Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Terms and Conditions for the JOIN THE TECH ELITE APAC 2014 Contest (the “Contest”)

·            Organiser:  The Contest is organised by Microsoft.
Microsoft Operations Pte Ltd
1 Marina Boulevard,
#22-01 One Marina Boulevard
Singapore 018989
+65 6888 8899

·            Eligibility:  
a.          General Eligibility Requirements
·         All residents of Bangladesh, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam are eligible to participate in the Contest ("Participant")
·         If you are below 18 years of age (21 years of age in Singapore), you must obtain the appropriate permissions and releases from your parent or legal guardian in order to participate in the Contest.
b.          Not eligible:  The following are not eligible to participate in the Contest:
·         Employees of Microsoft and its related corporations and their immediate family members.
·         Employees of any party which is directly involved in organizing, promoting or conducting the Contest and their immediate family members.
·         Employees of external auditors who are directly involved in the Contest.
c.          Specific Eligibility Requirements:
·         The Participant must provide a mailing address from one of the participating countries.

·            Contest Specifics:  

(a)     CONTEST DESCRIPTION
This is a skill-based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of the winners.

The Contest aims to provide participants access to a cloud-based learning experience focusing on Microsoft Technologies and products.

(b)     ELIGIBLE COURSES

Course Name
Points Available1
Bonus2
Windows Azure for IT Pros Jump Start
109

Windows Azure IaaS Deep Dive Jump Start
70
15
System Center 2012 R2: ITIL for IT Pros
118
15
The Microsoft Hybrid Cloud: Best Practices Guidance
64
15
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
78
15
What’s New in VDI for Windows Server 2012 R2 and 8.1
27
10
System Center 2012 R2 Advisor for IT Pros
47
15
System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager Management Pack Design
57
15
Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Jump Start: New Choices
61
15
Windows Server 2012 R2: Server Networking
23
5
Windows Server 2012 R2: Server Management and Automation
41
5
Windows Server 2012 R2: Web and Application Platform
14
5
Windows Server 2012 R2 Virtualization
37
10
Windows Server 2012 R2 Access and Information Protection
23
5
Server Virtualization with Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center
135
15
IT Service Management with System Center 2012 R2
53
10
Automation & Self-Service with System Center 2012 R2
54
10
Infrastructure Monitoring with System Center 2012 R2
32
5
App Performance Monitoring with System Center 2012 R2
19
10
Designing Applications for Windows Azure Jump Start
61
15
Enterprise Developer Camp Jump Start
64
15
Windows Azure Storage - Design and Implementation Jump Start
29
10
Mobile Apps to IoT: Connected Devices with Windows Azure
52
15
Platform for Hybrid Cloud with SQL Server 2014 Jump Start
70
15
Data Insights Immersion
91
15

1 Maximum points available for completing all modules in the course
2 Bonus Points Awarded for Course Completion

All eligible entrants will be judged using the criteria described below to determine winners. 

(c)     START AND END DATES
The “JOIN THE TECH ELITE APAC 2014” Contest commences 5 March 2014 12:01 AM (Singapore time) and ends 30 April 2014 11:59 PM (Singapore time) (the “Contest Term”).

(d)     ENTRY CRITERIA
To be eligible for judging, an entry must meet the following content/technical requirements:
·         Sign in / Register for free on MVA platform with a Microsoft account (formerly Windows Live ID). There is no minimum level of technical expertise required. To access the MVA portal, click on: http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/Home.aspx
·         Learn and gain as many points as possible by completing Eligible Courses from the list above during the Contest Term.
·         Register at and download a free evaluation copy of Windows Server 2012 R2 or System Center 2012 R2 from TechNet Evaluation Center.

·            How prize winners will be selected:
4.1    JUDGING CRITERIA
As this Contest is based on a points system, a panel of qualified judges will review the results, based on the MVA reporting tool.

In each of the countries there will be 3 winners identified at the end of the Contest Term. The location of the mailing address recorded in a Participant’s MVA profile will determine that Participant’s country of residence (“Country of Residence”). A Participant may compete only in that Participant’s Country of Residence.

These are the rules that will be taken into consideration for the Contest and are applicable to each participating country:

Rule 1: The 3 winners will be the 3 Participants that earned the highest number of points by completing Eligible Courses.

Rule 2: In the event of a tie between eligible entries, the Participant that completed the score first will be ranked higher.

Rule 3: The Participant must register in and download a free evaluation copy of either Windows Server 2012 R2 or System Center 2012 R2 from TechNet Evaluation Center.

Rule 4: No extra points will be validated for taking the same course in other languages.

Restrictions: Only MVA points earned during the Contest Term will count toward the Participants’ point total. Only TechNet Evaluation Center software registered and downloaded during the Contest Term will be counted. The Participant must present a copy of the TechNet Evaluation Software success notification email to qualify as a winner.

The decisions of the judges are final and binding. The decision will be made on or around 7th May, 2014.

4.2    Microsoft reserves the right to select another prize winner if the original prize winner is subsequently disqualified from the Contest.
·            Prizes: 
The following prizes will be awarded to the top 3 Participants:
1st Prize: a Nokia Lumia 1520
2nd Prize: an IronKeyTM Workspace W300 (Microsoft-Certified for Windows To Go) 32BG USB flash disk
3rd Prize: a Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Mouse

The odds of winning will depend on the number of eligible entries received and the skill level of each Participant.

Microsoft will only award one (1) prize per Winner.

·            How prize winners will be notified:
All potential winners will be notified via the e-mail address, the phone number, or mailing address listed on the Participant’s Microsoft account / Microsoft Virtual Academy profile within seven (7) days following the determination of potential winners. Winners will only be publicly announced after the top 3 winners have been confirmed contactable and have completed all steps necessary to be award the prizes.

If the notification sent is returned as undeliverable, or a winning Participant is otherwise unreachable within a reasonable time period (determined in Microsoft’s sole discretion) for any reason, Microsoft reserves the right to disqualify that Participant.

If there is a dispute as to the identity of the eligible winner, Microsoft will consider the winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter the Contest.

Microsoft may require potentially winning Participants (or Participants’ designated parent/legal guardian) to sign a declaration of eligibility, use, indemnity, and liability / publicity release. If a Participant (or the designated parent/legal guardian) does not sign and return these required forms within the time period specified in the winner notification message, Microsoft reserves the right to disqualify the Participant.

The winners’ names will be posted on the Contest website, www.jointhetechelite.asia for approximately one month following the notification to winning Participants.


·            Claiming a prize:
Microsoft will deliver the prize to the winner. The method of prize delivery will be included in the winner notification.

Only a winner may accept a prize. Designating another person as the winner is not permitted.  If a winner is unable or unwilling to accept the prize, Microsoft reserves the right to disqualify that Participant.

·            Entry forms: 
a.          Microsoft is not responsible for printing or typographical errors in any Contest-related materials or for registrations, entry forms or submissions that are incomplete, lost or misdirected, fail to enter into the processing system, or are processed, reported, or transmitted late or incorrectly or are lost for any reason including electronic, computer, telephone, paper transfer, mail system, human or other error; including inability to access any website associated with the Contest.  Proof of online submission shall not constitute proof of receipt by Microsoft.
b.          If any information provided on an entry form is found to be misleading or inaccurate, that entry shall be deemed invalid.

·            Goods as prizes:  Where the prizes under the Contest are items/goods, these shall be subject to availability and may not be substituted for cash.  Microsoft reserves the right to offer an alternative prize of equivalent monetary value, without prior notice.  If prizes involve manufactured items, these shall be subject to the manufacturer's terms and conditions for warranty, service and maintenance, and Microsoft does not accept any responsibility for them.  In particular, prizes are provided by Microsoft "AS IS" without warranties of any kind, including warranties of merchantability, satisfactory quality, non-infringement of intellectual property, or fitness for any particular purpose.

·            Taxes, etc.:  Taxes and other levies imposed by any relevant applicable government or tax authority, as well as other costs including insurance and incidental costs, that may be levied or incurred on the prizes shall be fully borne by the prize winner.

·            Your submission’s fitness for publication:   By entering the Contest, you expressly agree that your MVA profile information (such as profile picture), comments, and score (“Submission”) do not contain any image or content that is unlawful, libellous, slanderous, defamatory or invasive of another person's right of privacy or right of publicity, or that Microsoft may reasonably deem harmful, vulgar, obscene, derogatory, pornographic, abusive, harassing, threatening, hateful, objectionable with respect to race, religion, creed, national origin or gender, or otherwise unfit for publication.  Microsoft shall not be liable in any way for any Submission. Microsoft shall have no obligation to monitor your Submission, but may do so at its discretion.  If, Microsoft, in its sole and absolute discretion, considers your Submission inappropriate or unsuitable for publication, Microsoft may remove your Submission from the Contest.

·            Representations and warranties relating to your Submission(s):  You represent and warrant to Microsoft that (i) you are the sole and exclusive owner of your Submission(s), or you have all right and authority to grant the rights in your Submission(s) to Microsoft, its affiliates and/or its agents and contractors; (ii) if your Submission(s) contains a photograph or a video, you have obtained any and all releases necessary from all persons depicted in the photograph or video, including, without limitation, releases in the context of rights of privacy and rights of publicity; and (iii) if a person depicted in the photograph or video is under the age of 18 years, you have obtained all appropriate permissions and releases from the parent or legal guardian of the person in question, to submit the Submission(s) for the Contest.

·            Promotional activities:  You agree to have your name and place of residence used for promotional purposes at Microsoft’s sole discretion (online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with the Contest).  If you are a prize winner, except where prohibited by law, you consent to the use of your name, photo and/or likeness, biographical information, winning entry, Submissions(s) and statements attributed to you (if true) for advertising and promotional purposes without any compensation or notice you.

·            Microsoft’s rights in your Submission:  
a.             Microsoft will not return any of your Submissions, and your Submissions become the property of Microsoft. 
b.             You grant to Microsoft and/or its affiliates a non-exclusive, fully transferable, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty free, fully paid-up right and license:
·            to adapt, edit, modify, publish, promote, reproduce, distribute, publicly display your Submission and make derivative works based on it in any and all media, including any compilation, as Microsoft and/or its affiliates see fit for any reason,
·            to identify you as the author of the Submission, and
·            to authorize others to do any of the things described above without any obligation to notify or compensate you.
c.             Without limiting the generality of the provisions above, Microsoft and/or any of its affiliates shall have an exclusive right to publish and use any winning Submission(s) in print and/or electronic form for advertising and promotion of Microsoft’s products, for exhibition, and for both commercial and non-commercial products and publications, including without limitation, using, downloading, adapting, reformatting, editing and/or resizing the winning Submission(s) as may be necessary and to authorize others to do any of the above without any obligation to notify or compensate the prize winner(s).

·            Limitation of liability; Indemnity:  To the maximum extent permitted by law, Microsoft and its parent company, affiliates, related corporations, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees and agents accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any damage, loss, death or personal injury that may occur as a consequence of your participation in the Contest.  You undertake to indemnify and keep Microsoft and its parent company, affiliates, related corporations, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees and agents harmless and indemnified against any loss, damage, claims, costs and expenses which may be incurred or suffered by any or each of them due to your breach of any of these Terms and Conditions and/or arising from your participation in the Contest.

·            Microsoft’s decision final and binding.  In the event of any dispute arising from the Contest or relating to the interpretation of these Terms and Conditions, the decision of Microsoft on all matters pertaining to the Contest shall be final and binding on all parties.  No correspondence will be entertained.

·            Privacy.  The information submitted by you during the registration process or otherwise when participating in the Contest may include your email address, ID number and other personal information (“Personal Information”).  Except as provided elsewhere in these Terms and Conditions, your Personal Information will only be used by Microsoft in accordance with applicable data protection laws and regulations and Microsoft’s privacy policy referred to below, for the purposes of administering your participation in the Contest.  For more details on Microsoft's privacy policy, please see: http://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx.


·            No warranties. 
a.             Microsoft and any agents or contractors (if any) that it may use in the execution and management of the Contest do not warrant or represent (either directly or indirectly):
(a)        that participation in and/or access to the whole or any part of the Contest, Contest materials, content, information and/or functions contained in them will be provided on an uninterrupted, timely, secure and error-free basis; or
(b)        that no computer viruses shall be transmitted or that no damage shall occur to your computer system as a result of any online activity of the Contest (if any).
b.             Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the Internet is done at your own discretion and risk, and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data resulting from such download.
c.             Microsoft does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use, validity, accuracy, or reliability of, or the results of the use of, or otherwise in respect of the materials on the Contest site or any sites linked to the Contest site.

·            No use of unlicensed software.  You declare and warrant to Microsoft that in participating in the Contest, you shall not use any unauthorised or unlicensed software.  If you are found doing so, you shall be disqualified from the Contest.

·            Microsoft’s IP rights not affected.  Nothing in the Contest shall affect any intellectual property rights of Microsoft in any product or service which may be the subject matter of the Contest.

·            No cheating tolerated.  You acknowledge and agree that no form of cheating will be tolerated.  If you are found cheating, as determined in the sole and absolute discretion of the Microsoft, you will immediately be disqualified from the Contest.  Cheating includes, but is not limited to, using multiple identification numbers, tampering with, hacking of the Contest site (if any), participating in the Contest without meeting the eligibility requirements, using any automated software or device to gain an advantage during the Contest, use of the Contest beyond the defined rules of the Contest, attempting to disable or overwhelm any of Microsoft's websites or the Contest site (if any), attempting to disrupt any portion of the Contest, including but not limited to, allowing somebody else to use your Personal Information, or tampering with the entry process.  ANY ATTEMPT BY A PERSON TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY OF MICROSOFT'S WEBSITES OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS; AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, MICROSOFT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

·            No waiver.  Microsoft's failure to enforce any provision of these Terms and Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of that or of any other provision.

·            Modification of these Terms and Conditions, etc.:  Microsoft may modify these Terms and Conditions and/or withdraw or terminate the Contest at any stage based on events beyond the control of Microsoft, including but not limited to war, riot, fire, act of God, strikes or lockouts (“Force Majeure”) without any liability towards anyone. If Microsoft withdraws or terminates the Contest early due to Force Majeure, Microsoft reserves the right to select winners based on the criteria specified above from among all eligible entries received prior to the withdrawal or termination of the Contest.

·            Laws:  The Contest shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Singapore.  The Contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law, and is subject to all applicable laws.

No third party rights.  A person who is not a party to this agreement shall not have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act (Cap. 53B) to enforce any of its terms.  For the purposes of this paragraph, “person” shall mean a human being or a corporate entity (whether or not having a separate legal personality), as the case may be. 

Source: JOIN THE TECH ELITE ASIA

No comments:

Post a Comment