THE BLUE BUFFALO COMPANY NATIONAL CAT DAY PHOTO CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES
OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND CANADA. ENTRANTS MUST BE AT LEAST EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF ENTRY.
1. HOW TO ENTER. The NATIONAL CAT DAY “Purr-fect Purr-sonalities” PHOTO CONTEST (the “Contest”) begins at 12:01 am (ET) on October 26, 2018 and ends at 11:59 pm (ET) on October 29, 2018 (the “Contest Entry Period”).
To enter, log onto Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and include #BlueBuffalo and #NationalCatDay with your uploaded image. Photo must depict your own cat. Once a photo is submitted, it cannot be changed or modified.
Pet safety and comfort should be considered at all times. Photo must not include unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, indecent, obscene, violent, vulgar, pornographic or profane material, material that violates the intellectual property, privacy or other rights of third parties, or material that otherwise violates these Official Rules in whole or in part. By submitting your photo, you acknowledge and agree that your photo may be posted online on Blue Buffalo’s Facebook page and/or on the official website for National Cat Day. Any photo that is deemed inappropriate or not suitable will be disqualified at the sole discretion of Sponsor.
By entering, you represent and warrant that: the photo is your sole and original creation and has not been copied in whole or in part from any other work; the photo does not violate or infringe any copyright, trademark/tradename or intellectual property right or other property right of any person or entity; and the photo has not been published online or elsewhere or submitted to any competition or other promotion besides this one. Any costs incurred in creating a photo are to be borne by the contestant, and contestants will not be reimbursed by Sponsor or anyone e lse.
In the event of any dispute regarding the identity of a person submitting an entry, the entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized email account holder, which is defined for purposes of these Official Rules as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. A selected winner may be requested to provide the Sponsor with proof that the selected winner is the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the winning entry. If a dispute cannot be resolved, the entry will be deemed ineligible. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED
2. ELIGIBILITY. Contest open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States, the District of Columbia and Canada who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry and who own a cat. Employees of Sponsor, and its affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, and anyone involved in the development or execution of this promotion, and the immediate families (parents, spouses, siblings, and children and their spouses) and members of the households of such employees are ineligible.
3. SELECTION OF WINNERS. A panel of qualified judges (the “Judges”) will select the three best photos from all eligible photos received during the Contest Entry Period according to the following criteria: (1) Photographs which best depict the personality of your cat (2) Overall Quality/Appeal of the photograph. Each of the criteria will be given equal weight. Decisions of the Judges are final and not subject to appeal.
Sponsor’s decisions are final and binding on all aspects of the Contest and are not subject to appeal. Sponsor will attempt to contact the selected winners by e-mail within five (5) days following selection. The selected winners may be required to complete and sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release and, where legal, a Publicity Release, and any other documentation that Sponsor may require, confirming eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules including, but not limited to, confirming the assignment of all rights in the winner’s photo to Sponsor and releasing Sponsor from any and all liability relating to the Contest or any prize, and to see to it that Sponsor is in receipt of these documents within ten (10) days of having received the same. If a selected winner is a minor in his/her state of residence at the time he/she is asked to sign these documents, the minor’s parent or legal guardian also will be required to sign these documents. In all cases, Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of residency, age and parenthood or guardianship and/or any other eligibility factors, and a winner will be deemed to have forfeited the prize if Sponsor, in its sole discretion, finds that the proof is unsatisfactory.
If a selected Grand Prize Winner cannot be personally contacted, if any document is returned as non-deliverable, or if a selected Grand Prize Winner fails to return the completed documents and/or fails to comply with any of the requirements of these Official Rules, the prize will be forfeited and the next selected contestant will be confirmed as the Grand Prize Winner.
4. GRAND PRIZE WINNERS. “Puff-fect Purr-sonalities” Winners may be featured on the Blue Buffalo Facebook page and will receive an assortment of Blue Buffalo products, Blue Gear, and National Cat Day Gear. All expenses not specified in these Official Rules, including, without limitation, taxes and insurance, are solely Grand Prize Winner’s responsibility. Grand Prize may not be substituted, transferred or redeemed for cash, except by Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute a similar prize of comparable or greater value in its sole discretion.
5. OWNERSHIP AND PUBLICITY RIGHTS. Photos will be retained by Sponsor and will not be returned. By entering the Contest, each contestant represents that he/she owns the photo that he/she submitted, and he/she waives all rights in the photo and assigns all rights, title and interest in and to photo, including, copyrights, to Sponsor. Each contestant acknowledges and agrees that, once submitted, Sponsor owns the photo and Sponsor shall have the exclusive, unrestricted, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, freely-assignable and irrevocable right to use, edit, alter, copy, reproduce, license, sell, rent, disclose, display, publish, prepare derivative works from, perform, distribute, exhibit, broadcast, or otherwise exploit the photo, in whole or in part, in any form, media or technology, now known or hereafter developed, including, without limitation, print, broadcast television, radio and the Internet, for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, advertising, promotion, entertainment and commercial purposes, without any payment to, or further authorization by, the contestant. Although Sponsor has all such exclusive rights of ownership, it is not obligated to exercise these rights. Each contestant further agrees that Sponsor has the unrestricted, irrevocable right, but not the obligation, to use contestant’s name, address, photograph, picture, likeness, moving image, voice, biographical material, and personal information, whether in their original form or as altered, edited, lifted or reproduced by Sponsor or its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, contractors and representatives (collectively, a contestant’s “Likeness”), in perpetuity throughout the world, whether in connection with the Contest or not, in any and all media for any and all purposes without additional consideration to, or further authorization by, the contestant. By entering the Contest, each contestant represents and warrants that he/she has the right to grant to Sponsor all the rights granted in this Paragraph. By entering this Contest, each contestant further signifies his/her agreement that (i) excepting contestant’s enjoyment of the photo in the privacy of his/her home, contestant may not use or permit others to use the photo without obtaining the prior written approval of Sponsor; and (ii) contestant will execute such further documents and instruments and take any further acts as Sponsor may reasonably request in order to effectuate these terms.
6. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Contest subject to all applicable Federal, state and local laws and regulations. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to withdraw, suspend or amend this Contest in any way, at any time, and without notice if for any reason this Contest is not capable of running as planned due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry or voting process, and to select a winner from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received as of the action requiring such termination. By entering the Contest, each contestant agrees to release, indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor, Facebook and all others involved in the development, execution and administration of this Contest and each of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, representatives and agents and each of their respective owners, shareholders, agents, officers, directors, employees and representatives (collectively, the “Releasees”), from any and all liability arising in any way from the Contest, the receipt, use or misuse of a prize or parts thereof, contestant’s production and submission of his/her photo and the Releasees’ review and use of the photo or his/her Likeness, or any parts thereof, including, without limitation, liability (i) for death, personal injury and property damage; (ii) to any other persons, including, without
limitation, liability arising from any claim relating to the breach or alleged breach of the representations and warranties contestant is making in connection with contestant’s photo; (iii) by virtue of any blurring, distortion, alteration or optical illusion that may occur, whether intentional or otherwise, in connection with the exercise of Sponsor’s rights hereunder; and (iv) for any similarities between contestant’s photo and future Sponsor products, programs, marketing materials or advertisements. By entering the Contest, each contestant irrevocably agrees in all cases to waive any right that he/she may have to inspect and/or approve Sponsor’s use of his/her Likeness and/or photo or any related finished product or copy that may be used in connection with the same. Releasees assume no responsibility for (i) lost, late, stolen, illegible, incomplete, damaged, misdirected, misplaced or mutilated entries; (ii) malfunctioning computers or cameras; (iii) lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server or other connections, miscommunications, failed telephone or computer hardware or software transmissions or technical failures, or incomplete, delayed or garbled transmissions; or (iv) other errors or problems of any kind, whether mechanical, electronic, human or otherwise. If Sponsor determines that there is any suspected or actual tampering with the Contest, or if technical difficulties compromise the integrity of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to void any entries that appear to have been submitted fraudulently or to cancel or modify the Contest, in whole or in part. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. In all cases, Sponsor reserves the right to confirm a contestant’s eligibility to win a prize and Sponsor may require proof of age and residency and the contestant will be disqualified if Sponsor, in its sole discretion, finds the proof unsatisfactory. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any contestant whose behavior, past or present, Sponsor, in its sole discretion, deems to be inappropriate, a threat or danger to others and/or an embarrassment to Sponsor. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT 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 OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
7. DISPUTES/GOVERNING LAW. Any claims arising out of the Contest shall be governed solely by United States law and may be brought only in a federal or state court located in Connecticut. If any provisions of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.
8. DATA COLLECTION. Sponsor, not Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, collects personal information from you when you enter the Contest. See Sponsor’s privacy policy for information about how personal information may be used.
9. OFFICIAL RULES/WINNERS LIST. For the name of the Grand Prize Winners or for a copy of these Official Rules, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (VT residents may omit return postage) to: Blue Buffalo National Cat Day Photo Contest Rules/Winners List Request (as applicable), P.O. Box 770, Wilton, CT 06897. Requests must be received by December 31, 2018.
10. SPONSOR. This Contest is sponsored by Blue Buffalo Company, P.O. Box 770, Wilton, CT 06897. This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.