Amazon Alexa Hackathon Official Rules – (the “Official Rules”)

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

Hackathon Name: Alexa Skills Hackathon (the “Hackathon”)

Hackathon Website: https://www.hackerearth.com/sprints/alexa-hackathon/ (the “Hackathon Website”)

1. AMAZON & HACKEREARTH

Amazon (the “Poster” or “Amazon”): Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd. a private limited company having its registered office at #26/1, World Trade Center Bangalore, Brigade Gate Way, 8th Floor, Dr. Rajkumar Road, Malleshwaram (West), Bangalore – 560055

Amazon is the sponsor of the Hackathon.

HackerEarth (the “Administrator” or “HackerEarth”): HackerEarth Technologies Private Limited (“HackerEarth”), a private limited company having its registered office at IIIrd Floor, Salarpuria Business Center, 4th B Cross Road, 5th A Block, Koramangala Industrial Layout, Bangalore, Karnataka 560095, India

HackerEarth is responsible for the administration, and operation of the Hackathon. Amazon is not responsible for the administration or operation of the Hackathon.

2. DATES AND TIMING

Registration and Idea Submission Phase: Feb 20, 2018 12:00am IST to Apr 1, 2018 11:59 IST
Qualifying Participants informed: No later than a week after submission of entry in the Idea Submission Phase
Skill Submission Phase: Apr 2, 2018 12:00am IST to Apr 22, 2018 11:59 IST
Skill Certification Phase: Apr 23, 2018 12:00am IST to Apr 28, 2018 11:59 IST
Judging: Apr 29, 2018 to May 5, 2018
Winner announcement: May 11, 2018

HackerEarth will be the official timekeeper for the Hackathon.

3. ELIGIBILITY

A. The Hackathon IS open to:

Individuals who are at least 18 years of age and are residents of India as of the time of entry (“Eligible Individuals”); and
Teams of Eligible Individuals (“Teams”) of maximum 3 developers.

The above are collectively, “Makers”

B. The Hackathon IS NOT open to:

Members of any guild, union or other organisation that may prohibit them from participating in this Hackathon and that would restrict, require due payment or otherwise have the right to oppose such entrant’s participation in this Hackathon. The Hackathon is not open to employees or independent contractors, or immediate family members (spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents, siblings, children, and grandchildren) or those living in the same household of employees or independent contractors of Amazon, any entity involved in any aspect of the Hackathon (including funding, judging or administration), and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advisors, or advertising/promotion agencies.

4. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Makers must do the following to participate in the Hackathon:

Register for the Hackathon on the Hackathon Website by clicking the “Register for this Hackathon” button. To complete registration, sign up to create a HackerEarth account, or log in with an existing HackerEarth account. There is no charge for creating a HackerEarth account. This will enable you receive important updates and access the “Enter a Submission” page.
Create an Amazon developer account, agree to the terms of Amazon’s App Distribution and Services Agreement (the “Developer Agreement”) and check out the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) developer portal and Getting Started Guide, and review the Resources page for links to the ASK tutorials and the Alexa Skills Certification Checklist.
Enter your skill:
- Enter your Alexa skill idea during the Idea Submission Phase to qualify for round two, the Skill Submission Phase. Participants agree and understand that the Makers will qualify for round two at different times depending on the time of entering the skill in the Idea Submission Phase.
- Qualified participants will be informed of their selection to move onto the Skill Submission Phase during the Idea Submission Phase and in any event, not later than Apr 5, 2018. Qualified participants must complete and enter all of the required fields on the “Enter a Submission” page of the Hackathon Website, including your SKILL ID (each a “Submission”) during the Skill Submission Phase.
- Submit your skill for Alexa skill store certification before the end of the end of the Skill Submission Phase.
Follow the additional submission requirements described below:
- Build a new, functioning, voice-activated Alexa skill that makes life better. Host your skill on AWS Lambda (recommended), or another hosting service of your choice.
- Test your skill. No hardware is required! You don't need an Echo to participate in the Hackathon. Test your skill using the ‘Test Simulator (beta)’ on the developer console.
To be eligible for prizes, your skill must have passed certification and be available in the Alexa skills store by the end of the Skill Certification Phase. Makers will be allowed to make minor changes (such as bug fixes) during the Skill Certification Phase to move through the Skill Certification Phase. No substantial changes will be allowed, and all skills that do not pass certification by the end of the Skill Certification Phase will be ineligible for prizes in the Hackathon.

A. Language Requirements

All Submission materials must be in English or, if not in English, the Maker must provide an English translation of the materials submitted.

B. Application Requirements

(i) What to Create: Makers must build a new, functioning, voice-activated Alexa skill (each a “Skill”).

(ii) Functionality: The Skill must be new, functioning, and submitted for Alexa store certification prior to the end of the Hackathon Submission Period. The Skill must be certified and publicly available in the Alexa skills store prior to the end of the Certification Period.

(iii) New Skills Only: Skills must be newly created by the Maker after the start of the Hackathon Submission Period. Skills that have been selected as a winner in any other hackathon are not eligible for prizes in the Hackathon.

(iv) Multiple Submissions: A Maker may submit more than one Submission, however, each Submission must be unique and substantially different from each of the Maker’s other Submissions, as determined by HackerEarth.

(v) SDKs, APIs, & Data: Skills may integrate SDKs, APIs and data, provided the Maker is authorized to use them.

(vi) Intellectual Property: Your Submission must: (a) be your (or your Team’s) original work product; (b) be solely owned by you, or your Team with no other person or entity having any right or interest in it; (c) not violate the intellectual property rights or other rights including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, contract, and/or privacy rights, of any other person or entity; and (d) comply with the Developer Agreement and all terms, rules and policies that Amazon or its affiliates make available regarding submission of Alexa Skills. A Maker may contract with a third party for technical assistance to create the Submission provided the Submission components are solely the Maker’s work product and the result of the Maker’s ideas and creativity, and the Maker owns all rights to them. A Maker may submit a Submission that includes the use of open source software or hardware, provided the Maker complies with applicable open source licenses and, as part of the Submission, creates software that enhances and builds upon the features and functionality included in the underlying open source product. By entering the Hackathon you represent, warrant, and agree that your Submission meets these requirements.

(vii) Financial or Preferential Support: A Skill must not have been developed, or derived from a Skill developed, with financial or preferential support from Amazon or HackerEarth. Such Skills include, but are not limited to, those that received funding or investment for their development, were developed under contract, or received a commercial license, from Amazon or HackerEarth any time prior to the end of Hackathon Submission Period. HackerEarth, at their sole discretion, may disqualify a Submission, if awarding a prize to the Submission or Maker would create a real or apparent conflict of interest.

5. SUBMISSION RIGHTS

A. Maker Rights: Subject to the licenses described below and granted in the Developer Agreement, any applicable intellectual property rights to a Submission will remain with the Maker.

B. HackerEarth and Amazon Rights: By entering the Hackathon, you grant to Amazon, HackerEarth, and any other third parties acting on Amazon’s behalf, a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide perpetual license to display publicly and use for promotional purposes the Submission, in perpetuity. This license includes, but is not limited to, posting or linking to the Submission on Amazon’s, HackerEarth’s, and partners’ websites and applications, including the Hackathon Website, and display and promotion of the Submission in any other media, worldwide.

C. Submission Display: The following Submission components may be displayed to the public: name, description, images, video URL, website, URL, team members, the Submission category and platform, and submitter type. Other Submission materials may be viewed by Amazon, HackerEarth, and Judges for screening and evaluation.

D. Makers represent and warrant that Amazon, HackerEarth, and Hackathon partners are free to use Makers’ Submission in the manner described above, as provided or as modified by HackerEarth, without obtaining permission or license from any third party and without any compensation to Makers.

6. JUDGING

A. Judges: Eligible Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges selected by Amazon (the “Judges”). Judges may be employees of Amazon or external, 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 Amazon.

B. Criteria:

Each skill will be evaluated on a number of parameters including quality of the idea, implementation of the idea and its potential value.

C. Submission Review:

Judges are not required to test the Skill and may choose to judge based solely on the text description provided in the Submission.

D. Tie Breaker:

In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken by the tied skills being rated based on creativity and user engagement, as determined by Amazon in its sole discretion.

7. PRIZES

The prize for the winner of the Alexa Hackathon shall be shall be announced by HackerEarth as below:

A. First Prize: INR 65,000 + one Echo Plus + one Kindle e-Reader+ meeting with an Alexa leader
B. Second Prize: INR 30,000 + one Echo Plus + one Kindle e-Reader
C. Third Prize: One Echo + one Kindle e-Reader

D. Special Prizes

(i) Alexa Popular Choice Award: Amazon Gift Card worth Rs.3000 will be awarded to the top 10 popular skills. Skill popularity will be judged by Amazon in its sole discretion on factors including the number of customers engaging with the skill, on the ratings of the skill and on reviews provided on the Alexa Skill Store by customers.

(ii) Alexa Front-Runner Award: Amazon Gift Card worth Rs.5000 will be awarded to the skill with the highest number of users at the time of evaluation. In the event of a tie, Amazon will break the tie in its sole discretion based on the judging criteria for the Hackathon.

No requests for transfer, assignment, cash redemption or substitution of prizes shall be entertained. Amazon reserves the right to substitute any prize (or portion thereof) for an item of comparable or greater value, in its sole discretion. All prizes will be awarded “AS IS” and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose). Limit one prize per person.

8. Verification of Potential Winners

A. 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. The final decision to designate a winner shall be made by Amazon and/or HackerEarth.

B. Required Forms: Potential winners will be notified using the email address associated with the HackerEarth account used to enter the Submission (the submitter is the “Representative” in the case of a Team). In order to receive a Prize, the potential winner (including all participating team members in the case of a Team) will be required to sign and return to HackerEarth, affidavit(s) of eligibility (or a similar verification document) and liability/publicity release(s), and any applicable tax forms (“Required Forms”).

Deadline for Returning Required Forms: ten (10) business days after the Required Forms are sent.

C. Disqualification: HackerEarth may deem a potential winner (or participating team members) ineligible to win if:

(i) the potential winner’s Representative or any participating member does not respond to multiple emails or fails to sign and return the Required Forms by the deadline listed above, or responds and rejects the Prize;
(ii) the Prize or Prize notification is returned as undeliverable; or
(iii) the Submission or the potential winner, or any member of a potential winner’s Team, is disqualified for any other reason. In the event of a disqualification, HackerEarth may award the applicable Prize to an alternate potential winner.

9. PRIZE DISTRIBUTION

A. Substitutions & Changes: HackerEarth has the right to make a Prize substitution of equivalent or greater value. HackerEarth will not award a Prize if there are no eligible Submissions entered in the Hackathon, or if there are no eligible Makers or Submissions for a specific Prize.

B. Prize Delivery: Prizes will be payable to the Maker, if an individual, and to the Maker’s Representative, if a Team. It will be the responsibility of the winning Maker’s Representative to allocate the Prize among their Team’s participating members, as the Representative deems appropriate. A monetary Prize will be mailed to the winning Maker’s address (if an individual) or the Representative’s address (if a Team) or wired to the Maker, or Maker Representative, only after receipt of the Required Forms.

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 Maker, or forfeiture of a Prize.

C. Prize Delivery Timeframe: Within 45 days of HackerEarth’s receipt of the Required Forms

D. Fees & Taxes: The winner will be responsible for paying all costs and expenses related to the applicable prize(s) that are not specifically mentioned, including, but not limited to, taxes, levies or any similar amounts, and any other expenses that might reasonably be incurred by the winner in receiving or using the prize. The winner may be required to submit to Amazon such tax filing information required including its Permanent Account Number by Amazon in order to claim the prize. All prizes awarded will be inclusive of any taxes Amazon is required by law to withhold as well as applicable sales, use, gross receipts, goods and service, or similar transaction-based taxes, as determined by Amazon in its sole discretion at the time such prizes are awarded. Payment made to the winner will be subject to withholding of appropriate taxes, levies or any similar amounts. All other taxes, costs and expenses associated with acceptance and use of any prize not specified in these Official Rules as being provided are the sole responsibility of the winner. IF TAXES, LEVIES OR ANY SIMILAR AMOUNTS ARE APPLICABLE TO THE PRIZES, AND NO SUCH TAXES, LEVIES OR SIMILAR AMOUNTS ARE WITHHELD, IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER TO PAY TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES. PAYMENTS TO COMPETITION WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS REQUIREMENT THAT THE WINNER SUBMIT TO AMAZON ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED BY AMAZON TO PERMIT COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE STATE, FEDERAL, LOCAL AND FOREIGN (INCLUDING PROVINCIAL) TAX REPORTING AND WITHHOLDING REQUIREMENTS. The winner is responsible for ensuring that the tax documentation submitted to Amazon complies with all applicable tax laws and requirements. If a winner fails to provide the documentation or submits incomplete documentation, the prize may be forfeited and Amazon may, in its sole discretion, select an alternate winner.

10. ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE

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

(i) The relationship between you, the Maker, and Amazon and HackerEarth, is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship. (ii) You will be bound by and comply with these Official Rules and the decisions of Amazon, HackerEarth, and/or the Hackathon Judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Hackathon. (iii) You release, indemnify, defend and hold harmless Amazon, HackerEarth, 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 trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a Maker’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.

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

(i) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Amazon or HackerEarth’s electronic or printing error, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Hackathon; (ii) 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; (iii) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Hackathon; (iv) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Hackathon or the processing of Submissions; or (v) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from the Maker’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 Makers. Proof of sending or submitting will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Amazon or HackerEarth.

If for any reason any Maker’s Submission is determined to have not been received or been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, the Maker’s sole remedy is to request the opportunity to resubmit its Submission. Such request must be made promptly after the Maker knows or should have known there was a problem, and will be determined at the sole discretion of Amazon.

11. PUBLICITY

By participating in the Hackathon you consent to the use of personal information about you, if you are a winner, by Amazon, HackerEarth, 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 advertising and promotional purposes.

The duration of your consent is for a period of three years following the conclusion of the Hackathon. This consent applies, as applicable, to all members a Maker’s Team that participated in the winning Submission.

12. GENERAL CONDITIONS

A. Amazon and HackerEarth 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.

B. Amazon and HackerEarth reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual or Maker 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.

C. Any attempt by any person to undermine the proper conduct of the Hackathon may be a violation of criminal and civil law. Should Amazon or HackerEarth 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 a Maker to cooperate with an investigation and referral to criminal and civil law enforcement authorities.

D. 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, advertising (including but not limited to television, print, radio or online ads), the terms and conditions of the Official Rules shall prevail.

E. The terms and conditions of the Official Rules are subject to change at any time, including the rights or obligations of the Maker, Amazon and HackerEarth. HackerEarth 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.

F. If at any time prior to the deadline, a Maker or prospective Maker believes that any Official Rule is or may be unclear or ambiguous, they must submit a written request for clarification.

G. Amazon or HackerEarth’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 a Maker, 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 Amazon’s intention in a legal and enforceable manner with respect to the invalid or unenforceable provision.

H. 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 Amazon and/or HackerEarth. 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 Amazon or HackerEarth intellectual property shall be solely to the extent provided for in these Official Rules.

13. GENERAL RELEASE

By entering the Hackathon you release the Released Parties from any liability whatsoever for any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Hackathon or with the acceptance, possession, or use of any prize, except as prohibited by law.

14. DISPUTES

The Hackathon is governed by the laws of India. Any disputes arising out of and in connection with this Offer shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Delhi only. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will entrants be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waive all rights to claim, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, including attorneys' fees, other than entrant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (e.g. costs associated with entering), and entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased. Entrants agree that the decisions of Amazon and the judges related to the Hackathon are final.

15. Contact

If you have any questions or comment, or wish to send us any notice regarding this Hackathon, please email HackerEarth at support@hackerearth.com