CTRL Hack ZK

Rules and Terms

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Code of Conduct and Terms of Participation for Ctrl+Hack+ZK Hackathon

last updated: 09.01.2024

Please read these Code of Conduct and Terms of Participation ("Terms”) before entering and participating in the Ctrl+Hack+ZK Hackathon (“Event”). By participating in this Event, you (“you”, “your” or “Participant”) agree to be bound by these Terms.

The Event is an online blockchain hackathon. The goal of the event is to create and leverage solutions for the Aleph Zero Network. The Event takes place from January 10 – 31, 2024 („Event Period”). 

We value your participation and want all Participants to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. We see this as a responsibility to do our best to create a safe and welcoming space for hackathons, the Aleph Zero community, and the community at large. Accordingly, all participants are expected to be respectful and courteous to one another throughout the Event.

1. Overview and Responsibility

The entity responsible for the organization of the Event is the Aleph Zero Foundation domiciled at Bergliweg 15, 6300 Zug, Switzerland (“Organizer”, “we” or “our”). No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win this Event.

2. Eligibility and Exclusion

Subject to the additional restrictions below, you may enter the Contest if you (i) are eighteen (18) years of age or older as of the date of entry and participation in the Event, (ii) are not subject to personal sanctions issued by the UN, US, EU or Switzerland and (iii) are not accessing the Contest from one of the countries embargoed or restricted by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), including, but not limited to: Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, DPRK (North Korea), Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Myanmar (Burma), Republic of South Sudan, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, or Zimbabwe (“Prohibited Jurisdictions”).

In case local regulations prohibit the Event, the participation in it and/or prohibit class action waivers, you may not enter and participate in the Event. 

We have the right to exclude individual persons from participation at our sole discretion and for any reason, such as violation of these Terms, attempted manipulation, or unauthorized support from third parties. We reserve the right to take action against such individuals and to deny or reclaim any prizes that have been distributed to such individuals.

3. How to Enter the Event

Subject to Section 2, prior to the start of the Event Period you may enter the Event by completing the steps below: 

• register on the website https://hack.alephzero.org/ („Website”)

• complete the online application form on the Website („Submission”);

• either participate as an individual or participate in a team („Team”).

• describe your (Team’s) project/prototype idea („Project”) for the Event;

You can only be a member of one Team. Each Team may have up to five Participants and one Project. If you are a member of more than one Team and/or a Team has more than five Participants, we will exclude you and/or your Team from the Event.

You and/or your Team may withdraw from the Event at any time. Withdrawal from the Event will result in automatic disqualification from the Event.

Please note that the Event be conducted entirely online. Therefore, you will need to provide your own computer equipment and internet connection. 

4. Prize and Selection of Winner

The Event will have in five categories winners who can win 6,000 USD (first place), 4,000 USD (second place) or 2,000 USD (third place)] (“Prize”). The winner[s] of the Prize[s] will be announced on February 5th.

We will appoint a panel of experts (“Expert Panel”) who will be responsible for selecting the winners of the Event. The Expert Panel will evaluate your demo (“Demo”) created during the Event based on, among other things, the quality of your work on the Demo and the originality of the Project and Demo. Projects and/or Demos that contain pre-existing software code, copyrights, etc. will receive lower ratings from the Expert Panel. The deliberations of the Expert Panel are confidential, and its decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

The prize can be transferred to an AZERO or ERC20 wallet address. Cash payment or exchange of the prize is not possible. The organizer assumes no liability for legal and/or material defects of the Prize. 

The Prizes are non-transferable and non-assignable to any other person including relatives or friends, unless permitted in writing by us. Any attempt to transfer, assign, or sell any of the Prizes without our express written consent may result in forfeiture of any of the Prizes in our sole discretion.

You are solely responsible for all direct or indirect taxes, duties, charges, levies, contributions and withholdings or other fees of any kind payable under the laws of any relevant country, as well as all penalties, interest, surcharges and other costs related thereto, imposed on the Prize.

5. Participation Guidelines and Restrictions

By submitting your Submission and participating in the Event, you represent and warrant that you, your Submission, your Project and your Team (if applicable) comply with the following guidelines and restrictions:

• Your Submission, your Project and your Demo may not contain any untruthful, incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading information;

• Your Submission, your Project and your Demo may not violate any third-party rights, including copyrights, trademark rights, intellectual property rights, moral rights, or rights of privacy and publicity;

• Your Submission, your Project and your Demo may not include and/or depict any personal rights of third parties, such as their voices, names, images, without the prior written consent of such third party. You agree to promptly provide such written consent to us;

• Your Submission, your Project and your Demo may not pursue and/or facilitate the violation of any applicable laws and regulations;

• You, your Team, your Submission, your Project and your Demo may not include, feature, engage and/or promote hate speech, child exploitation, illegal distribution of personal or confidential information, sexually explicit or any sexual or pornographic material, harassment, bullying, violence, abusive, insensitive, defamatory, discriminatory, mean-spirited, offensive, defamatory or harmful content, impersonation or deceptive behaviour, spam;

• You and/or your Team own all the rights in connection with the content of your Submission and your Project and to the extent permitted by applicable law, you are able to grant to us the license to your Project pursuant to Section 8 below;

• You will not distribute malware, viruses, worms, defects or other items of a destructive or captive nature;

• You will not consume alcohol or any kind of drugs and psychotropic substances during the Event; 

• You accept and acknowledge that the purpose of the Event is to share ideas and concepts. Accordingly, any information you share with other Participants, the Event, sponsors of the Event and/or other third parties will not be subject to any confidentiality or security measures. Please use caution when sharing confidential information.

6. Marketing and Sponsors

We have partnered with third-party sponsors ("Sponsors") to organize the Event and the Prize. We and/or the Sponsors will be recording the Event (e.g., workshops, demo days, town halls, etc.) on video, photographs, audio recording and other media ("Recorded Material"). You may appear in the Recorded Material.

You agree and accept that we and/or the Sponsors may use the Recorded Material for any purpose, including, without limitation, for marketing purposes, during and after the Event. You will not be entitled to any compensation for any use of the Recorded Material by the Organizers and/or the Sponsors.

7. License to Us

By submitting your Submission, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, distribute, modify, run, copy, display, translate, and create derivative works of your Submission, Demo, and Project for any business purpose in connection with the Event and the Aleph Zero network. You will not be entitled to compensation for any use of the license by us, or our agents, licensees, or assignees. 

8. Intellectual Property Rights

You accept that any and all rights (including copyrights, design rights and/or other intellectual property rights) of ours (in particular but not exclusively in the Aleph Zero trademark and the Aleph Zero logo) shall remain in our property. We do not assign any right, title and interest in any and all work results created or developed by us under these Terms.

9. Interruption or Termination

If the operation or integrity of the Event is compromised or it cannot be held or continued for technical reasons, the Organizer may suspend, modify, or terminate the Event at any time without prior notice and without providing any explanation. In this case, the Organizer may decide to not award a Prize to any Participant.

10. Data Protection & Privacy Notice

You acknowledge that the Event is a virtual and public hackathon. Accordingly, the Organizer is entlited to publish and further process publicly accessible data as well as the data of each Participant provided in the context of the Event. You agree and accept to receive both written and electronic communication, newsletters and other information from the Organizer. It is possible to unsubscribe from our newsletters by sending an e-mail message to [email protected]. 

We may also share your publicly available information (such as Github, LinkedIn) with the Sponsors. You agree to receive electronic communications from the Sponsors.

Please see our Privacy Notice https://alephzero.org/privacy-policy to understand how we collect and use and disclose your personal data. 

11. Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

You agree that the Organizer shall not be responsible or liable for any losses, damages or injuries of any kind resulting from your participation in the Event or any related activity unless such damages are caused by gross negligence or wilful misconduct. By participating in the Event, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to fully indemnify the Organizer from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs, and expenses resulting from any breach by you of these Terms.

12. Change of Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time in our sole discretion. If we do so, we will provide notice by changing the “last updated” date above. By continuing to participate in the Event, you agree to be bound by the updated Terms and all documents incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not participate and/or cease to participate in the Event.

13. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Swiss law, excluding the Swiss conflict of law rules. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in connection with this Amendment or the breach, termination, existence, legal competence, or invalidity thereof, shall be exclusively settled by the courts of Zug, Switzerland.

14. Class Action Waiver

Any claim must be brought in the respective party’s individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, representative, multiple plaintiff, or similar proceeding (“Class Action”). The parties expressly waive any ability to maintain any Class Action in any forum. Any claim that all or part of this Class Action Waiver is unenforceable may be determined only by a court of competent jurisdiction.