Contest Terms
Official Rules
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
COMMON TERMS USED IN THESE RULES:
These are the official rules that govern how The SQL Planet Article Contest promotion will operate. This promotion will be simply referred to as the “Contest” throughout the rest of these rules.
In these rules, “we” “our” and “us” refers to SQL Planet, the Sponsor of the Contest.
“You” “yourself” “I” “me” and “my” refers to an Eligible Entrant.
1. CONTEST DESCRIPTION:
This is a skill-based Contest. The object of this Contest is for an Eligible Entrant to successfully submit an article via SQLPlanet.com. For purposes of this Contest, the Article created and submitted in the Contest will be called an “Entry”. All eligible Entries received will be judged using the criteria in Paragraph 7 and if enough eligible Entries are received, the judges will select eleven (11) Prize winners as described below. All communications between SQL Planet and contestants, including but not limited to the Contest website content, Entries, and email communications, will be in English.
2. What are the start and end dates?
This Contest starts at 12:00:01 AM PST on 02/07/2013 and ends at 11:59:59 PM PST on 03/15/2013. This will be referred to as the “Entry Period” throughout the rest of these rules. Entry must be received within the Entry Period to be eligible; any received outside of those dates will be disqualified.
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ENTRANTS: ENTRANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS.
3. Can You Enter?
You are eligible to enter this Contest if you meet the following requirements:
Eligibility requirements to enter this Contest:
The Contest is void in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, the Province of Quebec, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Syria and where prohibited by law. Individuals and entities restricted by applicable export controls and sanctions programs are ineligible to participate in the Contest.
You are 18 years of age or older at the time of Entry and have paid experience with SQL Server; and
You are NOT an employee or contractor of SQL Planet or an employee or contractor of a SQL Planet subsidiary; and
You are NOT involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest; and
You are NOT an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Sponsor employee, an employee of a Sponsor subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest.
You MUST have access to the Internet, a valid postal address, and a valid email address, and the ability to personally receive a PayPal™ payment in order to enter.
PLEASE NOTE: It is your sole responsibility to review and understand applicable employer’s policies regarding eligibility to participate in trade promotions. If you are participating in violation of your employer’s policies, you may be disqualified from entering or receiving prize. Sponsors disclaim any and all liability or responsibility for disputes arising between an employee and their employer related to this matter, and prizes will only be awarded in compliance with the employer’s policies.
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: Sponsors are committed to complying with government gift and ethics rules.
If you are a minor in your state/district/country of residence, you should ask your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an Entry in this Contest. This Contest is not open to members of the general public. This Contest is void where prohibited by law.
4. What constitutes an eligible Entry?
To be eligible for judging, the article written and submitted as part of an Entry must meet the following content / technical requirements as described at SQLPlanet.com/article-contest
In addition:
your Entry must be your own original work;
your Entry must not have been published elsewhere;
your Entry must be submitted by an individual only, no teams; and
your Entry cannot have been selected as a winner in any other contest; and
you must have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your Entry; and
your Entry must not use or contain any references to any third party names, trademarks, copyrights and/or other materials (including music, video or images) that you do not have permission from the trademark/copyright owner to use with the exception of any Sponsor trademarks used in the submission; and
your Entry must not include the name, likeness, image, voice, opinion and/or biographical information of any recognizable person without his/her permission; and
your Entry must not be obscene, indecent, violent, hateful, libelous or contain other offensive or inappropriate content, explicitly or by innuendo, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion; and
your Entry must not violate any applicable technology license agreements and/or terms of use; and
your Entry must not violate any applicable laws.
We reserve the right to suspend or disqualify any Entry that reasonably appears or is suspected or reported to be in violation of these rules, including removal of such Entry from the contest collections area.
2. How will my Entry be potentially used?
Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your Entry. However, by submitting your Entry, you (or, if you are a minor, your parent or legal guardian):
are granting us an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to: (i) use, review, assess and otherwise analyze your Entry and all its content in connection with this Contest; and (ii) feature your Entry and content in connection with the judging and promotion of this Contest in all media (now known or later developed);
agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted above;
understand and acknowledge that the Promotion Parties may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your submission and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your Entry;
understand that we cannot control the incoming information you will disclose to our representatives in the course of entering, or what our representatives will remember about your Entry. You also understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your Entry. By entering this Contest, you agree that use of information in our representatives’ unaided memories in the development or deployment of our products or services does not create liability for us under this agreement or copyright or trade secret law; and
understand that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your Entry, other than what is described in these Official Rules.
Please note that as part of the contest you are writing your article where it will be visible to any visitor. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your Entry by visitors to SQL Planet or it’s subidiaries. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your Entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning Entry.
If you (or, if you are a minor in your country of Entry), your parent or legal guardian) do not want to grant us these rights to your Entry, please do not enter this Contest.
3. How do you submit your Entry?
An Eligible Entrant must first successfully submit their article through the online portal.
We will accept up to ten (10) unique Entries (as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) per Eligible Entrant and e-mail address during the Contest’s Entry Period. We are not responsible for Entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for Entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.
An article submitted is automatically considered for Grand Prize, Second Place, or for the winner of the category in which it was submitted. An article can only win one of the above prizes.
We will automatically disqualify:
(1) Any incomplete Entry; and
(2) Any Entries that we receive from you that are out of compliance with the Entry requirements described above.
4. How will Entries be judged?
All articles will be judged by SQLPlanet using the following weighting:
- 25% – Usefulness
- 20% – Accuracy
- 20% – Content Quality (Title, lack of editing, well proof-read)
- 20% – Visual Appeal
- 15% will be the following:
- Page Views
- Social Shares
- Quality of comments
- Good quality in bound links
- Popular votes
5. What are the prizes? Awarding all prizes is based on receiving enough eligible Entries.
One (1) Overall Grand Prize: $1,000 in US dollars awarded as a paypal payment or elance payment for services.
One (1) Second Place Prize: $500 in US dollars awarded as a paypal payment or elance payment for services.
10 (10) Category First Prizes: – Ten remaining winners are chosen – one from each category – each receiving $200 in US dollars awarded as a paypal payment or elance payment for services.
Total ARV for all Contest Grand Prizes: $3,500 USD.
The ARV of electronic prizes is subject to price fluctuations in the consumer marketplace based on, among other things, any gap in time between the date the ARV is estimated for purposes of these Official Rules and the date the prize is awarded or redeemed.
At SQL Planet’s discretion or where required by law, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. Limit one (1) prize per Eligible Entrant. If you are selected as a potential winner of this Contest:
(1) You may not exchange your prize for any other merchandise or services. However, if for any reason any part of the above prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value; and
(2) You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we will award it to an alternate potential winner; and
(3) If prize is accepted, the Eligible Entrant will be solely responsible for all applicable duties, taxes, and fees related to accepting the prize.
Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and/or terms and conditions.
6. How will you know if you’re a winner?
On or around 04/15/2013 we, or a company acting under our authorization, will notify the twelve (12) potential prize winners (subject to verification) by contacting via e-mail address, business telephone or mailing address used at Entry. If reasonable notification attempts are returned as undeliverable or we are unable to contact a potential winner for any reason, following two (2) attempts, we may award the prize to the next highest scoring Entry.
If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter the Contest.
An Eligible Entrants Prize winning status is subject to verification by Sponsor, in their sole discretion, including acceptance of the Contest Official Rules, terms and conditions, verification of eligibility and agreement to a liability/publicity release and assumption of any tax consequences as a result of accepting the Grand Prize. If you are the potential Grand Prize winner, we will require you to sign an affidavit of eligibility (or similar), liability/publicity release. If you do not sign and return these required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select the next highest scoring Entry.
7. What other conditions are you agreeing to by entering this Contest?
By entering this Contest an Eligible Entrant (parent or legal guardian if entrant is a minor) agrees and understands that:
(1.) To abide by these Official Rules;
(2.) To the extent allowed by law, to release and hold harmless Sponsor, their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest or any prize won;
(3.) That Sponser’s decision will be final and binding on all matters related to this Contest; and
(4.) That Sponsor may use of your proper name and state of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with this Contest, without payment or compensation to you, except where prohibited by law.
(5.) This Contest will be governed by the laws of the State of California, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of California courts (state and federal) for any disputes arising out of this Contest.
8. What if something unexpected happens and the Contest can’t run as planned?
If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Contest, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Contest. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Contest, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible Entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Contest.
Computer “hacking” is a crime. If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Contest by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Contest, so please play fairly.
9. Claims or concerns about suspicious activity or cheating in any Round must be delivered to the Contest administrator within 48 hours of the end of the contest. If SQL Planet suspects cheating or violation of the Terms by any contestant, SQL Planet will in its sole discretion research such claims and take the appropriate action. All decisions of SQL Planet in these matters are final and binding.
10. How can you find out who won?
For a list of winner’s names please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to be received by 04/22/2013 to: SQL Planet Article Contest, 13969 Marquesas Way #215B Marina del Rey, CA 90292
11. Who is sponsoring this Contest?
SQL Planet
13969 Marquesas Way #215B
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
