OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
1. Eligibility: Dell “We Mean Business” Contest (the “Contest”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry, are owners or operators of small to medium-sized businesses (1-500 employees) headquartered in the United States or the District of Columbia and who have a business Tax ID number at the time of entry. Employees of Dell Inc., Intel Corporation (“Intel”), Enfatico, A&E Television Networks, Schematic Inc., Rackspace Hosting, Inc., MediaCom (a division of Grey Global Group), ePrize, LLC, and any of their parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. Subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
2. Sponsor: Dell Marketing L.P., One Dell Way, Round Rock, TX 78682. Administrator: ePrize, LLC, One ePrize Drive, Pleasant Ridge, MI 48069.
3. Agreement to Official Rules: By participating in the Contest, each entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to and accepts these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and/or Administrator, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Whether an entrant receives the prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
4. Timing: The Contest begins on September 16, 2008 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on December 11, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. ET (the “Contest Period”). The Contest consists of three (3) phases as set forth in the chart below.
| Phase | Starts at 12:00 a.m. ET | Ends at 11:59 p.m. ET |
|---|---|---|
| Submission | September 16, 2008 | November 7, 2008 |
| Judging | November 10, 2008 | November 14, 2008 |
| Voting | November 22, 2008 | December 11, 2008 |
Rackspace Hosting, Inc.’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the Contest.
5. How to Enter: During the Submission Phase, visit www.dellmeansbusiness.com (the “Website”) and follow the links and instructions to complete and submit the registration form, including your name, address, email address, business name, industry, number of employees in business and a valid business address. P.O. Boxes are not permitted. Then, follow the links and instructions to accurately and truthfully answer the questions about your business situation and why your business needs a technology makeover (the “Entry”). By completing the registration and submitting your answers, you agree that your Entry conforms to the Guidelines and Content Restrictions as defined below (collectively, the “Guidelines and Restrictions”) and that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may remove your Entry and disqualify you from the Contest if it believes, in its sole discretion, that your Entry fails to conform to the Guidelines and Restrictions.
Guidelines:
Content Restrictions:
For all Entries: All Entries will become the exclusive property of Sponsor, and none will be acknowledged or returned. Sponsor shall have the right to edit, adapt and publish any or all of the Entries, and may use them in any media without attribution or compensation to the entrant, his/her successors or assigns, or any other entity. SUBMITTING AN ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES ENTRANT’S IRREVOCABLE ASSIGNMENT, CONVEYANCE AND TRANSFERENCE TO SPONSOR OF ANY AND ALL RIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST IN THE ENTRY INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL COPYRIGHTS. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, un-intelligible or misdirected Entries, which are disqualified. Limit: Each entrant may submit one (1) Entry during the Submission Phase and only one (1) Entry per business will be accepted. If two (2) or more Entries are submitted for one business, only the first one received will be eligible.
6. Winner Determination: Winners will be determined via the process set forth below.
(a) Judging Phase: During the Judging Phase, qualified judges determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion will select the entrants with the top three (3) Entries (the “Finalists”) based on the following criteria (“Judging Criteria”):
In the case of a tie, the entrant whose Entry received the highest score in the Description and Compelling Nature of the Technology Challenge category will be deemed a potential Finalist. Each potential Finalist will then be required to provide their valid business tax ID number and up to five (5) photographs of the business and its technology challenge(s) between November 17 and November 19, 2008, in order to qualify for the Voting Phase or potential Finalist will be disqualified and an alternate potential Finalist will be selected.
(b) Voting Phase: During the Voting Phase, the Finalists’ Entries will be posted at http://www.dellmeansbusiness.com/contest/vote/voting.php. Owners or operators of small to medium-sized businesses (1-500 employees) headquartered in the United States or the District of Columbia and who have a business Tax ID number will be invited to vote for their favorite Entry, the one they feel most needs or deserves a technology makeover. Limit: Each participant may vote one (1) time per day during the Voting Phase. The Entry that receives the highest number of votes during the Voting Phase will be the potential Grand Prize winner. In its sole discretion, Sponsor reserves the right to select an alternate Grand Prize winner should the voting appear to have been tampered with or manipulated in any way. In case of a tie, the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, will select the potential winner from the tied Entries based on the criteria in the Judging Phase above.
For the Voting Phase: Multiple voters are not permitted to share the same email address. Any attempt by any voter to submit more than the stated number of votes by using multiple/different email addresses, identities or any other method will void that voter’s Entry (if any) and he/she will be disqualified from further participation in the Contest. Use of any automated system to vote is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible or misdirected votes, which will be disqualified. In the event of a dispute as to any vote, the authorized account holder of the email address used to vote will be deemed to be the voter. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address.
7. Winner Requirements: Potential winner will be notified by email, mail or phone on or around December 12, 2008. The potential Grand Prize winner (parent/legal guardian if winner is eligible but a minor in his/her state of residence) will be required to execute and return to Administrator, within five (5) days of the date notice or attempted notice is sent, an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability & Publicity Release (“Affidavit”) in order to claim his/her prize on behalf of his/her company. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, fails to execute and return the Affidavit within the required time period, or if prize is returned as undeliverable, potential winner forfeits the prize. If a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, the entrant whose Entry received the next highest number of votes during the Voting Phase will be deemed the potential winner. Only two (2) alternate winners will be selected through this process, after which the prize will remain un-awarded. Acceptance of any prize shall constitute and signify winner’s agreement and consent that Sponsor may use the winner’s name, city, state, likeness, Entry and/or prize information in connection with the Contest, worldwide, including the Internet, without limitation and without further payment or consideration, except where prohibited by law.
8. Prize: ONE (1) GRAND PRIZE: A $25,000 Dell Promotional Gift Card that winner may use to purchase Dell products, through http://www.dell.com for his or her business, (terms and conditions apply—see http://www.dell.com/promocard for details). Approximate Retail Value: $25,000. Prize is non-transferable and no substitution will be made unless Sponsor, in its sole discretion, determines otherwise. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute the prize for one of equal or greater value should it become unavailable for any reason. Winner and/or winner’s company is responsible for all taxes and fees associated with prize receipt and/or use. The Grand Prize winner will not be eligible to win a prize in the Dell “We Mean Business” Sweepstakes, for voting in this Contest.
9. Release: By receipt of any prize, winner agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsor, Intel, Enfatico, A&E Television Networks, Schematic Inc., Rackspace Hosting, Inc., MediaCom (a division of Grey Global Group), Administrator, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies, and prize suppliers, and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any prize.
10. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
11. Limitations of Liability: The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrant, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail; or (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. Sponsor is not responsible for misdirected or undeliverable Entries or for any technical problems, malfunctions of computer systems, servers, providers, hardware/software, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission or any combination thereof. Sponsor and Administrator are not responsible for any typographical/other error in Entries, selection, announcement or for any liability for damage to any computer system resulting from participation in, accessing or downloading information in connection with this Contest.
12. Disputes: Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Southern Division) or the appropriate Michigan State Court located in Oakland County, Michigan; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Contest, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (3) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Michigan without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of Michigan or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Michigan.
13. Entrant’s Personal Information: Information collected from entrant is subject to ePrize, LLC’s Privacy Policy (www.eprize.com/privacy/privacypolicy.html) and Sponsor’s Privacy Policy (www.dell.com/privacypolicy).
14. Winner List: Winner List requests will only be accepted after the promotion end date (listed above) and no later than April 12, 2009. For the Winner List, send an email with subject line: “Dell ‘We Mean Business’ Contest, Winner List Request,” to WinListRequests@eprizefulfillment.com.
© 2008 ePrize, LLC. All rights reserved.