Terms of Service - the Great Photo Contest
1. Who may enter the Great Photo Contest?
The Great Photo Contest is open to legal residents of the United States and Canada who are 18 years of age or older. Employees of the Great Photo Contest or its sponsors, as well as their immediate families, may not enter. Naturally, the contest is void where prohibited by law. It is the sole responsibility of the contestant to determine whether or not local laws may prohibit them from entering and/or receiving prize money from this contest.
Contest entries are not valid until a nonrefundable five dollar (US) entry fee is paid, either by paypal or by money order.
2. What sorts of pictures may be entered?
Entries must be applicable to the category for which they are entered (for example, a photo of a tiger would not be appropriate to a "babies" category). Entries should not be studio-style photographs. Entries must not bear any visible copyright or logo. Entries must be digitally submitted via our entry form in a jpeg file format. Entries must be the original work of the contestant, and the contestant must be the sole owner of any copyright on the photo. By submitting a photograph, you acknowledge that you have sufficient written permission of any people or recognizable locations within your entry to be able to grant the Great Photo Contest the right to publish your submission within the guidelines of our contest.
All entries must be unaltered, with the exception of resizing as needed. Any form of airbrushing, retouching, or electronic alteration of a photograph will be grounds for immediate disqualification.
Finally, entries that feature hateful, violent, illegal, or sexually explicit content will be immediately disqualified, and the associated contestant account will be subject to termination. Likewise, any attempt to circumvent the entry fee, or to damage the website or the contest in any form or fashion will result in immediate account termination.
3. How will my entry be used?
Your entry will be made viewable to the public in various places on this website. By entering a photograph into this contest, you grant the Great Photo Contest the right to further use the image in promotional materials, both electronic and printed, without financial consideration to you beyond any possible prize money you may have won. Winning photographs will also be displayed in a special area on the site. Furthermore, the Great Photo Contest has the right to edit or otherwise modify an entry as needed for use in these promotional efforts.
4. How are winners determined?
Winners are selected internally by our own judges. All judges' decisions are final.
Before being awarded their prize, contest winners may be required to sign a legal affidavit indicating that they are, in fact, the photographer who created the photo, that they own legal copyright, and that they have written releases for any recognizable locations and people appearing in the photograph.
The Great Photo Contest will attempt to contact prize winners by email first, and then by telephone. If the winner does not respond and claim the prize within ten (10) days, the prize will be forfeited. Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state, or local taxes, tariffs, or import duty fees. Winners may be required to sign an IRS Form W-9 or equivalent.
5. How do the prizes work?
Each category will award a weekly prize (a week is defined as beginning on Sunday at 12:01 AM and ending the following Saturday at midnight, all times central standard time). Each weekly contest winner will be entered into the monthly contest for that category (most monthly contests will have four weekly winners entered into them, some will have five weekly winners entered into them). The twelve monthly winners will be subsequently entered into the annual contest for that category.
The listed prize amounts are $25 for weekly winners, $100 for monthly winners, and $1000 for annual winners. However, all prize amounts are subject to minimum participation levels of thirty (30) entries per weekly period.
In the event of a contest (in a given category) that does not meet the minimum participation level, the Great Photo Contest reserves the right to take the following actions:
● Weekly contests will be extended to include further weeks, as needed, until the minimum participation level is reached.
● Monthly contests may similarly be extended to include further months, as needed, until the minimum participation level is reached. Alternately, monthly contest prizes may be prorated to represent the monthly actual participation level versus the minimum participation level. For example, if the minimum participation level was reached in three of four weeks during a given month, the Great Photo Contest may elect to award a monthly cash prize of seventy-five dollars instead of the listed one hundred dollar prize.
● Annual contest prizes will be prorated to represent the annual actual participation level in the same manner as described above for monthly contest prizes.
6. Why do you ask for my personal information?
The Great Photo Contest will only use your personal information (name, email address, physical address, phone number) to contact you regarding your entry, account status, or any prize winnings. We will never give out or sell any of your personal information to any third party, unless required to do so by law (such as in the case of a legal subpoena). Furthermore, we will never send out advertisements or similar spam to you.
Additional Legal Information
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to release, indemnify and hold the Great Photo Contest, its parents, subsidiaries and affiliates, and each of their respective members, officers, directors, employees, agents, co-branders and/or other partners, harmless from and against any and all claims, expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees, costs and settlement costs), damages, suits, costs, demands and/or judgments whatsoever, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (a) your use of the Promotions and/or the Website; (b) your breach of this Agreement; and/or (c) your violation of any rights of another individual and/or entity. The provisions of this paragraph are for the benefit of the Great Photo Contest, its parent, subsidiaries and/or affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, shareholders, licensors, suppliers and/or attorneys. Each of these individuals and entities shall have the right to assert and enforce these provisions directly against you on its own behalf.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, ARE DISCLAIMED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE DISCLAIMER OF ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE). IN PARTICULAR, BUT NOT AS A LIMITATION THEREOF, THE GREAT PHOTO CONTEST MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT: (A) THE WEBSITE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS: (B) THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE; OR (C) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE. THE WEBSITE MAY CONTAIN BUGS, ERRORS, PROBLEMS OR OTHER LIMITATIONS. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR THE AVAILABILITY OF THE UNDERLYING INTERNET CONNECTION ASSOCIATED WITH THE WEBSITE. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM THE GREAT PHOTO CONTEST OR THROUGH OR FROM THE WEBSITE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE GREAT PHOTO CONTEST SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL AND/OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE GREAT PHOTO CONTEST HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY LAW FOR: (A) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE ANY GREAT PHOTO CONTEST PRODUCT AND/OR SERVICE THAT MAY BE OFFERED VIA THE WEBSITE; (B) ANY MATTER RELATING TO ANY PROMOTIONS THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE VIA THE WEBSITE; (C) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY PROBLEM(S) WITH THE GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION AND/OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED FROM THE WEBSITE, OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO, THROUGH OR FROM THE WEBSITE; (D) THE UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO, OR ALTERATION OF, YOUR REGISTRATION DATA; OR (E) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE OTHER PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES THAT MAY BE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE AND/OR THE WEBSITE ITSELF. THIS LIMITATION APPLIES TO ALL CAUSES OF ACTION, IN THE AGGREGATE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, MISREPRESENTATIONS, AND ANY AND ALL OTHER TORTS. YOU HEREBY RELEASE THE GREAT PHOTO CONTEST, AND ITS SUPPLIERS, FROM ANY AND ALL OBLIGATIONS, LIABILITIES, AND CLAIMS IN EXCESS OF THE LIMITATIONS STATED HEREUNDER. IF APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT PERMIT SUCH LIMITATIONS, THE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF THE GREAT PHOTO CONTEST TO YOU UNDER ANY AND ALL CIRCUMSTANCES WILL BE EQUAL TO THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID, IF ANY, FOR ANY GREAT PHOTO CONTEST PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES. YOU HEREBY RELEASE THE GREAT PHOTO CONTEST FROM ANY AND ALL OBLIGATIONS, LIABILITIES AND CLAIMS IN EXCESS OF THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION. THE NEGATION OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN YOU AND THE GREAT PHOTO CONTEST. THE WEBSITE AND/OR THE PROMOTIONS WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED TO YOU WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS.
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