HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST “CODE THE VOTE” HACKATHON OFFICIAL RULES

The Human Rights First “Code the Vote” Hackathon (the “Hackathon”) is a hackathon in which participants will compete to create innovative software applications that leverage gamification to enhance election protection and public engagement by addressing issues such as access to polls, election-related misinformation, and voter polarization (“Projects”). For complete details, please review these Official Rules and the following websites: humanrightsfirst.org/events/code-the-vote-hackathon and https://code-the-vote.devpost.com/.

These Official Rules (these “Rules”) govern the participation of each Entrant (as defined in Section 2 below) in the Hackathon and constitute a legally binding agreement between such Entrant and Sponsor (as defined in Section 1 below).

BY PARTICIPATING IN THE HACKATHON, ENTRANT AGREES (A) TO BE UNCONDITIONALLY BOUND BY THESE RULES AND (B) THAT ALL DECISIONS RELATED TO THE HACKATHON ARE AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF SPONSOR AND ARE FINAL AND BINDING WHEN MADE.

THESE RULES CONTAIN AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, WHICH WILL, WITH LIMITED EXCEPTION, REQUIRE ENTRANT TO SUBMIT CLAIMS AGAINST SPONSOR TO BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION. UNDER THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, (1) ENTRANT WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED TO PURSUE CLAIMS AGAINST SPONSOR ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING, AND (2) ENTRANT WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED TO SEEK RELIEF (INCLUDING MONETARY, INJUNCTIVE, AND DECLARATORY RELIEF) ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

1.     SPONSOR

The Hackathon is sponsored by Human Rights First, a 501(c)(3) organization based in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles (“Sponsor”).

2.     ELIGIBILITY

The Hackathon is open to the following (collectively, “Entrants”):

·       Individuals in the United States who are (a) at least eighteen (18) years old and (b) are current students  or recent graduates (within the past twenty-four months) of a college, university, coding bootcamp or similar program (“Eligible Individuals”); and

·       Teams of up to five Eligible Individuals (each, a “Team”).

Persons or entities that are subject to U.S. export controls or sanctions or are residents of a country, territory, or other jurisdiction subject to U.S. export controls or sanctions, are not eligible to participate.

An Eligible Individual may join more than one Team and an Eligible Individual who is part of a Team may also participate in the Hackathon on an individual basis. Each Team participating in the Hackathon must appoint and authorize one Eligible Individual (the “Representative”) to represent, act, and submit a Submission (as defined in Section 6 below) on behalf of such Team. By submitting a Submission on behalf of a Team, an Eligible Individual represents and warrants that it is the Representative authorized to act on behalf of such Team.

Sponsor reserves the right to verify and determine eligibility in its sole discretion. Failure to comply with eligibility criteria, or providing false or misleading information, may result in disqualification and forfeiture of any prizes.

3.     FORMAT AND LOCATION

The Hackathon will be conducted in a hybrid format where certain activities may be performed virtually or by in-person participation.

Entrants electing to participate in activities virtually are required to participate using the Hackathon Site (as defined in Section 5 below) and other Sponsor-designated digital platforms, details of which will be provided to Entrant (collectively, “Platforms”). Platforms are not owned or controlled by Sponsor. Sponsor does not endorse or assume any responsibility for any Platforms and shall not be liable for any liability arising from Entrant’s use of a Platform. Entrant’s use of a Platform is subject to the terms and conditions and privacy policy made available on or agreed in connection with the applicable Platform, not these Rules.

The in-person component of the Hackathon will take place at Howard University in Washington, D.C. (specific location details to be announced prior to the Hackathon) (the “Venue”). All in-person participants are required to comply with local health and safety guidelines as well as any specific rules set by the Venue. Sponsor reserves the right to change the Venue or convert the Hackathon entirely to a virtual format if Sponsors deems it necessary or appropriate, including due to circumstances such as health advisories or government restrictions.

4.     DATES AND TIMING

Registration Period: April 30, 2024 – June 14, 2024 (“Registration Period”).

Development Period: June 15, 2024  – June 16, 2024 (“Development Period”)

Submission Date: June 16, 2024, 11:59pm ET (“Submission Date”).

Judging Period: June 17, 2024 – June 21, 2024 (“Judging Period”).

Winners Announced: June 24, 2024.

5.     HOW TO ENTER

To participate in the Hackathon, visit the Hackathon website located at https://code-the-vote.devpost.com/ (“Hackathon Site”) during the Registration Period and follow the registration instructions and provide all required information (e.g., name, email address, and GitHub handle).

6.     SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Each Project submitted to Sponsor for evaluation (“Submission”) must include a demonstration video (maximum three minutes in length) that details the functionality of the Project and the work that was completed by the Entrant.

In addition, each Submission must meet the following requirements, and by submitting a Submission, Entrant represents and warrants that such Submission meets these requirements.

·       The Submission must be Entrant’s original work.

·       The Submission must be free of any (a) viruses, worms, time bombs, Trojan horses or other harmful, malicious, or destructive code and (b) software disabling devices, time-out devices, counter devices, and devices intended to collect data regarding usage of the software without the knowledge of Sponsor or the end user.

·       The Submission must not, in whole or in part, (a) infringe or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of any third party, (b) incorporate any third party’s confidential information, or (c) be subject to any restrictions or to any mortgages, liens, pledges, security interests, encumbrances, or encroachments.

·       The Submission shall not be subject to or require any third-party licenses, except for open source software subject to the Apache 2.0 license or a similarly permissive open source license.

·       The Submission must not contain content that is unlawful, harmful, abusive, racially or ethnically offensive, defamatory, infringing, invasive of personal privacy or publicity rights, harassing, humiliating to other people (publicly or otherwise), libelous, threatening, profane, or otherwise objectionable.

Entrant may submit more than one Submission provided that each Submission is unique and substantially different from each of Entrant’s other Submissions (as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion).

All Submissions must be submitted by the Submission Date described in Section 4 above.

7.     JUDGING AND CRITERIA

Eligible Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges selected by Sponsor (the “Judges”). Judges may be employees of Sponsor or third parties, may or may not be listed individually on the Hackathon Site, and may change before or during the Judging Period. Judging will take place in one or more rounds with one or more panels of Judges, at the discretion of Sponsor.

Submissions will be evaluated by the Judges based on the following criteria (criteria weighting to be announced prior to the Hackathon): 

·       Technicality: Complexity, coding standards, and technical robustness of the software solution.

·       Design & User Experience: Aesthetic appeal, intuitiveness, and overall user engagement of the application.

·       Creativity: Originality and inventiveness of the approach.

·       Feasibility: Practicality and scalability of the application for real-world implementation.

·       Potential Impact: Capacity to significantly enhance user confidence in elections through effective gamification.

Judges will evaluate and attribute a score to each Submission based on the above-listed criteria. Entrant(s) that are eligible for a prize, and whose Submissions earn the highest overall scores based on the judging criteria, will become potential winners of that prize.

8.     PRIZES

Sponsor may make additional prizes available in its sole discretion.

Entrant is solely responsible for the payment of all taxes, fees, and charges that may apply to the receipt or use of any awarded prizes, including, without limitation, any transaction fees, currency conversion fees, or other costs associated with the receipt or use of prizes. Entrant must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local tax laws and regulations and is solely responsible for accurately reporting the value of any prizes to the relevant tax authorities and paying any taxes, including income, gift, or any other taxes that may be applicable. Entrant must also provide Sponsor with all necessary documentation, including, but not limited to, IRS Form W-9 or W-8BEN, and any other forms required by law or requested by Sponsor to facilitate the awarding and taxation of prizes. Failure to comply with these obligations, including providing required documentation in a timely manner, may result in disqualification from the Hackathon and forfeiture of any prizes awarded, as well as potential legal penalties. Sponsor is not responsible for any legal or financial consequences arising from Entrant’s failure to comply with these terms.

9.     INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND LICENSE TO SUBMISSIONS

All Submissions remain the intellectual property of the Entrants that developed them. By submitting a Submission, Entrant hereby expressly grants, and represents and warrants that it has all rights necessary to grant, to Sponsor a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, and worldwide license (with the right to grant and authorize sublicenses through multiple layers) to make, have made, use, sell, reproduce, modify, publish, list information regarding, edit, translate, distribute, syndicate, publicly perform, publicly display, make derivative works from, and otherwise exploit the Submission, in whole or in part, in any format or medium now known or later developed, for any purpose (including, without limitation, promotional, educational, commercial, and research purposes).

For clarity, the license granted to Sponsor above includes the right for Sponsor to modify, adapt, or build upon Entrant’s Submission and all aspects of thereof, including, without limitation, any code, designs, graphics, and written content, by creating derivative works at Sponsor’s discretion, and to share such derivative works with or without attribution, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.

10.  PUBLICITY

By participating in the Hackathon, Entrant grants the Hackathon Parties (as defined in Section 11 below) an irrevocable, sublicensable, free-of-charge, absolute right and permission to use, publish, post or display Entrant’s name, photograph, likeness, voice, biographical information, quotes attributable to Entrant, and any other indicia of persona (regardless of whether altered, changed, modified, edited, used alone, or used with other material in the Hackathon Parties’ sole discretion) for advertising, trade, promotional and publicity purposes without further obligation or compensation of any kind to Entrant, anywhere worldwide, in any medium now known or hereafter discovered or devised (including, without limitation, on the internet) without any limitation of time and without notice, review or approval, and Entrant hereby releases all Hackathon Parties from any and all liability related to such authorized uses. Nothing contained in these Rules obligates Sponsor to make use of any of the rights granted herein and each natural person granting publicity rights under this provision waives any right to inspect or approve any such use.

11.  USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The Sponsor will retain Entrant’s personal data for a reasonable period of time to enable Sponsor to communicate with Entrant regarding the Hackathon and/or a prize, to verify that these Rules have been complied with, for advertising and promotional purposes, and for accounting purposes. Sponsor may disclose Entrant’s personal data to a third party as reasonably necessary to enable such third party to fulfill any necessary requirements relating to the Hackathon and/or the award of a prize, and such data will be subject to that third party’s privacy policy.

12.  RELEASE AND INDEMNITY

By participating in the Hackathon, Entrant releases, and agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Sponsor, any and all third parties involved with the design, production, promotion, execution, or distribution of the Hackathon, and its and their respective parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (hereafter the “Hackathon Parties”), from and against all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to Entrant’s Submission, participation in the Hackathon, acceptance or use or misuse of a prize (including any travel or activity related thereto), and/or the broadcast, transmission, performance, exploitation, or other use of the Submission.

13.  LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

BY PARTICIPATING IN THE HACKATHON, ENTRANT HEREBY RELEASES THE HACKATHON PARTIES FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE PRIZES OR ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE HACKATHON, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY INJURY, ILLNESS, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF DATA, OR LOSS OF BUSINESS OR PROFITS, REGARDLESS OF LEGAL THEORY. IN ADDITION, ENTRANT WAIVES ANY APPLICABLE LAW THAT SAYS, IN SUBSTANCE: “A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE RELEASED PARTY.”

IN NO EVENT WILL ANY HACKATHON PARTY BE LIABLE TO ENTRANT FOR ANY CLAIMS, PROCEEDINGS, LIABILITIES, OBLIGATIONS, DAMAGES, LOSSES, OR COSTS IN AN AMOUNT EXCEEDING ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100.00). THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SECTION APPLIES WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF SPONSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF AND/OR LIMITATIONS ON INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND/OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO ENTRANT. THE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY DESCRIBED IN THESE RULES WILL NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

14.  GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTES

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Rules, or the rights and obligations of Entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Hackathon, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

All disputes and causes of action arising out of or in connection with the Hackathon (including, without limitation, any prizes awarded in connection with the Hackathon) that cannot be amicably resolved through good faith negotiations shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action lawsuit, and exclusively by final and binding arbitration in New York County, New York, under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The Federal Arbitration Act shall govern the interpretation, enforcement, and all proceedings at such arbitration, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having competent jurisdiction. Under no circumstances will Entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and Entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, or any other damages, including attorneys’ fees, other than contestant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., costs associated with entering this Hackathon), and Entrant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

15.  RELATIONSHIP OF ENTRANT AND SPONSOR

Under no circumstances will Entrant’s participation in the Hackathon (including, without limitation, the creation and/or submission of a Submission, or receipt of a reward) or any terms and conditions in these Rules be construed as creating an employment, contractor, joint venture, or partnership relationship between Entrant and Sponsor.

16.  GENERAL CONDITIONS

·       Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Hackathon, or any part of it, in the event of a technical failure, fraud, or any other factor or event that was not anticipated or is not within their control.

·       Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify Entrant if Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, such Entrant is actually or presenting the appearance of tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Hackathon or to be acting in violation of these Rules or in a manner that is inappropriate, unsportsmanlike, not in the best interests of the Hackathon, or a violation of any applicable law or regulation.

·       Any attempt by Entrant to undermine the proper conduct of the Hackathon may be a violation of criminal and civil law. Should Sponsor suspect that such an attempt has been made or is threatened, Sponsor reserves the right to take appropriate action, including, without limitation, requiring Entrant to cooperate with an investigation and referral to criminal and civil law enforcement authorities.

·       If there is any discrepancy or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of these Rules and disclosures or other statements contained in any other Hackathon materials, including, without limitation, the Hackathon Site or any promotional or advertising materials, the terms and conditions of these Rules shall prevail.

·       The terms and conditions of these Rules are subject to change at any time, including the rights or obligations of Entrant. Sponsor will post the terms and conditions of the amended Rules on the Hackathon Site. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any amendment will become effective at the time specified in the posting of the amended Rules or, if no time is specified, the time of posting.

·       If at any time Entrant believes that any term in these Rules is or may be ambiguous, Entrant must submit a written request to Sponsor for clarification.

·       Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Should any provision of these Rules be or become illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction whose laws or regulations may apply to Entrant, such illegality or unenforceability shall leave the remainder of these Rules, including the term affected, to the fullest extent permitted by law, unaffected and valid. The illegal or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid and enforceable provision that comes closest and best reflects Sponsor’s intention in a legal and enforceable manner with respect to the invalid or unenforceable provision.

·       Excluding Submissions, all intellectual property related to this Hackathon, including but not limited to copyrighted material, trademarks, trade names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source codes, drawings, illustrations, slogans, and representations are owned or used under license by Sponsor and/or Devpost, Inc. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any such intellectual property without the express written consent of its owners is strictly prohibited.

17.  ADDITIONAL TERMS

The Devpost Terms of Service at https://info.devpost.com/terms and Devpost Privacy Policy at https://info.devpost.com/legal/privacy-policy (collectively, “Devpost Terms”) contain additional terms and disclosures that may apply to Entrant’s participation in the Hackathon and more generally Entrant’s use of the Hackathon Site. The Devpost Terms are incorporated by reference into these Rules, and the term “Poster” in the Devpost Terms shall mean the same as “Sponsor” in these Rules. If there is a conflict between the Devpost Terms and these Rules, these Rules shall control with respect to this Hackathon only.