“BISSELL PET GAMES VIDEO” CONTEST
Hosted by Animal Planet
OFFICIAL RULES
OFFERED ONLY TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (“U.S.”), AGED 18 YEARS OR OLDER.
1. ELIGIBILITY: Open to legal U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry, are pet owners and have Internet access as of June 5, 2008. Employees, officers and directors of Discovery Communications, LLC, (“Sponsor”), its promotional partner BISSELL Homecare, Inc. (“Promotional Partner”), their subsidiaries, affiliates, TV production partners, advertising agencies, promotional suppliers, Promotion Mechanics, Inc. (“Contest Administrator”), and the immediate family members (spouses and parents, children and siblings and their spouses, regardless of where they live) or members of the same households (whether related or not) of such individuals (collectively, “Contest Entities”) are not eligible. All applicable federal, state, and local rules apply. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited or restricted by law.
2. CONTEST DATES: The “BISSELL Pet Games Video” Contest hosted by Animal Planet (“Contest”) consists of ten weekly entry periods (beginning June 6, 2008 and ending August 14, 2008, “Contest Period”), and ten weekly voting periods (beginning June 20, 2008 and ending August 28, 2008). The Grand Prize winner will be determined on or about September 2, 2008.
3. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The Contest provides entrants with the opportunity to create a video that shows their pet participating in an activity, such as a sport, game, or trick (“Video”). The Video should be an original expression, in audio-visual form, made by the entrant of the entrant’s pet, ideas, language, content, images, text, graphics and/or other materials. A Contest entry shall consist of the Contest entry information form accurately completed by the entrant, together with an original Video that complies with these Official Rules.
The Video must be in digital format that meets the requirements for upload specified below and at the Contest Website, may not exceed 60 seconds in length, and must constitute original work. Entrant must have all exclusive rights over all aspects of the Video. Entries must be submitted in English and may not use any commercially copyrighted music or images. If anyone other than the entrant and/or the entrant’s pet appears in the Video, the entrant must know the names and addresses of all identifiable persons and must have permission in writing from those persons to submit the Video.
Videos will be posted online at www.bissell.com/petgames for the public to view and vote on, after which the Finalists and Grand Prize winner will be selected, as more fully set forth below. By participating in the Contest, each entrant unconditionally accepts and agrees to comply with and abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects.
4. TO ENTER THE CONTEST:
• Read the Visitor Agreement at http://dsc.discovery.com/utilities/about/visitoragreement.html. You must indicate that you have read and agree to the Visitor Agreement to participate.
• Review the Official Rules at www.bissell.com/petgames (“Web site”) and indicate that you have read and agree to the Official Rules.
• Make a Video of your pet participating in an activity such as a sport, game or trick.
• Visit www.bissell.com/petgames during the Contest Period and follow the online directions to access the official Contest entry information form.
• Provide all the information required, including full name, complete address, email address, daytime telephone number, and date of birth.
• Upload your Video and submit your entry in accordance with the instructions at the entry form on the Web site.
Videos may not exceed one minute play time or be less than fifteen seconds play time, no more than 10 MB in size and must only be in one of the following formats: MOV, MPEG, MPG, MP4, WMV. Videos must be received by Sponsor’s server by 11:59 pm ET on August 14, 2008. Sponsor’s server is the official clock for this Contest. If an entry Video is unable to be viewed by the Sponsor and its agents for any reason whatsoever, that Video shall be disqualified (and Contest Entities will not be responsible or liable for any such inability).
|
Weekly Entry Periods
(each begins at 12:01am ET and
ends at 11:59pm ET) |
Weekly Voting Periods
(each begins at 5:00pm ET and
ends at 11:59pm ET) |
| 1 |
June 6 - 12, 2008 |
June 20 - 26, 2008 |
| 2 |
June 13 - 19, 2008 |
June 27 - July 3, 2008 |
| 3 |
June 20 - 26, 2008 |
July 4 - 10, 2008 |
| 4 |
June 27 - July 3, 2008 |
July 11 - 17, 2008 |
| 5 |
July 4 - 10, 2008 |
July 18 - 24, 2008 |
| 6 |
July 11 - 17, 2008 |
July 25 - 31, 2008
|
| 7 |
July 18 - 24, 2008 |
August 1 - 7, 2008
|
| 8 |
July 25 - 31, 2008 |
August 8 - 14, 2008
|
| 9 |
August 1 - 7, 2008 |
August 15 - 21, 2008
|
| 10 |
August 8 - 14, 2008 |
August 22 - 28, 2008
|
Entries will not be carried forward into subsequent entry periods. Limit one entry per person per week.
Once submitted, Videos become the sole property of Sponsor. No correspondence about the Contest will be entered into nor will Videos be acknowledged or returned. By submitting a Video, entrant gives permission (and warrants and represents that he/she has obtained all rights necessary to give such permission) to Sponsor to post entrant’s Video on the World Wide Web, and to otherwise use entrant’s Video in accordance with the requirements of this Contest and the advertising, promotion, and publicity of the Contest, and otherwise, as stated in these Official Rules (as solely determined by Sponsor). Entrants further warrant and represent (a) that entrant’s entry Video does not violate any law or regulation, (b) that entrant’s entry Video does not violate or infringe any right, of any third party, including but not limited to intellectual property rights, such as but not limited to, rights of copyright, trademark or patent, or rights of publicity and/or privacy, and is not defamatory, slanderous or libelous or portray any person in a false light, (c) that entrant’s entry Video is entrant’s own original work and that she owns or controls all right, title and interest in the Video, including but not limited to its copyright, (d) that the entry Video has not been accepted for previous publication or submitted in any other competition or contest, (e) that the Video does not contain any virus, bugs, or other deleterious material, and (f) that the entrant has followed these Official Rules. Videos cannot contain, among other things, the trademark, trade name or logo of any third party, and cannot contain any material that is protected by copyright.
Any entrant may be required to obtain written permission and/or provide releases, as solely determined by Sponsor to post the Video and/or to otherwise use the Video in accordance with the requirements of this Contest, and the advertising, promotion, and publicity of this Contest, and Official Rules. The form of any such permission or release will be as solely determined by, or acceptable to Sponsor. Failure by Sponsor to request such permission(s) and/or release (s) is not a waiver of Sponsor’s right to require same, and entrant (and entrant’s parent/legal guardian if entrant is a minor) acknowledges that failure to comply with any such request may cause disqualification. By entering, entrant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Contest Entities from any action or liability resulting from the publishing of his/her Video and/or use of the Video as otherwise permitted by these rules.
Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to decide if a Video is appropriate for posting, or publication, and may disqualify any Video, at any time, if it is determined, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion that the Video is not appropriate, or, that the entrant has not complied with these Official Rules.
5. PUBLIC VOTING/WINNER DETERMINATION: Weekly Voting and Finalist Selection: During each Weekly Voting Period, Videos received during the preceding Weekly Entry Period that pass the Sponsor’s initial screening for eligibility and appropriateness, will be posted at www.bissell.com/petgames for viewing and voting by the general public (“Voters”). Voters will be asked to vote for the Video they believe is the most entertaining depiction of a pet participating in a sports game or activity. Limit one vote per person/email address per day.
Votes must be recorded by Sponsor’s server by 11:59 pm ET on the last day of a Weekly Voting Period to count. Voters using multiple email addresses will be immediately disqualified and forbidden from future voting. Only votes submitted via the Contest Website in accordance with the Official Rules during the Voting Period will be considered. Entrants may vote for their own Video. Voting using assistance of any kind including mechanical, form filling or other software or robotic or automated assistance with regard to all or any part of the voting process is not allowed, and these votes will be disqualified.
At the end of each Voting Period, representatives of the Sponsor will determine one First Prize winner and one Second Prize winner (together “Finalists”) based on the number of votes received and adherence to Contest theme, with equal weight being given to each criterion.
The Finalists for each Voting Period will be announced on the Results Page at www.bissell.com/petgames within three days of the close of the Voting Period and will move on to the Grand Prize Selection.
After the close of the final weekly voting period (ending August 28, 2008) the twenty finalists (comprised of all weekly winners) will move on to the Grand Prize selection round, in which a panel of honorary judges selected by BISSELL will determine the Grand Prize winner based on the following criteria: Originality (25%), Humor (25%), Adherence to the contest theme (25%), and Overall appearance/expression of the pet (25%). The highest-scoring Finalist will be deemed the Grand Prize winner and will be notified on or about September 2, 2008
In the event of a tie in any judging round, the winner will be determined from all tied entries based which entry is the most original, in the opinion of the Sponsor and judges.
The Grand Prize winner will be announced at www.bissell.com/petgames on or about September 2, 2008.
6. PRIZES: (1) Grand Prize - $10,000 donation made to the charity of the winner’s choice (subject to Sponsor’s approval), the opportunity for winner’s Video to be featured on www.animalplanet.com, a Lift-Off® Revolution ® Pet Vacuum, the opportunity for the pet featured in winner’s video to be featured on Lift-Off® Revolution® Pet Vacuum packaging and digital photos from the shoot.Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of Grand Prize is $300. Charity must be established as a 501 3-C non-profit organization and winner will not be responsible for the taxes on the donation portion of the prize. Sponsor reserves the right to review selected Charity. Potential Grand Prize winner will be notified on or about September 2, 2008 and will be required to execute and return, within two (2) days of issuance of notification, an affidavit of eligibility, release of liability, release of any third party displayed in the Video and (where legal) publicity release (hereinafter "Release Documents"). If these Release Documents are returned as non-deliverable, if a potential Grand Prize winner is found to be ineligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, does not respond within the time period specified or cannot accept the terms and conditions of being a Grand Prize winner, where lawful, the judges will select another winner who agreed to the Release Documents, from the remaining finalists.
Grand Prize winner agrees to grant Sponsor all rights in the Video in all media, including the right to use the results and proceeds on www.animalplanet.com and www.bissell.com and to grant Sponsor’s Promotional Partner all rights to the photo used on product packaging (the "Materials") with the right for the full period of copyright, including all extensions and renewals thereof, and thereafter in perpetuity, throughout the world, to use and reuse all or any part of the Materials for the purpose of making and producing television programs and other works, and advertising, publicizing and exploiting the same, by all means, in any manner, and in all media, whether now known or hereafter devised, and to authorize others to do so. Neither the Grand Prize winner nor any other party now or hereafter having an interest in the Materials shall have any right or action against the Sponsor or any other party arising out of any use of said Materials. Sponsor and/or its Promotional Partner shall have no obligation (express or implied) to use the Materials, or to otherwise exploit the Materials or, if commenced, to continue the distribution or exploitation thereof, and Sponsor and/or its Promotional Partner may at any time abandon the use of the Materials for any reason, with or without legal justification or excuse, and winner shall not be entitled to any damages or other relief by reason thereof.
Ten (10) First Prizes - BISSELL Pet Hair Eraser™ Vacuum ARV $169.99.
Ten (10) Second Prizes: BISSELL’s SpotBot® Pet Compact Deep Cleaner. ARV $129.99.
No prize transfer or cash redemption. No prize substitution, in whole or in part, except by Sponsor due to prize unavailability or any other reason as solely determined by Sponsor, in which case a prize of comparable or greater value will be awarded.
7. GENERAL: All taxes on prizes and all expenses related to acceptance and use of prizes not specified are the sole responsibility of winners. By participating, entrants agree: (a) to these rules and decisions of Sponsor and Contest Administrator, which shall be final in all respects relating to the Contest; and (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless Contest Entities from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind resulting from their participating in the Contest or their acceptance, use or misuse of a prize including, without limitation, personal injury, death and property damage, and claims based on publicity rights, copyright, trademark, defamation or invasion of privacy. Entrants agree to grant Sponsor: (a) all rights of ownership, reproduction and use of entry for any purpose whatsoever without compensation or further permission, including but not limited to an irrevocable and perpetual, royalty- fee, worldwide right, in all media (now known or later developed) to assign, use, publish, edit, adapt, modify, alter, reproduce, distribute, broadcast, display, copyright, create derivative works or otherwise exploit entries, for commercial or non-commercial use; and if a winner, (b) to permit Contest Entities to use his or her name, photograph, likeness, Contest entry, biographical information, voice, voice likeness, and city and state address for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in all media, including but not limited to within Sponsor's website www.discovery.com, in perpetuity, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) and agree to execute specific consent to such use upon request. Contest Entities are not responsible for and shall not be liable for: (a) any telecast, cable or telephone malfunctions, human error, satellite transmission failures, or delayed telecasts or preemption of or the failure of a cable affiliate to televise Animal Planet or any affiliated Sponsor network in all or any parts of the United States; (b) electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet or computer malfunctions, failures, or difficulties of any kind, including without limitation, server malfunction or by any human error which may occur in the processing of entries, or the incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry or other information, or the failure to capture, or loss of, any such information; (c) failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions; (d) late, lost, misdirected or incomplete entries ; or (e) any condition caused by events beyond the control of the Sponsor that may cause the promotion to be disrupted or corrupted. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest or any portion thereof should computer hardware or software malfunctions (such as but not limited to virus, bugs, worms, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures) or any other causes corrupt the administration, security or proper conduct of the Contest, and select the winners from entry Videos received prior to the action taken or in such other manner as deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor.
8. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS: Internet entry must be made by the Entrant only at the authorized web site address of www.bissell.com/petgames. Entries may not be made by any other individual or any entity, and/or originating at any other Internet website or e-mail address, including but not limited to commercial contest and sweepstakes subscription notification and/or entering service sites. Any person who enters by any of the methods described above will be disqualified. Any use of robotic, automatic, macro, programmed or like judging methods, will disqualify all votes using such methods. Contest Entities are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Web site users, tampering, hacking or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest and assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or technical error or unauthorized access to the Web site. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or Web site; to be acting in violation of the Official Rules; to be acting in violation of the terms of the Web site, or to be acting in a non- sportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. In case of dispute, the authorized subscriber of email account used to enter Contest, or vote in Contest, at actual time of entry or of voting, will be deemed to be participant and must comply with these Official Rules. Authorized account subscriber is deemed to be natural person who is assigned an email address by an Internet Access Provider, online service provider, or other organization that is responsible for assigning email addresses. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE PROMOTION MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
9. ARBITRATION/CHOICE OF LAW: Except where prohibited, entrants agree that: (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or any prize awarded, or the determination of the winner, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by arbitration pursuant to the Rules of the American Arbitration Association, then effective; and (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Contest but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (c) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant and/or Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Maryland, with jurisdiction and venue in Montgomery County, Maryland, without regard for conflicts of law doctrine, and all proceedings shall take place in the courts of Montgomery County, Maryland.
10. ENTRY INFORMATION: Please note that by entering this Contest and by checking the “opt-in” boxes on the entry form for this promotion, you are (a) agreeing that the Sponsor may share your entry information (including your name, address, email address, etc.) with our promotional partners and other parties; and (b) granting us, our promotional partners and other third parties with which we choose to share your information, permission to contact you about our upcoming shows, promotions or for other reasons. You may enter this Contest but keep your entry information private by not checking the “opt-in” boxes on the entry form. The collection and use of entrant information will be governed by Sponsor’s on-line privacy policy, available for viewing at http://animal.discovery.com/utilities/about/privacypolicy.html.
11. WINNER LIST: To receive a list of winners, mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope to be received by September 30, 2008, to: “BISSELL Pet Games Video” Contest Winners, PMI Station, PO Box 750, Southbury, CT 06488-0750.
Sponsor: Discovery Communications, LLC, One Discovery Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Promotion Administrator: Promotion Mechanics, Inc., 87 South Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470.
©2008 Discovery Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.