Hackathon Participation Agreement

These Hackathon Participation Rules & Terms (“Rules”) govern participation in the Learn to Create an Eval for Your Agents Workshop + Hackathon (“Hackathon”) sponsored and organized by Micro1, Inc. (“Organizer”) and hosted on the Organizer’s behalf through the HackerRank platform operated by Interviewstreet Inc. d/b/a HackerRank (“HackerRank”). By registering for or participating in the Hackathon, each participant (“Participant” or “you”) agrees to these Rules, the applicable HackerRank Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and any additional instructions or requirements published on the Hackathon website (“Website”). These Rules govern the relationship between the Organizer and each Participant. The HackerRank Terms of Service and Privacy Policy govern the relationship between HackerRank and each Participant. If you participate as part of a team (“Team”), each team member must separately agree to these Rules before submitting any Submission.

Eligibility

The Hackathon is open only to individuals who are at least 18 years old, satisfy the eligibility requirements stated on the Hackathon website, and may lawfully participate and receive a Prize. The Hackathon is void where prohibited. Contractors and agents of Organizer, HackerRank, any sponsor or cohost, and their immediate family or household members may participate. Where Participant participates as part of a Team, each Team member must independently satisfy these eligibility requirements. The Organizer may require proof of identity, age, location, and eligibility at any time.

“Submission” means all material submitted by a Participant or Team in connection with the Hackathon, including the evaluation or benchmark created by the Participant or Team (“Eval”), source code, object code, models, video URL, datasets, short descriptions, documentation, presentations, designs, applications, prototypes, configurations and other materials specified by the Organizer. The code portion of a Submission must be provided as a zip file containing code only and may not exceed 50 MB. Unless otherwise expressly stated on the Website, a Submission must be created by the Participant or Team for the Hackathon and must comply with all submission requirements and deadlines.

A Submission may incorporate pre-existing materials, third-party materials or open-source software only where the Participant has the right to use, modify, and submit those materials and their inclusion does not impose restrictions inconsistent with the rights granted to the Organizer under these Rules. Participants must clearly identify all material that is not their original creation and comply with all applicable third-party license, attribution and disclosure requirements. A Submission may not include any material subject to a license that would require the Organizer to disclose source code, license its materials or products, or restrict its commercial use of the Submission.

The Organizer may review any Submission and associated materials for purposes of evaluating and judging the Submission, determining compliance with these Rules, investigating suspected cheating or misconduct, verifying ownership and licensing, and administering the Hackathon. Each Participant grants the Organizer a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive right to access, reproduce, process and review the Submission for these purposes, in addition to the rights granted below.

Hackathon Administration, Judging, Prizes, Costs and Support

The Organizer will provide the Hackathon content, teaching materials, problem statement, rules, rubrics, and tools. The Organizer will evaluate eligible Submissions using the criteria stated on the Website. Evaluation and judging will be conducted solely by the Organizer and any judges expressly designated by the Organizer on the Website; HackerRank will not evaluate or judge submissions. The Organizer may appoint internal or external judges for this purpose. Judging decisions are final and binding to the extent permitted by law. The Organizer may disqualify a Participant or Team for cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation, interference, harassment, breach of these Rules, or conduct that undermines the integrity or operation of the Hackathon.

The Organizer is solely responsible for determining winners and providing the prizes described on the Website (“Prizes”). Prizes are subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Rules. Winners are responsible for taxes, fees and reporting obligations associated with a Prize. The Organizer may substitute a Prize of equal or greater value if the stated Prize becomes unavailable.

Participants are solely responsible for all costs of participation, including internet access and charges for artificial intelligence models, APIs, software equipment and other services. The Organizer and HackerRank will not provide API credits or reimburse these costs unless the Website expressly states otherwise.

Questions about the Hackathon, Submissions, judges, Prizes or these Rules must be sent to the Organizer through the support inbox or community channel identified on the Website. HackerRank support should be contracted only for HackerRank account, login, platform security, accessibility or privacy issues.

Intellectual Property and Licensing

Hackathon Data

All right, title and interest in and to all teaching materials, problem statements, rules, rubrics, tools, datasets, and other content supplied or made available by or on behalf of the Organizer (“Hackathon Data”), including all intellectual property rights therein, shall remain with the Organizer or its applicable licensors. No ownership interest or license in Hackathon Data is granted to any Participant except for the limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable right to use Hackathon Data solely for participation in the Hackathon in accordance with these Rules. A Participant may not publish, disclose, commercialize, or use Hackathon Data for any other purpose without the Organizer’s prior written consent.

Ownership of Submissions

Each Participant retains ownership of the Participant’s rights in the Submission. Each Participant grans the Organizer and its affiliates a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable, non-exclusive, fully paid-up and royalty free license to access, host, store, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, create derivative works from, combine with other materials, test, evaluate, benchmark, publish as expressly permitted below, distribute, commercialize, license, sublicense and otherwise use or exploit the Submission in whole or in part, in any manner and through any media now known or later developed. The license includes the right to use the Submission for research, development, training, fine-tuning, testing, evaluation and improvement of artificial intelligence and machine learning models and systems, and for the commercial development and deployment of products and services incorporating, informed by or derived from the Submission.

The foregoing license’s is effective upon submission and requires no further action, payment or approval. The Participant may continue to use, license and publish the Participant’s own Submission, provided that such activity does not disclose Hackathon Data or third-party confidential information, violate these Rules, or state or imply the Organizer’s endorsement. The Organizer has no obligation to use, publish, or commercialize any Submission or to provide attribution, compensation, accounting, or notice in connection with its exercise of the licensed rights.

Public Display of Submissions

The Organizer may publicly identify and showcase Submissions and related materials on the Website, the Organizer’s channels and other media, including by reproducing, displaying, demonstrating, excerpting, adapting and describing a Submission. The limitation on public release does not restrict the Organizer’s non-public exercise of the license granted above, including commercial use, model training, testing, evaluation, benchmarking, product development and disclosure to affiliates, customers, contractors and service providers subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations.

Pre-existing and Third-Party Materials

A Participant retains ownership of intellectual property that was independently created by the Participant before the Hackathon or independently developed outside the Hackathon and that is not specifically created as part of the Submission (“Background IP”). Nothing in these Rules transfers ownership of Background IP to the Organizer. However, to the extent a Participant incorporates Background IP into a Submission, the Participant grants the Organizer and its affiliates a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable, non-exclusive, fully paid-up and royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, distribute, commercialize and otherwise exploit such Background IP as part of, in connection with, or to the extent necessary to use and exploit the Submission and any derivatives of the Submission.

The Participant represents and warrants that it has obtained all rights, permissions and licenses necessary to incorporate any third-party materials into the Submission and that the Organizer's exercise of the rights granted under these Rules will not violate any applicable third-party rights, confidentiality obligations, or license restrictions.

Further Publicity & Assurances

To the extent permitted by applicable law, each Participant grants the Organizer the right to announce and publicize the Participant’s name, professional biography, city and country, likeness, voice, image, Team name, prize, ranking and winning Submissions in connection with the Hackathon and its promotion, without further consent or compensation. Each Participant shall execute any reasonable documents and take any reasonable actions requested by the Organizer to confirm the rights granted under these Rules. Nothing in the Rules require the Organizer to announce a particular Participant Submission.

HackerRank’s Limited Role

HackerRank hosts the Website, registration, and login functions and the submission interface, and may promote the Hackathon to its developer community. HackerRank does not create the Hackathon content, evaluate or judge Submissions, select winners, award or pay prizes, or provide Participant support concerning the Hackathon rules, judging, or prizes. Nothing in these Rules grants HackerRank any ownership interest or additional license in a Submission. HackerRank’s rights and obligations concerning the platform and Participant content are governed by its applicable terms and its agreement with the Organizer. A sponsor, partner, or cohost does not receive any right in a Submission or Participant Data unless the Website expressly states otherwise and the applicable Participant receives any legally required notice..

Participant Data and Potential Opportunities

HackerRank will collect and process registration, account, professional and submission-related information in accordance with the applicable HackerRank privacy terms and its agreement with the Organizer. HackerRank may provide the Organizer with information including a Participant’s name, contact details, resume, LinkedIn profile, experience, location, participation information and submission materials (“Participant Data”).

The Organizer may process Participant Data to administer and secure the Hackathon, communicate with the Participants, evaluate and judge submissions, verify eligibility, provide prizes, announce winners, exercise its rights under these Rules, comply with law, and consider or contact Participants regarding potential paid expert, contractor, or employment opportunities. The Organizer will process Participant Data in accordance with the privacy notice identified on the Hackathon website. Participation does not require a Participant to accept any paid opportunity and does not guarantee that the Organizer will offer one.

The Organizer may share Participant Data with its affiliates, judges, professional advisers, contractors, and service providers as reasonably necessary for these purposes, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection obligations. A sponsor, partner or cohost will receive Participant Data only as disclosed on the Hackathon website or in another legally sufficient notice and will not receive any right in Participant Data beyond what is so disclosed.

By participating in the Hackathon and submitting a Submission, each Participant represents and warrants that the information provided by the Participant is accurate; the Participant is at least 18 years old, has 2 or more years of experience in any field with coding or AI coding tool skills, and has the legal capacity and authority to participate and submit the Submission; the Submission is the Participant's original work except for properly authorized third-party material Background IP, open-source software and use of artificial intelligence models permitted by the Website; the Participant has the right to grant the rights provided under these Rules; and the Submission does not infringe, misappropriate, or otherwise violate any third-party intellectual property, privacy, publicity, confidentiality, contractual, or other rights.

The Participant further represents and warrants that the Submission does not contain any confidential information, trade secrets, proprietary information, personal data, customer data, or restricted material belonging to an employer, client, or other third party without appropriate authorization; does not contain malicious code or functionality intended to compromise systems or data; complies with applicable laws and license requirements; and has not been submitted in breach of any agreement or obligation binding on the Participant. A Participant is solely responsible for obtaining any employer, client or other third-party permission required for participation or submission. The Participant shall promptly notify the Organizer if the Participant discovers that a Submission contains prohibited material.

Indemnification and Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Participant shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Organizer, HackerRank, any sponsor or cohost identified on the Website, and their respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees, contractors, agents and representatives from third-party claims, losses, damages, liabilities and reasonable costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, arising from the Participant's breach of these Rules, violation of applicable law, infringement or misappropriation of third-party rights, misconduct, or use or submission of materials that the Participant was not authorized to use or submit. The Organizer may control the defense and settlement of any claim, provide that the Organizer may not settle a claim that imposes a personal admission or non-monetary obligation on the Participant without the Participant’s consent, not to be unreasonably withheld.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, neither the Organizer nor HackerRank shall be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill or business opportunity arising out of participation in the Hackathon, use of the Website, submission of materials or receipt or use of any Prize. Neither the Organizer nor HackerRank shall be responsible for lost, late, corrupted, incomplete or misdirected Submissions, technical failures, network interruptions, unauthorized access, data corruption, model, or API availability or performance, or other failures outside their reasonable control. Except for the Organizer’s aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Hackathon shall not exceed $100 USD. Nothing in these Rules excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Participation in the Hackathon is voluntary and does not create any employment, agency, partnership, fiduciary or other similar relationship between a Participant and the Organizer or HackerRank or any sponsor or cohost. Participation, ranking, or receipt of a Prize does not guarantee employment, engagement or paid work with the Organizer or any other person.

Miscellaneous

The Organizer may verify compliance, reject or remove a Submission, disqualify a Participant or Team, withhold or recover a Prize, or take other reasonable action where the Organizer determines that these Rules were violated or the integrity, security or fairness of the Hackathon was compromised.

The Organizer may modify, suspend, postpone or cancel the Hackathon, or adjust deadlines, judging procedures or Prizes, where fraud, technical failure, legal requirements, force majeure or circumstances beyond the Organizer's reasonable control impair the Hackathon. The Organizer will provide reasonable notice through the Website or the contact information provided by Participants. If the Hackathon is cancelled, the Organizer will have no obligation to award a Prize except where required by law.

These Rules are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute between a Participant and the Organizer arising from these Rules or the Hackathon shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Santa Clara County, California, and each Participant consents to their jurisdiction. Disputes between a Participant and HackerRank remain governed by the applicable HackerRank terms.

If any provision of these Rules is unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted and the remaining provisions will remain effective. The Organizer's failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. These Rules and the materials expressly incorporated into them constitute the entire agreement between the Organizer and each Participant concerning the Hackathon and supersede any prior representations or understandings relating to it. The Organizer may update these Rules before the submission deadline by posting the revised Rules on the Website and providing reasonable notice of material changes. No update will materially reduce rights in a Submission already made without the affected Participant's consent.