NASA Eligibility Requirements
& Participant Agreement

Eligibility
NASA welcomes applications from individuals, teams, and organizations comprised of members that have a recognized legal existence and structure under applicable U.S. law and that are in good standing in the jurisdiction under which they are organized with the following restrictions:
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Individuals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States and be 18 years of age or older.
Organizations must be an entity incorporated in and maintaining a primary place of business in the United States.
Teams must be comprised of otherwise eligible individuals or organizations and led by a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident of the United States who is 18 years of age or older.
U.S. government employees may participate so long as they are not acting within the scope of their position, rely on no facilities, access, personnel, knowledge, or other resources that are available to them as a result of their employment except for those resources made available to all other participants on an equal basis.
U.S. government employees participating as individuals, or who submit applications on behalf of an otherwise eligible organization, will be responsible for ensuring that their participation in the Challenge is permitted by the rules and regulations relevant to their position and that they have obtained any authorization that may be required by virtue of their government position. Failure to do so may result in the disqualification of them individually or of the entity which they represent or in which they are involved.
Foreign citizens may only participate as (i) employees of an otherwise eligible U.S. entity who reside in the U.S., (ii) full-time students at an otherwise eligible U.S. university or college who reside in the U.S., or (iii) owners of less than 50% of the interests in an otherwise eligible U.S. entity who reside in the U.S.
Registered competitors shall be responsible for the actions of and compliance with the rules by their employees, subcontractors, officers, owners, and other affiliated persons.

Ineligible persons or entities‍

Federal entities or Federal employees acting within the scope of their employment are not eligible to win an award.
Employees of Blue Clarity, and any of their subsidiaries and affiliates, and immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, are not eligible.

No use of government funds

If you are a Government contractor or are employed by one, your participation in this Challenge may also be restricted. If you or your employer is receiving Government funding for similar projects,  you or your employer are not eligible for award under this Challenge. Additionally, the U.S. Government may have Intellectual Property Rights in your solution if your solution was made under a Government Contract, Grant or Cooperative Agreement. Under such conditions, you may not be eligible for award. Please contact us if you need help determining your eligibility.

Distribution of an Award to a Team

If a team of individuals and/or entities is selected as a Winner, any Award will be made to the person who registered the team and submitted the application. That person is responsible for ensuring the award funds are appropriately distributed to each member of the team.

Distribution of an Award to an Organization

If an organization is selected as a Winner, any Award will be made to the organization who registered and submitted the application. You warrant that the appropriate officers, executives, managers, or other persons who have the authority to approve participation in this competition have approved Your Entry and You understand that these terms will be binding on both You and your Entity. Furthermore, You understand that if You enter without obtaining the appropriate approval, NASA may, in its sole discretion, disqualify your Entry. Finally, if an entity is selected to receive an award, an officer or person entitled to bind the entity will be required to validate that You are entitled to receive the award on the behalf of the entity and the officer or person entitled to bind the entity must provide the appropriate information for payment of the award.

Treatment and Use of Intellectual Property

Each application should reflect the anticipated ownership, use, and licensing of any intellectual property. You represent and warrant that your Entry is an original work created solely by You, that You own all Intellectual Property in and to the Entry, and that no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the Entry, except as expressly identified by You to us in writing in Your application. You retain all rights, title and interest in any inventions, software or work of authorship You invent or create. The ownership and use of intellectual property arising from this competition remains with You. NASA may choose to negotiate for a license to use the solutions developed as a result of this competition.

Indemnification

By participating in this challenge, each Participant agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in this challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
By participating in this challenge, each Participant agrees to indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to challenge activities.

Participant Agreements | Terms and Conditions

Each Participant agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
Each Participant participating in this challenge must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this challenge constitutes each such Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.
Participants may participate in this challenge either in an individual capacity, or as part of a team, or on behalf of an entity. Participants may not participate in this challenge in more than one capacity (either as an Individual, as part of a Team, or on behalf of an Entity) simultaneously.

NASA Beyond the Algorithm Challenge
Participation Agreement

Participant Agreement:

SPONSOR:

The NASA Beyond the Algorithm Challenge is presented by NASA (”Sponsor”, we”, “us”).

TEAMS:

All members of your team must meet the eligibility criteria contained in this Participation Agreement. If any member of your team is ineligible or otherwise fails to comply with this Participation Agreement, the team as a whole may be disqualified at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Each team is solely responsible for its own cooperation and teamwork. The Sponsor will not officiate any dispute among members regarding their conduct, participation, cooperation, contribution, prize sharing, or intellectual property. Your team’s materials submitted in connection with the Challenge will be referred to herein as your team’s “submission.”

THIS CHALLENGE IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CHALLENGE, YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

JUDGING:

A panel of judges will evaluate and score each submission against the judging criteria as outlined on the Challenge website. Challenge Sponsor will determine, in its sole discretion, which Submissions best addresses the Challenge. Challenge Sponsor has absolute and sole discretion to determine whether to accept any Submission, and whether to make an Award, multiple Awards or any Award. The decision of the Sponsor is final.

Judges are subject to change at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. A judge may elect to recuse him or herself from evaluating a submission, or the Sponsor may require a judge to recuse him or herself from evaluating a submission, if, at the judge’s or the Sponsor’s discretion, it would not be appropriate for the judge to evaluate a participant’s submission because of a past or current relationship with the participant. Recusal decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT AND VERIFICATION:

Potential winners will be announced after the judging. The Sponsor may take any actions necessary to verify a team’s compliance with this Participation Agreement before awarding a Prize. By agreeing to this Participation Agreement, the participant understands and acknowledges that even though a team may be announced as a winner if the team’s compliance with this Participation Agreement cannot be verified to the satisfaction of the Sponsor, the Sponsor will select an alternate winner with the next highest score based on the same judging criteria.

PRIZES:

Prizes are awarded based on combined judge scores from each round of judging.

PRIZE CONDITIONS:

All Prize details will be determined by the Sponsor at its sole discretion. All taxes and other expenses, costs, or fees associated with the acceptance and/or use of any Prize are the sole responsibility of the winners. Prizes cannot be transferred or substituted by the winner. The Sponsor will furnish the appropriate tax forms to winners for the approximate retail value of the Prize for the tax year in which the Prize was won. If a Prize is unclaimed within a reasonable time after notification from the Sponsor, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, it will be forfeited, and time permitting, an alternate winner may be selected from the remaining eligible entries at the Sponsor’s sole discretion.

SUBMISSIONS:

Your submission must–

Adhere to the terms of service per this agreement and the rules stated at the beginning of the Challenge, and adhere to the terms of service per this agreement and the rules stated at the beginning of the Challenge

Not breach the terms and conditions of any embedded software or services used by your Application

Not contain any malicious code or backdoors

Not contain, depict, or refer to any crude, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, disparaging, discriminatory, offensive, illegal, or otherwise unsuitable language, activity, or other content (all as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion)

Not contain, depict, or refer to any content which disparages or refers negatively to the Sponsor, the Challenge, or any other person or entity (all as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion); and

Not contain any content that violates any law or any third party’s rights (including privacy, personality, and intellectual property rights).

DISQUALIFICATIONS:

Your team’s submission may be disqualified if the Sponsor has reason to believe, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion, that your submission (a) contains any element that is malicious, corrupt, damaged, incomplete, inappropriate, or offensive; (b) violates the terms of use of any social media service, website, mobile application or any other platform used in connection with your submission; (c) infringes any third party intellectual property rights; (d) violates any applicable law or (e) violates or does not comply with any section of this Participation Agreement.

You and/or your entire team may be disqualified for any of the following actions, with or without warning, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion: (i) verbal abuse of another participant or Challenge staff, (ii) inappropriate touching or harming of another participant or Challenge staff, (iii) breach of the Challenge Participant Agreement or any other agreement entered into in connection with the Challenge, (iv) violation of or non-compliance with any section of this Participation Agreement, or (v) violating the spirit of the Challenge. If the Sponsor has reason to believe that you or your team has compromised the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Challenge, including, without limitation, by cheating, hacking, creating a malicious bot or other automated program, or by committing fraud in any way, your team will be disqualified and asked to leave the Challenge. If during the Challenge, any Challenge staff has reason to believe that your health is in danger, you may be required to discontinue your participation in the Challenge and asked to seek immediate medical assistance. Your teammates, if any, may continue participating in the Challenge if they so choose.

All disqualification decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

NASA Eligibility Requirements & Participant Agreement