OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
By entering the "Xbox Dad of the Year" contest (the "Contest"), you (or, if a minor, your parent or legal guardian) agree to abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Microsoft Corporation (the "Sponsor" who may also be referred to below as "Microsoft", "we", "us" or "our"), and the judges which shall be final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest.
1. CONTEST DESCRIPTION:
This is a skill-based Contest. The object of this Contest is to write an original essay about a father (or male legal guardian) and his gaming. Do you know a dad who does a great job balancing gaming and fatherhood? Is he known for his patience with n00bs or his mad fragging skills? Does he play games with his kids? Is he raising his gamer offspring to play fair and follow the rules? For purposes of this Contest, the original essay you create and submit in the Contest will be called an "entry." All eligible entries received will be judged using the criteria in Paragraph 6, and the judges will select one (1) Grand Prize Winner who will receive the prize described in Paragraph 9 below.
2. ELIGIBILITY:
You are eligible to enter this Contest if you are:
- a legal resident of the 50 United States, District of Columbia or Canada (excluding the Province of Quebec);
- at least thirteen (13) years old at the time of entry; and
- not employed by us, or any of our or their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, participating vendors or advertising or promotion agencies, or anyone working directly on this program, product and promotion.
- If you are a minor, you should ask your parent's or legal guardian's permission prior to submitting an entry in this Contest.
This Contest is void in the Province of Quebec, Canada, and wherever else prohibited by law.
3. START AND END DATES:
The Contest begins at 12:01 A.M. Pacific Time ("PT") on May 29, 2007 and ends at 11:59 P.M. PT on June 9, 2007 ("Entry Period").
4. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
All entries must be received by 11:59 P.M. PT on June 9, 2007 to be eligible for judging. In order to be eligible for judging, an entry must meet the following requirements:
- The subject of your entry must be a father (or male legal guardian) other than yourself. (Please make sure you have permission from such person and share these rules with them so they understand how the Contest works.)
- Your essay must not use any personally identifiable information other than a first name or nickname.
- Your essay must be submitted in the English language.
- Your essay must be at least 250 words, but not exceed 500 words in length.
- Your entry must be original, must not have been previously selected as a winning entry as part of any other contest and must have been created and owned exclusively by you.
- Entries may not contain, as determined by us, in our sole and absolute discretion, any content that:
- is sexually explicit, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
- promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing) or a particular political agenda;
- is obscene or offensive;
- defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
- communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish to associate; and/or
- violates any law.
- We reserve the right to reject any entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the above criteria.
5. HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY:
You may only submit one (1) entry. If you submit more than one (1) entry, all entries submitted after your first entry will be disqualified. To enter, send your valid Xbox LIVE Gamertag and your essay via email to xlmail@microsoft.com with the subject line: "Xbox Dad of the Year".
NOTE: If you do not have a valid Xbox LIVE Gamertag, you can obtain one for free by creating an Xbox.com account (see www.xbox.com http://www.xbox.comfor details).
Lost, late, incomplete, inaccurate, stolen, misdirected, undelivered and/or garbled entries as well as entries generated by any script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
6. THE JUDGING OF ENTRIES:
A panel of judges will review all eligible entries received and select one (1) Grand Prize Winner based upon the following criteria:
50% Creativity and originality;
25% Appeal to Xbox.com readers;
25% Ability to effectively convey respect and admiration for entrant's nominee.
The judging process will be overseen by the Xbox.com editorial team. The decisions of these judges are final and binding. In the event of a tie between any eligible entries, the tie will be broken by an additional judge who will judge the entries that are tied based on the criteria listed above.
7. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR ENTRY:
You (or, if a minor, your parent or legal guardian) warrant and represent that:
- your entry is your own original work; and
- your entry has not been previously selected as a winning entry as part of any other contest; and
- you have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your entry; and
- your entry does not otherwise violate the rights of any other person or company by using their trademarks, logos, names or images without their express written consent.
You waive any claim of infringement (including without limitation copyright, trademark, patent, trade name, trade secret, etc.) against the Promotion Parties (which is defined below) based upon their use of your entry.
In the event of any dispute regarding whether you submitted a particular entry, you must provide us with proof that you are the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the entry in question.
If you are submitting physical items as part of your entry, they become our property and will not be returned. By submitting your entry, you (or, if you are a minor, your parent or legal guardian):
- understand that you are granting us and our designees an irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid up worldwide right and license, in all media (now known or later developed) to: (i) use, review, assess, test and otherwise analyze your entry and all its content in connection with this Contest; and (ii) feature your entry and all into content in connection with the promotion of this Contest and Microsoft's products and services;
- forever release the Promotion Parties from any and all claims you might have in connection with the use of your entry;
- agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted above;
- understand and acknowledge that the Promotion Parties may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your submission and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your entry;
- understand that Microsoft cannot control the incoming information you will disclose to our representatives in the course of entering, or what our representatives will remember about your entry. You also understand that Microsoft will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your entry. By entering this Contest, you agree that use of information in our representatives' unaided memories in the development or deployment of Microsoft products or services does not create liability for Microsoft under this agreement or copyright or trade secret law. You will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your entry, other than what is described in these Official Rules; and
- other than what is set forth above, Microsoft is not claiming any license or ownership rights to your entry.
- Please note that following the end of this Contest your entry may be posted on a website selected by us for viewing by visitors to that website. The Promotion Parties (which is defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your entry by visitors to this website. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning entry. If you do (or, if you are a minor, your parent or legal guardian does) not want to grant us these rights to your entry, please do not enter this Contest.
8. WINNER NOTIFICATION:
If you are the winner (or, if you are a minor, your parent or legal guardian):
- you will notified by phone or by U.S. mail, overnight mail, or e-mail; and
- you may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability/Publicity release and/or required IRS tax forms completed and signed, unless prohibited by law, within ten (10) days of date of prize notification.
- If you are a minor in the state/province in which you reside we will award the prize to your parent or legal guardian, who must sign all documents required under these Official Rules.
If you are a winner and you (i) do not reply to such notification or the notification is undeliverable, (ii) do not return the Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability/Publicity release and/or IRS tax forms completed and signed within ten (10) days of date of prize notification or if you (iii) are not otherwise in compliance with these Official Rules, you will be disqualified and, we may, at our discretion, notify a runner-up.
If you are a winner and accept the prize, you agree that we and our designees shall have the right to use your name and hometown in any and all media now or hereafter known worldwide in perpetuity, without additional compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law.
9. PRIZE:
If you are selected as the Grand Prize Winner, you will receive a Grand Prize Package consisting of the following items:
- One (1] Xbox 360 HD DVD drive
- One (1] Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel
- One (1] VIP Xbox 360 Accessories Kit including a Wireless Controller, Memory Unit (64MB), a Wireless Networking Adapter, Universal Media Remote, 2 Play and Charge Kits and a Xbox 360 lockable metal travel case
- One (1) Xbox 360 video game and entertainment console
Total Approximate Retail Value of Grand Prize: $1,048.98
If you are a winner:
- you may not exchange your prize for cash or other merchandise;
- you may not transfer your prize to someone else. If you do not wish to or cannot accept the prize, it will be forfeited and we may, at our discretion, award it to a runner-up. We may, however, award a prize of comparable or greater value, at our discretion;
- you are responsible for all federal, state, provincial and local taxes (including income and withholding taxes) as well as any other costs and expenses associated with accepting and/or using the prize that are not included above as being part of the prize award;
- you understand you are accepting the prize "as is" with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by us; and
- you understand that all prize details shall be determined by us.
10. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY:
The Promotion Parties are not responsible for any liability, cost or injury incurred by Participants arising out of or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, the following:
- lost, late, incomplete, inaccurate, stolen, fraudulent, misdirected, undelivered, interrupted, damaged, delayed or postage-due reports, entries, mail or other information;
- any incorrect or inaccurate information or error or defect of any kind regardless of who it is caused by, or the means by which it occurred; or
- equipment, software, network or systems that fail, have viruses or other problems, are breached or that cause injury or damage to participants or their property.
By entering this Contest, you agree to, and hereby release and hold harmless Microsoft, its parent company, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising or promotion agencies, and anyone working directly or indirectly on this program, product and promotion, and all of their respective officers, directors, employees and representatives (which for the purpose of these Official Rules will be referred to together as the "Promotion Parties") from any and all liability or any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest or acceptance and use of any prize.
11. GENERAL CONDITIONS:
This Contest is governed by Washington law. You agree that the jurisdiction and venue for the handling of any disputes or actions arising out of this Contest shall be in the courts of the State of Washington.
If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned for any reason, including, without limitation, the reasons set forth above, we reserve the right at our sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Contest, we may, at our sole discretion, determine the winners of this Contest using all non-suspect, eligible customer redemption reports and/or entries received (as applicable) before we had to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest.
We may disqualify you from participating in the Contest or winning a prize (and void your participation in the other promotions we may offer) if, in our sole discretion, we determine you are attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception or other unfair playing practices, or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass us, any other entrant or our representatives or if you are otherwise not in compliance with the terms of these Official Rules. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY YOU OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM YOU TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
12. WINNERS LIST:
Winner will be announced on or around June 13, 2007, and will be posted online at: http://www.xbox.com/xboxdadoftheyear.
13. SPONSOR:
This Contest is sponsored by Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052.
