Shady Pets Photo Contest - Terms and Conditions

Eligibility:

Anyone over 18 is eligible to enter the competition (the PARTICIPANT).  Employees of FireStorm Labs dba Shady Pets, interns, contractors, sponsors, or an immediate family member of any of the foregoing, may participate, but are not eligible to win. No Purchase Necessary. Purchase does not enhance chance of winning. Void where prohibited by law including, but not limited to Brazil, France, Russia, Taiwan.

Technical specifications for submitted photos:

The photo(s) must be submitted as a high-resolution JPEG, PNG or GIF using the "enter/upload" photo mechanism on this website. Entries submitted by email will be immediately deleted (and not viewed). The photo must contain the subject matter of a pet in a family friendly pose. The photo must not contain violence, profanity, sex or direct attacks on individuals or organizations. Any entries deemed offensive will be immediately disqualified.

No copyrighted images:

The photo must be an original creation. No copyrighted images may be entered in the contest. If you're not sure, ask yourself, did you or a family member take the photo? If so, you're good! If not, you likely do not have the copyright and can not enter that image. No exceptions! You can not grab pictures online (ie. Pinterest, Facebook) and submit. That is a copyright violation of the person who took that photo. Use photos taken from your camera, or your mobile phone's camera.

The selected winners must certify and warrant in writing that the submitted photo(s) does not violate the rights of a third party or any copyright to be eligible to win and to be featured in the Shady Pets card game. FireStorm Labs is not responsible for intellectual property violations that might have resulted through the submissions of photos.

The prizes:

This contest is 100% funded by the proceeds of the Shady Pets Kickstarter campaign which is being targeted to launch in October, 2019. If the project does not fund then there will be no prizes awarded. No exceptions. When the following stretch goals are achieved the contest prize pool will increase to 5% of the stretch goal backings.

Here's how the prizes will be awarded with each of the following stretch goals achieved. $ = US Dollar currency.

One (1) 1st place and Two (2) 2nd places will be awarded. The amount of 3rd place winners will be awarded (max 20) based on having enough usable entries in each pet category, with a max of 8 winners in each category.

$15,000 - Initial Project Funding Goal (up to 22 winners)
1st Place: $225 (1)
2nd Place: $38 (2)
3rd Place: $23 (20)
Total Prize Pool: $750

$50,000 - Stretch Funding Goal 1 (up to 22 winners)
1st Place: $750 (1)
2nd Place: $125 (2)
3rd Place: $75 (20)
Total Prize Pool: $2,500

$100,000 - Stretch Funding Goal 2 (up to 22 winners)
1st Place: $1,500 (1)
2nd Place: $250 (2)
3rd Place: $150 (20)
Total Prize Pool: $5,000

$500,000 - Stretch Funding Goal 3 (up to 22 winners)
1st Place: $7500 (1)
2nd Place: $1250 (2)
3rd Place: $750 (20)
Total Prize Pool: $25,000

$1,000,000 - Stretch Funding Goal 4 (up to 22 winners)
1st Place: $15,000 (1)
2nd Place: $2,500 (2)
3rd Place: $1,500 (20)
Total Prize Pool: $50,000

Amount of winners: There will a maximum of 8 winners per pet category. The 4 categories are: dog, cat, reptile, hamster. The actual # of winners could be less than 8 per category if the amount of usable (in the Shady Pets game) entries is not received.  For example; if we only receive 3 hamster photos, and 1 is good enough to be used in the Shady Pets game, then there will only be 1 awarded winner for the hamster group.

Once the Kickstarter campaign has been finalized, assuming the initial project funding goal has been met, the correct prize pool will be determined (using above tiers). After judging and legitimate votes are reviewed, winners will be announced and prizes will be awarded within 90 days. Winners will be required to provide a signed certification statement and completed W-9 form for US residents (1099 form sent in January, 2020) and other additional requirements required by each country if the winner is located outside the US.

Any fees required by Paypal to complete the money transfer are paid out of the entrant's winnings, included but not limited to currency exchange fees. These fees will be documented and will be taken out of the prize before being distributed. Example. If you win a $1,500 prize and Paypal requires a 5% fee to complete the money transfer, you will be paid only $1,425 as $75 is paid to Paypal.

International (outside US) entrants may not win a prize over $1,500 USD.

Entry Tips

Pet photo entries should contain one of these four types of pets (dogs, cats, hamsters, or reptiles) since usability in the Shady Pets card game is the most important factor in the judging process. Pet photo entries are not required to have shades/sunglasses on.  See section on "amount of winners" above for more information.

It is OK to edit the photo and digitally add "shades" after the photo is taken. If it's a great photo, FireStorm Labs may opt to digitally add shades to your photo.

Contest period, judging and notification of selected photographers

After the contest closes (upon conclusion and funding of Kickstarter campaign) qualifying photos will be judged by the members of FireStorm Labs based on 3 factors:  1) quality and usability of photo in the Shady Pets card game 2) the amount of “likes” or votes the photo receives and 3) adherence to rules; Votes must not be collected using robots, spam or other "black hat" methods intended to subvert this contest with gathering votes from people who do not exist. Receiving the most likes does not mean the participant is guaranteed to win a prize. The judge’s decision is final; the judges may also decide not to select any photos to win prizes (or limit the amount of winners) if they deem there is insufficient quality of photos entered in the contest. Any attempt by a participant to break the rules of or subvert the photo competition will lead to immediate disqualification.

If an entrant is unable to be contacted by email or phone after reasonable attempts have been made to do so, FireStorm Labs reserves the right to offer the prize to the next best entry.

Rights and ownership

By submitting their photos to FireStorm Labs, dba Shady Pets via this contest, participants agree to grant FireStorm Labs free of charge the right to use the photo in any manner and media, including without limitation, the right to publish, adapt, distribute, copy, display or translate in printed or electronic media even if they are not a prize winning entry. Any photos used in sellable Shady Pets printed merchandise such as a card in the Shady Pets card game or other products will be compensated with the 3rd place prize in compensation (if not awarded more via a contest prize distribution).

Indemnification

The Participant (“Indemnifying Party”) hereby agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless FireStorm Labs, its parent and subsidiary companies, and their respective officers, agents, directors, employees and authorized representatives (collectively, “Indemnified Party”) from and against any actual costs, losses, liabilities and expenses, including court costs, reasonable expenses, and reasonable attorneys’ fees (“Losses”) incurred by reason of any third party claim arising out of, as a result of, or in connection with the Indemnifying Party’s copyright infringement, misrepresentation, or violation of any law, statute, ordinance, rule or regulation throughout the world in connection with any material or information provided related to this contest.

General

FireStorm Labs reserves the right to modify or cancel the contest or any of the arrangements, schedules, plans or other items directly or indirectly related to the contest, at any time and for any reason if deems necessary, including the amount of winners.

Paypal will be used for all prize money transfers. Payment will be made once a signed certification statement is received, and any additional tax or other legal requirements are completed.

All participants agree to the Shady Pets privacy and data usage policy.

All participants are entitled to access, cancel, oppose and rectify the details about the personal data (such as names, addresses, etc.) contained in the file by sending their request by email to [email protected]

The contest period may be extended if it is deemed more entries and votes are required to constitute the desired contest results.

Participation in the contest, including being selected to have your photo considered for inclusion in the Shady Pets game, in no manner constitutes an endorsement or support by FireStorm Labs of the candidates’ views or aims or of any products or services. Candidates shall not advertise or otherwise claim to have obtained any such endorsement or support. The Shady Pets name and logo are the property of FireStorm Labs and should not be used in any manner whatsoever without the prior consent of FireStorm Labs.

Contact us: [email protected]