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Terms and Conditions


GOOGLE CODE JAM 2012 CONTEST

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

These Terms were most recently updated on March 13, 2012, before the start of registration.

The Google Code Jam 2012 Contest ("Contest") is a competition designed to engage programmers from around the world in algorithmic programming. Prizes will be awarded to those contestants who have the highest scores on a series of programming problems, as more fully discussed below.
  1. BINDING AGREEMENT. In order to enter the Contest, you must agree to these Terms and Conditions ("Terms"). Therefore, please read these Terms prior to entry to ensure you understand and agree. You agree that submission of an entry in the Contest constitutes agreement to these Terms. You may not submit an entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive the prizes unless you agree to these Terms. These Terms form a binding legal agreement between you and Google Inc. ("Google") with respect to the Contest.
  2. ELIGIBILITY. This Contest is open to individuals who are 18 years of age or older as of July 22, 2012. Individuals who do not meet that requirement but are 13 years of age or older at the time of registration may enter the Contest but will only be able to take part in the Qualification and Online Rounds as described below. NOTE: If you are not 18 or older, you will be ineligible to travel to the Onsite Round, though you can still win a t-shirt.

    Finalists will be required to travel to New York City, USA. Any finalist who is unable to obtain appropriate travel documents, such as a passport or visa, may be disqualified from the final round and an alternative finalist may be selected.

    The Contest is void in Quebec, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Syria, Burma (Myanmar), and where prohibited by law. Individuals and entities restricted by applicable export controls and sanctions programs are ineligible to participate in the Contest. Google reserves the right to relax any of these restrictions if permitted by law before the start of the Qualification Round. At Google's discretion or where required by law, Google will provide a substitute prize of equal or greater value. Any duties and taxes (if applicable) are the sole responsibility of the recipients. Current employees, interns, contractors, and official office-holders of Google, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, advertising and promotion agencies, representatives, and agents; and members of the Contest Entities' immediate families (parents, siblings, children, spouses, and life partners of each, regardless of where they live) and members of the Contest Entities' households (whether related or not) are ineligible to participate in this Contest. Former employees, interns, contractors and official office-holders of Google who gained, while in that capacity, information about any of the problems used in the Qualification Round of the Contest may not attempt to gain points for those problems, or they will be subject to disqualification. Former employees, interns, contractors and official office-holders of Google who gained, while in that capacity, information about any of the problems used in other Rounds of the Contest are ineligible to participate in that Round and later Rounds. Google reserves the right to verify eligibility and to adjudicate on any dispute at any time. All contestants must have access to the Internet, a valid postal address, and a valid email address in order to enter.

    All communications between Google and contestants, including but not limited to the Contest website content and email communications, will be in English.
  3. HOW TO ENTER. All contestants must register and provide the required information about themselves at the Contest Website, located at http://code.google.com/codejam. Registration opens on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 19:00 UTC (12:00 PM Pacific Time (PT) in the United States) and ends on Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 0:00 UTC (Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 5:00 PM PT). Note that Registration extends through the Qualification Round; contestants must register before being able to participate in the Qualification Round.

    IMPORTANT NOTICE TO CONTESTANTS: CONTESTANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS.

    As part of Registration, contestants will be required to provide information about themselves, such as their names and email addresses, as well as to choose a screenname/nickname. Google reserves the right to change or omit contestant screennames or nicknames for purposes of publication on Google websites or listserv, particularly if they are, in Google's sole opinion, obscene or violate the intellectual property rights of others. Contestants may only register for Code Jam with one valid email address. Contestants competing with multiple email addresses will be disqualified.
  4. CONTEST STRUCTURE. The Contest is split up into a number of Rounds. In each Round, contestants will receive scores based on providing answers to a series of problems in the manner specified. After each Round, a number of contestants who have the highest scores in that Round -- either a specified number, or all contestants exceeding some specified score -- will advance to the next Round. The Qualification Round, as well as Rounds 1A, 1B, 1C, 2 and 3 will take place online. The onsite finals will take place at Google in New York City, USA. In the event of technical difficulties which either prevent or make it manifestly unfair to run the contest in accordance with these Terms, Google reserves the right in its sole discretion to make adjustments to the contest structure to compensate for such difficulties.
    • Qualification Round. The Contest will start with a Qualification Round on Friday, April 13, 2012 at 23:00 UTC (4:00 PM PT) and run for 25 hours, ending on Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 0:00 UTC (Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 5:00 PM PT). All registered contestants will be presented with a number of problems in the Qualification Round. Contestants will log in to the Contest site and attempt to solve the three problems any time during the 24-hour period of the Qualification Round. Only contestants who earn a minimum number of points, which will be displayed on the Contest website, will advance to the Online First Rounds.
    • Online First Rounds. The first rounds consist of three Rounds offered at different times specified at http://code.google.com/codejam/schedule.html from Saturday, April 28, 2012 to Sunday, May 6, 2012. Contestants who advance to the first rounds can participate in any of the three Rounds, until they qualify for Online Round 2.

      During the Rounds, contestants will log in to the Contest website and will be presented with a problem set as described below. Of those participating in the first rounds, the top-scoring 1000 contestants from each of the three Rounds will advance to Online Round 2. Contestants who advance to Online Round 2 from one of the first rounds may not participate in any later first round. Contestants who fail to advance from a Round may attempt to advance to Online Round 2 in later Rounds.
    • Online Rounds 2 and 3. The 3000 contestants advancing to Online Round 2 will be notified by email after the end of the Online First Rounds. Online Round 2 will begin on Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 14:00 UTC (7:00 AM PT) and will end on Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 16:30 UTC (9:30 AM PT). Online Round 2 contestants will log in to the Contest site during this time and be presented with a problem set to be solved and submitted as explained in the next Section of these Terms.

      The top-scoring 500 contestants from Online Round 2 will be notified by email after the close of the round that they have advanced to Online Round 3. Online Round 3 will begin on Saturday, June 9, 2012 at 14:00 UTC (7:00 AM PT) and will end on Saturday, June 9, 2012 at 16:30 UTC (9:30 AM PT). Online Round 3 contestants will log in to the Contest site and be presented with a problem set to be solved and submitted as explained in the next Section of these Terms.
    • Onsite Final Round. The top-scoring 25 contestants from the Online Round 3 will advance to the Onsite Final Round on Friday, July 27, 2012 at the Google offices in New York City, USA. Costs of travel and expenses for this trip for each contestant will be paid by Google as detailed below. Each contestant will be fully responsible for obtaining their own visa prior to arrival in the United States, however Google will reimburse the finalist for any visa application fee and up to $100 USD in travel expenses incurred in obtaining the visa. Google will not reimburse any fees or expenses related to obtaining a passport. Note, Google reserves the right to change the date and location of the finals in the event that they are unable to hold them at the specified time and place.

      During the Onsite Final Round, contestants will be asked to solve a problem set as explained below using Google-provided computer equipment only (with the exception of a contestant-supplied keyboard if the contestant wishes). Other materials will be permitted to the contestants at Google's discretion. A list of such materials will be communicated to contestants by email no less than seven (7) days before the beginning of the final round. Onsite Final Round contestants will receive the prizes detailed below depending on their scores and rankings from this Round.
  5. ENVIRONMENT. Contestants may use any programming language to solve the problems, using any development environment or text editor as long as the compiler or interpreter used for that language is freely available. Use of time-limited free trials for compilers and interpreters is prohibited unless there is a free version of such compiler or interpreter available. Exceptions: Visual Studio and MATLAB are acceptable. Compilers and interpreters that require Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X are acceptable, as long as the compiler or interpreter itself is free, as described above. Google reserves the right to make further exceptions on a case-by-case basis at its sole discretion. New exceptions will be communicated via email to all contestants who have not yet been eliminated.
  6. THE PROBLEMS. During each Round of the Contest, contestants in that Round will be presented with a problem set. Each problem set consists of a series of algorithmic problems and input/output sets for each problem as described below. Once a Round begins, each contestant will be able to access the problems and download the relevant input files for the problems for that Round.

    In addition to a textual description of the problem, each problem may be associated with one or more Small input/output sets, large input/output set(s), and input/output sets of a type described in the problem statement. There are different rules for the small and large input/output sets.
    • Small Input/Output Sets. When a contestant attempts to solve a small input/output set, a timer will start as soon as he/she downloads that small input file. The contestant then has four (4) minutes to submit the corresponding output file and the source code used in its generation. If the output file and source code file are not received by the end of the four (4) minute period or if the submitted output is incorrect, the attempt will be judged as incorrect and the contestant will be notified immediately. At that point, the contestant may choose to attempt to solve that problem again, but will have to download a new input file. The contestant's submissions will be judged immediately and the contestant will be notified if he/she provided a correct or incorrect answer. For certain kinds of incorrect submissions, the submission will instead be ignored; the contestant will be notified that the submission was malformed; and the contestant can submit again in whatever time remains in the four (4)-minute period.
    • Large Input/Output Sets. A contestant must correctly solve the small input/output set before he or she may download the large input file. When a contestant attempts to solve a large input/output set, a timer will start as soon as he/she downloads that large input file. The contestant then has eight (8) minutes to submit the corresponding output file and the source code used in its generation. Each contestant will be able to download only one large input file for each problem. The contestant may submit multiple outputs during the eight (8) minute period; with each output submission, the contestant must include the source code used to generate the output. Only the last output submitted within the eight (8) minute period will be considered. Judgments for the large input sets will not be revealed to the contestants until the specific Round ends. For certain kinds of incorrect submissions, the submission will instead be ignored; the contestant will be notified that the submission was malformed; and the contestant can submit again in whatever time remains in the eight (8)-minute period. For large input/output sets, contestants will not be able to re-upload output files or source code after the end of the eight (8) minute period.
    • Other Input/Output Sets Some problems may use types of Input/Output sets other than Small and Large. The problem statements for those problems will identify those Input/Output Sets, and will describe the rules for them.
    Contestants are advised to submit their output files and source code with an adequate amount of time remaining in the allotted time period for the problem periods in order to avoid problems arising from latency issues between the contestant's computer and Google servers.

    A valid submission for a problem consists of (1) the output file generated by the contestant and (2) all source code the contestant used to generate that output file. Submissions must be made within the allotted and specified timeframe for each problem in order for the submission to be considered. In addition, the output files must be provided in the format specified by these Terms and/or the Contest website.

    Contestants must upload all code used in solving each input/output set for each problem. Contestants must submit one or more plaintext or zipped plaintext files as the source code for the input/output set. The maximum allowable size of each source code file uploaded is 100KB, and the total size of an input/ouput set (after zipped data has been unzipped) may not exceed 1MB. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed.

    During any round of the Contest, a contestant may notify the judges using the "Ask a Question" link that the contestant believes the source code he or she submitted for a particular small input/output set is incorrect. The judges shall have the discretion to mark the submission as incorrect, which will allow the contestant to attempt the problem again. The judges shall have similar discretion for input/output sets that are neither Small nor Large.

    If, during the Onsite Final Round of the Contest only, a contestant decides that the source code submitted with a large input/output set was incorrect, the contestant may notify the judges using the "Ask a Question" link and may ask permission to resubmit the source code only for that set. The judges shall have the discretion to permit resubmission of the source code only; the contestant may not resubmit his or her output.

    Contestants may not request resubmission of source code, or report that they have submitted incorrect source code for any round, after the end of the round.
  7. JUDGING AND SCORING. All output files will be judged based on the following scoring system:

    Each problem has fixed point values for its input/output sets. For example, for a problem with a Small input/output set and a Large input/output set, solving the Small input/output set may be worth 10 points, while the solution to the Large input/output set may be worth 15 points. A contestant's total score for a Round will be the sum of the point values for all of the input/output sets he or she correctly solves in that Round.

    In the event of a tie between two or more contestants, those contestants will be ranked in ascending order according to the penalty times associated with their solutions. In other words, as between the contestants tied on point values, the one with the lowest penalty time will be ranked first while the one with the highest penalty time will be ranked last.

    A contestant's penalty time for a given Round is equal to the submission time of the last output that was submitted by the contestant and judged correct (time is measured from start of the Round) plus four (4) minutes for each incorrect small input set submission on problems the contestant eventually solves. Problems with input/output sets that are not Small or Large may specify rules pertaining to penalty time in their problem statements.

    If, after the close of any Round, an alleged discrepancy is discovered between the source code and the output file for any of a contestant's submissions that were judged correct during or at the conclusion of the round, a panel of two or more judges consisting of employees of Google and/or its subsidiaries shall examine the source code for all submissions of the contestant for that round. The judges shall determine, in their sole discretion whether a discrepancy exists, and if so whether the discrepancy is trivial or non-trivial. In the event of a trivial discrepancy, the contestant shall be assessed an additional 4-minute penalty for that input/output set. In the event of a non-trivial discrepancy, the contestant shall forfeit all points for that input/output set. In the event the judges rule that there is no discrepancy, no change will be made in the contestant's score for that input/output set and no penalty minutes shall be assessed.
  8. ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS AND PRIZES. Contestants will be notified at least one day before the following Round -- or, in the case of the Onsite Final Round, within seven (7) business days of the Onsite Final Round's close -- whether they have advanced to the next Round. Rankings from the Onsite Final Round will be announced within seven (7) business days following the end of that Round. These rankings, including the contestants' names or nicknames, will also be posted on the Google Code Jam website located at http://code.google.com/codejam.

    The top 1000 scoring participants from Online Round 2 will receive Google T-Shirts sent to the address used in registration. If phone number is not provided, Google may be unable to ship the awarded T-shirt. A cash prize of equivalent value may be given where required by law, or at Google's discretion. Any duties and taxes (if applicable) are the sole responsibility of the recipients.

    All contestants who attend and compete in the Onsite Final Round will receive the following prizes based on their scores in that Round.

    Competitor(s)Prize
    1st Place$10,000 USD
    2nd Place$2,000 USD
    3rd Place$1,000 USD
    4th—25th Place$100 USD


    Money prizes will be awarded in U.S. dollars. Any costs associated with currency exchange are the sole responsibility of the recipient. At Google's discretion or where required by law, Google will provide a substitute prize of equal or greater value.
  9. TAXES. PAYMENTS TO POTENTIAL WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS REQUIREMENT THAT THEY SUBMIT TO GOOGLE ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED BY GOOGLE TO PERMIT IT TO COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE STATE, FEDERAL, LOCAL AND FOREIGN (INCLUDING PROVINCIAL) TAX REPORTING AND WITHHOLDING REQUIREMENTS. ALL PRIZES WILL BE NET OF ANY TAXES GOOGLE IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO WITHHOLD. ALL TAXES IMPOSED ON PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNERS. In order to receive a prize, potential winners must submit the tax documentation within 7 days of request by Google or otherwise required by applicable law, to Google or the relevant tax authority, all as determined by applicable law, including, where relevant, the law of the potential winner's country of residence. The potential winner is responsible for ensuring that (s)he complies with all the applicable tax laws and filing requirements. If a potential winner fails to provide such documentation or comply with such laws, the prize may be forfeited and Google may, in its sole discretion, select an alternative potential winner.
  10. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION. Prizes are awarded without warranty of any kind from Google, express or implied, without limitation, except where this would be contrary to federal, state, provincial, or local laws or regulations. All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. Contestant's participation in this Contest means that contestant agrees to be bound by the terms of these Terms and by the decisions of Google, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest. Any potential winner who cannot be contacted within 15 days of attempted first notification will forfeit his/her prize. Potential prize winner(s) may be required to sign and return an Affidavit or Declaration of Eligibility, and Liability/Publicity Release within 30 days following the date of first attempted notification. Failure to comply within this time period may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. Each contestant will retain ownership of and all intellectual and industrial property rights to his or her Contest submission; provided that, as a condition of participation, Contestants agree that Google shall have a perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide, royalty-free right to use, copy, distribute, modify and make publicly available the submission in connection with the operation, conduct, administration, and advertising and promotion of the Contest. Contestants also agree that all submitted source code will be made available for anyone to view and download at the end of the contest. Contestants further grant a world-wide, royalty-free right to use, copy, and modify all submitted source code to members of the public after the Contest ends. Contestants agree and acknowledge that the downloading and running of any source code from the Contest is undertaken at the sole risk of the downloading contestant and not Google or any other contestant.

    Acceptance of any prize constitutes permission for, and contestant's consent to, Google and its agencies to use a contestant's name and/or likeness and submission for advertising and promotional purposes without compensation, unless prohibited by law. To the extent permitted by law, contestants agree to hold Google, its subsidiaries and affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees and assigns harmless for any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in the Contest and/or use or acceptance of any prize won, except to the extent that any death or personal injury is caused by the negligence of Google. Google will not be liable in the event a typographical or other error occurs in the administration of the Contest or the announcement of the winners.
  11. TRAVEL. Contestants participating in the Onsite Final Round will receive a trip to Google's Office in New York City, USA. Each of these contestants will receive round-trip coach class air transportation for himself/herself from the major airport nearest the contestant's residence, hotel accommodations for the duration of the Round, and a meal allowance of $75 USD per person per day for the duration of the final round. Hotel accommodations will be arranged at a hotel of Google's choice. At Google's sole discretion, Google may allow contestants to fly from an airport other than the major airport nearest the contestant's residence or on a flight other than the flight selected by Google, but may condition payment for such flight on the contestant bearing the difference in cost of a round-trip coach class ticket from the airport nearest contestant's residence or the flight selected by Google. All other expenses not specified herein are the responsibility of the contestants. Each contestant is fully responsible for obtaining an entry visa at the contestant's expense prior to arrival in the United States, however Google will reimburse the finalist for any visa application fee and up to $100 USD in travel expenses incurred in obtaining the visa. Google will not reimburse any fees or expenses related to obtaining a passport. In the event that Google is unable to hold the finals in the specified location, Google reserves the right to move the finals to another destination; Google will not provide the difference if the secondary location travel expense is lower.

    Google in its sole discretion may but shall not be obligated to disqualify from the Onsite Final Round any contestant who:
    • fails to respond to emails from Google within 5 days of Google sending such email.
    • fails to provide name, number and expiration date as stated on contestant's valid passport by the deadline specified by Google.
    • fails to confirm receipt of email visa letter from Google within 5 days of Google sending such email.
    • fails to provide all documentation related to visas and passports requested by Google 2 weeks prior to the date of the Onsite Final Round.
    • fails to respond to flight confirmation emails within 48 hours of Google sending such email.
    • declines to compete in the Onsite Final Round, or is unable to do so (for example, if contestant is unable to obtain a passport in time).
    If a contestant is disqualified Google may advance the next highest scoring contestant from Round 3 to the Onsite Final Round.

    By accepting the travel to the Onsite Final Round, contestants represent and warrant that they understand that travel, whether in civilized or remote areas and whether by plane, automobile, boat, raft, or other conveyance, or by foot, on land or water, and in the air, contains some inherent element of risk of accident, illness, injury, loss or death, which may be caused by negligence, forces of nature, wild animals or other agencies, known or unknown. Contestants represent that they recognize that such risks may be present at any time before, during and after the trip. In no event shall Google, or its affiliates, subsidiaries, related companies or agents, be liable for any harm, damage, claim, loss or other action arising out of the contestant's travel to the Onsite Final Round.
  12. DATA PRIVACY. Contestants agree that personal data entered during the registration, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address may be processed, stored, and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest. This data will also be transferred into the United States. By entering, contestants agree to the transmission, processing, sharing and storage of this personal data in the United States.

    Contestants also understand this data may be used by Google in order to verify a contestant's identity, postal address and telephone number in the event a contestant qualifies for a prize, and if agreed to by contestant, for recruiting purposes. Contestants have the right to access, review, rectify or cancel any personal data held by Google in connection with the Contest by writing to Google at the address listed below. If a contestant does not provide the data required at registration, that contestant's entry will be ineligible. Otherwise, all personal information that is collected from the contestant is subject to Google's Privacy Policy, located at http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html.

    By accepting a prize, contestant agrees and consents to Google and its agencies' use of contestant's name and/or likeness to name the contestant for a reasonable time after completion of the Contest in promotional and advertising material of Google (or its agents) as a winner of the Contest without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.

    For residents of the EU: you are informed that:
    • the data controller is Google and the data recipients are Google and its agents;
    • your data is collected for purposes of administration of the promotion and for marketing purposes;
    • you have a right of access to and withdrawal of your personal data. You also have a right of opposition to the data collection, under certain circumstances. To exercise such right, you may write to codejam-claims@google.com.
    • your personal data will be transferred to the U.S.
  13. WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY. Contestants certify that their submission is original and that they are the sole and exclusive owner and right holder of the submission and that they have the right to enter the Contest. Each contestant certifies that all parts of his/her code, compilers and other binaries used in the processing of inputs into outputs are either original, or are licensed for use by both Google and all contestants in a way that does not: (1) infringe any third party proprietary, intellectual property, industrial property, personal rights or other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or confidentiality obligation; or (2) make use of ideas, hints or solutions for the Contest presented, other than by Google, for the first time after the start of the Contest in any form, including without limitation from other individuals, contestants, websites, listservs or blogs; or (3) otherwise violate applicable laws and regulations.

    To the maximum extent permitted by law, each contestant indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified Google at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the contestant and/or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each contestant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Google from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or accruing from (a) any entry or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by the contestant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy, (b) any misrepresentation made by the contestant in connection with the Contest; (c) any non-compliance by the contestant with these Terms; (d) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Terms arising from or related to the contestant's involvement with the Contest; (e) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in this Contest; (f) any malfunction or other problem with the Contest Site; (g) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry information; or (h) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any prize or winners.
  14. ELIMINATION. A contestant may be prohibited from participating in this Contest if, in Google's sole discretion, Google reasonably believes that the contestant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by:
    1. Providing false information concerning his/her identity, postal address, mail address or telephone number;
    2. Breaching any of the provisions set forth in these Terms;
    3. Threatening, harassing or interfering with the ability of other contestants to effectively participate in the Contest;
    4. Threatening, harassing or interfering with Google administrators or other employees;
    5. Communicating or publishing information concerning the content of the problems, or solutions to the problems, with other contestants, either directly or indirectly, before the end of the Round; or
    6. Refusing to comply with these Terms.

    Google further reserves the right to disqualify any submission that it believes in its sole and unfettered discretion infringes upon or violates the rights of any third party or otherwise does not comply with these Terms.

    Claims or concerns about suspicious activity or cheating in any Round must be delivered to the Contest administrator within 48 hours after the end of that Round. If Google suspects cheating or violation of the Terms by any contestant, Google will in its sole discretion research such claims and take the appropriate action. All decisions of Google in these matters are final and binding.
  15. INTERNET. Google is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operations or transmission. Google is not responsible for theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of submission materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind. Google is not responsible for inaccurate transmissions of or Google's failure to receive Contestant's output information on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site or any combination thereof, except to the extent that any death or personal injury is caused by the negligence of Google.
  16. OTHER ERRORS. If for any reason a portion of the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, any error on the part of Google in preparing the problems, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Google reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. For example, in such an eventuality Google may choose to alter the round structure of the contest, for example by adding an extra round or repurposing an existing round. Google reserves the right to select winners from eligible submissions received as of the termination date. Google further reserves the right to disqualify any individual who tampers with the submission process.

    Caution: Any attempt by a contestant to deliberately damage any Web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Google reserves the right to seek damages from any such contestant to the fullest extent of the law.
  17. NOT AN OFFER OR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT. Under no circumstances shall the submission of an entry into the Contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these Terms be construed as an offer or contract of employment with Google. You acknowledge that you have submitted your entry voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. You acknowledge that no confidential, fiduciary, agency or other relationship or implied-in-fact contract now exists between you and Google and that no such relationship is established by your submission of an entry under these Terms.
  18. NO RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL OR OTHER PROCEDURES. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded, and any contestant expressly waives any and all such rights. If such exclusion or waiver is not permitted by law, the contestant agrees to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the county of Santa Clara, California to resolve any legal matter arising from the dispute or claims. Contestants agree that these Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, USA. Contestants further agree that Google will not be liable for any errors, ambiguities or other inaccuracies caused by Google in the design, execution, judging or other aspects of the Contest.
  19. INVALIDITY. If any provision(s) of these Terms are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.
  20. WINNERS' LIST. For the winners' names, go to http://code.google.com/codejam after the Contest closes.
  21. SPONSOR. The Sponsor of this Contest is Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California, USA 94043.