October 11, 2017
Pokémon GO AR Photo Contest Rules
Trainers,
Starting today, we’re challenging you to snap epic Pokémon GO AR photos and post them on Instagram using the hashtag #PokemonGOcontest. If your AR photo is selected as one of the top 10 submissions, you’ll win a Pokémon GO Prize Pack containing a Pokémon GO Plus, a poster autographed by the Pokémon GO team, and wireless Bluetooth earbuds. You only have until October 25 to submit your best AR photo, so go on an adventure, take a photo, and share it with us on Instagram!
Learn more by reading the complete contest rules and eligibility requirements below.
Good luck!
—The Pokémon GO team
Pokémon GO AR Photo Contest
Official Rules
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 OCTOBER 11, 2017, AND RESIDENTS OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES 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, SPAIN, SUDAN, SYRIA, TURKEY, AND ZIMBABWE.
ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES ENTRANT ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES. The Pokémon GO AR Photo 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 Entrants with the highest scores. See below for the complete details. This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram.
1. BINDING AGREEMENT: In order to enter the Contest, you must agree to these 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 Niantic 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 October 11, 2017 or a resident any of the following countries; 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, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, or Zimbabwe; (3) not be a person or entity under U.S. export controls or sanctions; and (4) have access to the Internet as of October 11, 2017. Entrants agree that if 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, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Zimbabwe and where prohibited by law. Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of Niantic, Inc., The Pokémon Company, The Pokémon Company International, their 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. (“Niantic” or “Sponsor”), with offices at 2 Bryant Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA.
4. CONTEST PERIOD: The Contest begins at 12:00:00 A.M. Pacific Time (PT) Zone in the United States on October 11, 2017 and ends at 11:59:59 P.M. PT on October 25, 2017 (“Contest Period”). ENTRANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS.
5. HOW TO ENTER: During the Contest Period, using the augmented reality (AR) camera feature of the Pokémon GO application on your mobile device, take an AR photo that displays your capture of a Pokémon as you use the Pokémon GO application. Photos where an individual appears in or is identifiable in the photo will not be considered and will be deemed void.
Then, upload your photo during the Contest Period to enter the Contest according to the following instructions:
Log-in to your Instagram account and upload your photo in the form of a post to your Instagram account and include the hashtag #POKEMONGOCONTEST in your post to enter.
Important Note: Entrants are strongly encouraged to use caution when taking photos in connection with the Contest. Entrants must abide by all applicable laws and refrain from trespassing on private property and Contest Entities do not condone taking photos in areas or dangerous situations that may involve certain health related risks, including risk of physical injury. Please be safe when participating in this Contest and abide by all laws, rules and regulations.
LIMIT THREE (3) PHOTO ENTRIES PER ENTRANT USING ONLY ONE (1) INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT THROUGHOUT THE CONTEST PERIOD. Entrants may only use one (1) Instagram account to participate in the Contest. All entries must be received by 11:59 P.M. PT on October 25, 2017 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, or late. All entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Instagram 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.
6. PHOTO REQUIREMENTS: In addition to meeting the criteria in section 5 above, each entry must also meet the following criteria:
(a) It 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) It must not contain content, material, or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to any applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws and regulations in any state, province or other jurisdiction where entry is created.
(c) It 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) It must be an original, unpublished work that does 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) It 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.
Entry must be the original work of the entrant, may not have been previously published, may not have won previous awards, and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity (with the exception of Pokémon GO characters and content, which will be permitted). If the entry contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant, and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties (with the exception of Pokémon GO characters and content), the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the entry, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the entry by Sponsor in the manner set forth in these Rules. Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to Sponsor from any entrant at any time. Failure to provide such proof may, if requested, render such entry null and void. By submitting an entry, entrant warrants and represents that he/she consents to the submission and use of the entry in the Contest and to its use as otherwise set forth herein.
The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Entrant who submits an entry that does not meet the Photo Requirements as determined by Sponsor. By submitting an entry, entrant hereby grants permission for the entry 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 of photo (33.34%); (ii) creativity of photo (33.33%); (iii) visual fun of photo (33.33%).
The ten (10) 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 of photo” 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 October 25, 2017, potential winners will be notified via Instagram direct message in the social media platform used for entry or aor via an Instagram reply comment to their social mediaentry post. If a potential winner does not respond to the notification attempt within forty-eight (48) hours from the notification attempt, 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, such as that referenced in section 9 below, that may be required by Sponsor. Potential winners must return all such required documents within five (5) days 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. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Rules, will be strictly enforced. Determinations of judges are final and binding.
8. PRIZES: Ten (10) Grand Prizes are available. Each Grand Prize consists of a Pokémon Go Prize Pack, including one (1) Pokémon GO Plus, one (1) poster autographed by Niantic team, and one (1) pair of wireless earbuds. The total Approximate Retail Value of each Grand Prize package is $240USD. The actual market value of each Grand Prize package may vary based on item brands and be subject to market fluctuations; any difference between actual market value and Approximate Retail Value will not be awarded. Winners are solely responsible for any and all expenses not expressly stated in the prize description herein.
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 monetary 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 ten (10) submissions in compliance with these Rules, all prizes will be awarded.
9. TAXES: RECEIPT OF PRIZES TO POTENTIAL WINNERS/WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS REQUIREMENT THAT THEY SUBMIT TO NIANTIC ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED BY NIANTIC TO PERMIT IT TO COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, PROVINCIAL, LOCAL AND FOREIGN TAX REPORTING AND WITHHOLDING REQUIREMENTS. THIS MAY REQUIRE THE SUBMISSION OF WINNER SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS FOR TAX REPORTING PURPOSES. ALL PRIZES WILL BE NET OF ANY TAXES NIANTIC IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO WITHHOLD. ALL TAXES IMPOSED ON PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNERS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER TAXES HAVE BEEN SO WITHHELD. In order to receive a prize, potential winners may be required to submit the tax documentation requested by Niantic or otherwise required by applicable law, to Niantic or the relevant tax authority, all as determined by applicable law, including, where relevant, the law of the potential winner’s country of residence. The potential winners are responsible for ensuring that (s)he 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 Niantic may, in its sole discretion, select an alternative potential winner.
10. GENERAL CONDITIONS: All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. Niantic reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant from the Contest if, in Niantic’ 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, Niantic or the Judges.
11. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: As between Niantic 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 Niantic or its licensors). Entrants are responsible for securing proper intellectual property protections. Niantic will not assume ownership responsibility. Entrants are responsible for ensuring they are not infringing on the intellectual property rights of another individual or entity. As a condition of entry, Entrant grants Niantic, 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 photo: (1) for the purposes of allowing Niantic and the Judges to evaluate the entries for purposes of the Contest, and (2) in connection with advertising and promotion to the public or other groups, including, but not limited to, the right to make screenshots, animations and Photo montages available for future advertising and promotional purposes.
12. PRIVACY: Entrant acknowledges and agrees that Niantic may collect, store, share and otherwise use any personally identifiable information provided to Niantic throughout the Contest, including, but not limited to, name, mailing address, phone number and email address. Niantic will use this information in accordance with its Privacy Policy located at https://www.nianticlabs.com/privacy/pokemongo/en, including without limitation for administering the Contest and verifying an Entrant’s identity, age, postal address, email address, Instagram username and telephone number in the event an entry photo 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 Niantic in connection with the Contest by writing to Niantic at this email address: contests@nianticlabs.com.
13. PUBLICITY: By accepting a prize, Entrant agrees to Sponsor and its agencies use of his or her name and/or likeness, contents of photo for advertising and promotional purposes of the Contest without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law. As described in section 7, 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, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 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: 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 non-compliance with these Rules, 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, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, Niantic reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest and if terminated, Niantic 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. Niantic 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, Niantic 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 the submission of a Photo into the Contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these Rules be construed as an offer or contract of employment with either Niantic, 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 Niantic 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: Niantic is not responsible for: (a) lost, late, damaged, destroyed, delayed, stolen, misdirected, incomplete, or illegible garbled entries, Instagram posts or comments, or entries, Instagram 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: By entering the Contest, Entrant agrees that all disputes between Entrant and Niantic of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of these Rules, shall be subject to Niantic’s standard Terms of Service available at https://www.nianticlabs.com/terms/pokemongo/en.
22. WINNERS’ LIST: You may request a list of winners after October 25, 2017 by emailing contests@nianticlabs.com no later than November 25, 2017.
