Official Contest Rules and Regulations Effective December 15, 2009
Section I – General Rules From Friday, January 15, 2010, through Monday, March 15, 2010 (the “Contest Period”), the Bill of Rights Institute will conduct a student video contest in the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense and American Schools Abroad, and all US Territories focusing on the five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment to the US Constitution (the “Contest”). To enter, students (see Section II for eligibility requirements) must log on to the website www.doyouhavetheright.org/First5 and submit a video that follows the Contest Guidelines, Director’s Notes, and the Entry Form in accordance with the guidelines detailed in Section III. Video entries (“the entry”) must be uploaded, and no mailed videos will be accepted or considered. As further detailed in Section VII, entrants agree to accept and be bound by all terms of these Official Rules and Regulations and to accept and be bound by the decisions of the Bill of Rights Institute, whose decisions are final with respect to all matters of the Contest. Only one entry per student is permitted. Students may submit an entry as part of a group with no more than three students, or individually. Entries that are incomplete, are submitted late, contain information other than as requested, or otherwise do not comply with these Official Rules and Regulations will not be accepted. By entering the Contest, entrants and their sponsoring teachers agree that the Bill of Rights Institute will own and administer 100% of the copyright in all videos submitted, with the perpetual right to use such videos and that said entries are solely the work of the entrant. The Bill of Rights Institute may edit for length only, and distribute the submitted entries with no additional notification or permission of the entrant. Videos will only be used to further the educational mission and goals of the Bill of Rights Institute (please see Section VI for a Privacy Statement).
Section II – Eligibility The Contest is open to all United States citizens or legal residents who are students in Grades 7-12 attending public, private, religious, home, and charter schools but who are no older than 19 as of the end of the Contest Period (March 15, 2010).
Section III – Video Entry Guidelines Each video entry must adhere to the topic First 5 in My Life and should be no longer than 2 minutes (120 seconds) in length. Video should either:
Videos must be submitted online at www.doyouhavetheright.org/First5 and in a format accepted by YouTellIt.com (a partner site supporting contest video uploads). Only online submissions will be accepted for the Contest. Entries can be made by a student or a group of no more than three students, but all entrants must comply with the eligibility requirements as outlined in Section II.
In addition to video entries, Director’s Notes and the Entry Form must be submitted to the Bill of Rights Institute using one of the following methods:
By Mail: First 5 In My Life Video Contest The Bill of Rights Institute 200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 200 Arlington, Virginia 22203
By Email*:First5@BillofRightsInstitute.org *If emailing, please ensure all forms are signed and scanned before submission. Unsigned forms will not be accepted.
Director’s Notes must answer the questions as outlined in the Director’s Notes document available online at www.doyouhavetheright.org/First5. The Entry Form must be completed and signed by the parent, entrant, and sponsoring teacher and is also available online at www.doyouhavetheright.org/First5. Each student participating in a group must submit a separate Entry Form (all entry forms for a group must be submitted together). Teachers may sponsor an unlimited number of contest entries. Video entries must be uploaded no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time on March 15, 2010. Director’s Notes and Entry Forms must be received by mail or email no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time on March 15, 2010. To be considered, the video entry, Director’s Notes and the Entry Form (for each student participating in a group) must all be received by the Contest deadline.
Section IV – Judging and Timing At the conclusion of the Contest Period, the judges selected by the Bill of Rights Institute will review and select prize-winning videos from all the eligible entries received. Entries will be evaluated based upon the following criteria: adherence to the Video Guidelines (as stated in Section III), originality, organization, style, and depth of analysis. Judging will be completed on or around April 15, 2010, at which time all winners will be notified. Winners will be announced on the www.doyouhavetheright.org/First5 website in late April.
The Bill of Rights Institute reserves the right in their sole administration of the Contest to disqualify any individual they find or believe to: (i) be tampering with the entry process or the administration of the Contest, (ii) be acting in violation of these Official Rules and Regulations, or (iii) plagiarizing content in any form. The selection of the judges is within the sole and absolute discretion of the Bill of Rights Institute. The judges who are selected by the Bill of Rights Institute will not have a direct connection to the student who has submitted the video or be in a position to affect the objectivity and impartiality of any judge with respect to a submitted video.
Section V – Awards Winners will be announced on the www.doyouhavetheright.org/First5 website in late April. Winners must provide a Social Security number in order to receive prize money. Social Security numbers are only requested from winners for tax purposes. The Bill of Rights Institute does not sell, nor use student Social Security numbers for any reason other than the required reporting for Federal tax purposes. Winners will receive one of a minimum of 10 cash prizes based on which of the two categories (as outlined in Section III) the video is submitted in. The Bill of Rights Institute guarantees a minimum of 10 prizes will be awarded and the total prize money awarded will be $10,000. The exact number of prizes and the amount of each prize will be determined by The Institute. In the case of group entries, prize monies will be distributed by the Bill of Rights Institute equally amongst the submitting students.
All entrants are solely responsible for understanding and complying with any and all federal, state, and local laws, codes, regulations, and ordinances that may apply to the entrants and the activities or business in which such entrants may engage. There may be tax consequences associated with the prizes and income received by a Contest winner, which may include, without limitation, an obligation to report as income and to pay taxes on such income to federal, state, or local authorities. Each Contest winner is responsible to determine the tax consequences of the income received and to comply with all applicable laws in all respects.
Section VI – Privacy Statement Upon submission of an entry, the entry becomes the property of the Bill of Rights Institute. By entering the Contest, entrants grant the Bill of Rights Institute the right, unless prohibited by law, to use their names, cities and states of residence, pictures, and likenesses without compensation, for the express purpose of advertising and publicity of the Contest in any and all media, now or after. Entrants also grant the Bill of Rights Institute permission to use their name and entry to further its educational mission as stated at http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/About/History/.
Section VII – Availability Disclaimer The administration of the Contest, including, without limitation, determining the eligibility of a student or entry, selecting of a judge, evaluating any submitted entry, and awarding of the prizes, is within the sole and absolute discretion of the Bill of Rights Institute. Any decision of the Bill of Rights Institute is final in all respects. No responsibility is assumed for incorrect or inaccurate entry information whether caused by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized by this contest or by any human error which may occur in the processing of entries into this contest. The Bill of Rights Institute nor its service providers are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, or delayed entries or any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of players on account of technical problems, or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or combination thereof. If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Bill of Rights Institute, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this contest or for any reason the Bill of Rights Institute deems it necessary, the Bill of Rights Institute reserves the right to cancel, modify, or delay the Contest.
Section VIII – Nondiscrimination Policy In administering the Contest, the Bill of Rights Institute will not discriminate in any manner, including on the basis of race, color, national, or ethnic origin, and each eligible entry submitted will be evaluated upon the merit of its contents as further described in Section IV.