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The HeraldTribune.com’s Cutest Canine Photo Contest (the “Contest”)
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THE CONTEST
1.CONTEST DESCRIPTION
The Sponsor is HeraldTribune.com, 1741 Main Street, Sarasota, FL 34236. Co-sponsor is Cool Today and Plumbing Today, 6143 Clark Center Ave., Sarasota, FL 34238. Together with Sponsor and Co-sponsor, The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is a “Contest Entity.”
The Contest is a skill-based competition in which participants will compete to be selected as submitter of the top photo as selected by public vote. The submitter of the winning entry will be awarded $1,000.00 in Visa gift cards for his/her winning entry. The second-place winner will receive a $250.00 Visa gift card and the third-place winner will receive a $100.00 Visa gift card.
Participants will be invited to submit photographs of their dog(s) taken since January 2008, which will be voted on and rated by the public. While people are permitted to be in the photograph, the primary subject of the photo should be of the dog(s). The Contest begins at 12:00 PM (Noon) Eastern on Monday, June 20, 2011 and ends at 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, August 7, 2011. The Contest will be conducted in five phases. During the first phase of the Contest (Phase One) contestants will be invited to submit their photographs. The deadline for photo submissions is 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, July 10, 2011. During the second phase of the Contest (Phase Two) one third of submissions will be voted on and rated by the public. Submissions will be sorted based on the order in which they are received. The voting will begin at 12:00 PM (Noon) Eastern on Monday, July 11, 2011 and ends at 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, July 17, 2011. The five photos with the highest number of online votes at the conclusion of Phase Two will be eligible to compete in a final round of voting from August 1-7, 2011 (Phase Five, as outlined below). In the case of a tie, Sponsor will select winners of Phase Two based on creativity and originality of entry. Deciding factors may include clean composition, proper lighting, strong focus and relevant subject matter. During the third phase of the Contest (Phase Three) the second one-third of submissions will be voted on and rated by the public. The voting will begin at 12:00 PM (Noon) Eastern on Monday, July 18, 2011 and ends at 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, July 24, 2011. The five photos with the highest number of online votes at the conclusion of Phase Three will be eligible to compete in a final round of voting from August 1-7, 2011 (Phase Five, as outlined below). In the case of a tie, Sponsor will select winners of Phase Three based on creativity and originality of entry. Deciding factors may include clean composition, proper lighting, strong focus and relevant subject matter. During the fourth phase of the Contest (Phase Four) the final one-third of submissions will be voted on and rated by the public. The voting will begin at 12:00 PM (Noon) Eastern on Monday, July 25, 2011, and ends at 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, July 31, 2011. The five photos with the highest number of online votes at the conclusion of Phase Four will be eligible to compete in a final round of voting from August 1-7, 2011 (Phase Five, as outlined below). In the case of a tie, Sponsor will select winners of Phase Four based on creativity and originality of entry. Deciding factors may include clean composition, proper lighting, strong focus and relevant subject matter. The five photos receiving the highest number of votes in Phase Two, Phase Three and Phase Four will be eligible to compete in a final round of public voting from 12:00 PM (Noon) Eastern on August 1, 2011 through 11:59 PM Eastern on August 7, 2011 (Phase Five). The photo receiving the most votes during Phase Five will be the grand prize winner (Winner). In the case of a tie, Sponsor will select winners of Phase Five based on creativity and originality of entry. Deciding factors may include clean composition, proper lighting, strong focus and relevant subject matter. The name of the winner will be published the week of August 14, 2011 in The Herald-Tribune. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
All eligible Photographs will be displayed on the Contest Site starting June 20, 2011. Between July 11, 2011 at 12:00 PM (Noon) Eastern and July 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM Eastern (the “Voting Periods”), Participants will have the opportunity to view and rate Photographs (the “Public Voters”) over a series of three weekly rounds (Phase Two, Phase Three and Phase Four, as outlined above). At the end of each round, the five photos that receive the most votes will qualify for the final round of voting, to be held from August 1, 2011 through August 7, 2011. In the event of a tie in Phase Two, Phase Three or Phase Four, Sponsor will select the top five photos of each phase based on creativity and originality of entry. Deciding factors may include clean composition, proper lighting, strong focus and relevant subject matter. The Photo receiving the highest number of votes for it in the final round of voting (Phase Five) will be declared the winner. In the event of a tie in Phase Five, Sponsor will select the Contest winner based on creativity and originality of entry. Deciding factors may include clean composition, proper lighting, strong focus and relevant subject matter. The photos receiving the second and third most votes will be named the second and third place finishers, respectively. Voters can only vote once per day. Any attempt by a Voter to vote more than once per day will result in disqualification of all activity produced by that Voter.
Potential winner will be tallied by or about Monday, August 8, 2011. Potential winner will be notified via e-mail or by phone. A potential winner has (7) days from receipt of notification to claim his/her prize by responding via e-mail or an alternate winner will be selected. Non-compliance with these official rules or, if a selected potential winner cannot be contacted, provides incorrect e-mail or mailing address, is ineligible, fails to claim a prize or if the Prize Notification or prize is returned as undeliverable, an alternate winner will be selected. Acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for THE HERALD-TRIBUNE MEDIA GROUP to use winner's name and likeness for advertising and promotional purposes without compensation, unless otherwise prohibited by law.
2.ELIGIBILITY
This contest is open to legal residents of Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties, Florida, USA, who are 18 years of age and older. Employees and agents of Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, any other prize sponsor, and any entity involved in the development, production, implementation, administration or fulfillment of the Contest (all of the foregoing, together with Sponsors, collectively referred to as “Promotion Entities”), and their immediate family members and/or close personal friends and/or those living in the same household of such persons, whether related or not, are not eligible to enter the Contest.
Employees, officers and directors of the The Herald-Tribune Media Group and its parent company, The New York Times Company, their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, distributors, advertising, promotion, fulfillment and marketing agencies, their immediate families, (defined as spouse, child, sibling, parent, or grandparent) and those living in their same households are NOT eligible to participate in the Promotion. Each winner will be required to execute a declaration of eligibility and liability release attesting that the winner has complied with all the rules and that winner releases Sponsor(s) and all prize-supplier companies from all liability for damages or personal injury in connection with the winner's use of the prize, and a publicity release consenting that the Sponsor and anyone they may authorize may, without compensation, use winner's name, photograph or other likeness, biographical information and statements concerning the contest or the Sponsor for purposes of advertising and promotion.
3.HOW TO SUBMIT A CONTEST ENTRY
Any individual wishing to compete in the Contest must register at and upload photos to www.HeraldTribune.com/photocontest, or mail/hand deliver submissions to the Sponsor at 1741 Main Street, Sarasota, FL 34236; (participants submitting Photos are referred to as “Contest Entrants”). Submissions must include: Contest Entrant’s photograph and contact information, including name(s), home address(es), e-mail address(es) and phone number(s). You may submit one photograph during the Contest (a “Photo”). All submissions:
(a) must include a photograph of the Contest Entrant’s dog(s) taken since January of 2008 and Contest Entrant contact information;
(b) must be intended for family audience viewing and contain only content that, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor, is suitable for all persons of all ages;
(c) must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor contain any sexually explicit, disparaging, libelous or other inappropriate content;
(d) must not, in the sole discretion of Sponsor, contain any commercial content that promotes any product or service other than the Herald-Tribune; and
(e) must not contain any copyrighted works (other than as owned by the Contest Entrant).
Any elements appearing in submitted Photos must be entirely original, created by Contest Entrant, and must not have been digitally altered or enhanced in photo editing software. This includes adding artistic borders. However, cropping an original photo to better focus your subject is permitted. Submitted Photos must not have been previously published nor can they be professional photos, professional studio photos, or photos copied from the Internet.
Use of any elements or other materials that are not original, or in the public domain may result in disqualification of Photo in Sponsor’s sole discretion. By participating in the contest, Contest Entrants accept and agree to be bound by these Official Rules, including the decisions of the Sponsor which are final and binding in all respects. Limit one (1) entry per entrant and per email address and per household. Any individual who attempts to enter, or in the sole discretion of Sponsor is suspected of entering more than once, by any means, including but not limited to submitting multiple Photos, will be disqualified from the Contest.
In addition, Sponsor reserves the right to reject any submission without explanation. By entering, Contest Entrants accept and agree to be bound by these Official Rules, including the decisions of the Sponsor which are final and binding in all respects.
4.CONDITIONS OF CONTEST ENTRY
As conditions of entry into the Contest, each Contest Entrant:
WARRANTS AND REPRESENTS THAT THE CONTEST ENTRANT OWNS ALL RIGHTS TO THE PHOTO HE/SHE IS SUBMITTING (COLLECTIVELY, THE “CONTEST ENTRY MATERIALS”);
WARRANTS AND REPRESENTS THAT THE CONTEST ENTRANT IS THE OWNER OF THE CANINE PICTURED, THAT THE CONTEST ENTRANT HAS OBTAINED PERMISSION FROM EACH PERSON WHO APPEARS IN THE CONTEST ENTRY MATERIALS TO GRANT THE RIGHTS TO THE SPONSOR DESCRIBED IN THESE RULES, AND CAN MAKE SUCH PERMISSIONS AVAILABLE TO SPONSORS UPON REQUEST;
WARRANTS AND REPRESENTS THAT HIS/HER CONTEST ENTRY MATERIALS ARE ORIGINAL AND HAVE BEEN LEGALLY OBTAINED AND CREATED, AND DO NOT INFRINGE THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR MORAL RIGHTS OF ANY THIRD PARTY;
Irrevocably grants to Sponsor and its affiliates, legal representatives, assigns, agents and licensees, the worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub licensable, unconditional, perpetual and transferable right and license to copyright (only as applicable), reproduce, encode, store, modify, copy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, edit for length and content, publicly perform, adapt, exhibit and/or otherwise use or reuse (without limitation as to when or to the number of times used), the Entrant’s name, address, image, likeness, statements, biographical material and Contest Entry Materials, including, but not limited to, the Photos contained in any of the above items, as well as any additional photographic images and other materials relating to the Entrant and arising out of his/her participation in this Contest (with or without using the Entrant’s name) (collectively, the “Additional Materials”) (in each case, as submitted or as edited/modified in any way, whether by the Sponsor, its Licensees, or assigns, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion) in any media throughout the world for any purpose, without limitation, and without additional review, compensation, or approval from the Entrant or any other party;
Irrevocably grants to Sponsor and its affiliates, legal representatives, assigns, agents and licensees, the worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub licensable, unconditional, perpetual and transferable right and license to use the Contest Entry Materials for advertising, promotional or commercial purposes, including without limitation, the right to publicly display, reproduce and distribute the Contest Entry Materials in any media format or medium and through any media channels. Entrant’s name, pet’s name, photograph of pet and city of residence may be published in an issue of the Herald-Tribune, on SNN Local News 6 as well as on HeraldTribune.com;
Forever waives any rights of privacy, intellectual property rights, and any other legal or moral rights that may preclude Sponsor’s use of the entrant’s Contest Entry Materials or Additional Materials, or require the Contest Entrant’s permission for Sponsor to use them for promotional purposes, and agrees to never sue or assert any claim against the Sponsor’s use of those Materials;
Acknowledges and agrees that: (a) Sponsor has access to and/or may create or have created literary, visual and/or other materials, ideas and concepts which may be similar or identical to the Contest Entry Materials in theme and/or other respects; (b) the Contest Entrant will not be entitled to any compensation or other consideration because of the use by Sponsor of any such similar or identical material, ideas and/or concepts; and (c) Sponsor’s use of material containing elements similar to or identical with those contained in the Contest Entry Materials or any Photo shall not obligate Sponsor to negotiate with nor entitle Entrant to any compensation or other claim; and
Agrees to indemnify and hold the Sponsor and its respective affiliates, officers, directors, agents, co-branders or other partners, and any of their employees (collectively, the “Promotion Indemnitees”), harmless from any and all claims, damages, expenses, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) and liabilities (including settlements), brought or asserted by any third party against any of the Promotion Indemnities arising out of or in connection with: (a) any Contest Entry Materials or Additional Materials (including, but not limited to, any and all claims of third parties, whether or not groundless, based on the submission of such other material); (b) any breach by Entrant of any warranty, agreement or representation contained in the Official Rules or terms of service or in any documentation submitted by Entrant; (c) the Entrant’s conduct during and in connection with this Contest, including but not limited to trademark, copyright, or other intellectual property rights, right of publicity, right of privacy or defamation; or (d) the acceptance of any prize.
All entries become the property of HeraldTribune.com and will not be acknowledged or returned.
5.SPONSOR’S RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY
At any time during the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole and unfettered discretion, to disqualify and remove any Photo that it believes does not meet the spirit or requirements of the Official Rules. The decisions of the Sponsor on this and all matter relating to the Contest are final and binding.
6.WINNER SELECTION PROCESS
All eligible Photographs will be displayed on the Contest Site starting Monday, June 20, 2011. Between July 11, 2011 at 12:00 PM (Noon) Eastern and Sunday, July 31 at 11:59 PM Eastern (the “Voting Periods”), Participants will have the opportunity to view and rate Photographs (the “Public Voters”) over a series of three weekly rounds. At the end of each round, the five photos that receive the most votes will qualify for the final round, to be held from August 1, 2011 through August 7, 2011. The Photo with the highest number of people voting for it in the final round of voting will be declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the Sponsor will select a winner based on criteria detailed above. Voters can only vote once per day. Any attempt by a Voter to vote more than once per day will result in disqualification of all activity produced by that Voter.
7.PRIZES
In conjunction with the Contest, there will be awarded three prizes: the first-place, grand prize winner will receive a $1,000.00 Visa gift card (fair market value = $1,000.00); the second-place winner will receive a $250.00 Visa gift card (fair market value = $250.00); and the third-place winner will receive a $100.00 Visa gift card (fair market value = $100.00).
Terms and conditions of Visa gift card use can be found at: http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_gift_card.html.
The total prize package has a fair market value of $1,350.00. Winner must be 18 years of age or older. Prizes are non-transferable. All unclaimed or unused prize packages may not be used as sales or trade incentives for employees of Sponsor, their agencies or clients.
If Winner is unable to fulfill prize during time period specified, Winner forfeits the prize package. Winner must be 18 years of age or older. No prize substitution is permitted, except by Sponsor, which reserves the right to substitute any prize of equal or comparable value including cash in the event of prize unavailability. Prizes are non-transferable and shall be deemed to have no cash value.
Limit one prize per winning photo.
Prize consists of only those items specifically listed as part of the prize. No substitution or transfer of prize is permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value in the event that an offered prize is unavailable. All federal, state and local taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of the winner. Entrant acknowledges and agrees that as a condition of being awarded a prize, Winner must sign and return, within seven (7) days following attempted notification, a standard Release Form. Noncompliance within this time period may result in disqualification and an alternate winner may be selected.
The Contest Entities and each of their officers, directors, affiliates, related entities, partners, partnerships, principals, representatives, agents, licensees, sponsors, successors and assigns: (a) make no warranty, guaranty or representation of any kind concerning any prize; (b) disclaim any implied warranty; and (c) are not liable for injury, loss, or damage of any kind resulting from the acceptance or use of any prize, travel related thereto or from participation in this contest.
If any activity relating to any prize is canceled or postponed for any reason, the balance of that prize will be awarded in full satisfaction of prize award.
All taxes, fees and surcharges on prizes won are the sole responsibility of the winner.
8.GENERAL RULES
The Contest is governed by and subject to the laws of the United States. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law. All Prize winners will receive an IRS 1099 for the value of their prizes. By participating in the Contest and/or accepting any prize, Entrants grant permission to Sponsor and its advertising and promotion agencies to use their name(s), likeness(es), photos and any other material submitted in connection with the Contest for purposes of advertising, publicity and promotion purposes, without further compensation to Entrant, unless prohibited by law. Entrants agree to be bound by the Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding on all matters relating to the Contest. Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other errors in the printing of the offer, administration of the Contest or the announcement of the prizes, or for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, incomplete or illegal entries.
Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify the Contest Entry or the Vote of any individual found to be: (a) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or any Contest Entities’ website; (b) violating the Official Rules; (c) violating the terms of service, conditions of use and/or general rules or guidelines of any Contest Entities’ property or service; or (d) acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. Further, Contest Entities reserve the right to disqualify any entry which, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, is deemed to be offensive, libelous, slanderous, inflammatory, or otherwise inappropriate in any way for this Contest. CAUTION ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, HERALDTRIBUNE.COM RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
9.LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any computer, online, telephone transmission or technical malfunctions that may occur during participation in the Contest (including, without limitation, the voting phase of the Contest), or theft, destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, Contest Entry Materials or Votes. Sponsor is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users, Entrants, Voters, or any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest, or for any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of submissions or votes in the Contest. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation of transmission, failures or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, providers, computer equipment, software, email, players or browsers, whether on account of technical problems, traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or on account of any combination of the foregoing (including but not limited to any such problems which may result in the inability to access the Contest Site or to submit Entry Materials or Votes in connection with the Contest). Sponsor is not responsible for any injury or damage to participants or to any computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in this Contest. If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest and select winners from among that portion of the Contest that has not been compromised, if any. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel this contest at any time without obligation or prior notice.
10.DISPUTES/GOVERNING LAW
Except where prohibited, as a condition of participating in this Contest, Participants (Contest Entrants and/or Public Voters) agree that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, any prize awarded, or the determination of winners shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will Entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, other than Entrant’s actual out-pocket expenses (e.g. costs associated with entering this Contest), and Entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner based on email address, the winning entry will be declared made by the Authorized Account Holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. For purposes of these Official Rules, “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g. business, educational, institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.
All issues and questions regarding rights and obligations of Participants in connection with this Contest shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A., without giving effect to the conflict of laws and rules thereof and any matters or proceedings which are not subject to arbitration as set forth in these Official Rules and/or for entering any judgment on an arbitration award, shall take place in the State of New York, County of New York.
The parties waive rights to trial by jury in any action or proceeding instituted in connection with these Official Rules and/or this Contest. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Official Rules and/or this Contest shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in the State of New York, County of New York and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any court having jurisdiction thereof.
11.PRIVACY
By entering the Contest, you agree to HeraldTribune.com’s use of your personal information, as described in the HeraldTribune.com Privacy Policy, located at www.heraldtribune.com.
12.WINNER’S LIST/RULES REQUESTS
For a copy of the Official Rules or the winner’s names, send a separate, stamped, self-addressed envelope to:
HeraldTribune.com/Cutest Canine Photo Contest, Herald-Tribune Media Group, 1741 Main Street, Sarasota, FL 34236
Requests received after September 15, 2011 will not be honored.
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