Wisdom Panel™ MX
Mixed Breed Dog of the Year Photo Contest
OFFICIAL RULES
No Purchase Necessary
SPONSOR: The Sponsor of this Contest is Mars Veterinary, PO Box 10786, Gaithersburg, MD 20898-0786. ("Sponsor").
ELIGIBILITY: The Mixed Breed Dog of the Year Photo Contest (the "Contest") is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and who are at least 18 years of age or older at the time of entry, and are the owners of a mixed breed dog. ("Contestants"). Void where prohibited. Employees of Sponsor and its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies, and their immediate families and/or persons living in the same household of such individuals, are ineligible.
CONTEST DESCRIPTION AND TIMING: The Contest is a photo contest designed to select the Wisdom Panel™ MX Dog of the Year. Contestants will be invited to submit photographs of their dogs (the "Submission"), which will initially be judged by a panel of judges and will then be posted on both www.whatsmydog.com and www.wisdompanel.com (collectively, the "Contest Site") for public voting as described in Rule 3 below. Four (4) quarterly winners ("Quarterly Winners") will be selected by a panel of judges based on the criteria described in Rule 3 below, provided a sufficient number of eligible Submissions are received. One "Dog of the Year Winner" will be selected from the Quarterly Winners based on the results of the online public voting process described in Rule 3 below. The Contest begins on January 1, 2008 and ends on December 15, 2008 (the "Contest Period"). Submissions uploaded at the Contest Site prior to January 1, 2008 will automatically be entered into the Contest. The Contest consists of four quarterly entry periods ("Quarterly Entry Periods") as set forth below.
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Quarterly Entry Period
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Entry Begins
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Online Entry Ends
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Mail-In Entry Postmark Date
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Mail-In Entry Received Date
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Winning Submission Announced
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Winter
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12:00 AM EST, January 1, 2008
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11:59 PM EST March 14, 2008
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March 1, 2008
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March 7, 2008
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March 28, 2008
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Spring
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12:00 AM EST, March 17, 2008
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11:59 PM EST, May 30, 2008
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May 16, 2008
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May 23, 2008
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June 13, 2008
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Summer
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12:00 AM EST, June 2, 2008
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11:59 PM EST, August 15, 2008
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August 1, 2008
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August 8, 2008
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August 29, 2008
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Fall
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12:00 AM EST, August 18, 2008
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11:59 PM EST, October 24, 2008
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October 10, 2008
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October 17, 2008
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November 7, 2008
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The Quarterly Winners will be posted online for public voting to select the Dog of the Year beginning 12:00 AM EST on November 8, 2008, through 11:59 PM EST on December 15, 2008. The Dog of the Year winner will be announced on or about January 6, 2009.
1. HOW TO ENTER:
(a) To enter online: Go to the Contest Site and fill out the registration form completely. If you have obtained a Wisdom Panel™ MX analysis on your dog, you must include your 10 digit Wisdom Panel™ MX Code (the "Code") that you received at the time that the Wisdom Panel™ MX analysis was administered. (This code is also available on the last page of the Wisdom Panel™ MX Owner’s Report ("Owner’s Report") given to you by your Veterinarian or mailed to you by Mars Veterinary). It is not required to have had the Wisdom Panel™ MX analysis administered on your dog to enter. ONLY PHOTOS OF MIXED BREED DOGS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR ENTRY INTO THE CONTEST. If you have not had the Wisdom Panel™ MX Code administered on your dog, you will be required to verify, as a condition of winner selection, by some other means deemed acceptable to Sponsor in its sole discretion that your dog is a mixed breed. Sponsor may, at its own expense, and in its sole discretion, administer the Wisdom Panel™ MX test in order to verify that your dog is a mixed breed. Submitters of potential winning Entrants agree, as a pre-condition of participation, to fully cooperate with Mars Veterinary with sample acquisition for administration of a Wisdom Panel™ MX test on the winning Entrant. After you have completed the registration form, follow the online instructions to upload up to three (3) photographs of your dog.
(b) To enter by mail: Go to the Contest Site and download the registration form. Fill out the registration form completely as described above. Mail your completed registration form along with up to three (3) photographs of your dog and a photocopy of your Owner’s Report (if applicable) to:
Dog of the Year Contest
PO Box 10786
Gaithersburg, MD 20898-0786
Limit one (1) Submission per dog per Quarterly Entry Period, regardless of method of entry. Subsequent Submissions will be disqualified. All Submissions become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned or acknowledged. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, stolen, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, misdirected, technically corrupted or garbled Submissions, which will be disqualified, or for problems of any kind whether mechanical, human, or electronic. Submissions that do not comply with these Official Rules in all respects are ineligible and void. The Submissions will be judged in accordance with the Judging Criteria, as defined below in Rule 3.
By entering this Contest, Contestants agree to receive marketing materials, communications and other materials from Sponsor. If, at any time, you no longer wish to receive materials from Sponsor, please go to our privacy policy, located at [www.wisdompanel.com], and follow the procedures indicated.
2. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
(a) The Submission must be the sole property of the Contestant and must not infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other intellectual rights of any person or entity. If the Submission was created for the Contestant by a professional photographer or other third party, Contestant must obtain all necessary rights to the photograph Submission prior to entry.
(b) The Submission cannot contain any material or elements that are not owned by the Contestant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties. No person other than the Contestant may appear or be featured in the Submission.
(c) Submissions that contain sexually explicit, disparaging, defamatory, libelous, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate content will not be considered, and such determination is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
3. JUDGING:
(a) Quarterly Voting: At the close of each Quarterly Entry Period, a panel of judges (the "Judges") will review the Submissions and select a Quarterly Winner based on the following judging criteria: 1) uniqueness of the mixed breed of dog; (2) composition of the photograph; (3) clarity and color of the photograph; and (4) "personality" of the dog as exhibited by expression, position, posture or activity (the "Judging Criteria"). Mars Veterinary will designate the Judges at its own discretion, and some or all of the Judges may be Mars Veterinary employees. In the event of a tie, the entrant among the tied entries with the highest score in "personality" of the dog as exhibited by expression, position, posture or activity will be deemed a potential Quarterly Winner. Potential Quarterly Winners are subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the Official Rules and Terms of Service for the Contest. The Quarterly Winners may be displayed on the Contest Site.
(b) Final Voting for Dog of the Year: Each Quarterly Winner will be considered a Finalist to be named the Dog of the Year. Beginning at 12:00 AM EST on November 1, 2008, and ending at 11:59 PM EST on December 15, 2008 (the "Final Online Voting Period") members of the public (the "Voters") will have the opportunity to go to the Contest Site and view and rate the Finalist Submissions. Voters must first follow the instructions on the Contest Site to register. Next, Voters will be asked to choose their favorite Submission based on the same Judging Criteria described above. At the conclusion of the Online Voting Period, the Finalist that has received the most votes will be deemed the Dog of the Year, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the Official Rules for the Contest. In the event of a tie, the Judges will select the Dog of the Year based on the Judging Criteria. The Dog of the Year will be announced on or about January 6, 2009. The Dog of the Year Submission may be displayed on the Contest Site for up to one year. No money, goods, services, or prizes of any nature will be awarded to the Dog of the Year winner. Limit one vote per person and per e-mail address. Any attempt by a person to vote more than once, as determined in the sole discretion of Sponsor may result in disqualification of all votes by that person. Multiple votes received from the same email address are subject to disqualification.
4. SPONSOR'S RIGHT TO DISQUALIFY: At any time during the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole and unfettered discretion to disqualify and remove any Submission that it believes potentially or actually infringes upon the copyrights, or other rights of any third party, or otherwise does not comply with these Official Rules.
5. WINNING SUBMISSION NOTIFICATION: All Quarterly Winners and the Dog of the Year Winner will be notified by e-mail at the address provided to Sponsor on the registration form.
6. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION: Contestants are solely responsible for the content of their Submissions. Contestants further agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives from any liability, claims, losses, and damages arising out of their participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activities. Contestants also agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules; and (b) that the decisions of Sponsor are final on all matters relating to the Contest. All potential Quarterly Winners (or parent or legal guardian if Contestant is a minor) will be required to sign an affidavit eligibility/liability/publicity release and transfer of copyright (the "Release") within three (3) days of attempted notification prior to being announced the Quarterly Winner. The Release shall be returned by overnight mail, in a prepaid courier envelope provided by Sponsor. Potential winners who have not furnished a Code from the Wisdom Panel™ MX Test will additionally be required to provide proof that their dog is a mixed breed. If potential winner is unable to supply sufficient documentation, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to administer the Wisdom Panel™ MX test. Submitters of potential winning Entrants agree, as a pre-condition of participation, to fully cooperate with Mars Veterinary with sample acquisition for administration of a Wisdom Panel™ MX test on the winning Entrant. By entering this Contest, each Contestant hereby grants a license to Sponsor and its agencies to use, publish, display and post their Submission, including information and pictures, in connection with this Contest, and to use the Submission for advertising and promotional purposes in such manner and media as Sponsor shall elect throughout the world in perpetuity without additional compensation unless prohibited by law. Non Wisdom Panel™ MX tested dogs will not be displayed in the online photo gallery of tested dogs.
7. INTERNET: Sponsor is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by Sponsor or presenter on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site or any combination thereof. If for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to select Winning Submissions from eligible entries received as of the termination date. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process. Caution: Any attempt by a Contestant to deliberately damage any Web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the game is in violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such contestant to the fullest extent of the law.
8. GOVERNING LAW: Except where prohibited by law, all issues concerning the construction, validity, and enforcement of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Contestant and Sponsor, shall be construed and governed by the laws of New York, without regard to conflicts of law. All suits or claims brought in connection with this Contest must be brought in a state or federal court in New York, New York.
9. WINNER’S LIST: For name of Dog of the Year Winner available after January 6, 2009, log onto www.whatsmydog.com or www.wisdompanel.com.