A. Organizer and Co-organizer

Organizer of Start-Up Challenge: Young Americas Business Trust, 1889 F Street NW, Washington, DC, 20006, United States.

Co-Organizer of Start-Up Challenge: Banco de Reservas de la República Dominicana, Banco Múltiple (Banreservas), Avenida Winston Churchill, esquina Porfirio Herrera, Piantini, Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic.

B. Governing Law

These terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States of America.

C. Confidentiality

Principle of Confidentiality

The Organizer, Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), the judges and any other person involved in TIC Americas and the Start-Up Challenge will maintain faithful enforcement of the Principle of Confidentiality of the projects presented by the teams for TIC Americas (including the Talent & Innovation and Eco-Challenge Awards) in accordance with the Rules, Terms, and Conditions.

All information submitted by the Teams during the Online Semi-Finals is considered confidential by YABT. Teams will be asked to provide a summary that will be made available to the public through the websites of YABT, Banreservas, TIC Americas and Start-Up Challenge, newsletters and magazines. Websites listed by the Teams under the Team Profile and social media handles will be considered public information. During the Online Semi-Finals and Virtual Finals, Project Plans will be reviewed by the judges, who have previously agreed to maintain confidentiality of the Business/Project Plans.

It is the Teams’ responsibility to decide which and how much information should be disclosed at any time during their participation in TIC Americas and Start-Up Challenge. YABT and Banreservas are not responsible for any type of complaints or demands from a third party claiming that a project or work submitted and presented to TIC Americas and Start-Up Challenge contains proprietary work that they consider to be their own.

YABT commits to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of Teams.

1. Competition Materials

Due to the nature of the Start-Up Challenge, the Organizer, Judges, Mentors, and Sponsors and other partners will have access to Confidential Business Information. “Confidential Business Information” means any information disclosed via the Competition Materials or other material submitted by Teams about their technologies, business plans, strategic or financial documents, projections, market research data on products and services, trade secrets, and production plans, etc. that is part of their business and is not public knowledge.

Confidential Business Information does not include any information that (i) is now in or later enters the public domain through no wrongful act of a third party, (ii) was in possession of YABT, a Judge, Mentor, Sponsors, or other partner prior to the Team delivering the information, (iii) is or was independently developed by a third party, (iv) was disseminated with the authorization of a member of the Team to disclose the information to a third party, or (v) must be disclosed pursuant to requirements of law or valid legal process, provided that the team is notified in advance of the need for any such disclosure. Websites, social media accounts and other on-line presence listed by the Teams during registration will be considered public knowledge.

By submitting Competition Materials, Teams agree that the Competition Materials and their corresponding Confidential Business Information will be collected and saved in the Start-Up Challenge database. The Organizer, Judges, Mentors, and Sponsors and other partners who gain access to Confidential Business Information shall not disseminate or use such materials or information for any purpose other than to judge or provide support to the Teams, unless required by law or court order.

2. Team Profiles

Team Profiles, including but not limited to the business plan summary and photographs of Team Members, are considered public and may be shared in part or whole by the Organizer and Co-Organizer through their websites, informational bulletins, and magazines. YABT and Banreservas are authorized the rights of free use, reproduction, and dissemination of the Team Profile and Pictures for the purposes of TIC Americas and the Start-Up Challenge.

Personal identifying information (“PII”) contained in the Team Profile will remain confidential and be retained by YABT, who shall comply with applicable privacy laws of participating countries to adequately protect personal and business information of the applicants.

YABT will collect and store the Team Profile, including but not limited to personal information such as email, phone, gender, address, age, and education level, in part to direct communications regarding new programs, competitions, events, promotions, and new products to the Team. If at any point, the Team wishes to opt out of communications and/or delete their data, the Team may submit the request by emailing YABT directly.

It is understood and agreed that this condition of use of the Profile, personal information, and pictures of the Teams does not violate the Principle of Confidentiality described previously nor does it at any time generate an obligation of payment or other remuneration as a lucrative activity in favor of the Team for such usage.

D. Intellectual Property

Teams maintain Intellectual Property Rights over all materials submitted, including but not limited to their individual Competition Materials and Team Profiles.
It is the Teams’ responsibility to decide which and how much information should be disclosed at any time during their participation in TIC Americas and the Start-Up Challenge. YABT and Sponsors are not responsible for any type of complaints or demands from a third party claiming that a project or work submitted and presented to TIC Americas contains proprietary work that they consider to be their own.

1. Competition Materials

Teams shall retain the Author’s Rights of the Competition Materials. All Teams that register are considered authors of the Competition Materials they submit. The Organizer and Co-Organizer retain no interest in the Author’s Rights. If Teams have intellectual property rights, copyrights, or trademarks on content submitted as part of the Competition Materials, Team Members will retain non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide and perpetual license of their materials.

By submitting Competition Materials, you agree that there are no intellectual property rights, copyrights, trademarks, or other restrictions imposed by you or other parties that would prevent any content of the Competition Materials from being shared. The Organizer and Co-Organizer are not responsible for any type of complaints or demands from a third party claiming that Competition Materials or other materials submitted and presented to Start-Up Challenge contains proprietary work that they consider to be their own.

2. Team Profiles

By submitting a Team Profile, Teams irrevocably grant to the Organizer and Co-Organizer and their agents the unconditional and perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to copyright, post, display, publish, use, adapt, edit and/or modify such photographs and information, including the business plan summary but exclusive of PII, either alone or accompanied by other materials, in whole or in part, in edited, modified or altered format, in any manner and in any media, for any purpose, at any time hereafter, without limitation, at the Organizer’s and Co-Organizer’s sole discretion and without prior examination, approval, or consideration to Teams and Team members. The Organizer and Co-Organizer will include written credits to the Team in any published material that uses data provided in the Team Profile.

Teams do not have any right to compensation in connection with the above granted rights and release and discharge the Organizer and Co-Organizer from any and all claims and liability related to said photographs or information, including, without limitation, any claims based on libel, the right of publicity, the right of privacy or the commercial appropriation or use of name or likeness.

All Teams further agree to release and indemnify and hold harmless the Organizer, Co-Organizer, Sponsors, Judges, and the U.S. Government and its affiliates, officers, agents, grantees, or other partners and employees harmless, including attorneys’ fees and losses for infringement claims, from any and all claims that any commercial, advertising, presentation, web content or any other material subsequently produced, presented, and/or prepared by or on behalf of the Organizer and Co-Organizer infringes on the rights of Teams’ work as contained in any Competition Materials.

E. Disqualification

YABT may disqualify any Team if:

• There is actual, alleged or publicized illegal conduct of any registered Team Member or Mentor, either identified by the Team or by YABT;
• Any registered Team Member’s behavior is considered offensive or violates generally accepted community standards of behavior including, but not limited to the use of illicit drugs or public intoxication; harassment or intimidation of other Teams; other obscene behavior; violation of intellectual property rights, copyrights, or trademarks; or any action that demonstrates an extreme lack of collegiality and sportsmanship.
  Disqualified Teams and each Team Member will no longer be eligible to compete in future editions of the TIC Americas Program.

F. Tax and Legal Considerations

The cash award may have legal or tax implications for the Team’s domestic tax status in their home country and payments of any taxes will be entirely the responsibility of the winning Team(s). The Organizer and Co-Organizer hold no tax responsibility or related legal obligations over the Teams, nor does any Team represent or hold themselves to represent the Organizer and Co-Organizer.

Participation in any or all activities related to the Start-Up Challenge is voluntary.
Teams, Judges or Mentors will be afforded no compensation in exchange for their participation beyond the training opportunities and Awards laid out in the Rules.

G. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions

Registration for the Start-Up Challenge constitutes acceptance, on behalf of all the persons registering as the Team, of all the Rules, Terms and Conditions included in this document. Furthermore, by registering, all Teams and Team Members agree that:

A. Any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with their participation will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action;

B. Any and all claims, judgments and awards will be limited to actual third-party, out-of-pocket costs incurred, but in no event will attorneys’ fees be awarded or recoverable from the Organizer and Co-Organizer;

C. The Team knowingly and expressly waives all rights to seek punitive, incidental, consequential or special damages, lost profits and/or any other damages;

D.They irrevocably waive any right to seek injunctive or equitable relief.

I. Limitations of Liability and Release

No liability or responsibility is assumed by the Organizer, Co-Organizer, Judges, or Sponsors resulting from any user’s participation in or attempt to participate in the Start-Up Challenge or their ability or inability to upload or download any information in connection with participating in the Start-Up Challenge. No responsibility or liability is assumed by Organizer, Co-Organizer, Judges, or Sponsors for technical problems or technical malfunction arising in connection with any of the following occurrences or any other circumstance which may affect the operation of the Start-Up Challenge: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any e-mail transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted e-mail transmissions; inaccessibility of the Website in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the Website; unauthorized human or non-human intervention of the operation of the Start-Up Challenge, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the Start-Up Challenge, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the Start-Up Challenge.

The Organizer, Co-Organizer, Judges, and Sponsors are not responsible for any personal injury or property damage or losses of any kind which may be sustained to user’s or any other person’s computer equipment resulting from participation in the Start-Up Challenge, use of the Website or the download of any information from the Website. By participating in the Start-Up Challenge, the Team releases the Organizer, Co-Organizer, Judges, or Sponsors from any and all claims, damages or liabilities arising from or relating to such Team’s participation in the Start-Up Challenge. By accepting an Award in the Start-Up Challenge, each Team agrees that the Organizer, Co-Organizer, Judges, or Sponsors shall not be liable for any loss or injury resulting from their participation, acceptance or use of any Award, or any travel related thereto. The Organizer, Co-Organizer, Judges, or Sponsors are not liable in the event that any portion of the Start-Up Challenge, event or the event broadcast is canceled due to weather, fire, strike, acts of war or terrorism, or any other condition beyond their control (a “Force Majeure Event”).

Teams agree that the Organizer and Co-Organizer have the sole right to decide all matters and disputes arising in the Start-Up Challenge and that all decisions of the Organizer and Co-Organizer are final and binding. By accepting an Award the Teams agree to release, indemnify and hold harmless the Organizer, Co-Organizer, Judges, or Sponsors, as well as each of their respective parent and affiliated companies or organization(s), and each of their employees, representatives, contractors, advertisers from any and all liability, loss, damage, cost or claim related to any allegation regarding the acceptance or use of their prize, including but not limited to the airing of the commercial business plan.

J. Modification of the Rules, Terms, and Conditions

The Organizer and Co-Organizer can modify the Rules, Terms and Conditions, including increasing, decreasing, or eliminating Awards. The Organizer and Co-Organizer may also modify the dates of the Start-Up Challenge or suspend temporarily or definitively the execution of the Start-Up Challenge as considered appropriate.

All the modifications to the actual Terms and Conditions will be published on the Website. The current version that is posted on the Website is considered the applicable and final version.