a) The entrant or the entrant's company or organization, whichever applies, retains full ownership of the ideas submitted for the contest, including the copyrights associated with any text, photos, illustrations and videos used to illustrate the idea.

b) By entering, entrants warrant that to the best of their knowledge: (1) their entry is an original idea; (2) they are authorized by the owner of the design to enter the design in the contest; and that (3) the design does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.

c) Specific rules for winning entries: It is not mandatory for the winners to accept partly or fully the rewards offered to them. This will be clarified with each winner immediately after the judges have chosen the winners.

2. Platform

When you have signed up as a user of the Platform you will be able to participate in contests by putting forward ideas and suggested solutions to the issues defined in the individual contests. The contests are launched via the Platform by the HYVE Innovation Community GmbH.

As a user of the Platform, you will also be able to communicate with other users and participate in various events organized by HYVE in connection with the contests held on the Platform. 

3. Interactive facilities on the Platform

The Platform offers comment functions and other interactive facilities by means of which you can share your comments with other users or visitors on the Platform. Any message that you send online via the Platform will be accessible to everyone, and HYVE assumes no responsibility and no liability in this respect. Furthermore, HYVE reserves the right to remove comments from the Platform if they are considered offensive or insulting.

4. Links to other websites

The Platform may contain links to other websites. HYVE is in no way responsible for the content of other websites or for their practice in connection with the collection of personal data on such websites. In connection with visiting other websites, please read the owner's policy regarding the protection of personal data and other relevant policies.

5. Eligibility

Jurors may not contribute with solutions in competitions in which they participate as a jury member. Likewise, employees of HYVE eligible for prizes.

To be eligible to take part in the Competition, participants must be aged 18 or older (or, if according to the national laws applying to a participant, a higher age is required for full legal responsibility, this participant must be of at least such required age) on the date on which the participant registers for the Contest.

Prospective entrants must first register and accept the competition Terms and Conditions before submitting any entries.

6. Participation

A participant may end his/her participation in the contest at any time by sending a brief e-mail notification to HYVE Innovation Community GmbH at info@hyvecrowd.net. Termination of the participation shall not affect any rights or obligations incurred prior to the date of termination.

No purchase of any product or service by HYVE or any third party is required for participation in the Contest.

No participant is entitled to use the trademarks or service marks provided on the platform as a result of his/her participation in the Contest.

7. Course of Competition

Entry submission is supported by a user-friendly submission procedure. For further information with regard to the submission of entries please see “About the Contest.”

HYVE will not accept entries which:

• contain inappropriate, obscene, defamatory, libelous, slanderous, profane, indecent or unlawful content;

• infringe intellectual property rights or misappropriate trade secrets or confidential information of third parties;

• constitute "hate speech", whether directed at an individual or a group, and whether based on the race, sex, creed, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation or language of such individual or group;

• contain viruses, worms, corrupted files, cracks or other materials that are intended to or may damage or render inoperable software, hardware or security measures of HYVE and/or any other third party;

• facilitate or promote gambling, or the sale or use of hard liquor, tobacco products or illegal drugs or any other illegal activity;

• otherwise, restrict or inhibit any person's use or enjoyment of the Contest or other services provided by the platform;

• contain confidential information or trade secrets of the submitting participant.

HYVE shall not be required to keep the content of the entries confidential nor shall HYVE be liable for the consequences of disclosure of such content.

In case two identical or very similar entries are submitted, HYVE will only accept the first entry which is submitted in the competition. Whether entries are considered very similar lays in the sole discretion of HYVE.

Entries which are incomplete, defaced or damaged will be deemed invalid and may be deleted by HYVE.

Participants agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions when entering the competition. Failure to comply with these Terms and Conditions will prevent a potential participant from participation. Participants furthermore agree to abide by HYVE’s decisions, which are final and binding. The details of evaluation of the entries will not be published. The participants have no entitlement to individual feedback or any explanation concerning the expert team's and the jury's decisions. HYVE shall have no obligation to respond to any correspondence received from participants. Any recourse to the courts of law regarding the jury’s decision is excluded.

8. Judging

Judging is private. The jury is responsible for the selection of the best proposals. The members of the expert team will consider the opinions of the community, nominations made by HYVE and evaluation criteria determined by HYVE.

The jury is responsible for the selection of the three best ideas (or more, if it is explicitly stated in the Contest description that there will be more than three winners). The members of the jury will consider the opinions of the community. The jury will also determine the Most Valuable Participant of the contest (if an MVP is awarded). The Jury is entitled to not picking any winners in case no submission fulfills the requirements of a specific award category.

The prizes are described on the webpage. Winners will be notified by E-mail and in case the prizes are monetary, HYVE will pay out the monetary prizes via bank transfer once the winner provides his/her bank account information. Monetary prizes may not be possible in all countries. In cases, where monetary prizes are not possible, it will be substituted with a non-monetary prize of equal value. The non-monetary substitute prize will be chosen by HYVE. In some countries, a tax declaration may be required.

9. If you win a contest

All submitted ideas have the opportunity to win cash or non-monetary prizes as stated in “About the Contest” for the relevant contest.

A professional jury will determine the winning ideas. It is not possible to appeal against the decision of the operators of this contest. Legal recourse is excluded.

If you do not respond within ten working days, HYVE will make reasonable efforts to contact you again. If you are unable, regardless of the reason, to receive your prize or do not contact us in order to receive your prize within 30 working days from the first email was sent to you, HYVE reserves the right to appoint another winner of the contest and award the prize to this person instead. 

10. Jury decision

The jury meeting is private and the jury is composed of a group of experts. The jury is responsible for the selection of the three best ideas (or more, if it is explicitly stated in the Contest description that there will be more than three winners). The members of the jury will consider the opinions of the community and the evaluation criteria.

The jury also determines the Most Valuable Participant(s) of the contest. Candidates are nominated by the contest team (Community Managers) that participated in the discussion on the platform. Criteria for a nomination are activity in the discussion during the contest, quality of contributions and support for other members. Contestants must submit at least one idea to be eligible as Most Valuable Participant.

The jury's decision is final. The evaluation of the individual ideas in regard to the evaluation criteria will not be published. The participants have no claim to individual feedback or any explanation concerning the jury's decision.

11. Notifications

In connection with your signup as a user of the Platform you will be asked, among other things, for an email address that we will use to send you information about the following: 

• Initiation of new contests on the Platform and information about the panel of judges.

• The conclusion of contests on the Platform.

• That you have won a contest on the Platform.

• Events, seminars, etc. held as part of contests on the Platform.

• News and information concerning the Platform or contests on the Platform.

• News about HYVE.

You hereby consent to HYVE sending you such notifications by email.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at the following email address: info@hyvecrowd.net or as stated in the individual emails.

12. Consent to Publication/ Data Protection

The participant consents to the use of his/her entry by HYVE, its designees, and the sponsor for public relations purposes, including, but not limited to, advertising. The participant further accepts that all submitted entries will be published on the World Wide Web during the contest and after the end of the contest in a 12 month period. The participant agrees to the publication of his/her name if selected as a winner. The participant waives any claim to royalty, right or remuneration for the rights of use described in this Section.

The collection and storage of personal information for the purposes of the Contest will be conducted in accordance with all applicable data protection laws of the Federal Republic of Germany and the EU-Directive for Data Protection. Specifically, the data collected in the process of this Contest may be used to contact a participant and inform him/her whether he/she has won a prize.

Personal data concerning the submission of designs/ ideas will only be collected, processed and used by HYVE for administration purposes and for the evaluation of the results. All personal data will remain confidential and will not be revealed to third parties.

In case you agree with your registration to be informed by HYVE about the further idea and design competitions via email, you agree to the collection, processing and use of your personal data for this purpose.

In connection with your signup as a user of the Platform you will be asked for your email address, your username, first and last name, and your nationality. This information is mandatory. Further, you will be asked for your age, interests, occupation, and city you live in. It is optional whether or not you provide us with this additional personal data. 

The personal data, apart from your e-mail address, first and last name, will appear in your user profile, which is open to the public on the Platform. 

The personal data will be stored at HYVE and will be handled according to the regulations as stated by the German data protection law. HYVE guarantees that all customer data will be handled confidential and will demand the same in writing from any contractors and/or cooperation partners.

It is possible to contact HYVE (HYVE Innovation Community GmbH, Schellingstrasse 45, 80799 Munich, Germany, info@hyvecrowd.net) at any time to revoke the consent to use or processing of personal data and to request the deletion of all personal data.

13. Release

The participant agrees to release and hold HYVE harmless from any and all losses, damages, claims, rights, liability and actions of any kind brought against HYVE in connection with the participant's entry.

14. Disclaimer

HYVE is not responsible for entries not received due to lost, failed, delayed or interrupted connections or miscommunications or other electronic malfunctions, or due to lost, late, mutilated, illegible, incomplete, insufficient postage or misdirected mailed entries. HYVE is not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry information, whether caused by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest or by any human error which may occur in the processing of the entries in this Contest.

Most of the content posted on  www.hyvecrowd.net is provided by third parties. Such third-party content is the sole responsibility of the person creating that content. HYVE does not control and is not responsible for this third-party content. HYVE does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, completeness, usefulness, non-infringement of intellectual property rights, or quality of any content regardless of who creates that content. The participant expressly understands and agrees that he or she bears all risks associated with using or relying on that content.

The Contest website may contain links and references to the web pages of third parties. HYVE shall have no liability for the content of such web pages and does not make representations about or endorse such web pages or their contents as its own, as HYVE does not have control over the information or contents on such web pages, nor shall HYVE be liable for the quality, correctness or completeness of any third party information expressly provided on the Contest website as third party information.

15. Miscellaneous

Any tax or other charges levied on the prizes shall be the sole responsibility of the relevant winner. Any prize granted in the course of the Contest shall be subject to any restrictions that may be imposed on the provision of such a prize by the local law of the winner's country of residence.

Monetary prizes will be paid in the currency, which is stated in the About the Contest section.

All legal relations between HYVE and the participant shall be exclusively governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. Any conflict regarding the Contest or the Terms and Condition shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the Federal Republic of Germany.

HYVE reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time, without advance warning or notice, and/or to suspend, withdraw or cancel the Contest for any reason and at any time, without incurring any liability. HYVE furthermore reserves the right to exclude at any time a participant who is not willing to abide by these Terms and Conditions, without incurring any liability for such exclusion.