Participation is voluntary. No purchase necessary.
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (the “Sponsor”) is the sponsor of the CBLDF Writing Competition for Excellence in Comic Book Scholarship (the “Contest”). Its website is available at https://cbldf.org (the “Website”).
1. Entry Period: Submissions to the Contest (“Entries” and each an “Entry”) will be accepted until February 29, 2016, 11:59 p.m. EST (the “Entry Period”). The Entry Period may be extended or contracted at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.
2. Eligibility: The Contest is open to individuals who are at least 21 years of age at the time of Entry who are part-time or full-time students in good standing (e.g., not on probationary status) at a U.S. law school during at the time of Entry. As used herein, “Entrant” shall refer to an individual entrant or a group entrant. In the event that an Entry is submitted by a group of individuals, all individual members of the group must meet the eligibility requirements set forth in these rules. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, commonwealth, territory and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law.
3. How To Enter: (a) To enter, submissions should be sent to contest@cbldf.org during the Entry Period. (b) Each Entry must comply with the Submission Requirements below and will be screened by the Sponsor for compliance with these Official Rules. Sponsor’s decisions with respect to whether an Entry complies with these Official Rules are final and binding.
4. Acknowledgments; Representations and Warranties; Indemnity: (a) By submitting an Entry, Entrants (including each member of a group Entrant), acknowledge and agree that: (i) Sponsor and other participants and members of the general public have access to and/or may create materials, ideas and concepts which coincidentally may be similar or identical to its Entry, ideas and/or concepts; (ii) Entrant will not be entitled to any compensation or other consideration because of the coincidental use by Sponsor, or any of the Released Parties (as defined below) or any other participant of such similar or identical material, ideas and/or concepts; and (iii) Sponsor’s, Released Party’s or other participant’s coincidental use of material containing elements similar to or identical with those contained in Entrant’s Entry shall not obligate Sponsor to negotiate with Entrant nor entitle Entrant to any compensation or other claim.
(b) By submitting an Entry, Entrant (including each member of a group Entrant) warrants and represents that (i) Entrant has all rights, including, without limitation, rights of copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights, to the Entry; (ii) its Entry does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity; (iii) publication or other use by Sponsor of the Submission via various media including, without limitation, online posting, will not infringe on the rights of any third party rights; and (iv) Entrant otherwise complies with these Official Rules. Entrant may be required to provide documentation in a form acceptable to Sponsor evidencing the foregoing if so requested by Sponsor. Entrant (including each member of a group Entrant) will indemnify and hold Released Parties (as defined below) harmless from and against any and all claims to the contrary and any demands, actions, causes of action, damages, costs or expenses (including attorney’s fees) brought against or suffered or incurred by the Released Parties, or any of them arising out of or in connection with Entrant’s participation in this Contest, or the use, in whole or in part, by any Released Party of Entrant’s Entry (or portion thereof).
5. Submission Requirements: All Entries must meet the following requirements to be eligible:
- Each Entry must be an original piece of legal writing addressing a legal issue or issues related to comic books, the comic book industry, or a matter that relates to or affects comics.
- Each Entry must be the Entrant’s (including each member of a group Entrant) original creation.
- Each Entry may be either an unpublished manuscript or a published article that was published no longer than one year prior to the competition deadline.
- Entrants must own or hold a license to all necessary rights, including, without limitation, rights of copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights, in and to the Entry and any Third Party Material incorporated therein. In addition, Entries must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity.
- To the extent that the Entry incorporates or uses any Third Party Material, Entrant has obtained all rights, permissions, clearances, and releases necessary for Entrant to use such Third Party Material and grant to Sponsor the licenses described herein, including, without limitation, licenses from the appropriate licensor.
- Entries that are not compliant with these Official Rules in accordance with Sponsor’s sole discretion will cause the Entry to be void.
6. License to Entry: By submitting an Entry, Entrant hereby grants to Sponsor, and to its licensees, successors and assigns, and any person or entity acting on its behalf, the irrevocable right and license to use, publish, exploit, modify, edit, transmit and distribute the Entry, including, without limitation, the names and likenesses of any persons or locations embodied therein, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity for Sponsor’s advertising and promotional purposes without compensation, permission or notification to Entrant or any third party.
7. Selection of Finalists: All eligible Entries received by Sponsor during the Entry Period will be judged by a panel of judges (the “Panel”) based on various criteria. The one (1) Entry with the highest score will be deemed the “Grand Prize Winner.” The up to two (2) Entries with the next highest scores will be deemed the “Runners-Up” (each a “Runner-Up”; together with the Grand Prize Winner, the “Winners” and each a “Winner”). The Winners will be notified within a reasonable time after the Entry Period. Sponsor has the right to not consider any Entry that does not appear to be in compliance with these Official Rules, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. In addition, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, Sponsor may elect not to select any Winners and to not award any Prizes (as defined below). Sponsor also may elect to consider Entries in subsequent iterations of the Contest, without selecting any Winners during this year’s Contest and without awarding any of the Prizes discussed below.
8. Winners: The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $500 cash prize; a complimentary one-year membership to the Sponsor; a chance to present his or her work during a Sponsor panel at Comic-Con International 2016 (the Sponsor will furnish a badge for the Grand Prize Winner and one guest); and the prominent display of the Entry on the Website in a manner and for a period of time to be determined at the sole discretion of the Sponsor (the “Grand Prize”). The Runners-Up will receive a complimentary one-year member to the Sponsor, and display of their Entries on the Website in a manner and for a period of time to be determined at the sole discretion of the Sponsor (the “Runners-Up Prize”; the “Grand Prize” and “Runners-Up Prize” together the “Prizes”). All costs associated with acceptance of the Prizes and use not specified herein as being provided are the sole responsibility of the Winners. The Prizes are not transferable and must be accepted as awarded, with no substitutions of any kind.
9. Verification: The Winners are subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules prior to the granting of the prizes described in Paragraph 8. The Winners (including each member of a group Entrant) may be subject to an interview by Sponsor to help ensure the Entry complies with the Official Rules, and a Winner may be disqualified if the Entry is not in compliance with these Official Rules, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Winners may be required to provide proof (to Sponsor’s satisfaction) that he/she/they own(s) all rights to the Entry, as set forth herein. Failure to comply with any of these requirements may, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, result in disqualification and alternate Winner(s) will be notified.
10. Requirements for Acceptance of Prizes:Winners will be required to execute/sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release, and, where lawful, a Publicity release confirming acceptance and compliance with these Official Rules and return same within (5) calendar days of date of notification. If a Winner fails to submit such documentation, such Winner will be deemed ineligible and the applicable Prize will then be awarded to the applicable runner-up, at Sponsor’s discretion. If a Winner (including any member of a group Entrant) is found to be ineligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, or declines to accept its Prize, or if Sponsor is unable to contact a Winner within a reasonable period, or if a Prize notification is returned undeliverable, the Sponsor may, at the Sponsor’s sole discretion, select the next highest rated Entry, if time permits. Sponsor shall not be held responsible for any delays in making the selection during any specified period for any reason. Only a verified Winner will be eligible to be the Grand Prize Winner or a Runner-Up. By accepting any particular selection, Winner (including each member of a group Entrant) consents to the use of his/her name, address (city and state), voice, statements relating to the Contest or Sponsor, photographs, and other likenesses, and Entry without further compensation, notification or permission in any publicity, promotion or advertising carried out by Sponsor or any related entities in any and all media now known or hereinafter developed without territorial or time limitation, except where prohibited by law. Prizes will be treated as taxable compensation to Winners.
12. Miscellaneous:Sponsor, and any parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, consultants, agents and suppliers, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the foregoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, or misdirected Entries; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of Entries, the voting of Entries, the announcement of the Prizes, the incorrect uploading of the Entry, the use of the Prizes (including any travel or activity related to Prizes) or in any Contest-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Website users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Contest or website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated Entries will be void. Should any portion of the Contest be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of Entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest and, if terminated, at its discretion, select the Winners from all eligible, non-suspect Entries received prior to action taken using the three judging criteria (with or without votes if the Employee Voting Period was compromised or terminated early, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) outlined above. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.