Pokémon GO Tour: Johto Contest Official Rules
Last Updated: January 25, 2022
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CONTEST.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. CONTEST IS SOLELY OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF COUNTRIES WHERE THE POKÉMON GO APPLICATION HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY RELEASED. RESIDENTS OF COUNTRIES WHERE THE POKÉMON GO APPLICATION HAS NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY RELEASED AS OF JANUARY 25 2022, AND RESIDENTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES AND REGIONS ARE EXCLUDED FROM PARTICIPATION; THE BALKANS, BELARUS, BRAZIL, BURMA, CHINA, COTE D’IVOIRE (IVORY COAST), CRIMEA, CUBA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, IRAN, IRAQ, ITALY, LIBERIA, NORTH KOREA, PAKISTAN, QUEBEC, RUSSIA, SUDAN, SYRIA, TURKEY, AND ZIMBABWE.
ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES ENTRANT ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.
The Pokémon GO Tour:Johto Contest (the “Contest”) is a skill contest; chance will play no part in determining the winners of the Contest. The entries will be evaluated by judges who will determine the winning Entrants (defined below) in accordance with these Rules. The prizes will be awarded to qualifying Entrants in Sponsor’s sole discretion. See below for the complete details. This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with any third party, including, without limitation, Twitter.
1. BINDING AGREEMENT: In order to enter the Contest, you must agree to these Pokémon GO Tour: Johto Contest Official Rules (“Rules”). Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entry to ensure you understand and agree. By submitting an entry in the Contest, Entrants agree to these Rules. Entrants may not submit an entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive any prize described in these Rules unless they agree to these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between Entrants and Sponsor with respect to the Contest.
2. ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible to enter the Contest, you (“Entrant”) must: (1) be at least the age of majority in your country, state, province, or jurisdiction of residence (and at least twenty (20) years old in Taiwan) at the time of entry; (2) not be a resident of a country where the Pokémon GO application has not been officially released as of January 25, 2022 or a resident any of the following countries or regions; the Balkans, Belarus, Brazil, Burma, China, Cote D’ivoire (Ivory Coast), Crimea, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Liberia, North Korea, Pakistan, Quebec, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, or Zimbabwe; (3) not be a person or entity under U.S. export controls or sanctions; (4) have a Pokémon GO account and access to the Internet as of January 25, 2022. Entrants agree that if selected as a winner they will provide any additional necessary information or consents necessary to confirm eligibility as a winner. Failure to provide additional information or consents will be grounds for disqualification, unless prohibited under applicable law. Contest is void in the Balkans, Belarus, Brazil, Burma, China, Cote D’ivoire (Ivory Coast), Crimea, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Liberia, North Korea, Pakistan, Quebec, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Zimbabwe and where prohibited by law. Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of Sponsor, its respective subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, advertising and promotion agencies, representatives, and agents (“Contest Entities”), and members of the Contest Entities and their immediate families (parents, siblings, children, spouses, and life partners of each, regardless of where they live) and members of the households (whether related or not) of such employees, interns, contractors, officers, and directors are ineligible to participate in this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to verify eligibility and to adjudicate on any dispute at any time.
3. SPONSOR: The Contest is sponsored by Niantic, Inc. (“Sponsor”), with offices at One Ferry Building, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA.
4. CONTEST PERIOD: The Contest begins at 09:00:00 A.M. Pacific Time (PT) Zone in the United States on January 25, 2022 and ends at 11:59:59 P.M. PT on February 1, 2022 (“Contest Period”).
ENTRANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS. ENTRIES WILL ONLY BE VALID IF ENTERED DURING THE CORRESPONDING TIME PERIOD OUTLINED ABOVE.
5. HOW TO ENTER: During the Contest Period, take a screenshot of your Pokémon GO profile, including an image of your avatar and Trainer name (“Trainer Profile”). To enter the Contest, post your screenshot during the Contest Period according to the following instructions:
Log-in to your Twitter account and upload your screenshot in the form of a post (the “Submission”) to your Twitter account;
list in your post three (3) Pokémon who will make up your team (team must be composed of Pokémon originally discovered in the Kanto or Johto region, and can not contain Legendary or Mythical Pokémon including Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo, Mew, Suicune, Entei, Raikou, Lugia, Ho-Oh, or Celebi nor can it contain Ditto); and
include the hashtag #PokemonGOTourContest in your post.
LIMIT ONE (1) ENTRY PER ENTRANT USING ONLY ONE (1) TWITTER ACCOUNT THROUGHOUT THE CONTEST PERIOD. Entrants may only use one (1) Twitter account to participate in the Contest. Entrant’s Twitter account must remain public until all winners have been announced. All entries must be received during the Contest Period and subsequently received entries will be disqualified. Entries are void if they are in whole or part incomplete (e.g. do not contain the required handle and hashtags), altered, counterfeit, obtained through fraud, late, or otherwise do not comply with the Rules. All entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Twitter account used for entry, and the potential winners may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder for that email address. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned to an email address by an Internet service provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain. Entrant’s Pokémon GO account must remain in good standing throughout the duration of the Contest Period.
6. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: In addition to meeting the criteria in section 5 above, each entry must also meet the following criteria:
(a) Submission, including Trainer names and Pokémon buddy names, must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libelous, or contain any content that is inappropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, tortious, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Contest.
(b) Submission must not contain content, material, or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to any applicable law or regulation where the Submission is created.
(c) Submission must not contain any content (excluding Sponsor’s content as required herein), material or element that displays any third party advertising, slogan, logo, trademark, or indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by a third party or commercial entity or that is not within the spirit of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.
(d) Submission must not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, material or element that is owned by or subject to any rights of a third party or entity, other than Sponsor’s content and/or material as required herein.
(e) Submission cannot contain any content, element or material that violates a third party’s publicity, privacy or intellectual property rights, other than Sponsor’s content and/or material as required herein.
The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Entrant who submits an entry that does not meet the Submission Requirements as determined by Sponsor. By submitting an entry, in addition to the other rights granted by Entrant herein, Entrant hereby grants permission for the Submission, including Trainer Profile, Avatar, and Pokémon team, to be posted on any websites owned or controlled by Sponsor, any social media channels of Sponsor (including but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) or other websites. Entrant agrees that Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of entries by third parties. Released Parties do not guarantee the posting of any entry.
7. JUDGING: Entries will be judged by a panel of experts (“Judges”) at the conclusion of the Contest period. Entries will be evaluated by the Judges based on the following criteria: (i) originality and creativity of Avatar outfit (40%); (ii) general theme (30%); and (iii) Pokémon team composition (30%).
The eight (8) Entrants that receive the highest overall scores will be selected as potential winners. In the event of a tie, the Entrant(s) that received the higher score from the Judges in the category of “originality and creativity of Avatar outfit” will be selected as a potential winner. If there is still a tie, the tied entries will be re-judged by a different panel of qualified judges as determined by the Sponsor. In the event a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, the entry that received the next highest total score will be chosen as the potential winner. Entrants acknowledge that judging of this kind is by its nature subjective.
On or about February 4, 2022, potential winners will be notified via Twitter direct message. Potential winners shall have twenty-four (24) hours from the notification attempt to object to their selection. If a potential winner objects to their selection within that time period, then such potential winner will be disqualified and an alternate potential winner will be selected from among all eligible Entrants based on the judging criteria described herein. Each potential winner may be required to sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release and provide any additional information that may be required by Sponsor for prize fulfillment or otherwise. Potential winners must return all such required documents within forty-eight (48) hours following attempted notification or such potential winner will be deemed to have forfeited the prize and another potential winner may be selected based on the judging criteria described herein. Potential winners’ Pokémon GO accounts must remain in good standing through the in-game Pokémon GO Tour: Johto event on or about February 26, 2022. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Rules, will be strictly enforced. Determinations of judges are final and binding.
8. PRIZES: Eight (8) Prizes are available. Each Prize consists of each winner’s Pokémon GO avatar (as displayed in the Submission) being replicated and featured in-game in the Pokémon GO app as a non-playable character (“NPC”) at PokéStops around the world during the Pokémon GO Tour: Johto in-game event on or about February 26, 2022. Each winner’s Trainer name and the Pokémon team from their Submission will be featured along with the NPC. Pokémon GO app players will be able to battle these NPCs and the corresponding Pokémon team at PokéStops during the event.The total Approximate Retail Value of each Prize is $0.
No transfer, substitution, or cash equivalent for prizes is allowed, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize, in whole or in part, of equal or greater value if a prize cannot be awarded, in whole or in part, as described for any reason. Contest Entities have not made and are not making, and Contest Entities are not responsible in any manner for any warranties, representations, or guarantees, express or implied, in fact or law, relating to the prize, or regarding the use, value or enjoyment of the prize, including, without limitation, its quality, mechanical condition, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose, with the exception of any standard manufacturer’s warranty that may apply to the prize or any components thereto. In the event that no entries are received, no prizes will be awarded. Subject to the above provisions regarding prize substitutions, if there are at least eight (8) submissions in compliance with these Rules, all prizes will be awarded.
9. TAXES: ALL PRIZES WILL BE NET OF ANY TAXES SPONSOR IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO WITHHOLD. ALL TAXES IMPOSED ON PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH WINNER, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER TAXES HAVE BEEN SO WITHHELD. ANY ADDITIONAL COSTS RELATING TO A PRIZE ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH WINNER.
10. GENERAL CONDITIONS: All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant from the Contest if, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, it believes that the Entrant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other Entrants, viewers, Sponsor or the Judges.
11. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: As between Sponsor and the Entrant, the Entrant retains ownership of all intellectual and industrial property rights (including moral rights) in the contents of their entry (with the exception of Pokémon GO characters and content, which will remain the property of Sponsor or its licensors). Entrants are responsible for securing proper intellectual property protections. Sponsor will not assume ownership responsibility. Entrants are responsible for ensuring they are not infringing on the intellectual property rights of another individual or entity.
12. PRIVACY: Entrant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor may collect, store, share and otherwise use any personally identifiable information provided to Sponsor throughout the Contest, including, but not limited to, name, mailing address, phone number and email address. Sponsor will use this information in accordance with its Privacy Policy located at https://www.nianticlabs.com/privacy/en/, including without limitation for administering the Contest and verifying an Entrant’s identity, age, postal address, email address, username and telephone number in the event an entry qualifies for a prize and for marketing purposes as permitted by law. Entrant’s information may also be transferred to countries outside the country of their residence, including the United States. Such other countries may not have privacy laws and regulations similar to, or deemed adequate by, those of the country of Entrant’s residence. Entrant has the right to request access, review, rectification or deletion of any personal data held by Sponsor in connection with the Contest by writing to Sponsor at this email address: contests@nianticlabs.com.
13. PUBLICITY: As a condition of entry, Entrant grants Sponsor, its subsidiaries, agents and partner companies, a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, distribute, publicly perform, create a derivative work from, and publicly display contents of the entry, including, without limitation, Entrant’s name, Trainer name, screenshots, portraits, pictures, images, statements and other information: (1) for the purposes of allowing Sponsor and the Judges to evaluate the entries for purposes of the Contest, and (2) in connection with news, publicity, marketing, advertising and promotion to the public or other groups. The Entrant hereby waives any right to any form of compensation and all legal claims, including for libel, slander, invasion of privacy, and copyright infringement, related to the entry’s content and its use. As described herein, Entrants may be asked to complete a publicity release.
14. WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY: To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Entrant indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified Contest Entities at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the Entrant and/or a breach of any representation or warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Entrant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Contest Entities from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all injuries, losses, liabilities, damages of any kind to persons or property, including death, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising out of or accruing in whole or in part, directly or indirectly from Entrant’s participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activity or (a) any entry or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by the Entrant 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, (b) any misrepresentation made by the Entrant in connection with the Contest; (c) any non-compliance by the Entrant with these Rules; (d) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to the Entrant’s involvement with the Contest; (e) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in this Contest; (f) any malfunction or other problem with the Contest Site; (g) any error in the collection, processing or retention of entry information; or (h) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any prize or winners.
15. ELIMINATION: Non-compliance with these Rules and/or any false or incorrect information provided within the context of the Contest by any Entrant concerning identity, age, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right, or the like, may result in the immediate elimination of the Entrant from the Contest.
16. INTERNET AND OTHER TECHNICAL ISSUES: Contest Entities are not responsible for any malfunction or for any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, undeliverable or destroyed entries due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Contest Site, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital or satellite malfunctions which may limit an Entrant’s ability to participate.
17. RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY OR DISQUALIFY: If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as Sponsor intended, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, fulfilling health guidelines or requirements by local authorities, or any other causes 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 and if terminated, Sponsor may elect to determine the potential winners for the Contest from among all eligible Entrants received prior to action taken using the judging criteria specified above. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who violates these Rules or tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest or Contest Site. Any attempt by an Entrant to deliberately damage any website, including the Contest 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 any and all remedies available from any such Entrant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.
18. NOT AN OFFER OR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT: Under no circumstances shall a submission into the Contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these Rules be construed as an offer or contract of employment with either Sponsor, or the Contest Entities. Entrants acknowledge that entries have been submitted voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. Entrant acknowledges that no confidential, fiduciary, agency, or other relationship, or implied-in-fact contract now exists between Entrant and Sponsor or the Contest Entities and that no such relationship is established by Entrant’s submission of an entry under these Rules.
19. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Sponsor is not responsible for: (a) lost, late, damaged, destroyed, delayed, stolen, misdirected, incomplete, or illegible garbled entries, Twitter posts or comments, or entries, Twitter posts or comments received through impermissible or illegitimate channels, all of which will be disqualified; (b) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any telephone, computer online systems, computer equipment, website, server provider, network, hardware, or software; (c) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any website or service; (d) unauthorized intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; or (e) printing, typographical, electronic, or human errors which may occur in the offer or administration of the Contest or the processing of entries. Entrants agree that any and all claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to actual out of pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Contest (but not the development of the entry) but in no event attorneys’ fees; and Entrants waive all rights to claim any punitive, incidental, consequential, and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
20. FORUM AND RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL PROCEDURES: To the extent permitted by law, these Rules shall be governed by, subject to and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, United States of America, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded, and all Entrants expressly waive any and all such rights.
21. DISPUTES AND TERMS OF SERVICE: By entering the Contest, Entrant agrees that all disputes between Entrant and Sponsor of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of these Rules, shall be subject to Sponsor’s standard Terms of Service available at https://nianticlabs.com/terms/. Entrant accepts and agrees to abide by the Terms of Service as a condition of participation.
22. WINNERS’ LIST: A list of winners will be publicly announced on the relevant Sponsor Pages on or about February 26, 2022, as required by law.