THE GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE – HALLOWEEN PET COSTUME CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES

1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN.  A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING.  SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS.  VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

2. Eligibility.  Subject to the additional restrictions below, the Green Bay Press-Gazette – Halloween Pet Costume Contest (the “Contest”) is open to legal U.S. residents of Green Bay who are 18 years or older at the time of entry and who are current subscribers or Insider members of The Green Bay Press-Gazette. Employees and contractors of The Green Bay Press-Gazette (“Sponsor”), Gannett Co., and each of their respective affiliated companies, or of any of their advertising and promotional agencies, of Second Street, and the immediate family members of, and any persons domiciled with, any such employees or contractors, are not eligible to enter or to win. 

3. How To Enter.  The Contest will begin at 12:01 a.m. C.T. on Thursday, October 1, 2015 and end at 11:59 p.m. C.T. on Saturday, October 31, 2015 (the “Contest Period”).  To enter, submit a photo depicting your pet in a Halloween pet costume. Photos must be submitted online by visiting www.greenbaypressgazette.com/Insider, clicking on the Green Bay Press-Gazette – Halloween Pet Costume Contest link, completing all required information and following all posted instructions. Online entries must be accompanied by a digital photograph. Each photo submission must be an authentic, original photograph taken by the entrant identified on the accompanying entry form, and the entrant must own the copyright in the photograph submitted. Sponsor will accept photos in color, and photos should be at the highest resolution possible. Sponsor will accept the formats of jpeg. The photo should be cropped as the entrant prefers. Photos must not have been digitally altered in any way other than necessary cropping. Entrant confirms that he/she received permission from any person featured in the photo for submission in the Contest, and for Sponsor to post the photo on its website and in The Green Bay Press-Gazette. Sponsor reserves the right to refuse any photo it determines to be unacceptable. Sponsor may disqualify previously published photos or those that have won previous awards or competitions.  Maximum three (3) entries per person. Multiple entries by means of software generated or other automated processes will be disregarded.

Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or illegible entries,  All entries become property of Sponsor and none will be returned.  Contestants acknowledge and agree that Sponsor shall have the right to edit, adapt, modify, reproduce, publish, promote, create a sound recording of, broadcast, or otherwise display or use entries in any way it sees fit without limitation or compensation to entrants.  Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any entry that is alleged to infringe on any third-party’s intellectual property rights, or that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, deems obscene, offensive or otherwise inappropriate for viewing by a general audience. By entering, you agree to receive e-mails from Sponsor or those directed by Sponsor.  You can opt-out of the receipt of such e-mails by following the directions on the Contest website or in any email received from Sponsor.

 
4. Voting. Voting will be open to the public starting at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, October 19, 2015 and ending at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, October 31, 2015 (the “Voting Period.” The public may vote for their favorite entry by visiting greenbaypressgazette.com/halloweenpetcontest during the Voting Period. Maximum one (1) vote per person, per day. Voting is open to anyone 13 years or older. Your computer must accept cookies, or any successor or similar technology, which may be used for the purpose of entry tracking. Ad blocking software on your computer needs to be disabled so that it doesn’t interfere with processing your vote. Use of script, macro or any other automated system to vote is prohibited, and Sponsor reserves the right to void any votes made by such means.

5. Winner Selection. The entry with the highest number of votes at the end of the Voting Period will be designed at the Grand Prize Winner.  In the event of a tie, a panel of judges composed of three (3) Green Bay Press-Gazette newsroom staff members will judge the tied entries according to the following criteria: 50% creativity and originality of photo, and 50% content of photo and appropriateness for theme. The ratings scale for each criterion will range from one (1) to ten (10, with ten (10) being the best score. Judging will conclude November 2, 2015, and the tied entry with the highest cumulative score will be designated the Grand Prize Winner.  Decisions of judges and Sponsor shall be final and binding in all respects.

6. Prizes and Odds.  Grand Prize: One (1) Grand Prize Winner will receive a $100 gift card to Pet Smart (ARV: $100).  Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

7. Winner Notification and Acceptance.  Winners will be notified on or about Monday, November 2, 2015 at the telephone number provided on winner’s entry form. Sponsor will call during regular business hours at number provided on entry form and will leave no messages.  Failure to reach winner by phone after three (3) attempts, return of email notification as undeliverable, or failure of winner to respond to email notification may result in disqualification of winner, forfeiture of his or her interest in all prizes, and selection of a substitute winner from among all remaining eligible entries. To claim prize, winner must personally visit Sponsor’s offices at 435 E. Walnut Street, Green Bay, WI, 54301 within five (5) business days after notification (office visits must be between the hours of 8 a.m. (C.T.) and 5 p.m. (C.T.) weekdays) and must present a valid photo identification.  Winners may waive their right to receive prizes.  Prizes are nonassignable and nontransferable.  No substitutions allowed by winner.  Prizes are not redeemable for cash.  Prizes and individual components of prize packages are subject to availability and Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value.  Winners are solely responsible for reporting and payment of any taxes on prizes.  Winners may be required to complete an affidavit of eligibility/liability certifying that the entrant’s submission is entrant's original work, that entrant owns right to the work, that the submission has not previously won an award or prize in a contest and has not previously been published, and that entrant has complied with the Official Rules of the Contest, and a liability and publicity release (except where prohibited by law) which must be returned as directed by Sponsor.  Failure to sign and return the affidavit or release, or to comply with any term or condition of these Official Rules, may result in a winner’s disqualification, the forfeiture of his or her interest in the prize, and the award of the prize to a substitute winner.  Except where prohibited, acceptance of any prize constitutes winner’s consent to the publication of his or her name, biographical information and likeness in any media for any commercial or promotional purpose, without limitation the Internet, or further compensation.  Prizes not won and claimed by eligible winners in accordance with these Official Rules will not be awarded and will remain the property of Sponsor. 

8.  Participation.  By participating, contestants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor.  Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this Contest as solely determined by Sponsor.  In the event the Contest is compromised by a virus, non-authorized human intervention, tampering or other causes beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor which corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness or proper operation of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest.  Should the Contest be terminated prior to the stated expiration date, Sponsor reserves the right to award prizes based on the entries received before the termination date.  Sponsors will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected or illegible entries (either photos or ballots), poor quality photos, or for failure to receive entries or votes or other electronic communications due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or Sponsor. The authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry will be considered the entrant. An “authorized account holder” shall mean the natural person assigned to such e-mail account by the Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with such e-mail account. A potential winner may be requested to provide proof that he or she is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with a winning entry. In the event of a dispute, all online entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the ISP account from which they were sent.  For these purposes, an ISP account holder shall mean the natural person assigned to such ISP account by the Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning ISP addresses for the domain associated with such ISP account.  Any questions regarding the number of entries, or votes submitted or the owner of an ISP account shall be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, and Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entries or votes by persons determined to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Contest.

9. Copyright.  By entering the Contest, each contestant grants to Sponsor an exclusive, royalty-free and irrevocable right and license to publish, print, edit or otherwise use the contestant’s submitted entry, in whole or in part, for any purpose and in any manner or media (including, without limitation, the Internet) throughout the world in perpetuity, and to license others to do so, all without limitation or further compensation.  Each contestant further agrees that if his/her entry is selected by Sponsor as the winning entry, he/she will sign any additional license or release that Sponsor may require, and will not publicly perform or display his or her submission without the express permission of Sponsor.

10. Construction. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision.  In the event that any such provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, these rules shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained therein.

11. Sponsor.  The Green Bay Press-Gazette – Halloween Pet Costume Contest is sponsored by The Green Bay Press-Gazette. The decisions of Sponsor and the Contest judges regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the Contest shall be final and binding in all respects.  Sponsor will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials relating to the Contest. . For a list of winners (available after November 16, 2015) or a copy of these Official Rules, visit greenbaypressgazette.com/Insider or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to “Winners List/Official Rules” (as applicable), Green Bay Press-Gazette – Halloween Pet Costume Contest, Attn: LSM, Colleen Warner, 435 E. Walnut Street, Green Bay, WI 54301.  If you have any questions regarding this Contest, please contact Colleen Warner, 920-431-8555 and/or cwarner@greenbay.gannett.com.