Think Onward LLC

Onward Challenge Terms and Conditions

These Onward Challenge Terms and Conditions (these "Challenge Terms") apply to anyone ("you" or "Participant") that participates in the Onward Challenge (the "Competition"). 

These Challenge Terms are entered into between you and Think Onward LLC, a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of Delaware ("Promoter", "Onward", "Think Onward", "we", "us", or "our"), and govern your participation in the Competition.

IF YOU WIN A PRIZE UNDER THIS COMPETITION, AS A CONDITION TO BEING AWARDED SUCH PRIZE, YOU MUST GRANT A LICENSE IN YOUR SUBMISSION AND PERFORM OTHER OBLIGATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 11 (OBLIGATIONS OF WINNERS).

1. Your Agreement

By registering for entry into the Competition, you: (i) acknowledge that you have read these Challenge Terms and agree to be legally bound by them; (ii) accept any and all of the Promoter and its authorized representatives' decisions regarding the Competition as final and binding in all respects; and (iii) certify that you meet the eligibility requirements set out in these Challenge Terms, including in Section 5 (Eligibility). We may also confirm your agreement to be bound by these Challenge Terms by asking you to click an "I accept" or "Agree" button, checkbox, or similar mechanism. 

Moreover, if you are agreeing to these Challenge Terms on behalf of a company, an organization, or other legal entity ("Your Organization"), then: (i) you represent and warrant that you have authority to act on behalf of, and to bind, Your Organization; and (ii) for all purposes in these Challenge Terms, the term "you" or "Participant" means Your Organization on whose behalf you are acting. 

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE CHALLENGE TERMS, THEN DO NOT REGISTER FOR ENTRY OR OTHERWISE PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION. 

2. Scope of these Challenge Terms; Separate Terms

These Challenge Terms must be read in conjunction with, and your participation in the Competition is further subject to: (i) the Challenge Overview, which sets out additional terms and conditions specific to each Competition and is incorporated herein by reference; (ii) the Think Onward LLC General Terms and Conditions of Use (available at: https://www.thinkonward.com/terms-of-use) ("Website Terms"); (iii) any other agreements into which you and the Promoter may enter ("Separate Terms"); (iv) our Privacy Policy (available at: https://www.thinkonward.com/privacy-policy); and (v) any other rules, policies, terms, and conditions that may be implemented by the Promoter. 

To the extent that these Challenge Terms conflict with the terms of our Website Terms, then these Challenge Terms control. To the extent these Terms conflict with the terms of the Challenge Overview or our Privacy Policy, then the terms of the Challenge Overview or our Privacy Policy control. Similarly, to the extent these Terms conflict with the terms and conditions of any Separate Terms or other specific agreements you enter with us, the terms and conditions of such Separate Terms or other specific agreements control. 

In addition, the Competition is subject to all Applicable Law, including all applicable federal, state, local, municipal and similarly applicable laws, regulations, rules or ordinances. This Competition is void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by Applicable Law.

3. Certain Disclosures

The Competition is intended for the Promoter's membership, registrants, and any other individuals given access to participate in the Competition. This does not affect your statutory rights. Internet access is required to participate in the Competition. If you use your wireless mobile device to participate in the Competition, data rates may apply. Please consult your wireless service provider regarding its pricing plans prior to participating in the Competition via your wireless mobile device. The Promoter further reserves the right to disqualify any Participant who tampers with the submission process, Submissions, or otherwise tries to undermine the operation or integrity of the Competition, shows a disregard for these Challenge Terms, or acts in any unsporting or disruptive manner. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY A PARTICIPANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OR INTEGRITY OF ANY COMPETITION IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE PROMOTER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

4. About the Competition

4.1. Scope. The Competition is a global competition organized by the Promoter, which asks Participants to accomplish certain objectives as set out in the Challenge Overview. The Competition is accessed via our website located at https://www.thinkonward.com/get-involved/challenges (the "Competition Website").

4.2. Competition Period. The Competition begins and will close on the dates as specified in the Challenge Overview (the "Competition Period"). You must register online by the deadline specified in the Challenge Overview (the "Registration Deadline") in accordance with Section 6 (Registration). For the avoidance of doubt, all times mentioned in these Challenge Terms and related materials are based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

4.3. Recruitment. The Competition is not a formal part of the recruitment process of Onward or its Affiliates, and participation in the Competition will not influence any subsequent application made by a Participant for a job, apprenticeship, internship or other training scheme with the Promoter or any of its Affiliates. For the purposes of these Challenge Terms, "Affiliate(s)" means a party's ultimate parent company or a legal entity which the party or the party's ultimate parent company directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls. For this purpose: (i) a company is directly controlled by another company or companies if that latter company beneficially owns or those latter companies together beneficially own fifty per cent (50%) or more of the voting rights attached to the issued share capital of the first mentioned company; and (ii) a company is indirectly controlled by another company or companies if a series of companies can be specified, beginning with that latter company or companies and ending with the first mentioned company, so related that each company of the series (except the latter company or companies) is directly controlled by one or more of the companies earlier in the series.

5. Eligibility

Participation in the Competition is open to any person who is, or will be by the start date of the Competition, the older of (i) 18 years of age; and (ii) the age of majority in the Participant's relevant jurisdiction of residency, subject to the following limitations and the provisions of these Challenge Terms:

5.1. Restricted Parties. Competitions are open to residents of the United States and other countries worldwide, except for Restricted Parties (as defined in Section 18 (Trade Control Laws)). You are not eligible to enter the Competition if you are a Restricted Party. Please refer to the definition of Restricted Party to determine your eligibility. Where this applies, the Promoter’s invitation to such persons to enter the Competition is withdrawn.

5.2. Related Persons. Current employees, past employees, apprentices, trainees, interns, agents, officers, contractors or directors of the Promoter or its Affiliates (including joint ventures) as well as families of such persons are not eligible to participate in the Competition. For the avoidance of doubt, Participants who are in the process of being recruited for a job, apprenticeship, traineeship, or internship by the Promoter or any of its Affiliates (including joint ventures) will be automatically disqualified if their employment, apprenticeship, traineeship or internship commences any time during the Competition Period. The Competition is not open to employees, agents, affiliates, officers, contractors or directors of any advertiser, promotion agency or fulfillment agency of the Promoter or of anyone else professionally connected with the Competition.

5.3. Restricted Jurisdictions. You are not eligible to enter the Competition if you are resident, established or registered in a Restricted Jurisdiction (as defined in Section 18 (Trade Control Laws)). Where this applies, the Promoter's invitation to enter the Competition in such country or jurisdiction is withdrawn.

6. Registration

6.1. Registration Process. An "Individual Participant" means a Participant who enters the Competition as a sole individual. A "Team Participant" means a Participant who enters the Competition as part of a Team. If you wish to participate in the Competition, then you must register online by the Registration Deadline on the Competition Website regardless of whether you wish to enter the Competition as an Individual Participant or as a Team Participant. You may only register for entry into the Competition once, and may only participate in the Competition either as an Individual Participant or as a Team Participant but not as both. If you are not correctly registered by the Registration Deadline, you will not be able to participate in the Competition.

6.2. Email Address. Each Participant must join the Competition using a single email address, and cannot join the Competition using multiple email addresses. Participants and Teams found to be using multiple email addresses will be disqualified at Promoter’s sole discretion. If you and others wish to form a team and join this Competition as a team, please refer to Section 7 (Teams). You must provide a valid email address as part of the registration process. You are responsible for updating your email address on record with us if it changes during the Competition Period.

6.3. Validation. The Promoter reserves the right to check the validity of the registration information submitted by you at any stage during the Competition and to ask for evidence of country of residency or other information cited by you.

6.4. Disqualification. The Promoter reserves the right to refuse participation of, or to disqualify, at any time during the Competition, Participants who have submitted incorrect or misleading information. Participants who do not comply with these Challenge Terms may also be disqualified from the Competition without further notice. The disqualification of a Participant in a Team will result in the disqualification of such Team and its members. You agree that you will have no recourse against any disqualification decisions made by us in our sole and absolute discretion. 

7. Teams

If permitted for the Competition as specified in the Challenge Overview, an Individual Participant can form a team (each, a “Team”) during registration. The Participant that forms the Team first will be the “Team Captain” and the main contact for communications with the Promoter. Only the Team Captain can search and invite other Team members.

To be eligible to join a Team, a Participant must select “Opt-In” on the Teams tab for the Competition. By electing to “Opt-In”, a Participant consents to the release of personal data for the purposes of forming Teams. The Team Captain can search for and invite Participants that have elected to “Opt-In”. Each Participant may decline or accept the invitation at their discretion.

Changes to the composition of a Team can be made using the options in the Teams tab.

8. Submissions, Scoring and Selection of the Winners

8.1. Submissions. You must submit your submissions to the Competition (each a "Submission") by the applicable deadline via the Competition Website. Submissions must be in English and will be void if they are incomplete, damaged, altered, counterfeit, or late. Submissions shall not be libelous, offensive, obscene, or in violation of intellectual property rights or rights of privacy or publicity. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify an any Participant or Team if a Submission, or any part thereof, falls under any of the foregoing categories.

8.2. Scoring. As further set out in Section 1 (Your Agreement) and 10 (Prizes), all decisions regarding the Competition (including scoring and grades on Submissions) will be made in our sole and absolute discretion, and, once made, will be final and may not be appealed. The leaderboard will show Participants' rankings based on this score. Participants may submit up to five (5) Submissions per day. For each Team, only five (5) Submissions per day are allowed per team. Any Team found in violation of this rule will be disqualified. You may submit multiple final Submissions, but only the latest Submission you make will be considered for scoring.

8.3. Notification of Winners. Winners will be notified by email to their registered email addresses. If a Winner does not respond to the notification attempt within one (1) week or does not wish to receive the prize, then another Participant may be selected in the Winner's place. The Promoter is not required to distribute all or any part of a prize declined by a Winner.

8.4. Sharing of Submissions. The Promoter may provide, share, and otherwise disclose any Submissions to any of the Promoter's Affiliates and other third parties involved in the operation, evaluation or judging of the Competition, including, by way of example, for marketing and communications purposes.

9. Correspondence

All correspondence, notices, and other communications made throughout the Competition must be in English. Please submit any questions or comments concerning the Competition via email to support@thinkonward.com. The Promoter makes no guarantee that an answer will be provided, or that an answer will be provided in a given time. The Promoter reserves the right not to answer a question if, in the Promoter's opinion, an answer would give an unfair advantage to certain Participants. The Promoter may send additional information to Participants during the course of any Competition, in which case, such information will be sent to all Participants at the same time.

Participants who have received unofficial or sensitive information relating to the Competition with the intent of allowing an unfair competitive advantage, from employees, interns, apprentices and trainees or any party involved with the Competition must immediately inform the Promoter by email to support@thinkonward.com.

10. Prizes

10.1. Total Available Prizes; Winners. The Challenge Overview specifies the prizes available to the winners of the Competition (each winning Individual Participant or Team a "Winner" or together "Winners"). For the avoidance of doubt, if a Team wins a prize, the prize will be split evenly among the Team Participants. The award of a prize is conditioned upon the acceptance by the Winner of these Challenge Terms, including the obligations set out in 11 (Winners Obligations). Winners will be selected at the sole and absolute discretion of the Promoter. Additional prizes may be added based on the size of the Participant pool in the sole and absolute discretion of the Promoter. If additional prizes are added, details will be shared with Participants through email.

10.2. Taxes. All taxes imposed on the prizes are the sole responsibility of the Winners. Winners are solely responsible for any and all country, federal, state, municipal and local taxes, fees and other government assessments associated with receipt and use of a prize or participation in any Competition. Tax and withholding laws are subject to change without notice. The tax and withholding laws in effect at the time a prize is claimed will be followed, and the winner may be issued appropriate tax withholding or reporting forms (such as a Form 1099-MISC for United States residents (if required)) showing prize amounts as income to a winner, which the winner will be required to sign at a time and in a manner determined by Promoter in its sole and absolute discretion. Prizes will be net of any taxes the Promoter is required to withhold. If a Winner fails to provide any required documentation or information necessary for it to comply with any tax, withholding or reporting obligation within ten (10) days of request, the prize will be forfeited.

10.3. Additional Terms Regarding Prizes. PRIZES ARE AWARDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE OF ANY KIND FROM PROMOTER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. A Winner that accepts a prize agrees to release and hold the Promoter and its Affiliates harmless against any and all claims and liability arising out of the award of, the use or misuse of any prize. Where the law implies warranties, which cannot be excluded, the Promoter's liability for breach of those warranties is limited to resupplying the prize (or paying for the costs thereof), where this is permitted by Applicable Law. A Winner assumes all liability for any injury, loss, or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in this Competition or use or redemption of any prize. Prizes are non-assignable, non-transferable and no substitution will be made except at the Promoter's sole and absolute discretion. The Promoter reserves the right to substitute a prize for one of equal or greater value if the designated prize should become unavailable for any reason. Such prizes are not redeemable for cash; any difference between the actual value and approximate retail value (if any) of the prize will not be awarded as cash, or otherwise unless otherwise stated. Promoter shall have no responsibility or obligation to a potential winner who is ineligible for the prize, or is unable to or who does not accept the prize, for any reason. In case of dispute as to the identity of any Participant, any submissions or entries will be declared made by the Authorized Account Holder of the e-mail address, telephone number, or other means used to enter any Competition. "Authorized Account Holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to the e-mail address, telephone number, or other means used issued by a service provider responsible for assigning the account, e-mail address, telephone number, or other means. Any potential Winner may be requested to provide the Promoter with proof that such winner is the Authorized Account Holder of the e-mail address, telephone number, or other means used to enter the Competition. The sufficiency and type of such proof is subject to the Promoter's sole and absolute discretion. The Promoter reserves the right to award alternative prizes if necessary to comply with Applicable Law.

11. Obligations of Winners

11.1. Grant of Rights in the Submissions. If you win a prize under the Competition, as a condition to being awarded such prize, you must grant a license in your Submission under (i) an open source license, or (ii) a nonexclusive license to the Promoter, as specified in the Challenge Overview. 

11.1.1. Nonexclusive License to the Promoter. If the Challenge Overview specifies a “Nonexclusive License”, and if you or your Team is selected as a Winner, as a condition to being awarded a prize, you hereby grant to the Promoter and its Affiliates, and its and their designees, a worldwide, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, transferable, fully paid-up, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license and right to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, publicly perform, publicly display, digitally perform, make, have made, sell, offer for sale, import, and otherwise exploit, in any media now known or hereafter developed, your Submissions for any purpose whatsoever, for commercial uses or otherwise, without your further approval or further payment to you.

11.2. Further Assurances. If you or your Team is selected as a Winner, as a condition to being awarded a prize, you agree to sign and return all prize acceptance and other documents as we may require, including without limitation: (i) eligibility certifications; (ii) licenses, releases, and other agreements; (iii) completed U.S. tax forms (such as IRS Form W-9 if U.S. resident, IRS Form W-8BEN if foreign resident, or future equivalents); and (iv) any other documentation. Moreover, you agree to cooperate with us in the procurement and maintenance of our intellectual property rights and to execute, when requested, any other documents deemed necessary for us to carry out the purpose of this Agreement.

11.3. Winner Interview. Winner shall be available for one (1) interview not to exceed one (1) hour with the Promoter or with media sources selected in the Promoter’s sole discretion. Interviews may be conducted in person, virtually, or in written format as per media and Winner availability. Winner shall attend the interview for its entirety unless otherwise previously agreed to in writing by the Promoter. The Promoter will reimburse Winner for reasonable transportation costs and expenses associated with the interview as approved by the Promoter in writing.

12. Intellectual Property

12.1. No Expectation of Confidentiality. You represent and warrant that your Submissions do not contain any confidential information of Participant or any other parties, and you agree that the Submissions will be treated as having been submitted on a non-confidential basis, whether or not such Submissions are marked or referred by you as being confidential. Neither the Promoter, its Affiliates, nor any other parties involved in the operation of the Competition, shall have a duty to treat the Submissions as confidential. The Promoter and its Affiliates may share any Submissions to their venture capital and other commercial partners on a non-confidential basis.

12.2. Grant of Rights. Subject to Section 11 (Obligations of Winners), by entering into this Competition, you hereby grant to the Promoter and its Affiliates, and its and their designees, a worldwide, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, transferable, fully paid-up, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license and right to reference, use, have used, distribute, have distributed, reproduce, have reproduced, create and have created derivative works of, modify, have modified, copy, have copied, make, have made, sell, offer for sale, export, have exported, import and have imported the whole or any part of any of their Submissions, in any media now known or deployed in the future, for purposes of scoring and otherwise evaluating such Submissions for this Competition. Further, by entering into this Competition, you hereby waive the right to assert any moral rights in a Submission against the Promoter or any of its Affiliates.

12.3. Publicity; Promotions. You hereby allow the Promoter and/or its Affiliates to (without any remuneration) use, represent, and reproduce your name, image, likeness, biography and words for any purpose in connection with the promotion of the Competition and/or the Promoter and/or its Affiliates (including, without limitation, in conjunction with any Submission) by all means, in any kind of medium and format and in any territory, including as part of Winner interviews.

12.4. Reservation of Rights. Nothing in these Challenge Terms shall be construed as the Promoter or any of its Affiliates granting you or any other Participant any license under the Promoter's and/or any of its Affiliate's intellectual property rights (including, without limitation, the Promoter's or/any of its Affiliate's trademarks, trade names, and copyright in any images, publications and/or other materials produced by, or on behalf of, the Promoter/any of its Affiliates and distributed to Participants in connection with the Competition), all of which you may only use with our prior written consent. Any rights granted to you under these Challenge Terms must be expressly provided herein, and there shall be no implied rights pursuant these Challenge Terms, based on any course of conduct or other construction or interpretation thereof. All rights and licenses not expressly granted herein are reserved by the Promoter.

13. Representations and Warranties

By entering into this Competition, you hereby represent, warrant, and covenant to the Promoter and its Affiliates that: (i) your Submissions are entirely of your own creation, and does not, and will not, in any way, infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights (including, without limitation patents, copyrights, visual materials in whatever form, sound recordings, any copyright protectable work, designs, trade or services marks, database rights, rights in know-how, rights protecting goodwill and reputation, moral rights or other similar rights in any country, in each case whether or not registered, and any applications for registration of any of the foregoing, and all rights to apply to register any of the foregoing), the privacy rights, the rights of publicity, or any other rights of any third party; (ii) your Submissions shall be free from all liens and encumbrances and shall be provided in accordance with, and shall at all times comply with, all Applicable Law, including without limitation, requirements regarding the privacy and handling of confidential information; (iii) your Submissions do not include, incorporate, or depend upon any software code licensed under the GNU GPL or LPGL or any similar “copyleft” license that would require the Promoter and/or its Affiliates to make any source code available to any third party; (iv) with respect to any Submissions that comprise or contain software or other computer-readable files, such Submissions shall be free of viruses, material defects, worms, Trojan horses, destructive mechanisms, hidden or locked files, or other similar illicit code; (v) you have the full power and authority to enter into these Challenge Terms and to carry out its obligations under these Challenge Terms and the right to convey, if any, all licenses, assignments, and rights conveyed hereunder; (vi) your participation in the Competition or your performance hereunder does not violate any Applicable Law or existing agreement between you and any other person or entity; and (vii) you meet the eligibility requirements set out in these Challenge Terms to participate in the Competition. If it is discovered that you are in breach of any of the foregoing representations, warranties, or covenants, the Promoter shall be entitled to disqualify you from the Competition.

14. Indemnity; Releases; Limitation of Liability

BY PARTICIPATING IN THE COMPETITION, YOU AGREE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TO RELEASE, DISCHARGE, AND HOLD HARMLESS THE PROMOTER, ITS AFFILIATES, ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION AGENCIES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, MANAGERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS (THE "RELEASED PARTIES") FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL ALLEGED OR ACTUAL CLAIMS, CAUSES OF ACTION, DEMANDS, LOSSES, SETTLEMENTS, LIABILITIES AND DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER EXISTING NOW OR ARISING IN THE FUTURE (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, BODILY INJURY, PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, DISABILITY AND PROPERTY DAMAGE, VIOLATION OF PROPRIETARY, PUBLICITY, PRIVACY OR ANY OTHER RIGHT), COSTS AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES, COURT COSTS, SETTLEMENT AND DISBURSEMENTS) DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF, IN WHOLE OR IN PART: (I) YOUR BREACH OR NONCOMPLIANCE BY YOU OF THESE CHALLENGE TERMS OR SEPARATE TERMS, INCLUDING ANY REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES SET FORTH HEREIN; (II) YOUR PARTICIPATION OR OTHER INVOLVEMENT IN THE COMPETITION OR ANY PROMOTION OR PRIZE RELATED ACTIVITY; (III) USE OF YOUR SUBMISSIONS OR OTHER MATERIALS UPLOADED OR OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY YOU, INCLUDING A CLAIM SUCH SUBMISSIONS OR OTHER MATERIALS INFRINGE ANY COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, TRADE SECRET, TRADE DRESS, PATENT OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT OF ANY PERSON OR ENTITY, OR DEFAMES ANY PERSON OR VIOLATES THEIR RIGHTS OF PUBLICITY OR PRIVACY; (IV) ANY MISREPRESENTATION MADE BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMPETITION; (V) YOUR ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, MISUSE, OR USE OF ANY PRIZE. IN NO EVENT WILL THE RELEASED PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU IN ANY WAY FOR ANY VIOLATIONS OF ANTI-TRUST OR TRADE CONTROL LAWS, AND YOU HEREBY RELEASE, ACQUIT, AND FOREVER DISCHARGE THE RELEASED PARTIES FROM ANY AND ALL LOSSES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO VIOLATIONS OF ANTI-TRUST OR TRADE CONTROL LAWS IN CONNECTION WITH THESE CHALLENGE TERMS. (VI) TECHNICAL ISSUES, SYSTEM OR SOFTWARE FAILURES EXPERIENCED BY YOU IN SUBMITTING YOUR REGISTRATION OR SUBMISSION OR ACCESSING THE COMPETITION WEBSITE; (VII) USER ERRORS; (VIII) NEGLIGENT USE OF THE COMPETITION WEBSITE; (IX) LATE, LOST, DELAYED, DAMAGED, MISDIRECTED, INCOMPLETE OR UNINTELLIGIBLE REGISTRATIONS/SUBMISSIONS. PROOF OF SENDING WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AS PROOF OF RECEIPT; (X) ANY TELECOMMUNICATION OR HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE FAILURES, INCLUDING BY REASON OF ANY BUG OR COMPUTER VIRUS OR OTHER FAILURE; (XI) ANY ERROR IN THE COLLECTION, PROCESSING, OR RETENTION OF ANY SUBMISSIONS; OR (XII) ANY FORMATTING, TYPOGRAPHICAL, OR OTHER ERRORS IN THE PRINTING, OFFERING, OR ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANY PRIZE OR WINNERS. BY PARTICIPATING IN THE COMPETITION OR ACCEPTING A PRIZE, YOU COVENANT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TO NOT SUE ANY RELEASED PARTY OR CAUSE THEM TO BE SUED REGARDING ANY MATTER RELEASED ABOVE, AND NOT TO DISAFFIRM, LIMIT, OR RESCIND THIS RELEASE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE RELEASED PARTIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMPETITION FOR ANY INJURIES, DAMAGES OR LOSSES, INCLUDING FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, ECONOMIC, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF CONTRACTS, LOSS OF USE OR LOSS OF REPUTATION, EVEN IF THE PROMOTER OR ITS AFFILIATES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY, SO THE FOREGOING MAY NOT APPLY TO EVERY PARTICIPANT. 

15. Privacy

You may be provided with personal data in the course of the Competition for the purposes of forming Teams. You agree you will not process, sell, retain, use or disclose such personal data for any purpose other than for the specific purpose specified in these Challenge Terms. By registering for entry into the Competition, you certify that understand this condition and will comply with it.

The Promoter collects the personal data of Participants for the purposes of organizing and managing the Competition and communicating with Participants. Promoter collects further personal data (e.g. Participant's nationality, date of birth, residential address and bank account details) during the Competition in order to arrange receipt of and/or participation in prizes as well as to carry out tax reporting and trade control due diligence screening to ensure no Restricted Party and/or Restricted Jurisdiction involvement in the Competition. Personal data provided by Participants may be retained up to eight (8) years and will only be used in accordance with the Privacy Policy available at https://www.thinkonward.com/privacy-policy. Only with Participant's explicit consent will the Promoter use or share Participant's personal data with third parties for direct marketing purposes. Nothing herein is intended to prohibit or limit Promoter’s collection and use of personal data from participants for legitimate business purposes, including but not limited to registration for access to Promoter’s site. Such personal data collected by Promoter is governed by the terms of Promoter’s Privacy Policy available at https://www.thinkonward.com/privacy-policy.  

16. Social Media Disclosure

The Competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Google or any other social media or similar platform where the Competition may be promoted, advertised or otherwise used to disseminate information relating to the Competition. You understand that all information is being provided to the Promoter and not to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Google or any other social media where the Competitions may be promoted, advertised or otherwise used to disseminate information relating to the Competitions. The Promoter is not responsible for practices, terms or actions taken by any of these or other social media and web services sites. You understand that you are required to comply with terms and conditions of those social media platforms.

17. Claims and Disputes

Any Participant or Team suspected by the Promoter of plagiarism or any breach of these Challenge Terms or any Separate Terms may be investigated, and, if deemed appropriate by the Promoter (in its sole and absolute discretion), disqualified from the Competition. Participants should notify the Promoter of any disputes regarding the Competition within one (1) calendar month of the end of the Competition by email to support@thinkonward.com with the word 'Dispute' included the subject header. The Promoter's decision and discretion on any dispute shall be final and no correspondence will be entered into on that matter. Save for the agreement between the Promoter and each Participant as set out herein and in the Separate Terms, participation in the Competition shall in no event be considered or construed as giving rise to any contractual relations with the Promoter or any of its Affiliates and, in particular, shall not give rise to any employment relationship. The participation in the Competition or award of a prize should, under no circumstances, be construed as an offer or contract of employment with the Promoter or its Affiliates.

18. Trade Control Laws

18.1. Restrictions on Certain Parties and Jurisdictions. This Competition is void where prohibited or restricted by any Applicable Law. "Applicable Law" means all laws (including Trade Control Laws), ordinances, rules, regulations, orders, licenses, permits, judgments, decisions, and other requirements of any governmental authority that has necessary jurisdiction over you, the Promoter or this Competition. This Competition is subject to Trade Control Laws and open only to persons who are not Restricted Parties and who are not located in a Restricted Jurisdiction. “Trade Control Laws” means any laws concerning trade or economic sanctions or embargoes, Restricted Party lists, trade controls on the imports, export, re-export, transfer or otherwise trade of goods, services or technology, anti-boycott legislation and any other similar regulations, rules, restrictions, orders or requirements having the force of law in relation to the above matters and in force from time to time, including without limitation those of the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States of America or government laws in relation to the above matters applicable to a party involved in the performance of the agreement. "Restricted Party" means any individual, legal person, entity, or organization that is: (i) resident, established or registered in a Restricted Jurisdiction; (ii) classified as a US OFAC Specially Designated National or otherwise subject to blocking sanctions under Trade Control Laws; (iii) directly or indirectly owned or controlled (as these terms are interpreted under the relevant Trade Control Laws), or acting on behalf of, persons, entities or organizations described in (i) or (ii); or (iv) a director, officer or employee of a legal person, entity or organization described in (i) to (iii). “Restricted Jurisdiction” means a country, state, territory or region which is subject to comprehensive economic or trade restrictions under Trade Control Laws applicable to any party involved in the performance of this Agreement. As of the date of this Agreement, Restricted Jurisdictions include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, the Crimea Region of Ukraine (including Sevastopol) and other non-Government controlled areas in Eastern Ukraine, including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The Promoter reserves the right to monitor or investigate any transaction, activity, or content associated with the Competition, and take any action that it deems appropriate to prevent or remedy violations of Applicable Law or these Challenge Terms.

18.2. Restrictions on the Export of Technical Information

18.2.1. United States. The U.S. government regulates the export of certain technical data and information from the U.S. along with the release of technical data and information to foreign nationals located in the U.S. Participants submitting Submissions (as defined in Section 8 (Submissions, Scoring and Selection of the Winners)) containing technical details of regulated technology must ensure that the subject technology is not controlled under U.S. export control laws. Participants should seek independent legal advice for assistance in this determination.

18.2.2. Rest of the World. Participants must ensure that their Submissions comply with their jurisdiction's equivalent or similar export regulations. Participants should seek independent legal advice for assistance in this determination.

18.2.3. Certification. By entering Submissions, Participants certify that any technical or other information contained in their Submissions is not restricted for export to the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland or the Netherlands.

19. General

19.1. WARRANTY DISCLAIMER. THE PROMOTER DOES NOT PROMISE THAT THE COMPETITION WEBSITE, THE COMPETITION, OR ANY MATERIALS OR INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE BY THE PROMOTER, WILL BE ERROR-FREE, UNINTERRUPTED, OR WITHOUT INACCURACIES. THE COMPETITION WEBSITE, THE COMPETITION, OR ANY MATERIALS OR INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE BY THE PROMOTER ARE DELIVERED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. WHEN YOU ACCESS THE COMPETITION WEBSITE, PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION, OR USE ANY MATERIALS OR INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE BY THE PROMOTER, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE PROMOTER DOES NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT THE COMPETITION WEBSITE OR ANY MATERIALS YOU DOWNLOAD FROM THE COMPETITION WEBSITE WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL FEATURES OR INACCURACIES. THE PROMOTER HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS: (I) ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT; (II) ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, CONTENT, COMPLETENESS, OR LEGALITY OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE THROUGH COMPETITION WEBSITE OR THE COMPETITION; AND (III) ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR HARM RESULTING FROM DOWNLOADING OR ACCESSING ANY INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIALS THROUGH THE COMPETITION WEBSITE OR THE COMPETITION, INCLUDING HARM CAUSED BY VIRUSES OR SIMILAR DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. 

19.2. Modifications; Cancellation. The Promoter may cancel, modify, or terminate the Competition (including any Winner selection and prizes) without prior notice, if the Competition is not capable of completion as planned, including by reason of infection of computer virus, tampering, unauthorized intervention, force majeure, or technical difficulties of any kind.

19.3. Operation of Competition Website. The Promoter tries to ensure the standard of the Competition Website remains high but cannot be held responsible for interruptions of service. The Promoter reserves the right to suspend temporarily the operation of the Competition Website without notice in the case of system failure, maintenance or repair, or for any other reason beyond its control.

19.4. Nature of Information. All information or advice provided as part of the Competition is intended to be general in nature. The Promoter is not liable for any action you may take as a result of relying on such information or advice or for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of you taking this action.

19.5. Monitoring. The Promoter reserves the right, but does not assume the obligation, to monitor any information/materials posted on or submitted through the Competition Website by a Participant. The Promoter, at its sole and absolute discretion and without prior notice, may at any time review, remove or otherwise block any information/materials posted on or submitted through the Competition Website.

19.6. Forums. The Competition Website may offer you the opportunity to join in or read from a forum and you acknowledge that any communications posted on such forum represent the views of the individuals who posted such communication and are not to be taken as the views of the Promoter. The Promoter accepts no responsibility or liability for anything posted on the forum by any user of the forum and Participants must not use the forum to post, upload, or otherwise transmit information or pictures that are defamatory, offensive, obscene, a breach of privacy or otherwise unlawful.

19.7. Changes to these Challenge Terms. The Promoter reserves the right to, upon notice to Participants, unilaterally amend these Challenge Terms from time to time.

19.8. Similar Ideas Submitted to Other Competitions. If you have submitted the same, or a broadly similar, idea in any other competition, then you must provide to the Promoter the details of the competitions in which that idea has been used. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any entry which is composed of substantially the same idea or concept as has been submitted by the relevant Participant in any other competition.

19.9. Severability. If any provision of these Challenge Terms is declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained in these Challenge Terms will be not affected or impaired in any way.

19.10. Force Majeure. The Promoter or its Affiliates shall not be liable to you, other Participants, the winners, or any other persons or entities for failure to execute the Competition, or supply a prize or any part thereof, by reason of any act of God, any action, regulation, order or request by any governmental or quasi-governmental entity (whether or not the action, regulation, order or request proves to be invalid), equipment failure, terrorist act, cyber-attack, earthquake, war, fire, flood, explosion, unusually severe weather, hurricane, epidemics, pandemics, embargo, labor dispute or strike (whether legal or illegal), labor or material shortage, transportation interruption of any kind, work slow-down, civil disturbance, insurrection, riot, cancellation or delay of any event, or any similar or dissimilar event beyond their reasonable control.

19.11. Governing Law. Any and all claims or proceedings arising out of or relating to these Challenge Terms, including non-contractual claims or proceedings, will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule that would provide otherwise. 

19.12. Exclusive Jurisdiction. Any and all claims or proceedings arising out of or relating to the Challenge Terms, including non-contractual claims or proceedings, must be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the State of Texas, located in the City of Houston and the County of Harris, although the Promoter retains the right to bring any suit, action, or proceeding against you for breach of these Challenge Terms in your state or country of residence. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by the courts and to venue in the courts listed above. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ITS RIGHTS TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY CLAIM OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

19.13. Remedies. Except as expressly stated herein, no remedy conferred by any of the provisions of these Challenge Terms is intended to be exclusive of any other remedy, and each remedy is cumulative and in addition to every other remedy available to the Promoter and its Affiliates hereunder or otherwise existing at law, in equity, by statute or otherwise. The election of any one or more remedies by Promoter or its Affiliates shall not constitute a waiver of the right to pursue any other available remedies.

19.14. Assignment. These Challenge Terms, and each party's rights, duties, and obligations hereunder may not be assigned or transferred by you without our prior written consent. The parties' rights, duties, and obligations shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and permitted assigns.

19.15. Survival. In addition to any other right or obligation that by its nature is intended to survive any termination or expiration, the following Sections shall survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement: (i) Section 10.3 (Additional Terms Regarding Prizes); (ii) Section 11.2 (Further Assurances); (iii) Section 12 (Intellectual Property); (iv) Section 13 (Representations and Warranties); (v) Section 14 (Indemnity; Releases; Limitation of Liability); Section 17 (Claims and Disputes); Section 18 (Trade Control Laws); Section 19 (General). 

Challenge Overview

The following provides an overview of the Competition, and additional terms and conditions that apply specifically to this Competition. This Challenge Overview is made part of, and incorporated into, the Think Onward Challenge Terms and Conditions. 

1. Competition Objectives. Challengers are provided with a series of 3D seismic volumes and a function that removes user specified proportions of the volumes. Challengers will build a machine learning or deep learning algorithm that can accurately fill in the missing volume of data given the context around it. 

2. Start Date. 13 December 2023

3. End Date. 15 March 2024 at 22:00 UTC

4. Registration Deadline.

5. Teams. Allowed

6. Available Prizes. The total value of prizes available for this Competition is USD 50,000 ($50,000). A winning Individual Participant or Team will win a cash prize as follows: First Prize, USD 20,000 ($20,000); Second Prize, USD 12,000 ($12,000); and Third Prize, USD 8,000 ($8,000); fourth through tenth prizes, USD 1,000 ($1,000) each, and two (2) Honorable Mention Prizes of USD 1,500 ($1,500) each.

7. Licensing Type. Nonexclusive License

8. Submission requirements. Challengers will submit a .npz file that contains six (6) 2D arrays taken from each 3D seismic volume in the test dataset.

9. Scoring. Evaluation will use  scikit-image implementation of the Structural Similarity Index. The Structural Similarity Index is a metric used to measure the similarity between two images. When the SSI equals 1, the images are identical. When the SSI equals 0, the images are completely dissimilar. Please refer to the `scikit-image` docs for more information about the metric, as well as examples of implementation. Similarity will be calculated for all 2D arrays. The minimum and maximum SSI values will be dropped, and the mean SSI score across all predictions will be the final score. 

10. Additional Terms. For the Final Evaluation, the top submissions on the Predictive Leaderboard will be invited to send Think Onward their fully reproducible code to be reviewed by a panel of judges. The Structural Similarity Index used for the Predictive Leaderboard will be used to determine 95% of the user's final score. The remaining 5% of the final score will assess submissions on the interpretability of their submitted Jupyter Notebook. The interpretability criterion focuses on the degree of documentation (i.e., docstrings and markdown), clearly stating variables, and reasonably following standard Python style guidelines. 

    A successful final submission must contain the following:

    • Jupyter Notebook with a clearly written pipeline.

    • Requirements.txt file that gives instructions on how to run training/inference for the submission

    • Any supplemental data or code to reproduce your results.  

     

It must contain the libraries and their versions and the Python version (>=3.6).