Microsoft Ignite I.T. Competition
OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES AND REGULATIONS
1.ABOUT THE MICROSOFT IGNITE I.T. Competition : The Microsoft Ignite I.T. Competition is an online Competition whereby an entrant may submit a project that demonstrates an I.T. challenge or development he or she and/or his or her work colleagues encountered, how he or she brought about a solution that overcame that challenge and the impact that solution had on his or her work environment and/or community (the “Submission”).
2. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY: The “Microsoft Ignite I.T. Competition” (the “Competition”) is sponsored by Microsoft Canada Co. (the “Sponsor”). The Competition starts at 12:00:01 PM Eastern Time (“ET”) on December 08, 2008 and closes at 11:59:59 PM ET on March 31, 2009 (the “Competition Period”).
3. ELIGIBILITY: To enter and be eligible to win, a person must be a resident of Canada who has reached the age of majority in the jurisdiction in which he/she resides, be a Windows Live Messenger account holder at the time of entry (see section 4) and not be an employee of the Sponsor, its affiliated companies or agents, its respective advertising or promotional agencies, the independent contest organization or a member of any such employee’s immediate family (regardless of where they live) or persons with whom they are domiciled (whether related to the employee or not). In these Official Rules, “immediate family” includes mother, father, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, partner or spouse.
4. HOW TO SIGN UP FOR A FREE WINDOWS LIVE ID ACCOUNT: To become an account holder, log onto https://accountservices.passport.net/?lc=4105 and select the “Get Windows Live” button found on the bottom of the screen. Next, complete the registration entry form by entering a valid email address and select a user name and password. Upon doing so, click submit to become a member. By clicking “submit”, you are agreeing to the terms of use in the Windows Live service agreement and Privacy Policy (see section 19).
5. HOW TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY: In order to submit an entry into the Competition and be eligible for a prize, you must sign in with your Windows Live ID account (see section 4 on how to obtain an account). Between December 01, 2008 and February 15, 2009 (the “Submission Competition Period”) log onto www.microsoft.ca/ITawards click on the Windows Live ID “sign in” icon found at the top of the screen and enter your username and password. Next, enter your personal information including your full name, a valid email address, daytime telephone number (including area code), your job role, your team information (optional) including the team name and each individual team member’s name and role in the project; your company information (optional) including company name, type of business, business phone number (including area code) and complete mailing address (including postal code). Next, select the project category, either; a) IT or, B) Developer for which you are submitting and include an essay 4000 characters or less in the boxes provided (see section 7 for essay criteria). Next, upload a photo or video by clicking on the “browse” button to upload a photo or video (see section 8 and 9 for photo and video criteria). Next, confirm that you have consent from participating team members (if applicable), agree to the privacy policy, terms and conditions and the official Competition rules. Upon doing so, click “next” to review your submission and make any necessary changes prior to submitting your entry. Next, click “submit” for your entry to be approved by the Sponsor. Upon approval, within 3 days your submission will be posted to the website. PLEASE NOTE: All submissions must be created for—and made a positive impact on—a community or business problem; must be created within the last 24 months prior to submission; must not have been submitted to the MSDN Code Awards or the TechNet Innovation Awards in the past and must be created using at least one Microsoft-based technology. All submissions must be received on or before 11:59:59 PM ET on February 15, 2009 (the “Submission Competition Closing Date”). Limit of one (1) submission per entrant during the Competition Period.
6. HOW TO VOTE: In order to vote and be eligible for a Secondary Prize (see rule 11 iii), you must sign in with your Windows Live ID account (see section 4 on how to obtain an account). Between March 01, 2009 and March 31, 2009 (the “Voting Competition Period”) log onto www.microsoft.ca/ITawards click on the Windows Live ID “sign in” icon found at the top of the screen and enter your username and password. Next, review the submissions and select a submission you would like to vote for. To vote, click on the “Vote Now” icon below the submission. Once you have clicked the selected icon below the submission, you have cast one (1) vote for that submission. Vote for as many submissions as you wish but there is a limit of one (1) vote per submission per day per person. Limit of one (1) Secondary Prize per person. The Sponsor will not be responsible and will be held harmless from any manner in which an entrant promotes his/her entry in order to obtain votes.
7. ESSAY FORMAT AND CONTENT. Each submitted essay must contain a title and be divided into three (3) paragraphs
| i. | profanity, sexually explicit, offensive, harassing, disparaging, libelous or other inappropriate content; |
| ii. | language suggesting or encouraging illegal activity; |
| iii. | commercial content that promotes any product or service, other than those of the Sponsor and recipes must not infringe anyone’s rights. |
| iv. | may be submitted only once; |
| v. | must not contain any copyrighted works (other than as owned by the Competition entrant) |
| vi. | must contain entirely original materials; |
| vii | must be no longer than 4000 characters. |
| Each submission satisfying the requirements set out above and submitted in accordance with these official rules will, subject to the discretion of the Sponsor, be an eligible Competition submission entry. |
8. PHOTO FORMAT AND CONTENT. Each submitted photo:
| i. | must be submitted in one of the following file formats: Jpeg or gif |
| ii. | must be 432 x 320 in size; |
| iii. | must be of the selected entrant/team, mascot and/or company logo photo. Individuals must agree that they have received permission to upload their company logo (and/or that we take no responsibility for improper use of their logo). |
| iv. | must be intended for family audience viewing and contain only content that, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor is suitable for all persons, including persons under the age of 13; |
| v. | must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor, contain any nude, sexually explicit, disparaging, discriminatory, libelous or other inappropriate content; |
| vi. | must not, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, contain any commercial content that promotes any product or service other than the Sponsor; |
| vii. | may be submitted only once; |
| viii. | must not contain any copyrighted works (other than as owned by the Competition entrant) |
| ix. | must contain entirely original materials. |
9. VIDEO FORMAT AND CONTENT. Each submitted video:
| i. | must be submitted in one of the following file formats: mpeg 1/2/4, 3GP, 3G2, DV, DivX, Xvid, wmv, avi, mpg, asf |
| ii. | must be no more than 1 minute in total running time; |
| iii. | must demonstrate the challenge, solution and impact of the project submitted; |
| iv. | must be less than 10 MB in file size; |
| v. | must be intended for family audience viewing and contain only content that, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor is suitable for all persons, including persons under the age of 13; |
| vi. | must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor, contain any nude, sexually explicit, disparaging, discriminatory, libelous or other inappropriate content; |
| vii. | must not, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, contain any commercial content that promotes any product or service other than the Sponsor; |
| viii. | may be submitted only once; |
| ix. | must not contain any copyrighted works (other than as owned by the Competition entrant) |
| x. | must contain entirely original materials. |
10. SELECTION PROCESS AND DRAWS:
| i. | Grand Prize & Runner-Up Selection Process: The five (5) submissions with the most votes within each project category (as described in Rule #5), by the Competition Closing Date will be eligible for the Grand Prize selection process. The Grand Prize selection process will take place between April 01, 2009 and April 14, 2009, and the Grand Prize selected entrants will be chosen by a panel of judges chosen by the Sponsor at 10:00 AM ET April 15, 2009 based on: 1) the validity of the information, 2) the compelling nature of the submission and 3) the creativity of the submission. Odds of being selected for the Grand Prize selection process depends on the number of submissions received for each project category during the Competition Period, the number of votes received by the Competition Closing Date and the application of criteria by the judges. Odds of being selected for a Grand Prize depend on the judges decisions based on the judging criteria set out above. The remaining eight (8) selected entrants will be eligible for a runner-up prize (see 11ii). |
| ii. | Secondary Prize Draws: The Secondary Prize draws will be held on April 15, 2009 at 10:00 am (ET) in Toronto, ON from among all eligible entries who voted by the Competition Closing Date. Odds of being selected depend on the total number of eligible entries who voted by the Competition Closing Date. The selected entrants will be contacted by mail or telephone within ten (10) business days of the draw date. If a selected entrant cannot be reached within ten (10) business days of the draw date, the selected entrant will be disqualified and another entrant will be randomly selected until such time as contact is made by mail or telephone with a selected entrant or there are no more eligible entries, whichever comes first. The Sponsor will not be responsible for failed attempts to contact a selected entrant. |
11. PRIZES:
| i. | Grand Prize: There will be two (2) Grand Prizes available to be won (one Grand Prize for each project category as described in Rule #5), each consisting of $5,000.00 CDN issued in the form of a cheque and will be made payable to the confirmed winner as his/her name appears on the entry information provided and one (1) $1000 dollar prize pack, each including: A 6 month subscription to TechNet Plus; Microsoft® Visual Studio 2008 Professional - Full Version; Microsoft® Expression Web 2 - Full Version; TechEd 2008 DVD Set; 30% off Certification voucher - applicable to all Microsoft Certification Exams; Microsoft® Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite - Evaluation Software; Microsoft® Expression Studio 2 - Evaluation Software; Office Communications Server 2007 - Evaluation Software and A $100 Discount Coupon for DevTeach/SQL Teach Training. The approximate retail value of each Grand Prize is $6000.00 (CDN). Grand Prizes must be accepted as awarded without substitution and is not transferable. The Sponsor reserves the right, in the event that a Grand Prize or any component of a Grand Prize cannot be awarded as described for any reason, to substitute another prize or component of a prize of equal or greater value, without liability. |
| ii. | Runner-Up Prize: There will be eight (8) runner-up prizes, four (4) runner-up prizes for each project category (as described in Rule #5), each consisting of one (1) $1000 dollar prize pack, each including: A 6 month subscription to TechNet Plus; Microsoft® Visual Studio 2008 Professional - Full Version; Microsoft® Expression Web 2 - Full Version; TechEd 2008 DVD Set; 30% off Certification voucher - applicable to all Microsoft Certification Exams; Microsoft® Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Suite - Evaluation Software; Microsoft® Expression Studio 2 - Evaluation Software; Office Communications Server 2007 - Evaluation Software andA $100 Discount Coupon for DevTeach/SQL Teach Training. The approximate retail value of each runner prize is $1000.00 (CDN). |
| iii. | Secondary Prize: There will be ten (10) Secondary Prizes available to be won, each consisting of one (1) Microsoft Zune 4GB Digital Multimedia Device - HSA-00002. Approximate retail value of each Zune is $139.00 CDN. Secondary Prizes must be accepted as awarded. Secondary Prizes may not be sold, transferred and are not convertible to cash. The Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a Secondary Prize in whole or in part in the event that a Secondary Prize is unavailable. |
12. To be declared a Prize Winner, each selected entrant first must answer correctly, without assistance of any kind, whether mechanical or otherwise, a mathematical skill-testing question. Each selected entrant will also be required to sign a declaration and release form (the “release form”) confirming compliance with the official rules, acceptance of a Prize as awarded, without substitution, and releasing the Sponsor, its affiliated and related companies, advertising and promotional agencies, the independent contest organization and their respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, successors and assigns (collectively, the “released parties”) from any liability in connection with a grand prize or the Competition. The release form must be returned within the time period specified on the release form or the Prize will be forfeited. Prizes will be delivered by courier to the winners by the Sponsor, to the address listed on the entry form, within thirty (30) days of being declared a winner.
13. GENERAL: By entering the Competition entrants agree to abide by the Official Rules and the decisions of the independent contest organization with respect to all aspects of the Competition, which are final.
14. The Sponsor accepts no responsibility for loss, damage or claims caused by or resulting from the Competition or any Prize. By entering and accepting a Prize, each winner consents to the use of his/her name, address (city and province) and/or photograph without further remuneration, in connection with any publicity carried out by or on behalf of the Sponsor with respect to the Competition.
15. The Sponsor and the independent contest organization will not be responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete or destroyed entries; all such entries are void. The Sponsor and the independent contest organization do not assume any responsibility for incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry information, technical malfunctions, human or technical error, printing errors, lost, delayed or garbled data or transmissions, omission, interruption, deletion, defect or failures of any telephone or computer lines or networks, computer equipment, software or any combination thereof. Entry material/data that have been tampered with or altered are void. In the event it is determined that an entrant has entered in a fashion not sanctioned by these rules and/or has submitted more than the number of entries permitted by these rules, the entrant will be disqualified and all of the entries submitted by the entrant will be disqualified.
16. The Sponsor reserves the right, with the consent of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (the “Régie”) in the province of Québec, to terminate or amend this Competition at any time and in any way, without prior notice. Without limiting the foregoing, if, for any reason, the Competition is not capable of running as originally planned, as a result of tampering or infection by computer virus, the Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Competition and conduct the draw from all previously received eligible entries received by the Competition Closing Date. The Sponsor and the independent contest organization shall not be held responsible for any problems, errors or negligence that may arise or occur in connection with the Competition, including, but not limited to, any damage to an entrant’s computer equipment, system, software or any combination thereof, as a result of the entrant’s participation in this Competition.
17. For Québec residents only: Any litigation respecting the conduct or organization of a publicity contest may be submitted to the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux for a ruling; any litigation respecting the awarding of a prize may be submitted to the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux only for the purpose of helping the parties reach a settlement.
18. All entries become the permanent property of the Sponsor and none will be returned. No correspondence will be entered into, except with the selected entrants. The Competition is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws.
19. The Sponsor respects your right to privacy. Personal information collected from entrants will only be used by the Sponsor to administer the Competition and future promotions and, only if consent is given at the time of entry, to provide the entrants with information regarding upcoming promotions and/or events from the Sponsor. For more information regarding the manner of collection, use and disclosure of personal information by the Sponsor, please visit www.microsoft.ca
Microsoft Ignite I.T. Video Contest
OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES AND REGULATIONS
1. ABOUT THE MICROSOFT IGNITE I.T. VIDEO CONTEST: The Microsoft Ignite I.T. Video Contest is an online Contest whereby an entrant may submit a project that demonstrates an I.T. challenge or development he or she and/or his or her work colleagues encountered, how he or she brought about a solution that overcame that challenge and the impact that solution had on his or her work environment and/or community (the “Submission”).
2. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY: The “Microsoft Ignite I.T. Video Contest” (the “Contest”) is sponsored by Microsoft Canada Co. (the “Sponsor”). The Contest starts at 12:00:01 PM Eastern Time (“ET”) on January 6, 2009 and closes at 11:59:59 PM ET on February 15, 2009 (the “Contest Period”).
3. ELIGIBILITY: To enter and be eligible to win, a person must be a resident of Canada who has reached the age of majority in the jurisdiction in which he/she resides, be a Windows Live Messenger account holder at the time of entry (see section 4) and not be an employee of the Sponsor, its affiliated companies or agents, its respective advertising or promotional agencies, the independent contest organization or a member of any such employee’s immediate family (regardless of where they live) or persons with whom they are domiciled (whether related to the employee or not). In these Official Rules, “immediate family” includes mother, father, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, partner or spouse.
4. HOW TO SIGN UP FOR A FREE WINDOWS LIVE ID ACCOUNT: To become an account holder, log onto https://accountservices.passport.net/?lc=4105 and select the “Get Windows Live” button found on the bottom of the screen. Next, complete the registration entry form by entering a valid email address and select a user name and password. Then click “submit” to become a member. By clicking “submit”, you are agreeing to the terms of use in the Windows Live service agreement and Privacy Policy (see section 17).
5. HOW TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY: There are two (2) ways to submit an entry: 1/ In order to submit an entry into the Contest and be eligible for a prize, you must sign in with your Windows Live ID account (see section 4 on how to obtain an account). During the contest log onto www.microsoft.ca/ITawards click on the Windows Live ID “sign in” icon found at the top of the screen and enter your username and password. Next, enter your personal information including your full name, a valid email address, daytime telephone number (including area code), your job role, your team information (optional) including the team name and each individual team member’s name and role in the project; your company information (optional) including company name, type of business, business phone number (including area code) and complete mailing address (including postal code). Next, select the project category, either a) IT or, B) Developer, for which you are submitting and include an essay 4000 characters or less in the boxes provided (see section 6 for essay criteria). Next, upload a video by clicking on the “browse” button to upload a video (see section 7 for video criteria). Next, confirm that you have consent from participating team members (if applicable), agree to the privacy policy, terms and conditions and the official Contest rules. Upon doing so, click “next” to review your submission and make any necessary changes prior to submitting your entry. Next, click “submit” for your entry to be approved by the Sponsor. Within 3 business days of approval your submission will be posted to the website. 2/ On a plain piece of paper print your full name, complete address and daytime telephone and mail to: Microsoft Ignite I.T. Video Contest, Microsoft Canada Co., C/O R. Sowa, 1950 Meadowvale Blvd., Mississauga, ON, L5N 8L9.
PLEASE NOTE: All submissions must be created for—and have made a positive impact on—a community or business problem; must be created within the last 24 months prior to submission; must not have been submitted to the MSDN Code Awards or the TechNet Innovation Awards in the past, and must be created using at least one Microsoft-based technology. All submissions must be received on or before 11:59:59 PM ET on February 15, 2009 (the “Contest Closing Date”). Limit of one (1) submission per entrant during the Contest Period.
6. ESSAY FORMAT AND CONTENT. Each submitted essay must contain a title and be divided into three (3) paragraphs
| i. | profanity, sexually explicit, offensive, harassing, disparaging, libelous or other inappropriate content; |
| ii. | language suggesting or encouraging illegal activity; |
| iii. | commercial content that promotes any product or service, other than those of the Sponsor and essays must not infringe anyone’s rights. |
| iv. | any copyrighted works (other than as owned by the Contest entrant) |
| v. | be submitted only once and must: |
| vi. | contain entirely original materials; |
| vii. | be no longer than 4000 characters. |
| Each submission satisfying the requirements set out above and submitted in accordance with these official rules will, subject to the discretion of the Sponsor, be an eligible Contest submission entry. |
7. VIDEO FORMAT AND CONTENT. Each submitted video:
| i. | must be submitted in one of the following file formats: mpeg 1/2/4, 3GP, 3G2, DV, DivX, Xvid, wmv, avi, mpg, asf |
| ii. | must be no more than 1 minute in total running time; |
| iii. | must demonstrate the challenge, solution and impact of the project submitted; |
| iv. | must be less than 10 MB in file size; |
| v. | must be intended for family audience viewing and contain only content that, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor is suitable for all persons, including persons under the age of 13; |
| vi. | must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor, contain any nude, sexually explicit, disparaging, discriminatory, libelous or other inappropriate content; |
| vii. | must not, in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, contain any commercial content that promotes any product or service other than the Sponsor; |
| viii. | may be submitted only once; |
| ix. | must not contain any copyrighted works (other than as owned by the Competition entrant) |
| x. | must contain entirely original materials. |
8. RANDOM DRAW:
| A random draw will be held on April 15, 2009 at 10:00 am (ET) in Mississauga, ON from among all eligible entries received by the Contest Closing Date. Odds of being selected depend on the total number of eligible video and mail-in entries received by the Contest Closing Date. The selected entrant will be contacted by mail or telephone within ten (10) business days of the draw date. If the selected entrant cannot be contacted by mail or telephone within ten (10) days of the draw date or if a package sent via mail is returned as undeliverable, the selected entrant will be disqualified and another entrant will be randomly selected until such time as contact is made by mail or telephone with a selected entrant or there are no more eligible entries, whichever comes first. The Sponsor will not be responsible for failed attempts to contact a selected entrant. |
9. PRIZES:
Grand Prize. There will be one (1) Grand Prize available to be won consisting of one (1) Xbox 360 Elite (model number X13-49592-05) and one (1) Xbox 360 Game “Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition”. The total approximate retail value of the Grand Prize is $528.99 (CDN). Grand Prize must be accepted as awarded without substitution and is not transferable. The Sponsor reserves the right, in the event that the Grand Prize or any component of the Grand Prize cannot be awarded as described for any reason, to substitute another prize or component of a prize of equal or greater value, without liability.
10. To be declared a winner, the selected entrant first must answer correctly, without assistance of any kind, whether mechanical or otherwise, a mathematical skill-testing question. The selected entrant will also be required to sign a declaration and release form (the “release form”) confirming compliance with the official rules, acceptance of the Grand Prize as awarded, without substitution, and releasing the Sponsor, its affiliated and related companies, advertising and promotional agencies, the independent contest organization and their respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, successors and assigns (collectively, the “released parties”) from any liability in connection with the Grand Prize or the Contest. The release form must be returned within the time period specified on the release form or the Grand Prize will be forfeited. Grand Prize will be delivered by courier to the winner by the Sponsor, to the address listed on the entry form, within thirty (30) days of being declared a winner.
11. GENERAL: By entering the Contest entrants agree to abide by the Official Rules and the decisions of the independent contest organization with respect to all aspects of the Contest, which are final.
12. The Sponsor accepts no responsibility for loss, damage or claims caused by or resulting from the Contest or any Prize. By entering and accepting the Grand Prize, the winner consents to the use of his/her name, address (city and province) and/or photograph without further remuneration, in connection with any publicity carried out by or on behalf of the Sponsor with respect to the Contest.
13. The Sponsor and the independent contest organization will not be responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete or destroyed entries; all such entries are void. The Sponsor and the independent contest organization do not assume any responsibility for incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry information, technical malfunctions, human or technical error, printing errors, lost, delayed or garbled data or transmissions, omission, interruption, deletion, defect or failures of any telephone or computer lines or networks, computer equipment, software or any combination thereof. Entry material/data that have been tampered with or altered are void. In the event it is determined that an entrant has entered in a fashion not sanctioned by these rules and/or has submitted more than the number of entries permitted by these rules, the entrant will be disqualified and all of the entries submitted by the entrant will be disqualified.
14. The Sponsor reserves the right, with the consent of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (the “Régie”) in the province of Québec, to terminate or amend this Contest at any time and in any way, without prior notice. Without limiting the foregoing, if, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as originally planned, as a result of tampering or infection by computer virus, the Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Contest and conduct the draw from all previously received eligible video and mail in entries received by the Contest Closing Date. The Sponsor and the independent contest organization shall not be held responsible for any problems, errors or negligence that may arise or occur in connection with the Contest, including, but not limited to, any damage to an entrant’s computer equipment, system, software or any combination thereof, as a result of the entrant’s participation in this Contest.
15. For Québec residents only: Any litigation respecting the conduct or organization of a publicity contest may be submitted to the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux for a ruling; any litigation respecting the awarding of a prize may be submitted to the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux only for the purpose of helping the parties reach a settlement.
16. All entries become the permanent property of the Sponsor and none will be returned. No correspondence will be entered into, except with the selected entrants. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws.
17. The Sponsor respects your right to privacy. Personal information collected from entrants will only be used by the Sponsor to administer the Contest and future promotions and, only if consent is given at the time of entry, to provide the entrants with information regarding upcoming promotions and/or events from the Sponsor. For more information regarding the manner of collection, use and disclosure of personal information by the Sponsor, please visit www.microsoft.ca