2018 China-US Young Maker Competition

Co-Making the Future.

Total prize pool of $3,000+

2018 China-US Young Maker Competition
2018 China-US Young Maker Competition
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Full rules

Competition Overview. The “Co-making the Future”, China-US Young Maker Competition (the “Competition”) is an activity supporting the China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong and former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The Competition allows makers to create innovative products focusing on the areas of community development, education, environmental protection, health & fitness, energy, transportation and other areas of sustainable development by combining innovative design and cutting-edge technologies. The Competition will select Finalists from both the US and China to compete in the final stage in Mainland China. The Competition requires competence in the area of product design and computer engineering. The Competition will have corresponding US and China regional selection process to determine the Finalists. The US Regional Competition will consist of two stages. In stage one, Contestants will enter their submissions online and in stages two individuals/teams will be selected as semi-finalists. The Finals will be held in August, 2018, in China and the top ten individuals/teams will be awarded.

Definitions.

  • “Administrator” – Hackster.
  • “Content” – user-generated content submitted by a Contestant or any Member of a Team, and includes, without limitation, the Project Submission and Finalist Content.
  • “Competition” – The Co-Making the Future- a China-US Young Maker Competition.
  • “Contestant” – an Individual that meets the applicable eligibility requirements set forth in Section 3 of these Official Rules, signifies agreement to these Official Rules in full, and participates in the Competition.
  • “Semi-Finalist” -- a Contestant who has been selected pursuant to the Official Rules to participate in the Finalist Phase of the Competition. If Contestant is a Team, then each Member of the Team is deemed to be a Semi-Finalist.
  • “Finalist”-- a Contestant who has been selected to join the Finals Phase in China. Finalist must hold valid passport and China Visa for travel.
  • “Finals Phase”-- all contestants come together for the Finals.
  • “Semi-Finalist Content” – content produced by each Semi-Finalist, including one or more Prototypes; a video demonstrating the Product’s possible uses;
  • “Functional Prototypes” – a working model (including hardware and software) to demonstrate the Product’s functionalities, which may or may not also demonstrate the Product’s physical appearance.
  • “Project Submission” – collectively, a Product Statement and a corresponding Product Video.
  • “Immediate Family” – an Individual who is a spouse, parent, sibling, child, or household member.
  • “Individual” – a natural person.
  • “IRS” – the Internal Revenue Service, which is the tax authority for the United States.
  • “Member” – an individual participating in the Competition as part of a Team.
  • “Organizers” - The Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China.
  • “Co-organizers” - Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, Tsinghua University, Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group, and Google Information Technology (China) Company Limited.
  • “Prize Acceptance Documents” – all of the documents referenced in Subsection 7(b)(iii), and any other document required to be executed by Co-organizers as described in the Official Rules by a potential winner prior to being confirmed and validated as a Finalist or winner in the Competition.
  • “Product” – Each Semi-Finalist’s Project based on that Semi-Finalist’s Regional Selection Contest Submission.
  • “Product/Project Statement” – the completed answers to the online questionnaire required during the Regional Selection Contest Submission Phase concerning the Contestant’s product idea, its overall design and technical requirements, business concept, and the relevant category, as described in Subsection 7(a)(ii).
  • “Product Video” - a short pitch video (a maximum of three (3) minutes in length) which complements a Product Statement, as described in Subsection 7(a)(v).
  • “Profile Information” – the personal information required under subsection 6(a) and/or 6(b). This information may be used to identify an Individual for purposes of administering the Challenge.
  • “Prototype” – A three-dimensional representations of the Product. The representation must be functional.
  • “Released Parties” -- The Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China, Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, Tsinghua University, Beijing Gehua Cultural Development, Google Information Technology (China) Company Limited and Hackster, Judges, participating vendors of the Co-organizers and Administrator, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies, and prize suppliers, and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents.
  • “Submission” – Content uploaded to the Competition website by a Contestant (if acting alone) or by a Team.
  • “Team” – a group of no more than Five (5) Individuals, including a Team Leader, who participate together in the Competition.
  • “Team Leader” – the Individual who provides the names and contact information of Members of the Team and acts as the contact and representative for the Team.

Eligibility.

  • The Competition is open to Individuals who meet all of the following requirements:
  • Residency – Individuals must have legal residence in The United States of America (including only the 50 states and D.C.).
  • Age – Individuals must be between the ages of 18 and 40 years old in his or her jurisdiction of residence.
  • Exclusions
  • Individuals must NOT be (i) an employee of Google Information Technology (China) Company Limited, Tsinghua University, Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group, Hackster, Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China, Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, any corporate parent or subsidiary company of any of the foregoing corporate entities; (ii) a member of the Immediate Family of an employee of any of the foregoing corporate entities in this subsection.
  • Any submission for which the Prototype or Product have been commercialized (i.e., the Prototype or Product has completed the phase of concept planning and framework designing, and entered into the phase of precise development on the basis of marketable operation) or has received any investable funding in the form of grants, prizes, debts, or equity funding, including but not limited to funding from venture capitalists, angel investors, or private funding sources, is excluded from participating in this Competition.
  • Employer Permission/Acknowledgement – Individuals must be able to participate in the Competition without violation of any third-party rights or obligations, including without limitation an employer’s policies or procedures. To the extent an Individual’s participation is within the scope of his or her employment as an employee, contractor, or agent, the Individual must have notified his or her employer or principal for whom that Individual is working at the time of entry of participation in the Competition, including without limitation the potential receipt of a prize. For the avoidance of doubt, Individuals who are students, instructors, or professors at a university, or otherwise employed by a university must meet the requirements of this subsection.
  • Visa – Individuals must possess a valid passport for travel outside the United States with a visa valid for travel to Mainland China during the Finalist Phase. (If applicable).
  • Language – Individuals must fluently speak, read, write, and understand English.

General Conditions of Participation.

  • By clicking on the Official Rules check box on the entry page, Contestant signifies Contestant’s acceptance of these Official Rules in their entirety. Receipt of any prize offered in this Competition is dependent upon Contestant’s compliance in full with these Official Rules.
  • Contestant agrees that Administrator’s decisions as to the determination of winners are final and binding.
  • Co-organizers seek no promises or favoritism for itself or any of its related companies or affiliates in exchange for the opportunity to participate in the Competition. By entering the Competition, Contestant represents, warrants, and agrees that (i) Contestant’s participation in the Competition – including acceptance of any prize – will not violate any law, regulation, policy or rule in Contestant’s country, state, province, or local municipal location; and (ii) any potential prize is not in exchange for an agreement to influence a recent, pending or anticipated act or decision that may result in Co-organizers obtaining or retaining business or a business advantage.
  • To the extent permitted under applicable law, Contestant agrees that Co-organizers may cancel, suspend and/or modify the Competition, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, human error or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Competition.
  • Contestant agrees that Co-organizers may disqualify any Contestant it finds to be tampering with the operation of the Competition or to be acting in violation of the Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any Contestant to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Competition may be a violation of the law, and Co-organizers reserves all rights to seek damages and other remedies (including attorneys’ fees) from any such Contestant to the fullest extent permitted by law.
  • Timing of Competition Phases. Time frames for Competition phases are set forth in the chart below. All times are expressed in U.S. Eastern Time (“ET”).

*The start time of the Competition will be at 12:00 p.m. PST. Administrator’s computer is the official time-

keeping device for the Competition. Contestant is responsible for determining the corresponding time in his, her, or its jurisdiction. Please see world clock http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock for time zone

conversion information. Dates listed in the above chart may vary slightly. If any date is changed, Administrator will post the changes on the promotion site. Please check the site regularly.

How to Register

  • Registration of an Individual – Visit https://www.hackster.io/contests/ 2018chinausyoungmakercompetition and provide the following information upon request to verify eligibility:
  • Jurisdiction of residence;
  • Age; and
  • First and last name; and
  • A valid, functioning email address; and
  • A telephone or mobile phone number.
  • Express consent – Contestant must expressly agree to
  • The Official Rules; and
  • A privacy disclosure with reference to the applicable privacy policy for the Competition; and
  • Promotional Release.
  • Use of Teams – Contestants may enter as a Team.
  • A Team may have no more than five (5) Members, including the Team Leader. On a Team, the Team Leader is the contact and representative for the Team. All Members must
  • meet the eligibility requirements set forth in Section 3;
  • be identified by the Team Leader at the time of Team Leader’s registration; and
  • provide Profile Information pursuant to subsection 6(a) and express consent pursuant to subsection 6(b) to confirm Member status.
  • A Member’s failure to provide Profile Information and provide express consent in accordance with this subsection 6(c)(i)(c) is grounds for disqualification of that Member.
  • Team Leader may substitute one or more Members on a Team until the last day of Project and Video Submission for US Regional Selection Contest.
  • The Team Leader must notify Members that in order to participate in the Competition, they must v i s i t https:// www. hackster. io/ contests/ 2018chinausyoungmakercompetition to provide their Profile Information and confirm their express consent to the items in subsection 6(b) by the last day of the Project and Video Submission phase, or the Members will be disqualified and their data deleted.

Competition Structure/Phases

  • Stage 1 Project Phase
  • Individuals or teams need to decide on the scope of the project based on the following themes/topics:
  • Community development, education, environment protection, health & fitness, transportation, energy and other areas of sustainable development. Contestant must complete in English an online questionnaire about Contestant’s product idea, its overall design and technical requirements, Contestant’s business concept, and the category in which it best fits. Submit the completed online questionnaire to enter your “Project Submission.” Contestants are required to design, produce and demonstrate a functional prototype during the competition. The prototype should be based on open-source software and hardware.
  • The Organization Committee will provide recommendation on Competition technical platform and reference scheme for equipment and tools, and the contestants may choose on their own technical platforms and use applicable tools and equipment.
  • Contestant must create (in English only) and upload a short pitch video (a maximum of three (3) minutes in length) which complements the Contestant’s Product/Project Statement and further describes the product idea, its intended customer, how it works, and what makes it unique, and the team members introduction. This is Contestant’s “Product/Project Video.”
  • Contestant must upload the Product Video in accordance with the website’s instructions.
  • Contestant must provide the URL link to its video as instructed.
  • Collectively, a Product Statement and a corresponding Product Video constitute the “Project Submission.”
  • Contestant may modify or edit his, her, or its Project Submission until the last day of the Project Submission Phase.
  • The Project Submission must conform to the guidelines and content restrictions, set forth below in Section 10. Failure to conform constitutes grounds for disqualification.
  • Contestants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information divulged related to his, her, or its Projects Submissions.
  • Contestant's Project Submission will be judged by a panel of qualified judges in accordance with objective criteria and weighting as set forth below.
  • During the Judging – US Regional Selection Contest phase, the judging panel will select the 10 highest-scoring Project Submissions from all qualified entries.
  • In the event of a tie that will determine Finalist status for US Phase, the Contestant

whose Project Submission received the higher score for the Innovation and 5

Creativity criterion will be deemed the Semi-Finalist.

  • Contestants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information divulged related to his, her, or its Semi-Finalist Submissions.
  • Semi Finalist Phase
  • Co-organizers will notify up to 10 Contestants who are selected as Semi-Finalists on or around end of June, 2018, by email.
  • Travel: travel for up to five (5) Individuals (consisting of a Contestant having entered alone, or a Team Leader and up to Five (5) Members of a Team to Mainland China to participate in the Finalist Phase.
  • Trip packages includes
  • Coach-class round-trip air transportation from a major airport near each traveler’s home (determined by Co-organizers in its sole discretion) to mainland, China on or about 13 August 2018, and a return flight on or about 18 August 2018;
  • Up to seven (7) nights’ accommodations (up to Three standard rooms; each double occupancy); daily meals;
  • Attendance at a Final Awards Ceremony (all details determined by Co-organizers); and
  • Semi Finalists must travel on dates specified by Co-organizers or the prize will be forfeited. Travel should be arranged immediately upon confirmation of Finalist status, but no later than 1 August 2018.
  • Travel and accommodations are subject to availability. Travel must be round trip. Travel is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in these Official Rules, and those set forth by the Co-organizers’ airline carrier of choice as detailed in the passenger ticket contract. All expenses and incidental travel costs not expressly stated in the package description above, including but not limited to, ground transportation, most meals, incidentals, gratuities, passenger tariffs or duties, airline and airport fees, surcharges, service charges or facility charges, personal charges, security fees, taxes and all other expenses are the responsibility solely of each Finalist.
  • Each Finalist must have a valid passport and any other documents necessary for international travel to Mainland China. Travel restrictions, conditions and limitations may apply.
  • Co-organizers will not replace any lost, mutilated, or stolen tickets, travel vouchers or certificates. Approximate retail value of the trip (assuming 5 Members traveling): $3,000 per person USD. Actual value will vary based on airfare fluctuations and distance between departure and destination as well as the number of Individuals who travel. Finalists will not receive difference between actual and approximate retail value.
  • Contestants are required to make continuous and on-going improvement throughout the Competition and the final works should demonstrate creativity.
  • Contestant (and each Member thereof if Contestant is a Team) must within seven
  • days of the date of the email notice:
  • Submit a copy of an official government-issued identification for proof of identity, Residency, and age;
  • Agree, sign, and submit documents confirming
  • Eligibility;
  • Ownership of the rights to the technology and business ideas contained in the Project Submission;
  • Acceptance of the Finalist prize;
  • Agree to keep status as a Finalist confidential until Co-organizers publicly announce; and
  • Release of the Co-organizers, Administrator, and the Released Parties; 6
  • Agree, sign, and submit a publicity release;
  • Complete and submit to Administrator an IRS form W-9 (applicable to US residents) or an IRS form W8-BEN (applicable to non-US residents);
  • Agree to provide Co-organizers with the source file of the all videos created and presented for purposes of this Competition;
  • Agree to participate actively and in good faith in the Finalist Phase;
  • Certify that acceptance of any prize awarded in the Competition
  • Will not violate any third-party rights or obligations, including without limitation an employer’s policies or procedures; and
  • Is not in exchange for an agreement to influence a recent, pending or anticipated act or decision that may result in Co-organizers obtaining or retaining business or a business advantage;
  • Grant to Organizers and Co-Organizers, to the extent permitted under applicable law, a non- exclusive, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, publicly perform, transmit via the internet, and publicly display Contestant’s Product Video, Finalist Content, in whole or in part, solely for the purpose of administering this Promotion and in connection with marketing through December 31, 2018;
  • Confirm availability to travel in or to the Mainland China, must have up to date official travel documents (including passport and/or travel visa) on or before Finalist Phase (as described in greater detail in subsection 7(b)(ii) to participate in Finalist Phase during the respective time frames set forth in Section 5;
  • Represent and warrant that Contestant and each Member of Contestant’s Team, if applicable, shall not take any action or make any statement to disparage or adversely affect the name, reputation or goodwill of the Co-organizers, Administrator, or any of the Released Parties; and
  • Acknowledge the timing and requirements for travel associated with the Finalist Prize set forth in Section 7.
  • Finalist must produce Finalist Content, which includes:
  • A Functional Prototype;
  • Finalists will be required to provide all Finalist Content to Co-organizers before the Finals Judging on 16 August 2018.
  • Finalists will demo Prototype functions and idea description and present it at judging session on 16 August 2018.

Intellectual Property Retained by Contestant: Co-organizers do not claim ownership of your Project Submission and Finalist Content. At all times during and after the Competition, Contestants retain any intellectual property rights they may have that are contained in and to their Project Submission and Finalist Content. The protection of such intellectual property is the sole responsibility of the Contestant. Contestants should ensure that third parties do not have rights or claims on technologies included in the Contestants’ submissions that could block commercialization. Contestants agree to inform Co-organizers of the status of any intellectual property filings or searches related to their submissions.

Contestant’s Personal Information: The personal information you submit upon registration will be stored on a server in the United States of America and is subject to Administrator’s Privacy Notice Summary available at https://www.hackster.io/contests/ 2018chinausyoungmakercompetition. Co-organizers and Administrator have notified the U.S. Department of Commerce that they adhere by the rules of the Safe Harbor Framework available under http:// export.gov/safeharbor/. YOUR INFORMATION WILL BE STORED ON SERVERS LOCATED IN THE UNITED STATES, WHICH MAY NOT PROVIDE THE SAME LEVEL OF PROTECTION TO CONSUMERS’ PERSONAL DATA AS YOUR

OWN JURISDICTION. Contestants have the right to access, withdraw, and correct their personal information, and under certain circumstances to oppose the collection or processing of the information and request the status of Co-organizers' use or sharing of Contestant's personal information. Contestants may request such action by contacting Administrator at https:// www.hackster.io/contests/2018chinausyoungmakercompetition to make such requests. Administrator will share Contestant’s personal information with Co-organizers for purposes of notifying and confirming winners.

Content Guidelines & Restrictions: All content submitted in this Competition must comply with the guidelines and restrictions stated below.

Technical Guidelines and Restrictions:

  • All Content must be in English;
  • The video required in the Project Submission (a maximum of three (3) minutes in length); and
  • All time requirements will be strictly administered.

Content Restrictions:

  • Contestant owns or otherwise has all rights in Content necessary to participate in this Competition;
  • All Content must not contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including without limitation, intellectual property rights infringement, privacy, or publicity;
  • All Content must not disparage or adversely affect the name, brand image, reputation or goodwill of the Co-organizers or any other person or party affiliated with the Competition;
  • Contestant must have permission from all Individuals that appear in the video aspect of Content (if any) to use their name and likeness and to grant the rights set forth herein;
  • All Content submitted must not contain any viruses, worms, spy ware, or other components or instructions that are malicious, deceptive, or designed to limit or harm the functionality of a computer;
  • All Content must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous or libelous;
  • All Content must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age; and
  • All Content must not contain material that is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in any country where Content is created or that violates the terms and conditions of any third-party video platform to which content has been uploaded.

Winner Determination: Finalist Content will be judged by a panel of qualified judges in accordance with objective criteria and weighting as set forth below.

Winner Announcement and Requirements: The First Place Prize, Second Place Prize, and Third Prize winners of the final competition will be announced on 17 August 2018.

  • Winning is contingent upon the potential winning Finalist’s agreement to and execution of an amendment to the Prize Acceptance Documents confirming acceptance of the specific prize to be awarded to that Finalist.
  • The amendment to the Prize Acceptance Documents will include a requirement that Finalist agrees that for a limited time, no less than one year, following any commercialization of the Device product derived from Finalist’s Project Submission, Finalist and any of Finalist’s assignees will include a statement satisfactory to Co-organizers that communicates that the product was created as part of the Competition.

Prizes (values stated before taxes, if applicable):

  • ONE FIRST PLACE PRIZE: ¥100,000 RMB. (Approximately $15,000 USD).
  • THREE, SECOND PLACE PRIZES: ¥50,000 RMB. (Approximately $ 8,000 USD).
  • SIX, THIRD PLACE PRIZES: ¥30,000 RMB; (Approximately $5,000 USD);
  • Taxes and Other Restrictions and Limitations:
  • Stated prize values include taxes or other fees that may be due on Finalist’s receipt of a prize.
  • Other than travel, prizes will be awarded as cash or a cash equivalent.
  • All prizes, including cash or cash equivalent, will be provided to each Member of a Team pro-rata.
  • The prizes are non-transferable and no substitution is permitted, except with the express permission of Co-organizers.
  • Without limiting any of the prize exclusions set forth in this Section, winners are responsible for all tax reporting and payments that may be required under the laws of their respective jurisdictions.
  • By receipt of any prize, to the extent permitted by applicable law, winners release and hold harmless the Co-organizers and Released Parties from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Competition or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. This release does not apply to claims against Co-organizers or the Released Parties for damages because of personal injury or death, and to claims for damages in case of intent or gross negligence by Co-organizers or the Released Parties.
  • Nothing in these Official Rules is intended to exclude, restrict, or modify a Contestant’s rights under applicable consumer laws.
  • Opportunities to Win: Once a Finalist, a Contestant has a 1 in 64 chance of being the First Place Prize winner, a 3 in 63 chance of being Second Place Prize winner and 6 of 60 chance of being Third Place Prize winner.

Not an Offer of Employment: Nothing in these Official Rules is an offer or contract of employment of any kind with any entity. Contestant acknowledges that Contestant’s Project Submission, and Finalist Content have been submitted voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. Contestant acknowledges that no confidential, fiduciary, agency or other relationship or implied- in-fact contract now exists between Contestant and the Co-organizers or any of the Released Parties and that no such relationship is established by submission of any Content or material pursuant to these Official Rules.

Limitations of Liability: To the extent permitted under applicable law, Co-organizers and Released Parties are not liable for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Contestant, printing, typographical or other errors, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition; (2) technical failures of any kind, including without limitation, malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any aspect of the Competition; (4) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail; (5) any other claims of damages arising from participation in this promotion or acceptance or use of prizes; and (6) any claims by a Contestant that his or her or its submission is similar to or competitive with technologies or products independently developed by Co-organizers or received by Co-organizers from third parties, including from other Contestants.

Disputes:

  • Except where prohibited, Contestant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Competition or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually and without resort to any form of class action, (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Competition, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (3) under no circumstances will Contestant be permitted to obtain awards for, and Contestant hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses. Contestant also hereby waives any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased.
  • For Residents of the United States only: Any claim shall be resolved exclusively by the United States District Court for the District where Residents live;
  • For Residents of jurisdictions outside of the United States: All disputes arising out of, connected with, or relating in any way to this Competition shall be finally resolved by arbitration under the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) Rules. There shall be one arbitrator. Except where prohibited by law, the legal place of arbitration shall be the United States. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English. The governing law of the contract shall be the substantive laws of United States.
  • All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Contestant and Co-organizers in connection with the Competition, shall be governed by, and construed in

accordance with, the laws of the United States without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules, which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the United States.

Severability: If the application of any provision of these Official Rules to any particular facts or circumstances shall for any reason be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable by a court, arbitration panel or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction, then (a) the validity, legality and enforceability of such provision as applied to any other particular facts or circumstances, and the other provisions of these Official Rules, shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby; and

(b) such provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent possible. In addition, if any provision contained in these Official Rules shall for any reason be held to be excessively broad as to duration, geographical scope, activity or subject, it shall be construed by limiting and reducing it, so as to be enforceable to the extent compatible with applicable law. Co-organizers’ failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Publication of Winners: For a list of winners, visit www.chinaus-maker.org. The winner list will be posted no later than ten days after winner confirmation is complete.