Estee Lauder Companies Hack for Accessibility (the “Hackathon”) Official Rules

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. 

SUBMISSION OF ANY ENTRY CONSTITUTES AGREEMENT TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES AS A CONTRACT BETWEEN ENTRANT (AND EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OF ENTRANT), THE HACKATHON SPONSOR, AND DEVPOST.

1. Dates and Timing

Registration Only Period: January 12, 2023 (12:00 pm Eastern Time) – February 4, 2023 (12:00 pm Eastern Time) (“Registration Period”).

Registration and Submission Period: February 4, 2023 (12:00 pm Eastern Time) – March 20, 2023 (5:00 pm Eastern Time) (“Submission Period”).

Judging Period: April 5, 2023 (12:00 pm Eastern Time) – April 12, 2023 (5:00 pm Eastern Time) (“Judging Period”).

Winners Announced: April 19, 2023 (at or around 10 am Eastern Time).

2. Sponsor and Administrator

Sponsor: ELC Beauty, LLC, 767 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10153

Administrator: Devpost, Inc. (“Devpost”), 222 Broadway, Floor 19, New York, NY 10038

3. Eligibility

A. The Hackathon IS open to:

• Individuals who are at least the age of majority where they reside as of the time of entry (“Eligible Individuals”);

• Teams of Eligible Individuals (“Teams”); and

• Organizations (including corporations, not-for-profit corporations and other nonprofit organizations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other legal entities) that exist and have been organized or incorporated at the time of entry.

• Organizations (including corporations, not-for-profit corporations and other nonprofit organizations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other legal entities) that exist and have been organized or incorporated at the time of entry including third-party vendors of the Sponsor who are not considered employees.

• Employees of Estee Lauder Companies that meet the above requirements (Employees are eligible to win the Employee Prizes only).

(the above are collectively, “Entrants”)

An Eligible Individual may join more than one Team or Organization and an Eligible Individual who is part of a Team or Organization may also enter the Hackathon on an individual basis. If a Team or Organization is entering the Hackathon, they must appoint and authorize one individual (the “Representative”) to represent, act, and enter a Submission, on their behalf. By entering a Submission on behalf of a Team or Organization you represent and warrant that you are the Representative authorized to act on behalf of your Team or Organization.

B. The Hackathon IS NOT open to:

• Individuals who are residents of, or Organizations domiciled in, a country, state, province or territory where the laws of the United States or local law prohibits participating or receiving a prize in the Hackathon (including, but not limited to, sanctioned countries, Specifically Designated Nationals, Blocked Persons, restricted entities, Brazil, Quebec, Russia, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and any other country as designated by the United States Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control) 

• Submissions by Entrants which will violate any export or import laws, rules or regulations of the United States or local law.

• Organizations involved with the design, production, paid promotion, execution, or distribution of the Hackathon, including the Sponsor and Administrator (“Promotion Entities”).

• Any other individual involved with the design, production, promotion, execution, or distribution of the Hackathon, and each member of their immediate family or household*

• Any Judge (defined below), or company or individual that employs a Judge

• Any parent company, subsidiary, or other affiliate** of any organization described above

• Any other individual or organization whose participation in the Hackathon would create, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor and/or Administrator, a real or apparent conflict of interest

*Agents include individuals or organizations that in creating a Submission to the Hackathon, are acting on behalf of, and at the direction of, a Promotion Entity through a contractual or similar relationship.

**An affiliate is: an organization that is controlled by or under common control of an owner, sharing a common majority or controlling owner, or common management, or an organization that is a controlling owner.

4. How To Enter

5. Submission Modifications.

1. Draft Submissions: Prior to the end of the Submission Period, you may save draft versions of your submission on Devpost to your portfolio before submitting the submission materials to the Hackathon for evaluation. Once the Submission Period has ended, you may not make any changes or alterations to your submission, but you may continue to update the project in your Devpost portfolio.

2. Modifications: After the Submission Period. The Sponsor and Devpost may permit you to modify part of your submission after the Submission Period for the purpose of adding, removing or replacing material that potentially infringes a third-party mark or right, discloses personally identifiable information, or is otherwise inappropriate. The modified Submission must remain substantively the same as the original submission with the only modification being what the Sponsor and Devpost permit. 

6. Judges & Criteria.

Eligible Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges selected by the Sponsor (the “Judges”). Judges may be employees of the Sponsor or third parties, may or may not be listed individually on the Hackathon Website, and may change before or during the Judging Period. Judging may take place in one or more rounds with one or more panels of Judges, at the discretion of the Sponsor. 

Stage One) The first stage will determine via pass/fail whether the ideas meet a baseline level of viability, in that the project reasonably fits the theme and reasonably applies the required APIs/SDKs featured in the Hackathon.

Stage Two) All submissions that pass Stage One will be evaluated in Stage Two based on the following equally weighted criteria (the “Judging Criteria”):

Entries will be judged on the following equally weighted criteria, and according to the sole and absolute discretion of the judges:

1. Potential Impact (25%)

Technical Track and Idea Track: How big is the impact of your idea to bring accessible/inclusive beauty solutions to help people with disabilities tackle the daily challenges they face?  Considerations: Number of individuals whose lives are improved, scale and type of positive impact

1. Implementation (25%)

Technical Track: How well was the idea executed? How technically impressive is the solution? 

Considerations: Overall completeness, thoughtfulness, quality of the design, UI/UX, technical quality of the execution of concept.

Idea Track: How viable or feasible is an implementation of the idea? The pitch should reflect how the team's assumptions are based on research and data. 

Considerations: Depth of research and knowledge around the implementation plan, as well as the friction and cost to implement it.

1. Creativity and Originality (25%) 

Technical Track: How well did the solution address the challenge in a unique and compelling way? 

Considerations: Originality or innovative solution to the challenge

Idea Track: Has the team compared its idea with what is available in the market? How well did the solution address the challenge in a unique and compelling way? Is it an approach or an improvement on existing ideas? 

Considerations: Originality of the solution in the marketplace

1. Presentation (25%)

Technical Track: How well did the team clearly, effectively, and positively present the idea? 

Considerations: Storytelling, demos, screenshots, prototypes, and the thought process

Idea Track: Was the idea presented clearly and effectively? Was it inspiring and exciting? 

Considerations: Storytelling and pitch deck content

The scores from the Judges will determine the potential winners of the applicable prizes. The Entrant(s) eligible for a Prize, and whose Submissions earn the highest overall scores based on the applicable Judging Criteria, will become potential winners of that Prize.

Tie Breaking. For each Prize listed below, if two or more submissions are tied, the tied submission with the highest score in the first applicable criterion listed above will be considered the higher-scoring submission. In the event any ties remain, this process will be repeated, as needed, by comparing the tied Submissions’ scores on the next applicable criterion. If two or more submissions are tied on all applicable criteria, the panel of Judges will vote on the tied submissions.

7. Intellectual Property Rights.

All submissions remain the intellectual property of the individuals or organizations that developed them. By submitting an entry, Entrants agree that the Sponsor will have a fully paid, non-exclusive license to use the such entry for judging the Project. Entrants agree that the Sponsor and Devpost shall have the right to promote the submission and use the name, likeness, voice, and image of all individuals, in whole or in part (including without limitation photographs, portraits, drawings, film or video footage, composite or otherwise) contributing to a Submission, in any materials promoting or publicizing the Hackathon and its results and including in internal training and publication in brand and corporate social media and public relations materials throughout the world, during the Hackathon Period and for three years thereafter.  Entrant waives any right to inspect or approve any picture or likeness so used or the copy used in connection therewith, or the use to which it is applied. Entrant releases and discharges the Devpost and Sponsor and those acting pursuant to its permission or upon its authority from any liability resulting from the production, reproduction or use hereunder of the Entrant’s picture, or likeness, including any liability for any distortion, optical illusion, alteration or other circumstance that may occur or be produced in connection therewith.  Some Submission components may be displayed to the public. Other Submission materials may be viewed by the Sponsor, Devpost, and judges for screening and evaluation. By submitting an entry or accepting any prize, Entrants represent and warrant that (a) submitted content is not subject to third-party intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights unless Entrant is the owner of such rights or has permission from their rightful owner to post the content; and (b) the content submitted does not contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, spyware or other disabling devices or harmful or malicious code.

By entering, except where prohibited by law, each Entrant grants to the Sponsor and Devpost the irrevocable, transferable, absolute, worldwide, royalty free, right and permission to use, edit, modify, reproduce, and distribute the Project, Idea, and/or Submission (including the Project’s name) and any other content that comprises the entry Submission in perpetuity and in any medium (including online and in digital media) in any language, throughout the world, for the purposes of evaluating Submissions, and administering and marketing this Hackathon. 

Each Entrant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the relationship between the Entrant and the Sponsor is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship and that the Entrant’s decision to submit his/her/their Project, Idea, and/or Submission for purposes of the Hackathon does not place the Sponsor in a position that is any different from the position held by members of the general public with regard to elements of the Project, Idea, and/or Submission, other than as set forth in these terms. Each Entrant understands and acknowledges that the Sponsor has wide access to ideas, text, images, code, applications, software, and other creative materials. Each Entrant also acknowledges that many ideas for applications and online services may be competitive with, similar to, or identical to his/her/their Project, Idea and/or Submission and/or each other in idea, function, components, format, or other respects. Each Entrant acknowledges and agrees that such Entrant will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of any Released Party’s use of any such similar or identical material that has or may come to such Released Party from other sources. Each Entrant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor does not now and will not have in the future any duty or liability (direct or indirect; vicarious, contributory, or otherwise) with respect to the infringement or protection of the Entrant’s patent, copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights in and to his/her/their Submission, including the Project or Idea, contained or described therein. 

Entrant understands and agrees that no consideration or compensation is payable by Sponsor to the Entrant and that above-mentioned use or publication of the Entrant’s pictures or likeness or use of intellectual property rights is made by Sponsor in reliance upon the Entrant agreeing to the Official Rules and signing up to participate in the Hackathon, unless otherwise stated herein.

Each Entrant hereby acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor may have already developed, is currently developing, or in the future may independently develop the same or substantially similar Project, Idea, and/or Submission.  Entrant agrees not to interfere with the ongoing business of the Sponsor and Sponsor will be free to conduct its ongoing business related to such Project, Idea, and/or Submission.

All Entrants that are Employees of Estee Lauder Companies agree that they are acting in the capacity of their employment with Estee Lauder Companies or its affiliates or subsidiaries and are subject to the agreements, policies, and procedures put in place with the Employees of Estee Lauder Companies, including without limitation agreements, polices, and procedures related to protection of confidentiality, development of intellectual property, privacy and security, and any releases and waivers, whether or not agreed to otherwise as part of registration and/or submission of any Project, Idea, and/or Submission.  If there is any conflict with these Official Rules, then the agreements, polices, and procedures in place with Estee Lauder Companies will govern for its Employees.

8. Prizes.

IMPORTANT NOTES ON MULTIPLE PRIZE ELIGIBILITY:

• A project can only win one (1) Track Prize and up to one (1) Bonus Prize.

• Estee Lauder Companies employees are only eligible to win one prize from the Estee Lauder Companies Employee Prize items. 

1. Idea Use Acknowledgement:  Entrant agrees and acknowledges that ideas associated with Submissions (including ideas from Idea Track or Technical Track) are merely that, ideas by Entrant.  Sponsor reserves the right to be able to use any ideas for Sponsor’s ongoing business so long as Sponsor does not use any materials or information protectable as intellectual property of Entrant without Entrant’s permission.  Entrant agrees not to interfere with the ongoing business of the Sponsor and Sponsor will be free to conduct its ongoing business related to such ideas which are part of any Submissions.

2. Optional Further Collaboration:  Sponsor reserves the right to offer to negotiate with any Entrant a right of first refusal and/or a collaboration, partnership, or business relationship with Entrant for the Project or Idea and Submission therewith

3. Substitutions & Changes: Prizes are non-transferable by the winner. Sponsor in its sole discretion has the right to make a prize substitution of equivalent or greater value. Sponsor will not award a prize if there are no eligible Submissions entered in the Hackathon, or if there are no eligible Entrants or  Submissions for a specific prize.

4. Verification Requirement: THE AWARD OF A PRIZE TO A POTENTIAL WINNER IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION OF THE IDENTITY, QUALIFICATIONS AND ROLE OF THE POTENTIAL WINNER IN THE CREATION OF THE SUBMISSION. No submission or Entrant shall be deemed a winning Submission or winner until their post-competition prize affidavits have been completed and verified, even if prospective winners have been announced verbally or on the Hackathon website. The final decision to designate a winner shall be made by the Sponsor and/or Administrator.

5. Prize Delivery: Technical Track, Idea Track, and Bonus Track Prizes shall be paid by Devpost. Estee Lauder Companies Employee Prizes shall be paid directly to employees by Estee Lauder Companies. Prizes will be payable to the Entrant, if an individual; to the Entrant’s Representative, if a Team; or to the Organization if the Entrant is an Organization. It will be the responsibility of the winning Entrant’s Representative to allocate the Prize among their Team or Organization’s participating members, as the Representative deems appropriate. A monetary Prize will be mailed to the winning Entrant’s address (if an individual) or the Representative’s address (if a Team or Organization), or sent electronically to the Entrant, Entrant’s Representative, or Organization’s bank account, only after receipt of the completed winner affidavit and other required forms (collectively the “Required Forms”), if applicable. Failure to provide correct information on the Required Forms, or other correct information required for the delivery of a Prize, may result in delayed Prize delivery, disqualification or the Entrant, or forfeiture of a Prize. Prizes will be delivered within 60 days of the Sponsor or Devpost’s receipt of the completed Required Forms.

6. Fees & Taxes: Winners (and in the case of Team or Organization, all participating members) are responsible for any fees associated with receiving or using a prize, including but not limited to, wiring fees or currency exchange fees. Winners (and in the case of Team or Organization, all participating members) are responsible for reporting and paying all applicable taxes in their jurisdiction of residence (federal, state/provincial/territorial and local). Winners may be required to provide certain information to facilitate receipt of the award, including completing and submitting any tax or other forms necessary for compliance with applicable withholding and reporting requirements. United States residents may be required to provide a completed form W-9 and residents of other countries may be required to provide a completed W-8BEN form. Winners are also responsible for complying with foreign exchange and banking regulations in their respective jurisdictions and reporting the receipt of the Prize to relevant government departments/agencies, if necessary. The Sponsor, Devpost, and/or Prize provider reserves the right to withhold a portion of the prize amount to comply with the tax laws of the United States or other Sponsor jurisdiction, or those of a winner’s jurisdiction.

9. Entry Conditions and Release.

1. By entering the Hackathon, you (and, if you are entering on behalf of a Team, Organization each participating members) agree(s) to the following:

1. The relationship between you, the Entrant, and the Sponsor and Administrator, is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship.

2. You will be bound by and comply with these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, Administrator, and/or the Hackathon Judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Hackathon.

3. You release, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Promotion Entities, and their respective parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the Prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Hackathon, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (hereafter the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of patent, trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a Entrant’s entry, creation of Submission or entry of a Submission, participation in the Hackathon, acceptance or use or misuse of the Prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, transmission, performance, exploitation or use of the Submission as authorized or licensed by these Official Rules. 

2. Without limiting the foregoing, the Released Parties shall have no liability in connection with: 

1. Any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by the Sponsor or Administrator’s electronic or printing error, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Hackathon; 

2. Technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines, internet connectivity or electronic transmission errors, or network hardware or software or failure of the Hackathon Website;

3. Unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Hackathon; 

4. Technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Hackathon or the processing of Submissions; or 

5. Any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from the Entrant’s participation in the Hackathon or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize.

The Released Parties are not responsible for incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, lost, illegible, or incomprehensible Submissions or for address or email address changes of the Entrants. Proof of sending or submitting the aforementioned will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by the Sponsor or Administrator. If for any reason any Entrant’s Submission is determined to have not been received or been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, the Entrant’s sole remedy is to request the opportunity to resubmit its Submission. Such a request must be made promptly after the Entrant knows or should have known there was a problem and will be determined at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.

10. Publicity.

By participating in the Hackathon, Entrant consents to the promotion and display of the Entrant’s Submission, and to the use of personal information about themselves for promotional purposes, by the Sponsor, Administrator, and third parties acting on their behalf. Such personal information includes, but is not limited to, your name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, comments, and hometown and country of residence. It may be used in any existing or newly created media, worldwide without further payment or consideration, or right of review, unless prohibited by law. Authorized use includes but is not limited to advertising and promotional purposes. 

11. General Conditions. 

1. Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Hackathon, or any part of it, in the event of a technical failure, fraud, or any other factor or event that was not anticipated or is not within their control.

2. Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual or Entrant if it finds to be actually or presenting the appearance of tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Hackathon or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in a manner that is inappropriate, unsportsmanlike, not in the best interests of this Hackathon, or a violation of any applicable law or regulation.

3. Any attempt by any person to undermine the proper conduct of the Hackathon may be a violation of criminal and civil law. Should the Sponsor or Administrator suspect that such an attempt has been made or is threatened, they reserve the right to take appropriate action including but not limited to requiring an Entrant to cooperate with an investigation and referral to criminal and civil law enforcement authorities.

4. If there is any discrepancy or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of the Official Rules and disclosures or other statements contained in any Hackathon materials, including but not limited to the Hackathon Submission form, Hackathon Website, or advertising, the terms and conditions of the Official Rules shall prevail, except as otherwise provided herein for Estee Lauder Companies Employees.

5. The terms and conditions of the Official Rules are subject to change at any time, including the rights or obligations of the Entrant, the Sponsor, and Administrator. The Sponsor and Administrator will post the terms and conditions of the amended Official Rules on the Hackathon Website. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any amendment will become effective at the time specified in the posting of the amended Official Rules or, if no time is specified, the time of posting.

6. If at any time prior to the deadline, an Entrant or prospective Entrant believes that any term in the Official Rules is or may be ambiguous, they must submit a written request for clarification. 

7. The Sponsor or Administrator’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Should any provision of these Official Rules be or become illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction whose laws or regulations may apply to an Entrant, such illegality or unenforceability shall leave the remainder of these Official Rules, including the Rule affected, to the fullest extent permitted by law, unaffected and valid. The illegal or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid and enforceable provision that comes closest and best reflects the Sponsor’s intention in a legal and enforceable manner with respect to the invalid or unenforceable provision.

8. Excluding Submissions, all intellectual property related to this Hackathon, including but not limited to copyrighted material, trademarks, trade-names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source codes, drawings, illustrations, slogans and representations are owned or used under license by the Sponsor and/or Administrator. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any copyrighted material or intellectual property without the express written consent of its owners is strictly prohibited. Any use in a Submission of Sponsor or Administrator’s intellectual property shall be solely to the extent provided for in these Official Rules.

9. Headings are intended for reference only and shall have no effect on the meaning of any provision of this Form.

12. Limitations of Liability.

By entering, all Entrants (including, in the case of a Team or Organization, all participating members) on behalf of himself/herself/itself, his/her/its personal representatives, heirs, assigns and next-of-kin, agree to release, waiver, forever discharge, indemnify, and covenant not to sue the Released Parties, its predecessors, subsidiaries and affiliates, together with each of those Released Parties and entities’ respective past and present officers, directors, partners, shareholders, employees, and agents, from and/or for any and all liability, loss, damages, claim, demand, action or right of action in connection or arising from or by any reason with the Prizes or Entrant’s participation or results in the Hackathon. Provided, however, that any liability limitation regarding gross negligence or intentional acts, or events of death or body injury shall not be applicable in jurisdictions where such limitation is not legal.

13. Disputes.

1. Except where prohibited by law, as a condition of participating in this Hackathon, Entrant agrees that:

1. Any and all disputes and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Hackathon, or any Prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action lawsuit, and exclusively by final and binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association and held at the AAA regional office nearest the contestant;

2. The Federal Arbitration Act shall govern the interpretation, enforcement, and all proceedings at such arbitration; and

3. Judgment upon such arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.

2. Under no circumstances will Entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and Entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, special, or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, other than contestant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., costs associated with entering this Hackathon), and Entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

3. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Entrant and Sponsor in connection with this Hackathon, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of New York, USA without regard to New York choice of law rules.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

14. Additional Terms.

Please review the Devpost Terms of Service at https://info.devpost.com/terms for additional rules that apply to your participation in the Hackathon and more generally your use of the Hackathon Website. Such Terms of Service are incorporated by reference into these Official Rules, including that the term "Poster" in the Terms of Service shall mean the same as "Sponsor" in these Official rules." If there is a conflict between the Terms of Service and these Official Rules, these Official Rules shall control with respect to this Hackathon only.

15. Entrant’s Personal Information.

Information collected from Entrants is subject to Devpost’s Privacy Policy, which is available at https://info.devpost.com/privacy.