MilliporeSigma’s 2021 Pumpkin Carving Contest
Official Rules
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. SUBMISSION OF AN ENTRY TO THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED AND OUTSIDE THE U.S.
ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES BY THE ENTITY SUBMITTING THE ENTRY.
1. SPONSOR: The Contest is sponsored by Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (“Sponsor”), 3050 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO 63103.
2. BINDING AGREEMENT: By entering into the 2021 Pumpkin Carving Contest (“Contest”), each individual submitting or attempting to submit an entry (“Participant”) agrees to be bound by these Official Rules (“Rules”) and the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding. Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entry to ensure you understand and agree. You may not submit an entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive the Prizes described in these Rules unless you agree to these Rules. Each Participant warrants that their actions do not violate the policies and procedures of their employer.
3. CONTEST PERIOD: The Contest begins at Friday, October 1, 2021 at 12:00 a.m. Central Time (“CT”) and ends on Sunday, October 31, 2021 11:59 p.m. CT (“Contest Period”). Sponsor’s clock shall be the official timekeeping device for the Contest. PARTICIPANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTION.
4. ELIGIBILITY: Participants must (i) have reached the age of majority in their place of residence and be at least eighteen (18) years old; and (ii) be residents of the United States.
The following individuals are not eligible to participate:
- Any officials or employees of any local, state, provincial or federal or other government or government agency;
- Any employees of Sponsor or its affiliates and their immediate family and household members;
- Any employees of healthcare organizations (HCOs), including hospitals, healthcare professionals (HCPs); and
- Employees of academic institutions located in or providing services in Vermont.
Winning any prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. The Contest is void outside of the U.S. and where prohibited by law. Participation constitutes Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest.
5. HOW TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. To enter, you must post your photo entry on the MySciGear Facebook account or Instagram publicly. Each post must include the tags @MySciGear and @SciPumpkin. LIMIT (5) ENTRY PER PARTICIPANT DURING THE CONTEST PERIOD. All entries must be received on or before the end of the Contest Period. Your post meeting the above requirements shall constitute an “Entry”.
All Entries must comply with the terms of use of Facebook and Instagram.
All Entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the social media account used to submit the Entry, and the potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder for that account. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned to the account by the social media platform at the time of account creation.
Entries become the sole property of Sponsor. Entries are void if they are in whole or part unintelligible, incomplete, damaged, altered, counterfeit, obtained through fraud, or late.
6. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Entries must not infringe any third party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or confidentiality obligations, or otherwise violate applicable laws. No trademarks, logos, company names or advertising of third parties are allowed unless expressly permitted by the Sponsor. Content may not be offensive or defamatory, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject and/or disqualify any entries (in whole or in part) that the Sponsor deems, in its sole discretion, to be obscene, defamatory, libelous, profane, discriminatory, false, misleading or deceptive, or that promote illegal behavior, or otherwise inconsistent with its editorial standards or reputational interests, or that the Sponsor believes may violate any applicable law or regulation, or the rights of any third party. Participants are responsible for providing any necessary releases for the use of the Entries by Sponsor in any format, including in relation to any third party’s name, likeness or work including in the Entry.
7. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS: By submitting the Entry, you agree to communicate for the purpose of this Contest with Sponsor electronically, including via relevant social media platform. By agreeing to do business electronically, you (i) agree that your consent to these Rules is a binding form of your electronic signature, which you agree binds you to these Rules, (ii) represent that you have Internet access and a valid email address enabling you access to information pertaining to the Contest online and to receive communications and documents electronically, and (iii) represent that you have a printer or other device to print or otherwise save communications and documents including, without limitation, these Rules and that you have, in fact, printed or otherwise saved a copy of these Rules for your records. This consent is effective unless and until you withdraw it. You may withdraw your consent to electronic communication and delivery of documents, update your contact information, or request a free paper copy of these Rules at any time by contacting us as set forth in these Rules. We will send you a confirmation notice once we have processed your change request.
8. SELECTION OF CONTEST WINNERS & NOTIFICATION: The Entries will be reviewed by judges who are employees of the Sponsor or its affiliates. Pumpkins will be judged based on creativity, appearance, and relevance to science. The potential winners will be notified socially via Facebook or Instagram on or about 8th of November, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. CT. Potential winner must respond and accept the prize on or before the 22nd of November, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. CT. After 2 unsuccessful attempts to contact the potential winner, a new winner will be selected. Determinations of judges are final and binding. In the event that no entries are received, no prizes will be awarded.
9. PRIZES: The prize is one (1) $50 MySciGear gift card. Odds of winning the Prizes depend on number of eligible entries received and the skill of the Participants. No transfer, substitutions or cash equivalent for Prizes will be allowed, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion.
Any and all prizes come with the standard warranty as described in the product or service documentation. Sponsor and its affiliates make no other warranties or representations whatsoever relative to the quality, conditions, fitness or merchantability of any aspects of the prizes. Each winner is solely responsible for all activation fees, service fees, taxes and other charges due on any prizes. Sponsor shall be responsible for shipping and handling charges related to delivery of any prizes to the winners.
10. TAXES: ALL TAXES IMPOSED ON PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNING ENTITY. In order to receive a Prize, potential winner must submit the tax documentation requested by Sponsor or otherwise required by applicable law, to Sponsor or the relevant tax authority, all as determined by applicable law. The potential winner is responsible for ensuring that it complies with all the applicable tax laws and filing requirements. If a potential winner fails to provide such documentation or comply with such laws, the Prize may be forfeited and Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, select an alternative potential winner.
11. GENERAL CONDITIONS: All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify Participants that violate these Rules, misrepresent themselves or provide misleading information to Sponsor. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any Participant that tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest. Any attempt by a Participant to deliberately damage any web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such Participant to the fullest extent of the applicable law. Participants agree to be bound by the decisions of Sponsor.
12. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS / PUBLICITY: As a condition of submitting an Entry, Participants grant to the Sponsor and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees and assigns, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive and royalty-free right to use, reproduce, edit, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, modify, publish and otherwise make use of the Entry for solely for its internal purposes or to promote the Contest. In addition, Participants grant to the Sponsor and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees and assigns, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive and royalty-free right to use, reproduce, edit, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, modify, publish and otherwise make use of any Participant’s name, image, and likeness in any and all media, whether now known or hereinafter created, throughout the world and for any purpose. Participants waive any moral rights with respect to the Entry. In addition to other things, the rights granted to the Sponsor include, but are not limited to, the right to resize, crop, censor, compress, edit, feature, caption, affix logos to, and to otherwise alter or make use of the submitted entry. The Participants acknowledge and agree that the Sponsor shall have no obligation to post, display or otherwise make publicly available any entry submitted by the Participant. Participants consent to allowing the Sponsor and its affiliates to publish their entry on any of their websites and/or social media pages for promotional marketing purposes. Participants consent to being contacted by Sponsor or one of its representatives for follow-up marketing activities related to this Contest.
13. PRIVACY: Participants agree that personal data including, but not limited to, name, mailing address, phone number, and email address (“Personal Information”), as well as any confidential and proprietary data submitted in connection with the Contest, may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by Sponsor (including its affiliates), or any party authorized by them for the purposes of conducting and administering the Contest and analyzing the information submitted. Personal Information may also be used by Sponsor or any party authorized by them, including its affiliates, to verify a Participant’s identity, postal address and telephone number in the event a Participant qualifies for any applicable Prize as well as to deliver the applicable Prize(s). Participants further agree that their Personal Information may be used to fulfill additional terms of the Contest or to contact you in response to a question submitted by you. This Personal Information may also be shared by Sponsor or any party authorized by them with any third-party for the purposes of fulfilling the terms of this Contest or another service that you have requested, to comply with the law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary in order to conform to the requirements of law or comply with legal process served on Sponsor, and to protect and defend Sponsor’s rights or property. Participants understand and agree that this may mean that their Personal Information is transmitted, processed or stored in the United States. Note that we may share Personal Information, as well as any confidential and proprietary information submitted in connection with the Contest, with our agents located in our various offices throughout the world. Some of those offices may be in countries with data protection laws different than those established under Participants’ national, state, provincial or local law. Additionally, we ask that you please note the following: The data controller is Sponsor and the data recipients are Sponsor and its agents; Personal Information is collected for purposes of administration of the Contest; Participants have a right of access to and withdrawal of their Personal Information. Participants also have a right of opposition to the data collection, under circumstances.
14. WARRANTY & INDEMNITY: Participants warrant that their entries are original to the Participant and do not infringe any third-party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or confidentiality obligations, or otherwise violate applicable laws. Each Participant represents and warrants that all permissions, if any are required, have been granted prior to submission of the Entry and the submission of the Entry does not violate or breach any obligations to a third party or rights of a third party. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Participant indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified, Sponsor at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the Participant and/or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Participant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or accruing from (i) any entry materials submitted or otherwise provided by the Participant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy, (ii) any misrepresentation made by the Participant in connection with the Contest; (iii) any non-compliance by the Participant with these Rules; (iv) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to the Participant’s involvement with the Contest; (v) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any Prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in this Contest; (vi) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry information; or (vii) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any Prize or winners.
15. RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY, OR DISQUALIFY: If for any reason the Contest or any portion of the Contest is not capable of running as planned due to technical or administrative problems, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest or any portion of the Contest.
16. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: IN NO EVENT SHALL SPONSOR OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR LOSS OF PROFITS, INCURRED BY PARTICIPANTS OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY OR IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING FROM THE CONTEST, PRIZE OR USE OF A PRIZE, EVEN IF SPONSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Sponsor is not responsible and shall not be liable for late or lost entries, whether caused by web site users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest and assumes no responsibility for any computer, telephone, cable, network, electronic or internet hardware or software malfunctions, failures, connections, availability or intervention, error, omission, interruption, detection, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to the web site. By accepting a Prize, the winner agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor, its affiliates and agents from any and all liability, loss or damages arising from or in connection with awarding, receipt and/or use of a Prize or participation in Prize-related activities, and they shall have no liability for any injury, misfortune, or damage to either persons or property incurred by entering, participating in or winning this Contest. Participants agree that Sponsor shall have no liability for unsuccessful efforts to notify any potential winner, or for any injuries, losses, or damages by reason of the Participant’s participation in the Contest or use of the Prize.
17. IN CASE OF DISPUTES: Sponsor will interpret these Rules and resolve any disputes, conflicting claims or ambiguities concerning the Rules, and Sponsor’s decisions shall be final. If any provision of these Rules is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these rules, which shall remain in full force and effect. Sponsor reserves the right to modify or terminate the Contest or to make such other decisions regarding the administration or outcome as Sponsor deems appropriate. All decisions by Sponsor are final.
18. NOT AN OFFER OR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT: Under no circumstances shall the submission of an entry into the Contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these Rules be construed as an offer or contract of employment with Sponsor. You acknowledge that you have submitted your entry voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. You acknowledge that no confidential, fiduciary, agency or other relationship or implied-in-fact contract now exists between you and Sponsor and that no such relationship is established by your submission of an entry under these Rules.
19. FORUM AND RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL PROCEDURES: All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Participant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Massachusetts without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules.
