Terms & Conditions - Official Competition Rules

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1. COMPETITION ADMINISTRATOR

The Competition is administered and hosted by Movie Expo (the "Company") a Toronto Incorporate company.

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2. ELIGIBILITY

The Movie Expo 2022 Competitions (the “Competition”) are open to writers worldwide who are nineteen (19) years of age or older at the time of entry. Employees of the Company or any of its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, or any other organizations or individual involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the Competition and their immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children) of each such employee are not eligible.

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Ineligible Scripts/Screenplays for the 2022 season:​

Current and well-established professional writers for scripted film and television, as defined by Movie Expo.

Any entrants deemed ineligible will be notified by phone or email and refunded their full entry fee prior to the announcement of Top Ten Finalists March 19, 2022.

The Competition is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and local laws and regulations. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules (the “Rules”) and Movie Expo decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Competition.

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3. TIMING

The Competition begins on January 1, 2022 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (“EST”) and ends on March 7, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. EST (the “Competition Period”).

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4. HOW TO ENTER / ENTRY FEE

Remittance of the Entry Fee, the amount stated on the Competition website, to Movie Expo during the Competition Period, together with your completed Registration and at least one (1) original feature screenplay, a TV pilot, or spec of an existing TV show (the “Script”) entitles you to participate in the Competition and shall constitute your entry (“Entry”). Movie Expo is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected registrations or entries, which will be disqualified.

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5. SCRIPTS

As part of each Entry, you may submit one (1) or more Scripts for evaluation and consideration by Movie Expo. Each Script must be submitting individually. The Script must be your original creative work, and you hereby warrant and represent that you are the sole and exclusive owner of all right, title, and interest in and to the Script and/or have obtained prior written authorization or license to submit the Script from any and all third party rights holders therein. You are prohibited from submitting any Scripts that have previously been produced at any time, and you warrant and represent that the Script has never been produced by anyone at any time and is not under option or an exclusive shopping agreement as of the date of entry. Adaptations and true stories must be in the public domain, or the Entrant must have written consent to adapt the source material.

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6. WINNERS SELECTION

Movie Expo will select a minimum of ten (10) scripts (the “Finalists”). From the Finalists, Movie Expo will select one (1) Feature Film Script Winner, one (1) Short Film Script Winner, one (1) Feature Film Script Runner-up and one (1) Short Film Script Runner-up for Screenwriting for the Prizes described in Section 8. The Winners will be contacted using the email addresses and/or telephone numbers provided on the corresponding Entry Forms and may be awarded the Prizes (subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the terms of these Rules). Movie Expo’s decisions as to the administration and operation of the Competition and the selection of potential winners are final and binding in all matters related to the Competition. Winners will be notified, at most, approximately seven (7) days after the announcement. Failure to respond to the initial verification notification within fourteen (14) days may result in disqualification.

 

Selections are based upon the level of writing ability, originality, market potential, appeal to Movie Expo’s industry network, and other factors pertaining to the Script, as determined in the sole discretion of Movie Expo.

 

7. VERIFICATION OF POTENTIAL WINNERS

Potential Winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. In the event that a potential Winner is disqualified for any reason, Movie Expo may award the applicable prize to an alternate Winner from among all remaining eligible Entries.

 

8. PRIZES

Feature Film Script Winner: $300 (CAD) Cash Prize, one(1) critique session (30min) with one (1) expert panelists, one(1) Master Pitch Session

Feature Film Script Runner-up: $150 (CAD) Cash Prize, one(1) critique session (15min) with one (1) expert panelists, one(1) Master Pitch Session

Feature Film Finalists: One(1) guaranteed spot in the Saturday Pitch Session

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Short Film Script Winner: $200 (CAD) Cash Prize, one(1) critique session (30min) with one (1) expert panelists, one(1) Master Pitch Session

Short Film Script Runner-up: $100 (CAD) Cash Prize, one(1) critique session (15min) with one (1) expert panelists, one(1) Master Pitch Session

Short Film Finalists: One(1) guaranteed spot in the Sunday Pitch Session

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Prizes are non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Movie Expo’s sole discretion. Movie Expo reserves the right to substitute any listed Prize for one of equal or greater value for any reason. Movie Expo will mail the winner’s prize(s) via to the address provided therein, or follow up via email if prize constitutes a service. Winners are responsible for all taxes and fees associated with Prize receipt and/or use.

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9. ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE 

By entering, each participant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Rules and the decisions of Movie Expo, which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Competition; (b) release and hold harmless Pipeline, its parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, Prize suppliers, and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising, or promoting the Competition, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, members, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights arising out of or relating to a participant’s Entry, participation in the Competition and/or acceptance or use or misuse of Prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the Script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless Movie Expo from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or relating to an entrant’s participation in the Competition and/or entrant’s acceptance, use, or misuse of Prize.

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10. PUBLICITY

Except where prohibited by law, participation in the Competition constitutes each Winner’s consent to Movie Expo’s use of Winners’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All use of a Winners’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

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11. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

• You hereby warrant and represent the following:

• You are the exclusive owner and sole author of the Script, such that the Script is your original creative work and your submission thereof will not infringe, misappropriate or violate the intellectual property, privacy or other rights of any third party; and/or you have obtained prior written authorization to act on behalf of any co-creators of the Script;

• Neither your execution of this agreement nor your participation of in the Competition, including your submission of the Script, will conflict with or violate any term or condition of any other agreement to which you are a party, including but not limited to any union or guild regulation;

• There are no threatened, pending or current claims, actions or lawsuits in connection with the Script and you agree to notify Pipeline immediate upon your notification of any such claims, actions or suits;

• You are submitting the Script voluntarily on a non-confidential basis;

• You are at least nineteen (19) years of age; and

• You have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into this agreement, and you agree to abide and be bound the terms and conditions herein.

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12. CHOICE OF LAW AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

This agreement shall be deemed to have been entered into and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario as applied to contracts made and to be performed entirely within Ontario, without giving effect to the province’s conflicts of law statute. Any controversy, dispute or claim arising out of or related to the agreement or your participation in the Competition shall be settled by an arbitrator, within in the City of Toronto, Ontario, subject to the rules and regulations of the Canadian Arbitration Association then in effect, except that such arbitration shall be handled by a single arbitrator selected in accordance with such rules and regulations. The arbitrator shall be well acquainted with the entertainment business in the City of Toronto, and the arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding. Each party to any arbitration shall bear its own costs, including attorney’s fees. Failure to appear at any arbitration hearing entitles the arbitrator to proceed ex parte.

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13. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

By accepting your Entry, including your submission of the Script, we in no way grant you any additional rights therein or otherwise expand the scope of your rights under applicable copyright laws. You are solely responsible for protecting your rights in the Script, including without limitation, for filing or registering the Script with the Canada Intellectual Property Office. You retain all rights to the Script itself and any other creative materials submitted to the Competition.

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14. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

The relationship between you and Movie Expo is one of independent contractors. Neither party will represent that it has any authority to assume or create any obligation, express or implied, on behalf of the other party, or to represent the other party as agent, employee, or in any other capacity, except as specifically provided herein

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15. GENERAL CONDITIONS

Movie Expo reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Competition, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, or any other factor beyond Movie Expo's reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Movie Expo in its sole discretion. Movie Expo reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the Entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Competition may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Movie Expo reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Movie Expo’s failure to enforce any term of these Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

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16. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Entry process or the Competition; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Competition or the processing of Entries; or (5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Competition or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize.

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17. ENTRANT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION

Information collected from entrants is subject to the Movie Expo's Privacy Policy.

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18. COMPETITION RESULTS

For Competition results, visit the website on March 20, 2022 or email the contest directly. Competition results are posted publicly on the respective contest website page. Winners may also be made public and permanently posted to the Movie Expo website and other sites under Movie Expo.