Terms and Conditions: TIME’s 2022 Best Inventions Search
PARTICIPATION IN THIS COMPETITION CONSTITUTES PARTICIPANT ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
TIME’s 2022 Best Inventions Search (the “Search”) is a skills competition; chance will play no part in determining the award recipients of the Search. The submissions will be evaluated by judges with the intention of identifying award recipients in accordance with these Terms. See below for the complete details.
1. BINDING AGREEMENT: In order to participate in the Search, you must agree to these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”). Therefore, please read these Terms prior to submission to ensure you understand and agree. By uploading a submission in the Search, Participants agree to these Terms. Participants may not upload a submission to the Search and will not be considered for any award described in these Terms unless they agree to these Terms. These Terms form a binding legal agreement between Participants and TIME with respect to the Search.
2. PROMOTER: The Search is provided by TIME USA, LLC. (“TIME” or “Promoter”), with offices at 3 Bryant Park, New York, NY 10036.
3. ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible to participate in the Search, you (“Participant”) must: (1) be at least the age of majority in your country, state, province, or jurisdiction of residence (and at least twenty (20) years old in Taiwan) at the time of submission; (2) not be a resident of any of the following countries; the Balkans, Belarus, Burma, Cote D’ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, or Zimbabwe; (3) not be a person or entity under U.S. export controls or sanctions; and (4) have access to the Internet as of April 26, 2022. Participants agree that if considered for an award they will provide any additional necessary information or consents necessary to confirm eligibility as an award recipient. Failure to provide additional information or consents will be grounds for disqualification, unless prohibited under applicable law. Search is void in the Balkans, Belarus, Burma, Cote D’ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Zimbabwe and where prohibited by law. Employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of TIME, their respective parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, advertising and promotion agencies, representatives, and agents (“Search Entities”), and members of the Search Entities and their immediate families (parents, siblings, children, spouses, and life partners of each, regardless of where they live) and members of the households (whether related or not) of such employees, interns, contractors, officers, and directors are ineligible to participate in this Search. Promoter reserves the right to verify eligibility and to adjudicate on any dispute at any time.
4. COMPETITION PERIOD: The Search begins at 12:00:00 A.M. Pacific Time (PT) Zone in the United States on March 15, 2022 and ends at 11:59:59 P.M. PT on May 16, 2022 (“Search Period”). TIME reserves the right to modify search dates. PARTICIPANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS.
5. HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
(a) Participants will be tasked with creating or sharing an original product, structure or service (“Invention”) that has come to market (“débuted”) and/or been publicly announced and/or is expected to hit a major milestone between Nov. 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022. Examples of major milestones include: surpassing a sales goal, winning an industry accolade, securing an important partnership, announcing an expansion, etc. If the Invention has not yet come to market / débuted, it will be important to demonstrate to the TIME evaluation team proof of concept via a sophisticated rendering and/or working prototype, and a clear plan to make the Invention a reality.
(b) General Entry Fees are as follows:
• Before 11:59:59pm PT on March 28, 2022 – $495
• March 29, 2022 until 11:59:59pm PT on May 2, 2022 – $695
• May 3, 2022 until 11:59:59pm PT on May 16, 2022 – $895
• Submission for consideration in each of up to five (5) additional categories – $125
Failure to provide the appropriate entry fee for any Submission will result in such Submission being deemed void. TIME, in its sole discretion, may approve requests for the waiver of the General Entry fee based on the financial needs of the person(s) making the request.
TIME reserves the right to modify the search dates.
(c) Incomplete Submissions, including but not limited to those Submissions that do not address the requirements set forth in these Terms and Conditions, may be disqualified at TIME’s sole discretion. During the Search Period Participants can visit time.com/best-inventions and follow the instructions to (i) complete the provided registration form, including basic contact details and payment information; (ii) provide five (5) written statements each describing (a) what the Invention is, (b) why the Invention was invented and what problem it is trying to solve, (c) who the target audience is, (d) why the Invention is groundbreaking and (e) how the Invention has demonstrated success and/or proof of concept, with an emphasis on milestones achieved on or after November 1, 2021; (iii) upload up to five (5) images of the Invention; and (iv) identify which of the following thirty two (32) categories the Invention should be evaluated in: accessibility; apps and software; artificial intelligence; augmented & virtual reality; automotive; beauty; connectivity; consumer electronics; crypto and blockchain; design; education; entertainment & gaming; experimental; fitness; green energy; food & drink; home health; household; medical care; metaverse; mobile; outdoors; parenting; productivity; robotics; social good; style; sustainability; toys and play; transportation; travel; wellness (collectively, the “Submission”). (TIME reserves the right to modify category names or eliminate categories at our own discretion.) As part of the Submission, Participants will also have the option to identify up to five (5) additional categories in which the Invention should be evaluated, at an incremental cost of $125 USD per category. TIME shall have the right to assign an Invention to any category it deems appropriate, in its sole discretion, if TIME determines that a category is more appropriate for an Invention than the category designated by a Participant.
All Submissions will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the email address used on the registration form, and a potential award recipient may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder for that email address. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned to an email address by an Internet service provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is a Participant’s sole responsibility to review and understand his/her company’s policies regarding participation in promotions such as this. The provision of any award will be subject to such company policies. If, for whatever reason, any potential award recipient is unable to accept an award due to company policies or for any other reason, the award may be forfeited, Promoter will have no further obligation to such Participant, and Promoter has the right to award an alternate Participant.
6. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: In addition to meeting the criteria in section 5 above, each Submission must also meet the following criteria:
(a) It must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libelous, or contain any content that is inappropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, tortious, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Search.
(b) It must not contain content, material, or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to any applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws and regulations in any state, province or other jurisdiction where Submission is created.
(c) It must not contain any content (excluding Promoter’s content as required herein), material or element that displays any third party influencer, advertising, slogans, logos, trademarks, or which indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by a third party or commercial entity or that is not within the spirit of the Search, as determined by Promoter, in its sole discretion.
(d) It must be an original product or service that does not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, material or element that is owned, in whole or in part, by or subject to any rights of a third party or entity. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Invention may display, provide access to, or contain content such as video, audio, or written works, belonging to a third party, provided that (i) such third party has explicitly granted to Participant in writing any and all necessary rights, permissions, clearances, or other authorization to use the content in connection with the Invention, (ii) that said third party’s ownership interest and grant of rights to Participant are fully disclosed to Promoter in writing at the time of submission, (iii) without limiting the generality of any other provisions hereunder, Participant fully indemnifies Promoter from and against any claims of whatever nature from and against said third party, and (iv) that the Invention and the Participant are otherwise in compliance with the Terms.
(e) It cannot contain any content, element or material that violates a third party’s publicity, privacy, non-disclosure/confidentiality, or intellectual property rights.
Submission must not have won any previous award that may be in conflict with this Search, and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity. By posting a Submission, Participant warrants and represents that he/she consents to the Submission and use of the Submission in the Search and to its use as otherwise set forth herein.
Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Participant who submits a Submission that does not meet the Submission Requirements as determined by Promoter. By entering a Submission, Participant hereby grants permission for the Submission to be shared on any websites owned or controlled by Promoter, any social media channels of Promoter (including but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) or other websites. Participant agrees that Search Entities are not responsible for any unauthorized use of Submissions by third parties. Search Entities do not guarantee the posting of any Submission.
7. DETERMINATION OF AWARD RECIPIENTS: All eligible Submissions received by Promoter will be reviewed and considered by members of TIME’s Best Invention team, which includes TIME editors, TIME reporters and may include a subset of professional judges, based on a variety of factors which may include, without limitation: (i) impact – how compelling is the problem your invention is trying to solve; (ii) reach – how many lives will your invention impact; (iii) creativity – what sets your invention apart from others in its category; (iv) effectiveness – how well is your invention serving its intended purpose, and other factors determined by Promoter in its sole discretion to identify up to two hundred (200) recipients across up to thirty two (32) Invention categories to be eligible to receive the award below from Promoter (each, a “Recipient”). Promoter, or its designees, shall have the right to conduct telephone or web interviews with potential Recipients to assist them in identifying the award Recipients, and potential Recipients agree to be reasonably available for such interviews and understand that such interviews may be recorded by Promoter or its designee and used by Promoter in connection with the Search without further compensation, approval or notice. Potential Recipients will be notified by telephone, mail and/or email. The provision of any award is subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Terms. Promoter reserves the right not to provide any awards (or fewer than the quantity of awards identified above) if, in its sole discretion, there are not a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Submissions received. Participants acknowledge that judging of this kind is by its nature subjective.
Beginning on or about October 1, 2022, potential Recipients will be notified via mail, email and/or phone. If a potential Recipient does not respond to the notification attempt within forty-eight (48) hours from the notification attempt, then such potential Recipient may be disqualified. Potential Recipients may be required to sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release and provide any additional information, such as that referenced in section 9 below, that may be required by Promoter. Potential Recipient must return all such required documents within five (5) days following attempted notification or such potential Recipient will be deemed to have forfeited the award. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Terms, will be strictly enforced. Determinations of judges are final and binding.
8. AWARDS (200): Each Recipient will have his/her product/service featured in an upcoming issue of TIME and/or on TIME.com.
9. GENERAL CONDITIONS: All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. TIME reserves the right to disqualify any Participant from the Search if, in TIME’s sole discretion, it believes that a Participant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Search by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other Participants, viewers, TIME or the judges.
10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: As between TIME and the Participant, the Participant retains ownership of all intellectual and industrial property rights (including moral rights) in the contents of their Submission. Participants are responsible for securing proper intellectual property protections. TIME will not assume ownership responsibility. Participants are responsible for ensuring they are not infringing on the intellectual property rights of another individual or entity. As a condition of Submission, Participant grants TIME, its subsidiaries, agents and partner companies, a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to make, use, practice, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, distribute, publicly perform, create a derivative work from, and publicly display contents of the Submission: (1) for the purposes of allowing TIME and the judges to evaluate the Submissions for purposes of the Search, and (2) in connection with advertising, publication and promotion to the public or other groups, including, but not limited to, the right to make screenshots, animations and Submission montages available for future advertising, publication and promotional purposes.
11. PRIVACY: Participant acknowledges and agrees that TIME may collect, store, share and otherwise use any personally identifiable information provided to TIME throughout the Search, including, but not limited to, name, mailing address, phone number and email address. TIME will use this information in accordance with its Privacy Policy located at http://time.com/privacy/generic_privacy_new.html, including without limitation for administering the Search and verifying an Participant’s identity, age, postal address, email address, and telephone number in the event a Submission qualifies for an award and for marketing purposes as permitted by law. Participant’s information may also be transferred to countries outside the country of their residence, including the United States. Such other countries may not have privacy laws and regulations similar to, or deemed adequate by, those of the country of Participant’s residence. Participant has the right to request access, review, rectification or deletion of any personal data held by TIME in connection with the Search by writing to TIME at this email address: bestinventions@time.com.
12. PUBLICITY: By making a Submission hereunder, Participant agrees to Promoter and its agencies use of Participant’s name and/or likeness, contents of Submission for advertising and promotional purposes of the Search without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law. As described in section 7, Participants may be asked to complete a publicity release.
13. WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY: To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Participant indemnifies and agrees to keep the Search Entities indemnified at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the Participant and/or a breach of any representation or warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Participant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Search Entities from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all injuries, losses, liabilities, damages of any kind to persons or property, including death, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising out of or accruing in whole or in part, directly or indirectly from participant’s participation in the Search or any Search-related activity or (a) any submission or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by the Participant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy, (b) any misrepresentation made by the Participant in connection with the Search; (c) any non-compliance by the Participant with these Terms; (d) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Terms arising from or related to the Participant’s involvement with the Search; (e) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any award or participation in any Search-related activity or participation in this Search; (f) any malfunction or other problem with the Search website; (g) any error in the collection, processing or retention of submission information; or (h) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any award Recipient.
14. ELIMINATION: Any false or incorrect information provided within the context of the Search by any Participant concerning identity, age, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right, or non-compliance with these Terms, or the like, may result in the immediate elimination of the Participant from the Search.
15. INTERNET AND OTHER TECHNICAL ISSUES: Search Entities are not responsible for any malfunction or for any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, undeliverable or destroyed Submissions due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Search website, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital or satellite malfunctions which may limit an Participant’s ability to participate.
16. RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY OR DISQUALIFY: If for any reason the Search is not capable of running as Promoter intended, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Search, TIME reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, suspend or extend the Search and if terminated, TIME may elect to determine the potential award Recipients for the Search from among all eligible Submissions received prior to action taken. TIME further reserves the right to disqualify any Participant who violates these Terms or tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Search or Search Site. Any attempt by an Participant to deliberately damage any website, including the Search website, or undermine the legitimate operation of the Search is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, TIME reserves the right to seek any and all remedies available from any such Participant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.
17. NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP/WAIVER OF EQUITABLE RELIEF: Under no circumstances shall any Submission into the Search, the provision of any award, or anything in these Terms be construed as an offer or contract of employment with either TIME, or the Search Entities. Participants acknowledge that Submissions have been submitted voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. Participant acknowledges that no confidential, fiduciary, agency, or other relationship, or implied-in-fact contract now exists between Participant and TIME or the Search Entities and that no such relationship is established by Participant’s submission of a submission under these Terms. Each Participant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the relationship between the Participant and the Search Entities is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship, and that the Participant’s decision to provide the Participant’s Submission to Promoter for purposes of the Search does not place the Search Entities in a position that is any different from the position held by members of the general public with regard to elements of the Participant’s Submission. Each Participant understands and acknowledges that the Search Entities have wide access to ideas, stories, designs, and other materials, and that new ideas are constantly being submitted to it or being developed by their own employees. Each Participant also acknowledges that many ideas or stories may be competitive with, similar or identical to the Submission and/or each other in theme, idea, format or other respects. Each Participant acknowledges and agrees that such Participant will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of any Search Entity’s use of any such similar or identical material. Each Participant acknowledges and agrees that the Search Entities do not now and shall not have in the future any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of the copyright (or other intellectual property rights) in and to the Submission.
18. NO OBLIGATION TO USE: Promoter shall not have any obligation (express or implied) to use any Submission, or to otherwise exploit any Submission or, if commenced, to continue the distribution or exploitation thereof, and Promoter may at any time abandon the use of any Submission for any reason, with or without legal justification or excuse, and Participants shall not be entitled to any damages or other relief by reason thereof.
19. FURTHER DOCUMENTATION: If Promoter shall desire to secure additional assignments or certificates of engagement for a Submission or other documents as Promoter may reasonably require in order to effectuate the purposes and intents of these Terms, then each Participant agrees to sign the same upon Promoter’s request therefore.
20. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: TIME is not responsible for: (a) lost, late, damaged, destroyed, delayed, stolen, misdirected, incomplete, or illegible garbled Submissions received through impermissible or illegitimate channels, all of which will be disqualified; (b) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any telephone, computer online systems, computer equipment, website, server provider, network, hardware, or software; (c) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any website or service; (d) unauthorized intervention in any part of the submission process or the Search; or (e) printing, typographical, electronic, or human errors which may occur in the offer or administration of the Search or the processing of Submissions. Participants agree that any and all claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to actual out of pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in the Search (but not the development of the Submission) but in no event attorneys’ fees; and Participants waive all rights to claim any punitive, incidental, consequential, and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
21. FORUM AND RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL PROCEDURES: To the extent permitted by law, these Terms shall be governed by, subject to and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, United States of America, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Terms are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Search are hereby excluded, and all Participants expressly waive any and all such rights.
22. DISPUTES: By entering the Search, Participant agrees that all disputes between Participant and TIME of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of these Terms, shall be subject to TIME’s standard Terms of Service available at http://time.com/privacy/privacy_terms_service.html.
Contact us at bestinventions@time.com.
Last Modified March 16, 2022