Notification of Selected Contestant. On or about December 20, 2007, the Selected Contestant will be contacted using the information they provided on their entry form and may be required to complete declarations of original work of authorship, and additional liability and publicity release forms. The Selected Contestant will be required to respond (as directed) to the phone and/or e-mail notification within the Seventy-Two (72) hours of attempted notification. The failure to respond timely to the notification may result in forfeiture of the Prizes; and, in such case, Sponsor may choose the next highest scoring Submissions from among the remaining eligible Submissions. Each Selected Contestant also will be sent an affidavit of eligibility / liability / publicity release (“Release”). Unless restricted by law, each Selected Contestant will be required to complete and return the Release within seven (7) days of date notice sent. An alternate Selected Contestant may be chosen from among Submissions with the next highest total points scored, at Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion, if a Selected Contestant: (i) cannot be reached; (ii) fails to obtain all signatures on the Release and to return the documents in a timely manner as required pursuant to these Official Rules; or (iii) cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason.

LICENSE: As a condition of receiving any prize, all Selected Contestants hereby provide a One Hundred Eighty (180) day exclusive irrevocable worldwide license to Sponsor after which time, Sponsor shall retain a perpetual non-exclusive license to use Selected Contestants’ Submission(s) in any and all media throughout the world, in perpetuity, for any purpose whatsoever, without any additional compensation, the term of which shall be the entire life of the copyright. Should any contestant be unwilling or otherwise unable to enter into license, or provide permissions and or releases or otherwise cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason, contestants with the next highest score will be chosen from the remaining submissions until one who is able to meet all requirements can be selected. All Selected Contestants must provide Sponsor with all signatures on required paperwork and return all documents in a timely manner as required pursuant to these Official Rules in order to be eligible to receive the prize. Contestants may not resell, assign or transfer any of their rights in their Submissions under these Official Rules. While Sponsor will seek to post Submissions in the form as provided at the time of submission, all contestants agree that due to technical limitations, submissions may be altered from their original form. Sponsor may post submissions in any order or sequence, with or without commentary, and may select the excerpt of video to serve as a thumbnail in its sole discretion. Sponsor shall have no liability as to posting of Submissions.
CONTESTANTS WILL NOT BE PAID FOR THEIR SUBMISSIONS or for granting Sponsor any of these rights.

PRIZES. If eligible under these Official Rules, one (1) Selected Contestant will receive the following Prize:

One (1) $1,000 check, made payable to Selected Contestant. Total Approximate Retail Value (“A.R.V.”): $1,000. Selected Contestant is not entitled to any surplus between actual retail value of prize and stated ARV and any difference between stated ARV and actual value of the prize will not be awarded. No substitution, transfer, or cash redemption of prize, provided however that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value should the advertised prize become unavailable for any reason. All federal, state and local taxes and other expenses in connection with the prize not expressly described herein as being awarded are the sole responsibility of the Selected Contestant. Selected Contestant is solely responsible for any other unspecified expenses related to prize. All activities related to the prize are at the Selected Contestant’s own risk and subject to whatever restrictions are imposed by the entities that govern activities. In the event of noncompliance with the foregoing requirements or if prize notification is returned as undeliverable, prize will be forfeited and, at Sponsor’s discretion, an alternate Selected Contestant will be selected. Prizes will be shipped to U.S. addresses only.

CONDITIONS. Contest is subject to these Official Rules. This Contest is void outside the U.S. and where prohibited or restricted by law, and subject to applicable federal, state provincial and local laws. By participating, contestants agree: (i) to be bound by these complete Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor which shall be final and binding; and (ii) to waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest or these Official Rules, except where prohibited by law. By accepting a prize, Selected Contestant agrees to release Sponsor, including their parent, subsidiary and affiliated entities together with the respective directors, employees, officers, licensees, licensors and agents, and respective advertising and promotion entities and any person or entity associated with the production, judging, or administration of the Contest, (collectively, the “Releasees”) from any and all liability, loss or damage arising from or in connection with awarding, receipt and/or use or misuse of prize or participation in any prize-related activities. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of Selected Contestant, and contestants may be issued an IRS Form 1099 for the ARV of any awarded prize. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or suspend the Contest, in its sole discretion, should it receive fewer than 200 submissions, or receive no submissions that have a judged score above 80 points, or due to circumstances beyond its control, including natural disasters. Submissions will not be returned and may be destroyed. Sponsor may prohibit a contestant from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines such contestant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or any other unfair playing practices of intending to annoy, abuse, threaten, undermine or harass any other players or Sponsor representatives. Disputes regarding these Official Rules and/or this Contest will be governed by the internal laws of the State of California.

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the Contest should a virus, bug, computer problem, unauthorized intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control, corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Contest. Sponsor may prohibit an contestant from participating in the Contest or winning prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines such contestant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest in any way by cheating, hacking, deception, or any other unfair playing practices of intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other players or Sponsor representatives. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEY FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

PUBLICITY. Sponsor reserves the right to use Selected Contestants’ Submissions for publicity purposes prior to, during, or after the Contest end date, in any media, and to use the name, likeness, hometown name, of any Contestant, including all or part of their submission throughout the world, in perpetuity, without any compensation or prior review unless specifically prohibited by law.

WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. Except as prohibited by applicable law and as a condition of participating in this Contest, each contestant hereby irrevocably and perpetually waives any right s/he may have to a trial by jury in respect of any litigation directly or indirectly arising out of, under or in connection with this contest, any document or agreement entered into in connection herewith, any prize available in connection herewith, and any of the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby.

PRIVACY. All personal information collected by Sponsor will be used for administration of the Contest and in accordance with Sponsor’s privacy policy only. Any questions regarding privacy matters should be directed to the address set out below. Please refer to Sponsor’s privacy policy located at http://www.geniusrocket.com/privacy-policy for important information regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by Sponsor.

WINNERS’ LIST AND OFFICIAL RULES. For a copy of these Official Rules or winners’ list, send your request in a self-addressed, stamped envelope (WA and VT residents need not affix return postage) to: GeniusRocket Primary Contest, 7600 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 650, Bethesda, MD 20814. Request must be received by March 31, 2008.