Codathon Challenge Rules

This Challenge is organized by the Township of Langley (20336 65 Avenue, Langley, BC V2Y 3J1) (the “Organizer” or “We”).

The aim of these Challenge Rules (“Rules”) is to set out the terms and conditions governing your participation in the Challenge. By registering for this Challenge, you fully and unconditionally agree to comply with these Rules. If you do not agree with any of these Rules, do not register for this Challenge and do not submit an entry.

1. Term

This Challenge begins on January 14, 2021 and ends on February 23, 2021. The Challenge will be accessible 24 hours a day on the Township of Langley Codathon: Codingmatters website ( “the Challenge website”), subject to possible IT maintenance operations and malfunctions. Dates and times in these Rules refer to Pacific Standard Time (PST).

2. Agreeing to the Rules

Any eligible person who is registered on the Challenge website and enrols to participate in the Challenge (“Participant” or “You”), is required to review and accept these Rules. By accessing and accepting these Rules, You:

enter into a valid and enforceable contractual relationship with Organizer regarding participation in the Challenge. The registration and enrolment in the Challenge do not set up any subordination relationship between the Organizer and the Participant
fully and unconditionally agree to comply with all terms of use related to third-party services you use in conjunction with this challenge, and
fully and unconditionally agree to comply with these Rules. Participants express their agreement by checking an online box while enrolling for the Challenge.

In the case of non-respect of these Rules, the Participant will be immediately disqualified from the Challenge and no prize will be awarded.

3. Registration and Participation in the Challenge

To take part in the Challenge, we must have received your completed registration by January 31, 2021.

To register, the Participant must acknowledge these Rules and truthfully and accurately completed required information, such as full name, email address, etc.

Any registration based on inaccurate, false or incomplete information will result in the Participant’s disqualification. Refusing collection, recording and use of their personal data that is strictly necessary to perform the Challenge will result in the Participant’s disqualification. Participant is solely responsible for the information he/she provides. Any intentional or non-intentional mistake, anomaly or inconsistency, regarding this information, may result in the Participant’s disqualification. Organizer reserves the right to proceed all necessary verifications regarding the Participant’s identity, postal and/or email address.

Deletion of a Participant’s user account on the Challenge website will be deemed as a withdrawal from the Challenge. In this case, the Participant, regardless of whether the deletion results from the Participant’s personal act or not, will not participate in the Challenge, and will not obtain any compensation.

You must also have accepted the Rules as well as the Terms and Conditions of Use and the Privacy Policy, during the registration to the Challenge.

Registration for and participation in the Challenge is free, with no purchase or payment obligation. An individual may only enter once in the competition.

4. Eligibility

The Challenge is open to Participants with skills or experience in computer-science who meet the following criteria:

(a) are at least 18 years old;

(b) legally residing in Canada, excluding residents of the Province of Quebec;

Each Participant participate only once.

All the documents that may confirm the Participant’s eligibility will be required prior to awarding any prizes (e.g. identity document, registration, student card etc.).

This Challenge is only open to residents of Canada.

5. Purpose of the Challenge and Participation

Individual Participants may elect to form or join a team (“Team”) of three(3) members maximum. Each Team member must be eligible to participate and have accepted these Rules. Organizer may disqualify any Team (and all its members) in the case where any one member is not eligible or otherwise violates these Rules.

The goal of the Challenge is for Participants to submit contributions (or projects, submissions) addressing one of the themes determined by the Organizer on the Challenge website (the “Brief”) and that are formalized by deliverables.

The Brief includes information regarding various deadlines, details of the prizes, Organizer requirements etc. The rules are the reference that prevails in terms of information, regardless of all information published elsewhere about this challenge.

6. Deliverables

During the Challenge, Participants may send the Organizer materials (such as texts, presentations, videos, prototypes, etc.) relating to their project in response and as a solution to the Organizer’s Challenge (the “Deliverable(s)”).

To be eligible, Deliverables must (1) address a specific issue in one of the themes set out in the Brief, (2) be in a common digital format, such as DOC, PDF, PPT, PPTX, MP3, MPEG, MOV, MP4, and (3) in general terms must comply with these Rules. Deliverables must be provided in English.

Deliverable will be disqualified if it:

cannot be downloaded,
is not in the right format,
is not in English,
is incompatible, illegible, or unintelligible.

Prototypes must be developed using Microsoft Azure and at a minimum, be accessible to the Organizer. The Organizer will provide Microsoft Azure environment codes with a value of up to $150 per participating team, and documentation for activating the Microsoft Azure environment (the “Sponsored Content”), provided that participants may only use Sponsored Content solely for the purpose of participating in this Challenge.

By submitting a Deliverable, Participants represent and warrant that:

The Deliverable includes exclusively contributions from the Participant or their Team.
Otherwise, if content from a third party has been used in the development of the Deliverable, all rights, authorizations and agreements necessary to submit the Deliverable and grant the rights mentioned herein have been obtained. The existence of uncredited third-party contributions in the Deliverable will result in the disqualification of the Deliverable and the related Participants;
No other individual and/or entity is entitled to claim any rights from the use of the Deliverable; and
The content of the Deliverable does not and will not infringe or violate any rights of any third party or entity, including, without limitation, intellectual property rights, privacy, competition law, confidentiality, or any contractual or extracontractual right. All Deliverables suspected of any violation of law(s) and/or any third party’s right will be ineligible.

Participants are responsible for and shall bear any costs or expenses associated with preparing and submitting Deliverables. Participants assume all risk of damaged, lost, late, incomplete, invalid, incorrect or misdirected Deliverables.

7. Challenge Process

Challenge Rounds. The Challenge consists of several rounds:

Round One. Registrations and high-level proposals to the challenge are accepted January 14, 2021 to January 31, 2021. At the end of this Round, up to 50 teams will be selected to proceed to the Final Round.
Round Two. Participants are required to provide the Organizer a functional prototype for this Final Round.

Proposals. A Deliverable comprised of a detailed description of how a Participant or Team intends to address the selected challenge, including what technologies will be leveraged must be provided.

Deliverable. If a Participant or Team does not upload a Deliverable on the Challenge website before the deadline, this will be considered as a withdrawal from the Challenge. The Participant or Team may not join the Challenge and may not obtain any compensation from the Organizer.

Selection Criteria. Deliverables will be judged by a panel. You agree and acknowledge that the Challenge relies on your creativity, capacity, ability, and ingenuity to solve difficult problems. The Challenge does not depend, even partially, on chance or luck, and therefore should not be considered as a lottery. Under no circumstances are factors such as appearance, religion, membership in a trade union, political opinions or sexual orientation considered.

Notification to Participants. Once selection has been completed, Participants will be notified by email, phone, or by other means, at Organizers discretion, of the results of each Round. The Organizer will be free to alter the dates on which results are released should this become necessary due to the number of projects to be assessed. The ranking decided by the final jury will be announced to the Participants that are finalists.

1. Round One

All Round One Deliverables must be received by Organizer on or before January 31, 2021. Deliverables must meet the specifications set out in Section 6, above, and include:

A 5 to 10-slide presentation of their proposed Project produced using the template available for download from the Resources section on the Challenge website. The presentation can be provided in PowerPoint or PDF format.

2. Round Two

All Round Two Deliverables must be received by Organizer on or before February 18, 2021. Deliverables must meet the specifications set out in Section 6, above, and include:

A 5 to 10-slide presentation of their completed Project produced using the template available for download from the Resources section on the Challenge website. The presentation can be provided in PowerPoint or PDF format.
A link to a functional prototype that is developed using Microsoft Azure.

The Final Round may also include a (virtual) oral presentation describing the project and demonstrating the functioning prototype delivered by the Participants. The Organizer will schedule the oral presentation with the Participants.

At the end of the Round Two, the jury will choose the winning projects and will rank the finalists.

8. Prizes

The prizes to be awarded to Challenge winners are subject to all of the following. They are awarded to the winners of the Challenge and are subject to compliance with the following cumulative conditions:

The Deliverables comply with Section 6 (Deliverables);
Each Participant of a winning project complies with Sections 9 and 11;
It can be proven that the winning Participants fulfill the conditions of eligibility of Section 4.

Prizes will only be delivered to the verified winners. Please allow twelve (12) weeks for delivery. Return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. No prize will be awarded to winners who do not fulfill the above. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Organizer reserves the right to not award any or all prizes in the event that there is an insufficient number of eligible Participants or Deliverables that meet the minimum selection criteria, as determined in the Organizer’s sole discretion.

Subject to the Terms and Conditions, once confirmed by Organizer, the winner(s) will receive their prizes as described on the Challenge website. Each member of a Participant Team will receive its own prize. In the event that a cash prize is offered, the team will split the cash prize.

No assignment or transfer of prizes is allowed by a winner. If a potential winner cannot be reached, is unable to accept the prize or any portion of the prize for any reason, Organizer shall have no further obligation to such potential winner. Organizer will not replace any lost or stolen prizes after being awarded to winners. Winners will accept the prize “as it is”. Organizer disclaims any warranty regarding the Prizes.

In the event a Participant (a winner) cannot be reached, by email or by phone, for more than three (3) months after the first attempt to reach them was made, he/she will be deemed as having waived their right to claim the prize and will not be entitled to any prize or any kind of compensation.

If the prize as initially planned is unavailable, Organizer will be free to substitute another prize of similar value. Any such decision is at the Organizer's sole discretion.

Any Participant who does not fulfill the conditions of Participation as provided in the Rules during their registration and/or at any time during the Challenge will be summarily disqualified from the Challenge without prior notice and will not be entitled to any prize. If a prize is awarded to a Participant who does not meet the conditions of Participation when registering or throughout the duration of the Challenge, the Organizer reserves the right to require the Participant to return the awarded prize.

9. Communication

The Participant acknowledges and consents that Organizer & partners of the organizer may, throughout North America following the Final Round using the Challenge for publicity, including for Organizers marketing purposes, (by any means and through any format (website, advertising banners, social networks, newsletter, press release) now known or unknown to date, free of charge or for a consideration.

In particular, you consent the using, by the Organizer, of your name and surname, your city and region of residence, your image, the information regarding the Prize (if you are a winner), the name of your company and its distinctive signs (if you are a Start-up) and any other personal data that you submit with your Deliverables as well as the content of your Deliverables relating to the Challenge.

Such use does not entitle the winner to any other payment than the Prize he/she received.

10. Confidentiality

The Organizer has no obligation to keep the information contained in the Deliverables Confidential. In general terms, when submitting any Deliverables, the Participants understand, agree and accept that any information contained therein may be publicly disclosed by the Organizer.

Furthermore, Participants acknowledge that the Organizer may currently or in the future develop information internally, or receive information from other parties, that is similar to the information contained in any of the projects. Accordingly, nothing herein shall prohibit Organizer from independently acquiring, developing, or having developed for it, products, concepts, systems, services, or techniques that are similar to or compete with the products, concepts, systems or techniques contemplated by or embodied in any Deliverable.

The Participants recognize that other Participants, individuals or entities may have provided Organizer or others, or made public, or may in the future submit, or make public, content that is the same or similar to any piece of information contained in any of the projects. Hence, the Participants acknowledge, agree and accept that the Organizer shall have the right to use such same or similar materials and that the Participants will not be entitled to any compensation arising from the Organizer’s use of such materials.

11. Intellectual Property

Definitions. For the purposes of this section,

"Intellectual Property Rights" refers to any copyright or other rights over a brand, a design or a model, a patent and, more generally, any element, (including trade secrets and know how), that may be protected by national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property (“Intellectual Property Rights”)
“Previous Rights” refer to any Intellectual Property Rights and/or any associated know-how held by the Participants before the start date of the Challenge (“Previous Rights”)
“Creations” refer to any software (including source and object code software), database, technical specifications, text, design, model, information, knowledge, method, process or product, as well as any resulting elements and/or processes likely or otherwise to be protected according to national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property developed by any Participant as a part of any submitted Deliverable throughout the Challenge (“Creations”).

Warranty of non-infringement. When submitting any Deliverable, at any stage of the Challenge, each Participant guarantees to Organizer that he/she is the co/owner and/or co/holder of the Intellectual Property Rights regarding all or part of the Creations contained in the Deliverables submitted at any stage of the Challenge, and that he/she has obtained all rights and permissions regarding all pre-existing Creations and any elements of the Deliverables for which he/she does not hold the relevant rights.

Each Participant guarantees (1) that his/her contribution is original and unprecedented; (2) that it does not infringe upon the copyright or any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party; (3) that all the elements of which his/her submissions are formed, as well as all pieces of contributions and information communicated in the submission presentation documents are accurate, reliable and complete; and (4) that the submission of the relevant Deliverables does not constitute an act of unfair competition of any kind.

It is compulsory for Participants to indicate the source of any pre-existing Creations of whichever nature and on whichever support that is included in any submitted deliverable. Any Deliverable involving several Participants constitutes a collaborative work and it should be treated as such in accordance with the applicable regulations in force.

License. By entering the Challenge and submitting Deliverables, each Participant unconditionally grants to Organizer and any other third party acting on Organizer’s behalf, a royalty-free, fully paid up, non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to display publicly, utilize and otherwise exploit the Deliverables, including all Intellectual Property Rights therein, in any medium, for the Organizer’s internal business purposes or any other purpose whatsoever (the “License”). This License includes, without limitation, the right to post or link to the Deliverables on Organizer’s and any partners’ websites and applications, and display and promote the Deliverables in any other media, worldwide. Subject to the foregoing License, any applicable intellectual property rights to a Deliverables will remain with the Participants. Each Participant represents and warrants that the Organizer is free to use and exploit the Deliverables in the manner described above without obtaining permission or license from any third party and without any compensation to the Participant or Team or any third party.

Liability. The Organizer cannot be held liable for any infringement of the above provisions by Participants. Each Participant shall indemnify Organizer against any disturbance, action, claim, opposition and demand or eviction attempt from any third party in connection with any Creation in the Deliverables (Intellectual Property Rights included).

Organizer’s Intellectual Property. Excluding Deliverables, all Intellectual Property Rights related to this Challenge, including but not limited to copyrighted material, trademarks, trade-names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source codes, drawings, illustrations, slogans and representations are owned or used under license by Organizer. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any copyrighted material or intellectual property without the express consent of its owners is strictly prohibited. Any use in a Deliverable of the Organizer’s intellectual property shall be solely to the extent provided for in these Rules.

12. Modification of Rules, Suspension, and Cancelation of the Challenge.

Update of the Rules. The Organizer reserves the right to amend these Rules at any time, including the Challenge duration in case of operational imperatives, without prior notice to Participants regarding the enforcement or the validity of these amendments. Participants are encouraged to consult these Rules regularly. Participants expressly waive all claims or disputes related to any amendment to these Rules by the Organizer.

Should any paragraph of these Rules be declared or judged illegal, unenforceable or void by a court decision, the paragraph in question will be considered null and void, but all other unaffected paragraphs will be enforced within the limits of the law.

Challenge Cancellation or Suspension. The Organizer reserves the right in its discretion, to (1) cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Challenge and these Rules, for any reason, at any time and without any liability, and (2) to limit or restrict participation in the Challenge. The Organizer will not be held liable for the modification, cancellation or suspension of the Challenge and no compensation or remuneration will be due to the Participants.

13. Release and Limitation of Liability

By participating in this Contest, you agree that Organizer and any of its affiliates or any of their officers, directors, employees, agents or representatives (collectively, “Released Parties”) are not responsible for:

(a) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Participants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Challenge;

(b) technical failures of any kind;

(d) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Challenge or the processing of entries;

(e) faults with or delays in the submission of Deliverables by Participants, including Organizer's refusal to accept these Deliverables;

(f) services provided by a third-party relating to the prizes.

(g) Participant’s disqualification from the Challenge; or

(h) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Participant’s participation in the Challenge or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. Except as expressly set out herein, no more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded.

BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS CONTEST, YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT THE RELEASED PARTIES WILL NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR, AND SHALL BE HELD HARMLESS BY PARTICIPANTS AGAINST, ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY INJURIES, LOSSES OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES) TO PERSONS, INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, OR PROPERTY RESULTING IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, FROM ACCEPTANCE, POSSESSION, MISUSE, OR USE OF ANY PRIZE, ENTRY, OR PARTICIPATION IN THIS CONTEST OR IN ANY CONTEST-RELATED ACTIVITY, OR ANY CLAIMS BASED ON PUBLICITY RIGHTS, DEFAMATION OR INVASION OF PRIVACY. THE RELEASED PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF THE PRIZE CANNOT BE AWARDED DUE TO TRAVEL CANCELLATIONS, DELAYS OR INTERRUPTIONS DUE TO ACTS OF GOD, ACTS OF WAR, NATURAL DISASTERS, WEATHER, OR TERRORISM.

YOU FURTHER EXPRESSLY AGREE YOU WILL DEFEND, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE RELEASED PARTIES FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, DEMANDS, LOSSES, COST (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ATTORNEY’S FEES), EXPENSES, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITIES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM OR IN RELATION TO (I) YOUR AND YOUR TEAM’S PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST (II) ANY BREACH BY YOU OF YOUR OBLIGATIONS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES THAT YOUR SUBMISSION VIOLATES, INFRINGES OR MISAPPROPRIATE’S SUCH THIRD PARTY’S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT(S)); AND (III) YOUR NEGLIGENCE OR WILFUL MISCONDUCT.

14. Personal Data Protection

By participating in the Challenge, Participants consent to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information for the purposes of administering the Challenge. The names of the winning Team members may be disclosed on the Challenge website and to the public in general. Organizer’s Privacy Policy, located at the Challenge website, will govern the use of all personal information collected in connection with this Challenge.

15. Applicable Law and Disputes Resolution

The Challenge and any action related thereto shall be governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the laws of Canada applicable therein.

You agree that all disputes, controversies or claims between you and the Organizer, whether or not such dispute involves a third party, arising out of, in connection with or in relation the Contest (including, without limitation, any and all disputes regarding the existence, validity, application, interpretation, performance, enforcement or termination of these Official Rules) (collectively, a "Dispute"), will be solely and exclusively referred to, and finally resolved by, binding arbitration pursuant to the provisions of the British Columbia Arbitration Act [RSBC 1996] Chapter 55 and/or the International Commercial Arbitration Act [RSBC 1996] Chapter 233 (as applicable) and any amendments thereto. Such arbitration will be conducted pursuant to the Domestic Commercial Arbitration Rules of Procedure of the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre then in force (the “Arbitration Rules”). A single arbitrator will be appointed by agreement of the parties, or, in default of agreement, such arbitrator will be appointed in accordance with the Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the laws of Canada as applicable therein notwithstanding any conflict of law principles. The arbitration will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia and will be conducted in the English language. The arbitrator will have jurisdiction to award costs of the arbitration, including attorney’s fees and disbursements, and arbitrator fees and expenses. Any award of such arbitrator will be final and binding upon the parties. A judgment on the award of the arbitrator may be entered into any court having jurisdiction over the party or parties against whom an award may be issued and the parties agree to and hereby waive any defences against the enforceability and execution of any such judgment awarded by the arbitrator as contemplated in these Official Rules. Where arbitration is prohibited or this section is unenforceable under applicable laws, the parties hereby agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the province of British Columbia, Canada with respect to any Disputes.

16. Code of Conduct

The Organizer seeks to provide a respectful, friendly, professional experience for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, physical appearance, disability, age, race or religion. We do not tolerate any behaviour that is degrading to any gender, race, sexual orientation, or disability, or any behaviour that would violate our Code of Conduct.

Please report any concerns, harassing behaviour, or suspicious or disruptive activity with respect to the Challenge to the Organizer.

The Organizer reserves the right to refuse admittance to or remove any Participant or Team from the Challenge, that in Organizer’s view violates Organizer’s Code of Conduct.