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MTA AT&T App Quest Hackathon Official Rules – (the “Official Rules”) 

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.  

The MTA AT&T App Quest Hackathon (the “Hackathon”) is an in-person event and contest sponsored by the MTA and AT&T, and supported by NYU-Poly and ChallengePost. Individuals and teams attending the Hackathon (collectively “Contestants”) are invited to create new applications utilizing the MTA’s public data and application programming interfaces (APIs). The goal of the Hackathon is to create the transit apps of the future, changing the way 8.5 million people commute everyday.

MTA AT&T App Quest Competition:

Following the Hackathon, the Sponsors (as defined below) will hold a related, online competition, MTA App Quest (the “Competition”). Submissions in the Hackathon may be entered in the Competition. However, the eligibility and entry requirements for the Competition and Hackathon are separate. Your Hackathon entry will require updating in order to be eligible for the Competition.  Participation in the Hackathon is not required in order to enter the Competition and participating or winning a prize in the Hackathon will not necessarily increase your chances of winning a prize in the Competition. For more information on the Competition see the Competition Rules at: [INSERT COMPETITION RULES URL]

1. Sponsors & Administrators

Sponsors (the “Sponsors”):

NYU-Poly (Polytechnic Institute of New York University), 6 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201. NYU-Poly is responsible for and hosting the Hackathon event.

AT&T Mobility LLC (“AT&T”), 630 Fifth Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10111. AT&T is contributing funding for the Hackathon.

New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017. MTA is contributing its data and is supporting and approving this Competition.

Administrator (the “Administrator”):

ChallengePost, Inc., 425 W. 13th Street, Suite #504, New York, NY 10014. ChallengePost is the Administrator of the Hackathon website.

2. Hackathon Location & Schedule

The Hackathon will take place at: NYU-Poly, 6 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201 starting at 10:00am Eastern Time on May 4, 2013 and concluding at 5:00pm Eastern Time on May 5, 2013.

3. Eligibility 

A. The Hackathon is open only to: 

(i) individuals who are at least 18 years of age as of May 4, 2013; and

(ii) teams of eligible individuals where each team member meets the eligibility requirements for individual Contestants.

B. Each team shall appoint one individual (the “Representative”) to represent and act, including entering a Submission, on behalf of the team. The Representative must meet the eligibility requirements for an individual Contestant and must be authorized to enter a Submission and receive prizes on behalf of the team.

C. The following individuals are NOT eligible regardless of whether or not they meet the criteria set forth above: 

(i) any individual involved with the design, production, promotion, execution, or distribution of the Hackathon or Competition, including employees of the Sponsors and Administrators, and each member of any such individual’s immediate family or household; and

(ii) any individual that employs any Judge.

D. For purposes hereof: 

(i) the members of an individual’s immediate family include such individual’s spouse, children and step-children, parents and step-parents, and siblings and step-siblings; and 

(ii) the members of an individual’s household include any other person that shares the same residence as such individual for at least three (3) months out of the year.  

E. Students of Administrator and of academic institutions supplying any of the Judge who are not involved with the design, production, promotion, execution or distribution of the Hackathon or Competition ARE explicitly eligible to compete in both events.

4. Registration and Submission 

A. Registration 

(i) Prior to the Hackathon start time listed above, you must visit http://hackmta.eventbrite.com, indicate your ticket type and quantity, and click “Register.” Spaces will be offered on a first come first served basis.

(ii) Prior to submitting, visit http://MTAAppQuest.com (the “Hackathon Website”) and click “Sign Up” to create a ChallengePost account, or click “Log In” and log in with an existing ChallengePost account. There is no charge for creating a ChallengePost account. 

(iii) After a Contestant signs up on the Hackathon Website a confirmation email will be sent to the email address provided by the Contestant. The Contestant should use the confirmation email to verify their email address. 

(iv) Contestant should also click “Register” on the Hackathon Website in order to receive important Hackathon updates during the event. Registering for the Hackathon will also register you for the Competition which follows.  

(v) Contestants should review the MTA data sets and APIs available at http://mta.info/developers/ since the Contestant’s Application (as defined below) must utilize at least one such data set or API.

B. Submission 

(i) Contestants must create a working proof of concept or model of a software application that uses at least one of the MTA data sets or APIs available at http://mta.info/developers/ (the “Application”).

(ii) During the Hackathon, the Contestant must visit the Hackathon Website and confirm that he or she has or, if Contestant is a part of a team, all participating members of their team have, read and agree to the Official Rules.  Then, Contestant must submit its Submission by providing: 

a. the name of the Application;

b. a text description of the Application and its features;

c. at least one image (screenshot) of the working Application;

d. participating team members (if applicable); and

e. a list of MTA data sets and/or APIs used in the Application.

In addition to the above, Contestants will have the option to submit the following to demonstrate their Submission:

f. a link to a video posted on YouTube.com or Vimeo.com that demonstrates the Application’s functionality and features; and

g. a website URL where the Application can be accessed.

(a-g above, are collectively a “Submission”) 

(iii) For sake of clarity, all parts of the Submission must be entered at the same time on the Hackathon Website. All Submissions must be received by no later than 4:00pm Eastern Time on May 5, 2013.   

5. Submission Requirements 

A. Language Requirements 

All Submission materials must be in English. 

B. Text Description, Image and Video Requirements 

(i) The text description should describe the Application’s features.

(ii) The image(s) must be photographs or screenshots of your Application. 

(iii) The video portion of the Submission, if submitted: 

a. should be no longer than five (5) minutes;

b. should demonstrate the Application’s features and functionality; and

c. should not include music or other copyrighted material or use third party trademarks unless the Contestant has written permission to use such material. 

C. Application Requirements

In addition to the requirements described above in Section 5(B): 

(i) Applications must be newly created and developed during the Hackathon.

(iii) The Application may utilize APIs and data from third parties, provided the Contestant is authorized to use such APIs or data in the manner utilized by the Application.   

(iv) Submissions must not include protected MTA copyrighted property such as subway, bus, and rail maps, or registered trademarks, such as subway symbols or MTA agency names. After the Hackathon you may apply for a license to use such protected property in your Application. To request a license, go to http://www.mta.info/developers/license.html.

D. General Requirements 

(i) Submissions must not:

a. violate any law or regulation; depict hatred; be in bad taste; denigrate (or be derogatory towards) any person or group of persons or any race, ethnic group or culture; threaten a specific community in society, including any specific race, ethnic group or culture; incite violence or be likely to incite violence; contain vulgar or obscene language or excessive violence; contain pornography, obscenity or sexual activity; or disparage the Sponsors, Administrators, or anyone involved in organizing or supporting the Hackathon.

(ii) Submissions must not attempt to duplicate a prior Submission already submitted in this Hackathon. The Sponsors or Administrators reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any Submission that is a duplicate or substantially similar to another Submission. 

(iii) Submissions must be free of malware.

(iv) A Contestant may submit more than one Submission. However, each Submission must be unique, as determined by Sponsors and/or the Administrators in their sole discretion. If a Contestant enters two or more Submissions that are substantially similar, the Sponsors and Administrators reserve the right to disqualify Submissions or require the Contestant to choose one Submission to enter into the Hackathon.

(v) Contestants must not imply endorsement of their Application by the Sponsors in any of the Submission components.

(vi) Submissions must: (a) be the original work product of the Contestant; (b) be solely owned by Contestant and with no other person or entity having any right or interest in it; and (c) not violate the Intellectual Property rights or other rights including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, contract, and/or privacy rights, of any other person or entity. Contestants may submit open source Applications as long as each collaborator is identified as a member of the Contestant team and the Application submitted was created at the Hackathon.

(vii) By entering a Submission, Contestant represents, warrants and agrees that the Submission (including, without limitation, the Application) is the original work of the Contestant and complies with the Official Rules.  

Contestant further represents, warrants and agrees that any use of the Submission by the Sponsor, Administrator and/or Judges (or any of their respective partners, subsidiaries and affiliates) as authorized by these Official Rules, shall not: 

a. infringe upon, misappropriate or otherwise violate any intellectual property right or proprietary right including, without limitation, any statutory or common law trademark, copyright or patent, nor any privacy rights, moral rights nor any other rights of any person or entity; or

b. constitute or result in any misappropriation or other violation of any person’s publicity rights or right of privacy. 

6. Submission Rights

A. Subject to the licenses described below, any applicable intellectual property rights to a Submission will remain with the Contestant.

B. The Sponsors, Administrators, and any other third parties acting on the Sponsors’ behalf, will have a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to display publicly and use for promotional purposes the Submission, in perpetuity. This license includes posting or linking to the Submission on Sponsor and Administrator websites and applications, including the Hackathon Website, Sponsor websites, and partner websites, and inclusion of the Submission in any other media, worldwide. The Sponsors and Administrators, and any third parties acting on their behalf will also have the right to publicize Contestant’s name and, as applicable, the names of Contestant’s team members, who participated in the Submission on the Hackathon Website for a period of three years following the conclusion of the Hackathon. 

7. Display of Submissions 

A. Eligible Submissions will be posted on the Hackathon Website. Posting of a Submission to the Hackathon Website does not constitute a final determination by the Sponsors, Administrators, and/or Judges that the Submission met requirements. Accordingly a Submission may still be disqualified even after it has been publically displayed. 

B. Hackathon entries will be posted on the Competition website following the Hackathon, but such posting does not constitute a determination that the Hackathon entry is an eligible Submission in the Competition. Contestants will be required to update their Hackathon entry to meet requirements for the Competition.

8. Winner Selection and Judging Criteria 

A. All eligible Submissions will be judged by a panel of impartial judges (the “Judges”) selected by the Sponsors and the Administrators. The Sponsors and the Administrators reserve the right to substitute or modify the judging panel at any time for any reason. 

B. All Judges shall be and remain fair and impartial. Any Judge may recuse him or herself from judging a Submission if the Judge, the Sponsors or the Administrators consider that it is inappropriate, for any reason, for the Judge to evaluate a specific Submission or group of Submissions. 

C. A Contestant’s likelihood of winning will depend primarily on the number and quality of all of the Submissions, as determined by the Judges using the criteria in these Official Rules.

9. Best Overall App – Grand Prize, Second Prize, and Third Prize

A. Criteria (equally weighted): 

(i) Quality of Idea (Includes creativity and originality of the idea, and potential to improve the travel experience for MTA riders)

(ii) Implementation of Idea (Includes how well the idea was executed by the developer, how well the Application integrates with the MTA public data and APIs, and whether the Application includes a mobile compatible user interface)

(iii) Potential Impact (Includes the extent to which the Application will impact MTA customers and their travel experience.)

B. The three (3) Contestants whose Submissions earn the highest overall scores will become potential winners of the Prizes identified below in Section 11.  

C. Tie Breakers. In the event of a tie between two or more Submissions, the tied Submission with the highest score in the first criterion listed above shall be deemed the higher scoring Submission. In the event any ties remain, this process will be repeated by comparing the tied Submissions’ scores on the second, and third criterion listed above, respectively. If two or more Submissions are tied on all three criteria, the panel of Judges will vote on the tied submissions (the “Tie-Breaker Criteria”).

10. Verification of Potential Winners

A. ALL POTENTIAL HACKATHON WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION OF IDENTITY, QUALIFICATIONS AND ROLE IN THE CREATION OF THE APPLICATION BY THE SPONSORS AND THE ADMINISTRATORS, WHOSE DECISIONS ARE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE HACKATHON. Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules throughout the Hackathon. In order to receive a Prize, the potential winner will be required to sign and return to the Administrator, affidavit(s) of eligibility or a similar verification document and liability/publicity release(s) within ten (10) business days (if a potential winner is a team, all participating members must sign and return to the Sponsors and/or Administrators said affidavit(s) of eligibility or a similar verification document and liability/publicity release(s) within ten (10) business days). If a winner is considered to be a minor, at Sponsor’s sole option, the prize will either be awarded to the minor winner’s parent or legal guardian on behalf of the winner, or the minor’s parent or guardian will be required to ratify and sign the affidavit of eligibility, and liability/publicity release. Minors may not attend the Hackathon unless accompanied by a parent or legal/guardian.

B. At the sole discretion of the Sponsor and Administrator, a potential winner will be deemed ineligible to win if the potential winner refuses the Prize; fail(s) to sign and return the affidavit(s) of eligibility or a similar verification document and liability/publicity release(s) within ten (10) business days from receipt of such documents; or the Submission or the potential winner, or any member of a potential winner’s team, is disqualified for any other reason. 

In the event of such disqualification, the Sponsors and Administrators at their sole discretion may award the applicable Prize to an alternate potential winner. The disqualification of one (or more) team members from further consideration in the Hackathon for any reason may result in the disqualification of the entire team, and of each participating member at the sole discretion of the Sponsors and/or Administrators.

11. Prizes

A. No Prize substitutions will be made except for the right of the Sponsors to make a Prize substitution of equivalent or greater value. Prizes must be accepted as awarded. No transfer or substitution of a Prize is permitted except at the Sponsors and Administrator’s sole discretion. The Prize will be mailed to the winning Contestant’s address within 45 days of receipt of the signed affidavit(s) of eligibility or a similar verification document and liability/publicity release(s) form(s). If a team is selected as a Prize-winner, the associated Prize will be shipped to said team’s Representative. It will be the responsibility of the winning team’s Representative to allocate the Prize amongst its team members, as the Representative deems appropriate. 

B. Winners (and in the case of team, all participating members) are responsible for reporting and paying all applicable taxes in their jurisdiction of residence (federal, state/provincial/territorial and local). It is the sole responsibility of Prize winners of US$600 or more to provide certain information to facilitate receipt of the award, including completing and submitting any tax forms when necessary and any applicable withholding and reporting requirements. Winners are also responsible for complying with foreign exchange and banking regulations in their respective jurisdictions and reporting the receipt of the Prize to relevant Government departments/agencies, if necessary. Winners that are not residents of the United States should be aware that under United States tax laws, US withholding tax may apply to Prizes awarded. The Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right to withhold a portion of the prize amount to comply with the tax laws of the United States or those of a winner’s jurisdiction.

C. In the event a winner/potential winner’s employer has a policy that prohibits the awarding of a Prize to an employee, the Prize will be forfeited and an alternate potential winner will be selected. 

12. Entry Conditions and Release 

A. Each Contestant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the relationship between the Contestant and the Sponsors and the Administrators, is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship, and that the Contestant’s decision to provide the Contestant’s Submission to the Sponsors and Administrators for the purposes of this Hackathon does not place the Sponsors, the Administrators, and their respective agents in a position that is any different from the position held by the members of the general public with regard to elements of the Contestant’s Submission, except as specifically provided in these Official Rules. 

B. By entering, each Contestant (including, in the case of team, all participating members) agree(s) to: 

(i) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsors, Administrators, and/or the Hackathon judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Hackathon; and  

(ii) release, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Sponsors, Administrators, and their respective parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the Prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Hackathon, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (hereafter the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a Contestant’s entry, creation of Submission or entry of a Submission, participation in the Hackathon, acceptance or use or misuse of the Prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, transmission, performance, exploitation or use of Submission as authorized or licensed by these Official Rules. 

C. Without limiting the foregoing, the Released Parties shall have no liability in connection with: 

(i) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by the Sponsors’ or  Administrators’ electronic or printing error, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Hackathon; 

(ii) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines, internet connectivity or electronic transmission errors, or network hardware or software or failure of the Hackathon Website;

(iii) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Hackathon; 

(iv) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Hackathon or the processing of Submissions; or 

(v) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from the Contestant’s participation in the Hackathon or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize. If for any reason any Contestant’s Submission is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, the Contestant’s sole remedy is to request the opportunity to resubmit its Submission, which request will be determined at the sole discretion of the Sponsors and the Administrators if the Hackathon is still open to Submissions.

13. Publicity 

Participation in the Hackathon constitutes a winner’s consent to Sponsors’, and their agents’ use of the winner’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, comments and/or hometown and state of residence (and, as applicable, those of all other members of the team who participated in the Submission) for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration, for a period of three years following the conclusion of the Hackathon.

14. General Conditions 

A. The Sponsors and Administrators reserve the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Hackathon, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failure or any other unanticipated factor or factor beyond Sponsors’ and Administrators’ control impairs the safety, integrity or proper functioning of the Hackathon, as determined by Sponsors and Administrators at their sole discretion. The Sponsors and Administrators reserve the right at their sole discretion to disqualify any individual or Contestant it finds to be tampering with the entry process (for example by using the aid of computer software programs to auto-fill entries) or disturbing the operation of the Hackathon or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in a manner that is inappropriate, unsportsmanlike, not in the best interests of this Hackathon, or a violation of any applicable law or regulation. 

B. Any attempt by any person to disrupt or undermine the proper conduct of the Hackathon may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsors and the Administrators reserve the right to take proper legal action, including, without limiting, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unlawful activities. 

C. The Sponsors’ and/or the Administrators’ failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. The Sponsors and the Administrators are not responsible for incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, lost, illegible, or incomprehensible Submissions or for address or email address changes of the Contestants. Proof of sending or submitting will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsors or Administrators.

D. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of the Official Rules and disclosures or other statements contained in any Hackathon materials, including but not limited to the Hackathon Submission form, Hackathon Website, advertising (including but not limited to television, print, radio or online ads), the terms and conditions of the Official Rules shall prevail. 

E. The Sponsors and the Administrators reserve the right, without liability, to amend the terms and conditions of the Official Rules at any time, including the rights or obligations of the Contestant, the Sponsors, and the Administrators. The Sponsors and Administrators will post the terms and conditions of the amended Official Rules on the Hackathon Website. As permitted by law, any amendment will become effective at the time the Sponsors and/or Administrators post the amended Official Rules. 

F. Excluding Submissions, all intellectual property related to this Hackathon, including but not limited to trademarks, trade-names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source codes, drawings, illustrations, slogans and representations are owned or used under license by the Sponsors and/or the Administrators. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any copyrighted material or intellectual property without the express written consent of its owners is strictly prohibited. 

G. Should any provision of these Official Rules be or become illegal or unenforceable in the jurisdiction of a permitted entrant, such illegality or unenforceability shall leave the remainder of these Official Rules unaffected and valid. The illegal or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid and enforceable provision that comes closest and best reflects the Sponsor’s intention in a legal and enforceable manner with respect to the invalid or unenforceable provision.

15. Limitations of Liability 

By entering, all Contestants (including, in the case of a team, all participating members) agree to be bound by the Official Rules and hereby release the Released Parties from any and all liability in connection with the Prizes or Contestant’s participation in the Hackathon. Provided, however, that any liability limitation regarding gross negligence or intentional acts, or events of death or body injury shall not be applicable in jurisdictions where such limitation is not legal. 

16. Disputes

A. Contestants agree that: 

(i) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Hackathon, or any Prizes awarded, other than those concerning the administration of the Hackathon or the determination of winners, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; 

(ii) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Hackathon, or any Prizes awarded, shall be resolved exclusively by the United States District Court of New York or the appropriate New York State Court; and  

(iii) under no circumstances will Contestants be entitled to, and Contestants hereby waives all rights to claim, any punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. 

B. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Contestants, the Sponsors and the Administrators in connection with the Hackathon, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York. 

17. Privacy

ChallengePost collects personal information from you when you register for or enter the Hackathon on the Hackathon Website and Eventbrite. The information collected is subject to the privacy policy located here: http://ChallengePost.com/privacy. 

18. Hackathon Results 

For Hackathon results, visit the Hackathon Website on or about May 6, 2013.

19. Contact Us 

If you have any questions or wish to send us any notice regarding this Hackathon, please email us at Support@ChallengePost.com.