AWS Start-Up Challenge Official Rules

2009 AWS Start-Up Challenge Official Rules

Entrants, by participating, agree to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules, our Privacy Policy and by our and the judges’ decisions, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to the Contest.

HOW TO ENTER. The 2009 Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) Start-Up Challenge (“Contest”) entry period begins at 12:01 A.M. Pacific Time (“PT”), 7:01 A.M. Greenwich Mean Time (“GMT”) on July 9, 2009 and ends at 12:01 A.M. PT, 7:01 A.M. GMT on September 25, 2009 (“Entry Period”). To enter, log onto http://aws.amazon.com/startupchallenge during the Entry Period, complete the entry form by following the instructions provided, including submitting a description of your suggested product, Web site, software application/tool, service, or any other system that substantively uses Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, Amazon FPS, Amazon Simple Pay, Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon SQS, Amazon CloudFront, Amazon Elastic MapReduce, Amazon Mechanical Turk, or Alexa Web Services (collectively, the “Paid Services”) (each description of a product, website, software application/tool, service or other system that uses these Paid Services will be called from now on in these Official Rules a “Business Proposition”). Each entry form and Business Proposition (collectively, the “Entry”) submitted must be the original creation of the entrant. Entries that do not meet the requirements set forth in these Official Rules may be disqualified in our sole discretion. More than one entry may be submitted by any entrant. However, no more than 1 Entry per entrant will be selected as a Finalist. Any Entry submitted by an entrant must be substantially different than any other Entry submitted by that entrant. Entrants are responsible for all costs associated with preparing and submitting their Entries, including applications, and building and testing prototypes. All Entries or Business Propositions that violate any intellectual property, local, state, provincial or federal laws or violate any entrant’s employer’s policies will be deemed ineligible. Entries must be received no later than 12:01 A.M. PT, 7:01 A.M. GMT on September 25, 2009. Our servers and clock will be deemed the official clock for the Contest and the entrant’s proof of submission does not constitute proof of our receipt. Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for lost, misdirected, late, illegible, incomplete, inaccurate, delayed, garbled or unintelligible Entries. Entries will not be returned to the entrants.

JUDGING.

First Round. All qualified Entries will be judged by a panel of judges that we select and that currently serve in technical or business roles, including one independent judge (“Amazon Judging Panel”). The Amazon Judging Panel will select 5 finalists (the “Finalists”) based on their Entry and using the following judging criteria: (a) implementation and integration of the Paid Services; (b) originality and creativity; (c) likelihood of long-term success and scalability; (d) effectiveness in addressing a need in the marketplace; and (e) implementation of payments functionality. In November 2009, the names and cities/states/provinces/countries of the potential Finalists will be announced on the Contest website http://aws.amazon.com/startupchallenge and will be notified by e-mail or phone. In order to proceed to the final round, each potential Finalist must notify us of his/her willingness to proceed to the final round within 5 calendar days of notification and satisfy other eligibility requirements described in these Official Rules. If a potential Finalist does not timely satisfy all requirements set forth in these Official Rules, as determined by us in our sole discretion, a runner-up may be notified. For each Finalist, we will produce, at our expense and at the Finalist’s location, a professional video highlighting the Finalist’s Business Proposition (“Finalist Video”). We will produce each Finalist Video and all decisions with respect to the Finalist Video will be at our discretion. The potential Finalist will assist and cooperate with us during the production of the Finalist Video. We will own all right, title and interest in the Finalist Videos, including, but not limited to, all copyrights and moral rights. The Finalist Videos will be posted online at http://aws.amazon.com/startupchallenge. The public will be permitted to view and vote on the Finalist Videos online at the Contest website, but these votes will not determine the winner. The exact dates during which the Finalist Videos will be posted will be set forth on the website. Limit one vote per person and per email address during the voting period. Votes received from any person or email address in excess of the stated limitation will be void. Finalists are prohibited from obtaining votes by offering prizes or other inducements to members of the public, as determined by us in our sole discretion. Use of script, macro or any automated system to vote or with the intent to impair the integrity of the voting process is prohibited and all such votes will be void.

Final Round. The final round will take place in December 2009 in a location within the United States to be determined by us at a later date. Each Finalist must be present in person at the final round and must prepare, at the Finalist’s expense, a 30-minute presentation and demo of his/her Business Proposition. The presentation and demo must be in English and will be presented to the Amazon Judging Panel. Each presentation and demo will be followed by up to 30 minutes of Q&A by the Amazon Judging Panel. The Finalists’ Entries will be judged on the following judging criteria: (a) implementation and integration of the Business Proposition with the Paid Services; (b) originality and creativity; (c) likelihood of long-term success and scalability; (d) effectiveness in addressing a need in the marketplace; (e) implementation of payments functionality, and (f) the Finalist’s presentation. In addition, if any Finalist’s Entry integrates Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay into their Entry, that Finalist’s Entry will be eligible for the Amazon Payments Bonus Prize. To be eligible to integrate Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay, the Finalist must be able to establish a valid Business Account with Amazon Payments which requires that the Finalist is U.S. resident or citizen or a business entity authorized to do business in the United States. The Amazon Payments Bonus Prize will be judged from among the eligible Finalists on the following judging criteria: (x) implementation and integration of the Business Proposition with Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay, (y) creativity and originality, (z) overall customer experience of the implementation of Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay. A Finalist is not eligible to receive the Amazon Payments Bonus Prize or the credit from Amazon Payments as part of the First Prize if the Finalist does not integrate Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay. If no Finalists integrate Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay into their Entry, then the Amazon Payments Bonus Prize and the credit from Amazon Payments as part of the First Prize will not be awarded. The online public votes from the Finalist Videos will be made available to the Amazon Judging Panel but Amazon Judging Panel is not obligated to consider the outcome of the public votes when determining the winner. An event will be held for the Finalists following their presentations at which the Grand Prize winner and the Amazon Payments Bonus Prize winner (if any) will be announced. Finalists must be present at the final round to be eligible to win the Grand Prize or the Amazon Payments Bonus Prize. Finalists other than the winner of the Grand Prize and Amazon Payments Bonus Prize (if any) are eligible to each receive a First Prize. We reserve the right to select fewer or more than 5 Finalists or not award all prizes if, in our sole discretion, we do not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries. In the event there are two or more identical and equally qualified Entries, as determined by us in our sole discretion, only the first one to be submitted will be considered. In the event of a tie, an additional tie-breaking judge will determine the Finalist(s) or winner(s) as applicable, using the judging criteria set forth a above. All decisions of the Amazon Judging Panel are final and binding. For the purpose of these Official Rules, Finalists may also be referred to in these Official Rules as “winners”.

ENTRANT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION. By participating in this Contest, entrants are authorizing the transfer of personal data to the United States for purposes of administering the Contest, conducting publicity about the Contest and such additional purposes consistent with our goals or the Contest goals. By entering the Contest, entrants consent to our collection, use and disclosure of their personal information for these purposes. The data controller is Amazon Web Services LLC, 1200 12th Avenue S., Seattle, Washington, 98144. For a copy of our Privacy Policy, visit aws.amazon.com/privacy. In addition, Israeli individuals or reasonable proprietors entering the Contest, declare/confirm that: they are adults (18 years of age, or older) and consent to their public exposure as prescribed in Section 1 of the Privacy Protection Act – 1981.

ELIGIBILITY. The Contest is open to: (a) individuals or sole proprietors who are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Israel who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at time of entry; or (b) privately held businesses that are legally domiciled in the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom, Germany or Israel and that have not generated more than $5 million USD in gross annual revenues and no more than $5 million USD in outside funding. Prizes will be awarded in the name of the individual or business that entered. By the time of submission, entrants must have an AWS account (see https://aws-portal.amazon.com/gp/aws/developer/registration/index.html). Any individual submitting an entry on behalf of a business entity represents and warrants that he/she is authorized to submit an entry on behalf of such business entity. The Contest and these Official Rules are void outside the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Israel and where prohibited by law. Our employees, its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries, and participating advertising and promotion agencies and prize suppliers (and members of their immediate family (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) or those living in their household, whether or not related) are not eligible. All U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

ENTRANT REPRESENTATION AND WARRANTIES. By entering, each entrant represents and warrants that (i) if the entrant is a business, it has not generated more than $5 million USD in gross annual revenues in any 1 calendar year; and (ii) it has not generated more than $5 million USD in outside funding and (iii) the Business Proposition entered is original and was created solely by the entrant and will not violate the rights of any third party or law, code, regulation or ordinance.

ENTRY CREDITS. All eligible entrants who submit a qualified entry from their country of residence during the Entry Period will receive a credit of $25 USD to be used toward Paid Services from AWS (does not include Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay). Individual credit codes valued at $25 USD will be emailed to such entrants following the announcement of the Grand and First Prize winners.

PRIZES.

a. One Grand Prize, consisting of:
- $50,000 USD in credit from AWS for Paid Services (other than Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay) (Actual Retail Value (“ARV”) $50,000 USD) (to be used by the earlier of January 1, 2013 or 3 years from date of award),
- $50,000 USD in cash,
- 4 one-hour mentoring sessions from an AWS Technical Expert (ARV $500 USD) (to be used within 1 year from date of award), and
- AWS Premium Support Gold for 1 year.
b. One Amazon Payments Bonus Prize, consisting of:
- $5,000 USD in credit from Amazon Payments for Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay (ARV $5,000 USD) (to be used by the earlier of January 1, 2013 or 3 years from date of award); and
- $5,000 USD in cash.
c. Four First Prizes, each consisting of:
- $5,000 USD in credit from AWS for Paid Services (other than Amazon FPS or Amazon Simply Pay) (ARV $5,000 USD each) (to be used by the earlier of January 1, 2013 or 3 years from date of award); and
- $2,500 USD in credit from Amazon Payments for Amazon FPS or Amazon Simple Pay (ARV $2,500 USD each) (to be used by the earlier of January 1, 2013 or 3 years from date of award).
d. Five Finalist Prizes, 1 to be awarded to each of the Finalists, each consisting of a trip for 1 person to attend the final round, leaving from the major airport nearest to each Finalist’s home (as determined by us in our sole discretion).

The trip includes (1) round trip, coach class, air transportation for 1 person, (2) two nights standard hotel accommodations for 1 person (1 room, single occupancy), and (3) attendance at the awards dinner. At our discretion, we may substitute surface transportation for air travel for any Finalist who lives near destination (as determined by us). All costs and expenses associated with prize acceptance and use not specifically mentioned, including, but not limited to, ground transportation/transfers, additional food and beverages, luggage fees, gratuities and taxes, are the sole responsibility of each Finalist. Each Finalist must be available to travel on the dates specified by us, or the Finalist may forfeit his/her place as a Finalist. Selected airline and hotel are at our sole discretion. Each Finalist must possess required travel documents (e.g. valid photo I.D., passport or visa (as applicable)) prior to departure. Once the travel schedule has been arranged, it cannot be altered unless approved in writing by us, and failure of any Finalist to follow such schedule will not obligate us in any way to provide the Finalist with alternate arrangements. ARV of each Finalist Prize is $1,000 USD. The actual value will depend on each Finalist’s city of departure. If the actual value is less than the ARV, the difference will not be awarded. For a trip awarded in the name of a business, an authorized representative of business must authorize entrant to take trip.

d. General Prize Conditions: Prizes will be delivered up to 90 days after the winners are announced. All credits awarded as prizes in the Contest must be applied to future use of the applicable Paid Services by the winner. Credits from Amazon Payments may only be used to pay for payments processing fees. Any unused portion of the credits will expire on the earlier of 3 years after date of award and January 1, 2013. Credits are non-transferable and may not be redeemed for cash or applied to any other account. The mentoring sessions awarded as part of the Grand Prize must be used by January 1, 2011. All credits utilized and all other prizes awarded shall be inclusive of any taxes AWS is required by law to withhold as well as applicable sales, use, gross receipts, or similar transaction based taxes (“Transaction Taxes”). To the extent that any Paid Services are subject to Transaction Taxes, the value of the Paid Services and the Transaction Taxes will be deducted from the credits. All other costs and expenses associated with acceptance and use of any prize not specified in these Official Rules as being provided are the responsibility of the winners. ALL TAXES ASSOCIATED WITH ANY PRIZE ACCEPTANCE AND USE ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNERS. IF TAXES ARE APPLICABLE TO THE PRIZE, IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER TO PAY TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES. We reserve the right to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) for an item of comparable or greater value, at our sole discretion. Prizes are awarded without warranty of any kind from us, express or implied, without limitation. PAYMENTS TO CONTEST WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS REQUIREMENT THAT THE WINNER SUBMIT TO AWS ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED BY AWS TO PERMIT COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE STATE, FEDERAL, LOCAL AND FOREIGN (INCLUDING PROVINCIAL) TAX REPORTING AND WITHHOLDING REQUIREMENTS. Contest winners are responsible for ensuring that the tax documentation submitted to AWS 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 we may, in our sole discretion, select an alternate winner.

ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION FOR ENTRANTS AND FINALISTS. The Amazon Judging Panel may request additional information from the entrants as may be necessary to judge the Business Propositions, and the entrants must respond to any requests for additional information within 5 calendar days from the time the request is made. Finalists and winners from any round of this Contest may forfeit prizes or opportunities to proceed in Contest if (1) we are unable to contact him/her within 5 calendar days of first attempted notification, or (2) the entrant fails to respond within 5 calendar days of notification. Potential Finalists (or, if a potential Finalist is an not an authorized representative of the business, an authorized representative of the business) will be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility (or, if a non-U.S. resident, a Declaration), a Liability/Publicity Release, and provide any additional tax filing information (such as a W-9, social security number or Federal tax ID number) within 5 calendar days following the date of first attempted notification. The Affidavit of Eligibility will certify, among other things, the following: (a) if the entrant is a business, it has not generated more than $5 million USD in gross annual revenues in any 1 calendar year; and (b) it has not generated more than $5 million USD in outside funding and© the Business Proposition entered is original and was created solely by the entrant and will not violate the rights of any third party or law, rules, regulation or ordinance. Failure to comply with these deadlines or with these Official Rules may result in forfeiture of place as a Finalist or winner.

RIGHT OF PUBLICITY. Acceptance of prizes by winners constitutes permission for us and our agencies and designees to use winners’ names or likenesses, city/state/province and company names’, trademarks and logos for advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Contest in any and all media now or hereafter devised, worldwide in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. By participating in the Contest, each entrant will not hold us, our parents, affiliates and subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and all of their respective directors, officers, employees and assigns (collectively, “Released Parties”) responsible for any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by the entrant’s participation in the Contest or acceptance and use of any prize (including any travel or activity-related to the prize or the Contest). Nothing in these Rules will limit the Released Parties’ liability for death or personal injury caused by that party’s negligence or fraudulent misrepresentation. Released Parties are also not responsible for any unauthorized third party use or dispute with respect to the Submission Materials (as defined below).

TREATMENT OF BUSINESS PROPOSITIONS. By participating in the Contest, each entrant warrants that it has the authority as sole owner of its Business Proposition to provide it to us, and that its Business Proposition and any other materials or information provided by it in connection with the Contest (collectively, “Submission Materials”) do not infringe or misappropriate any intellectual or other property right of any other person or entity, including any patent or trade secret. Each entrant understands that its Submission Materials are non-confidential and may be made public, in whole or in part, including through the Finalist Videos. By submitting an Entry, each entrant grants us and our affiliates the irrevocable, royalty-free right to use all or a portion of the Submission Materials, along with the entrant’s name and company name, trademarks and logos, in the Finalist Video and in any promotional materials produced by us or our affiliates. Further, we and our affiliates will have the right to otherwise use and disclose any Submission Materials in connection with the Contest. The entrants, by these Official Rules, do not grant any other rights to us or our affiliates under existing or future copyrights or patents. The entrants should be guided by their own attorneys as to the desirability of seeking patents or other protection for their Business Propositions. The entrant acknowledges that we or our affiliates may currently or in the future be developing information internally, or receiving information from other parties, that is similar to Submission Materials (“Our Developed Materials”). Nothing in these Official Rules will be construed as a representation or agreement that we or our affiliates will not develop or have developed products, concepts, systems or techniques that are similar to or compete with the products, concepts, systems or techniques contemplated by or embodied in any Submission Materials. Entrant agrees to waive any claims or action he/she has or may have in connection with Our Developed Materials.

LIMITATION OF TECHNICAL LIABILITY. Released Parties are not responsible for transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by us on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or any combination thereof. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any entrant’s or any other computer resulting from downloading any materials in connection with the Contest.

RIGHT TO TERMINATE CONTEST. If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, we may, in our sole discretion, change these Official Rules or cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. If terminated, we may select winners from all non-suspect, eligible entries received as of the termination date using the judging procedure outlined above. We may disqualify any individual found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or website; to be acting in violation of these Official Rules; or be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person and void all associated entries.

MISCELLANEOUS. Caution: Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, we may seek damages or other relief (including attorneys’ fees) from any such entrant to the fullest extent of the law. We, in our sole discretion, reserve the right to terminate the Contest in the event it does not receive a minimum of 50 qualified Entries from separate eligible entrants. Participation is the Contest is subject to the Conditions of Use and Privacy Notice located on our website at http://aws.amazon.com.

CHOICE OF LAW. This promotion is governed by U.S. law and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Any and all legal actions or claims arising in connection with this promotion must be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Washington.