Terms and conditions

 

Hackathon Mechanism

Winner Selection/Judging Criteria

  1. The winners will be selected by a panel of judges ("Judges"). By submitting any Hackathon entry, entrants release the organizer, its sponsors, their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, representatives, agents, and advisors from any liability for any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the decisions of the judges.

  2. The Organiser reserves the right to suspend, amend, or modify any of these rules, terms, and conditions, or judging criteria with or without prior notice to participants. Other modifications will be announced via the Hackathon microsite and emails. The Organiser will have the final decision when it comes to all matters of dispute arising from the hackathon or the prizes.

  3. Teams will be judged based on the following criteria, including but not limited to:
    -Impact: How would the project benefit the target audience?
    -Creativity: Ingenious solutions and original ideas, no matter how big or small.
     -Design: A well-thought-out blueprint and crash-proof front-end layout, and UI/UX.
    -Execution: The solution should have a clear timeline and effective results from start to finish.

  1. Participants must comply with these Terms and Conditions at all times during the Hackathon, comply with all legal requirements, and refrain from creating content that is unlawful or otherwise objectionable, or any content that may be construed as such.

  1. Participants must not use any content protected by third-party rights or subject to third-party confidentiality obligations, and they must grant the organiser permission to use the content for the intended purposes.

  1. Participants agree that all the organizers’ decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to the Hackathon.

  1. Participants agree that all judges' decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to the Hackathon.

  1. Once the Hackathon officially begins, participants are not permitted to leave the online communication platform or the Hackathon Dashboard. The organiser may disqualify teams if participants do not comply.

 

Prizes are non-transferable by the winner. Accepting a prize makes a prize recipient solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting such a prize.

The cash rewards will be paid within 60 days of the date of the hackathon.

The cash rewards will see a deduction of TDS as per the government rules and regulations.

The participants agree that any photo or video containing their likeness or voice, as may be shot or filmed or recorded during the Hackathon, may be published by the Organiser, in part or in full, with or without stating the participant's name, on any medium, including but not limited to the Organiser's website and social media channels, at the Organiser's sole discretion. This authorization will be given for 10 years and will be valid worldwide.

  1. We fully support appropriate behaviour by all participants at the Hackathon, including during any official and unofficial activities. We expect all attendees, sponsors, partners, volunteers, and staff to help us make the Hackathon a place that welcomes and respects all participants, regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, national origin, ethnicity, or religion. We will not tolerate harassment of participants in person, online, or in any other form.

  1. Examples of harassment include offensive comments, verbal threats or demands, overly sexualized images in public spaces, intimidation, stalking, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of sessions or Hackathons, and unwelcome physical contact or sexual attention.

  1. We expect all participants-attendees, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers to follow the Code of Conduct during the Hackathon. This includes conference-related social Hackathons at off-site locations, and in related online communities and social media. Participants asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately.

  1. We thank our participants for their help in keeping the hackathon welcoming, respectful, and friendly to all participants.

  1. The Organiser is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone. Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, photography or audio/video recording against reasonable consent, sustained disruption of talks or other Hackathons, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention. Overly sexual language and imagery are not appropriate at the venue, including hacks, talks, workshops, parties, social media, and other online media.

  1. Photography is encouraged, but other participants must be given a reasonable chance to refuse to have their first-ever world-class prototypes photographed. If they object to being photographed, comply with their request. It is inappropriate to take photographs in contexts where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy, e.g. in bathrooms or where participants are sleeping.

  1. Hacks created at our Hackathon are equally subject to the anti-harassment policy.

  1. Participants who are asked to stop any harassing behaviour are expected to comply immediately. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the organising committee immediately.

  1. The Organiser will happily help participants contact any local security or local law enforcement, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the Hackathon.

  1. Participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the hackathon at the discretion of the organizer. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the organiser may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the venue.

  1. Please report any incidents or concerns to the Hackathon organising committee.

 

The Existing Rights and Own Rights remain the exclusive property of the participants in possession of them. Furthermore, it is solely up to the latter to decide whether to protect its know-how or otherwise, as well as to file, protect, or defend any of its rights or existing rights. Unless otherwise agreed by the participant and Symphony, ownership of the results reverts to the participant.

After being shortlisted for the next round

  1. For the avoidance of doubt, a Participant will grant the Organiser a right of first refusal for the acquisition of an exclusive licence for all materials including software, source code, documentation, data, and concepts (whether created or developed independently by a Participant or jointly with others) ("Materials") submitted to the Organiser during the Hackathon once they are shortlisted for the second phase of the Hackathon, for 12 months following the conclusion of the Hackathon. During this period, the Participant may not sell, transfer, or licence exclusively their intellectual property rights to a third party, without first offering the Organiser the opportunity to acquire or licence the Materials on the same terms and conditions offered by the third party, whereby the Organiser will have 30 days to accept the Participant’s offer. If the Organiser does not accept the Participant’s offer within 30 days, the Participant will have the right to accept the third party’s offer.

  1. The participants expressly authorise the organiser to publish, to communicate, to expose, to disclose, divulge, and represent the submitted ideas verbally, graphically, or in writing, in any medium worldwide and without restrictions in time, and by any means, either present or future, free of charge, about this hackathon.

  1. The results of no hackathon shall infringe or induce infringement of any third party’s intellectual property rights. Should the rights from identified third party right owners not be commercially available, the result may not be qualified to win the prize. The Participant agrees to indemnify the Organiser against all claims asserted by third parties against the Organiser arising from any actual or alleged infringement of rights resulting from the use of the result, as well as all litigation costs (including reasonable attorney fees) incurred in defending the Organiser against such claims, unless the Organiser is responsible for the infringement.

By submitting an entry or accepting any prize, participants represent and warrant the following:

  1. Participants will not submit copyrighted content, trade secrets, or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights unless the participant is the rightful owner of such rights or has permission from the rightful owner to post the content and grant the Hackathon all of the rights granted herein.

  2. The participant will not publish falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage the organizer, its sponsors, or any third party.

  3. The participant will not submit content that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, encourages criminal activity, gives rise to civil liability, or is otherwise inappropriate or destructive to the organizer’s or sponsors’ brand image or goodwill;

  4. The participant will not post advertisements or business solicitations.

  5. The Organiser will not be obligated to pay any compensation to, or permit any participation by, any third party in connection with the use, reproduction, modification, publication, display, or other exploitation of any of the content that the participant submits; 

  6. The content the participant submits does not contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, or other disabling devices or harmful code.

  7. By posting or submitting an entry to the Hackathon (regardless of the form or medium of such content), the participant hereby grants the Hackathon and its sponsors, their respective affiliates, their affiliates’ agents, and third-party contractors a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license, with the right to sublicense, discuss, publicize, market, and otherwise display content derived from or relating to the Hackathon entry ("Marketing Content"), and to distribute and use such Marketing Content for promotional and marketing purposes either in the form submitted or in the form of a derivative or adapted work. The participant understands that he or she will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your Hackathon entry, other than what is described in these Official Hackathon Rules.

The Participant represents and warrants that he or she is the sole author and copyright owner of the Submission and that the Submission is an original work of the Participant, or if the Submission is a work based on an existing application, that the Participant has acquired sufficient rights to use and to authorise period licencing others, and that the Submission does not infringe upon any copyright or upon any other third party rights of which the Participant is aware, and that the Submission is free of malware.

  1. The Organiser will have the right at their sole discretion to determine whether an entrant is eligible for the Hackathon. The Organiser may disqualify entries that:
    1) violate third-party rights, law, or regulation,
    2) use inappropriate or explicit language or images, or
    3) display content that the Organiser or its sponsors otherwise find objectionable or inconsistent with the Hackathon or its sponsors’ brand image or goodwill.

  1. The Organiser will accept only those entries that are completed and submitted as described above and that conform to any technical requirements specified as part of the entry process. Entries that do not comply with the provisions of these rules will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered.

  1. The Organiser will accept entries from those who are below the age of 18 (minimum age of 14) provided they are accompanied by a parent or guardian or have completed the following ‘Minor Release and Waiver of Liability and Indemnity Form’ which will be sent via their registered e-mail.

  1. The Hackathon is open to all eligible participants, whereby shortlisted participants will be chosen by the Organiser.

 

Data Security will be as per rules & regulations mentioned under IT Act 2008.

The terms and conditions herein shall prevail over any inconsistent terms, conditions, provisions, or representations contained in any other promotional or advertising materials for the hackathon.

 

Who Should Attend?

Design enthusiasts, innovators, anyone?

For those who are still deciding whether or not to register their teams in such an event, a hackathon is the perfect stomping ground to widen your network and learn things that may have never even crossed your mind.

 

Aside from inventing, the #coolathon hackathon features an awe-inspiring social event that brings together a pool of great talents from across the region, as well as a panel of prominent judges.

 

Now is the time to bring your ideas to life. Join us and be part of the #coolathon Hackathon.

Why attend?

To hack, or not to hack. That is the question that haunts every programmer, be it for good or bad. The task can be daunting, requiring an immense focus that stretches from hours to weeks, proving only a few can take up the challenge.

Like any sporting event, history will be made with each passing second, and #coolathon. The Hackathon promises to be a weekend full of drama as teams vie with each other to turn ideas into revolutionary real-world solutions within a short period of time.

Here are some of the benefits of joining the #coolathon Hackathon.

What Is The Presentation Format And What Should A Team Look For To Capture The Judges’ Attention?

After Final Checkpoints On Hack Day

This is where your marketing skills come into play. Just like the hundreds of awe-inspiring business pitches that take place daily in India, LIVE DEMOS are the only way to go.

The selected team has 10-15 minutes to present, including a minimum 2-minute live demo of a working proof of concept/prototype/app, and a Q&A session with the judges.

Don’t worry if the project is not 100% complete as it will be judged based on the following criteria, including but not limited to:

Rules-

Teams 

Each team must have a maximum of five (5) members and have a time limit of two (2) minutes.

Each individual is only permitted to register with one team.

Participants are asked to pre-select their team members and nominate their team leader. The team leader will be responsible for submitting their team members’ participation details by a given date.

Treat others with respect.

#coolathon is dedicated to offering a safe space where people of all backgrounds can gather, embrace their differences and innovate together! Any harassment, including racism, sexism, or any other form of discrimination, is strictly not prohibited.

Showcase your work.

Build something and be ready to present your hack! The presentation must not deviate from the challenge. Teams that do not address the substance of the challenge will be disqualified. All submissions must be original work. Any form of plagiarism or copying is not allowed. All submissions must be new. Any work that has been submitted for other competitions (whether in India or overseas) or has been used for commercial purposes and/or has been published in any media will not be accepted. The organiser shall not be responsible for entries that are lost or contain corrupted data due to whatever reasons.

Project Resources

To ensure all teams start on equal footing, we ask that all codes, graphics, sound, prototype/app, and other assets be created during the #coolathon weekend, although teams will be allowed to plan and create basic designs and layouts ahead of the event. Usage of public domain images or any materials with Creative Commons licencing is strictly not allowed. Teams violating this rule will be disqualified immediately.