Irrational Games Halloween Costume Contest Official Rules
Please read these rules before entering the “Irrational Games Halloween Costume Contest (the “Contest”). Participation in the Contest constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and Regulations (“Official Rules”) and represents that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements set forth below.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
Sponsor
The sponsor of the Contest (“Sponsor”) is Irrational Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of the United States company Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. The Sponsor’s address is Irrational Games, P.O. Box 690412 Quincy, MA 02269
Eligibility & Entry
To enter the Contest follow the instructions to enter. There will be two entry categories for this Contest (each a “Category”): The original Bioshock and BioShock Infinite. A First and Second Place winner will be chosen from each Category. During the Contest Period (defined below), e-mail a photograph (“Photo”) of yourself in a costume from the original BioShock or BioShock Infinite created by you, to costumecontest@irrationalgames.com and be sure to specify which Category your are entering ( The original BioShock or BioShock Infinite) and which character you are portraying in the Photo. The Photo must be in .jpeg format and be under 8MB. Entrants must also include in the email their name, date of birth, e-mail address and phone number. All entrants must have read and agreed to these Official Rules. All Photos uploaded will be viewable by the general public and may be used by Sponsor or its partners for any purpose, in any and all media, in perpetuity. By entering, you warrant and represent that you are the individual depicted in the Photo. No other persons may be depicted in your Photo. You further warrant and represent that you own the Photo or are authorized to grant Sponsor the rights and permission to use the Photo, including your first name and likeness included therein. By uploading a Photo, you further confirm that no permission of any kind is required from any party other than you in order for Sponsor or its partners to make such use, and consent to the foregoing, and that the Photo will not infringe on the rights of any third parties. If your Photo was shot by a person other than you, you must obtain a written transfer of ownership from the photographer who shot the Photo transferring all rights in the Photo to you, and must provide a copy of the written transfer agreement to Sponsor upon request or the Photo may not be considered. All entry information and Photo shall be collectively referred to herein as the “Submissions” or each as a “Submission.”
Entrants must be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia who are at least 18 years of age on the date of entry. If over 18 years of age but still a minor in your state of residence, you must have permission from your parent or legal guardian in order to participate. Directors, officers and employees of Sponsor, its parent, and any of their respective affiliate companies, subsidiaries, agents, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, and immediate families (i.e., parents, children, siblings, spouse) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of each are not eligible to participate or win any prizes. All applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. CONTEST VOID OUTSIDE OF THE FIFTY UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND WHERE PROHIBITED.
Limit one (1) Submission per person/email address throughout the Contest Period. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted. All Submissions become the sole and exclusive property of the Sponsor and receipt of entries will not be acknowledged or returned. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, stolen, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, misdirected, technically corrupted or garbled Submissions, which will be disqualified, or for problems of any kind whether mechanical, human or electronic. Only fully completed Submissions are eligible. Proof of submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.
Contest Period
The Contest Period starts on October 18, 2011 at 5:00pm Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on November 8, 2011 at 12:00pm ET (“Contest Period”).
Judging
Judges reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any Submissions that are inappropriate for any reason, including without limitation, for depicting or mentioning sex, violence, drugs, alcohol and/or inappropriate language. Submissions will be judged on or about November 9, 2011 based on the following judging criteria (“Judging Criteria”): Costume Execution 50%; and Incorporation of BioShock themes 50%.
One (1) First Place winner and one (1) Second Place winner will be selected in each Category (Bioshock 1 and BioShock Infinite) at the conclusion of judging. The Winners shall be the entrants whose Submissions received the highest score from the judges in each Category based on the Judging Criteria above. Potential First Place winners and Second Place winners in each Category will be contacted by email on or about November 9, 2011.
All judging will be in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion and Sponsor’s decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any entrant that it believes to be tampering with the voting process or engaging in fraud or cheating, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.
Prizes:
Each First Place winner (for a total of two First Place winners in the Contest – one in each Category) will receive a signed Murder of Crows Vigor bottle (Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of each First Place prize: $500). Each Second Place winner (for a total of two Second Place winners in the Contest – one in each Category) will receive a signed songbird lithograph (ARV of each Second Place prize: $50. ARV of all prizes combined: $1100.
Prizes are not transferable. No substitutions or exchanges (including for cash or credit) of any prizes will be permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any prize. All unspecified expenses are the responsibility of winners.
If any prize or prize notification message is returned as undeliverable, or potential winner does not respond within five (5) days of notification, or refuses to execute the applicable documents, the prize will be forfeited. Winners may be required to complete and submit documents including an affidavit/declaration of eligibility, publicity release, and/or appropriate tax forms to receive a prize. Sponsor will not replace any lost or stolen prize. If an eligible potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, his/her parent or legal guardian will have to execute the appropriate documents and such prize will be delivered to minor’s parent/legal guardian and awarded in the name of parent/legal guardian.
All prizes are 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). FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL TAXES WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER.
In case of dispute, entries will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the account used at the time of entry or registration. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address or account by an Internet Access Provider, on-line service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.
Collection of Information
The information necessary to conduct the Contest will be collected by Sponsor in accordance with Sponsor’s Privacy Policy available at www.take2games.com/privacy(the “Privacy Policy”). By entering the Contest, you give your consent to the collection, use and processing, as set forth in the Privacy Policy, by the Sponsor of your personal information provided at registration as well as any further information provided or collected during your participation. Upon request, you will be provided with access to your personal data. To exercise such right, you may write to the address provided in the privacy policy. You may also withdraw your personal data upon request, however you will be disqualified as an entrant in the Contest if you withdraw your personal data prior to the determination and fulfillment of the prizes.
Conditions/General Release
Submissions may be cut, edited, reformatted, rearranged, combined with other materials and/or otherwise modified, in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion. Participation in Contest and acceptance of prize constitutes each winner’s permission for Sponsor to use his/her name, address (city and state), likeness, photograph, picture, portrait, voice, biographical information, Submission and/or any statements made by each winner regarding the Contest or Sponsor for advertising and promotional purposes without notice or additional compensation, except where prohibited by law. By entering the Contest, you agree to indemnify, release and hold harmless Sponsor, and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, partners, employees and agencies (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from any liability whatsoever, and agree not to make any claims against the Released Parties in respect of any costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Contest (including, without limitation, participation in the Contest and use of your entry) or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, extend or suspend this Contest should (in its sole discretion) virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Contest. In such case, Sponsor may select the winners from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or web site. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that said entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair playing practices (including the use of automated quick entry programs) or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrants or Sponsor representatives.
CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE, APPLICATION OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
Affidavit/Declaration & Release
As a condition of being awarded any prize, winners may be required to execute and deliver to Sponsor a signed affidavit/declaration of eligibility and acceptance of these Official Rules and release of liability, as permitted by applicable law. Failure to return a signed affidavit/declaration within five (5) days may result in forfeiture of prize. Potential winners are responsible for ensuring return of all required materials; proof of sending will not be considered proof of receipt by Sponsor.
Winners’ List: Rules Request
A list of winners will be posted at http://www.irrationalgames.com/insider/costume-contest-winners/ on or about November 14, 2011 and until December 14, 2011. For a copy of the winners’ list, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope after December 10, 2011 and before January 10, 2012 to Sponsor at the address listed above, Attn: IRRATIONAL GAMES HALLOWEEN CONTEST Winners List. To obtain a copy of these rules, visit http://www.irrationalgames.com/insider/costume-contest-rules/
Disputes
As a condition of participating in this Contest, entrant agrees that: (a) any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or any prizes awarded, or the determination of winners shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action exclusively by arbitration pursuant to the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association, then effective; (b) Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, other than entrant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., costs associated with entering this Contest), and entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased; and (c) The arbitration shall be conducted in the State of New York, in the City of New York, County of New York, and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any court having jurisdiction thereof.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This promotion is governed by US law and is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant and Sponsor in connection with this Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A., without giving effect to the conflict of laws rules thereof, and any matters or proceedings which are not subject to arbitration as set forth in Arbitration Section of these Official Rules and/or for entering any judgment on an arbitration award, shall take place in the State of New York, in the City of New York, County of New York.
Miscellaneous
The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision herein shall not affect in any way the validity and enforceability of any other provision in these Official Rules.