Essay Contest Rules — Berkshire Magazine

BERKSHIRE Magazine’s

OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

1. BRIEF OVERVIEW. BERKSHIRE Magazine’s Create 4 Freedom™ Contest (the “Contest”) starts February 27, 2024, at 12:00 A.M. EST and ends May 8, 2024, at 6:00 P.M. EST (the “Contest Period”). Entrants may enter in one of two categories: the Essay Contest or the Poetry Contest.

Limit one (1) entry per person. Old Mill Road Media, LLC is one of the Sponsors of the Contests and is the entity administering the Contest (“OMRM”).

2. ENTRANT ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is only open to eligible individuals who are legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States or the District of Columbia who, as of the date of entry, are above the age of 18 years old (“Entrants”). Void in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and where prohibited or restricted by law. In addition, the following individuals are not eligible to enter or win the Contest: (a) individuals who are officers, directors, employees, or independent contractors of 1761 Arts, OMRM, their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, or web design agencies, or other individuals / entities associated with the Contest, (b) individuals who are members of the household of any of the foregoing or (c) individuals who are immediate family members of any of the foregoing.

3. CONTEST REGISTRATION: Starting on February 27, 2024, Entrants should log on to www.BerkshireMag.com/Create4Freedom, which will contain a link to a Contest Entry Form and Instructions for entry. All entries must be submitted online.

4. CONTEST SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS. A contest submission consists of one original work of prose (essay) or poetry written by the author (the “Artwork”), and the registration information set forth above. An Entrant may submit only one (1) Contest Submission throughout the Contest Period. Contest Submissions may not be changed after they have been submitted.

a) Guidelines for Essay Contest. All ESSAY CONTEST submissions must be unpublished and no more than 1500 words in length.

b) Guidelines for Poetry Contest. All POETRY CONTEST submissions must be unpublished and no more than 250 words in length. Acceptable forms: rhyme, haiku, or free verse.

5. ARTWORK’S LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. Each Artwork must be the Entrant’s own original and accurate creation, created solely by Entrant. Each Artwork must not have been published previously or won any other contest, prize, or award, may not currently be submitted or under consideration in another promotion during the Contest Period, and the right to submit it in the Contest must not be restricted. OMRM reserves the right, at any time, to require satisfactory proof that the Entrant has obtained consent from any person(s) or entity who may reasonably claim that their privacy or publicity rights have been or will be violated by submission or use of an Artwork. No reproduced, illegible, incoherent, incomplete, offensive or distasteful Artwork will be accepted. Non-complying or incomplete Artwork will be disqualified. By entering, each Entrant agrees that he/she/they will not bring any claim, action, or proceeding of any kind or nature against OMRM, 1761 Arts, their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, and web design agencies, or other individuals/ entities associated with the Contest, including without limitation officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives of the foregoing entities (“Sponsor & Others”). OMRM is not responsible for typographical errors, omitted words, or any other errors in any Artwork.

6. CONTEST JUDGING & JUDGING CRITERIA: In conducting the Contest, OMRM is seeking Artwork that challenges today’s writers to discuss the meaning of the word “Dignity” by sharing their own personal response or life experience. Individuals selected by OMRM will evaluate the Contest Submissions to select the winners and finalists of the Essay Contest and the Poetry Contest. In the event of a tie, an individual selected by OMRM, not previously involved in the judging process, will review and evaluate the tied Contest Submissions in order to break the tie. Contest Finalists and First Prize Winners will be notified by email, postal mail, social media, telephone, or overnight courier. The decisions of the Judges are final.

7. CONTEST PRIZE: First Prize winners will each have their entries published in the July 2024 edition of Berkshire Magazine and will each receive a $750 cash prize, courtesy 1761 Arts. First Prize Winners and Finalists are referred to in these rules as “Contest Winners”. Each Contest Winner will be required to sign and return a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility/ Compliance and a Publicity/ Liability Release, as allowed by law (collectively, the “Required Documents”). Failure to sign and return the Required Documents and other such requested documents by the return date specified in the Contest Prize notification may result in forfeiture of the Contest Prize and, time allowing, selection of an alternate Contest Winner, as applicable. Please note that it is solely the responsibility of the Contest Winner to file and pay any and all applicable federal, state, and local taxes on the actual retail value of the Contest Prize. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. Contest Winners will not be entitled to the difference between the approximate and actual retail value of the Contest Prize awarded if any. OMRM reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and select an alternate Contest Winner in the event that (a) a Contest Winner is unreachable; (b) the Contest Prize notification email or letter is returned as undelivered or is not responded to; (c) a Contest Winner fails to provide OMRM with satisfactory proof of age (18 or above), identity, and residency; (d) a Contest Winner fails to execute and return the required Affidavit of Eligibility/Compliance or a Publicity/Liability Release by the specified return date, regardless of the cause of such failure; (e) a Contest Winner declines acceptance of the Contest Prize; or (f) OMRM makes the determination that a Contest Winner has not complied with these Official Rules. Entrants should regularly check their spam filters to ensure they do not contain any Contest notifications emails.

8. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES & GRANT OF RIGHTS AS CONDITIONS OF ENTRY. An Entrant, by submitting a Contest Submission, represents and warrants that:

(a) he/she/they has the legal capacity to enter the Contest;

(b) the Artwork and all of the content material contained in the Artwork is original and has been legally created by the Entrant and by no other persons;

(d) the Artwork does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights, or any other legal or moral rights of any third party;

(e) the Artwork has not entered in or won previous contests or awards; and

(f) the Artwork has not been published or distributed previously in any media.

Each Entrant further agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor & Others and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives from any and all claims, damages, expenses, costs (including, without limitation, attorneys fees) and liabilities (including, without limitation, settlements) brought or asserted by any third party against any of them due to or arising out of his/her/their Artwork, or the Entrant’s conduct in creating the Artwork, or any advertising or products subsequently produced, presented, and/or prepared by or on behalf of OMRM using the Artwork or other actions in connection with the Artwork, including, but not limited to, claims for trademark infringement, copyright infringement, violation of an individual’s right of publicity or right of privacy, false advertising or defamation.

9. GRANT OF RIGHTS:

a) By accepting a Contest Prize, each Contest Winner unconditionally assigns and transfers to OMRM all rights, title, and interest including, without limitation, copyright and other intellectual property interests, in whole and in part, which he/she/they now has or may in the future have to the submitted Artwork and/or any element(s) therein including, without limitation, its use for advertising, publicity, promotion, or in commerce and in any and all media worldwide without limitation and without additional payment or consideration to any person or entity. Furthermore, each Contest Winner agrees that each of his/her/their Artwork will be deemed a Work Made For Hire under Copyright laws of the United States, but if it cannot be so deemed, then the Contest Winner irrevocably assigns and transfers to OMRM all of his/her/their right, title, and interest in, and to his/her/their Artwork, including but not limited to, all copyright and trademark rights which he/she/they may have, in the United States and worldwide, therein, for valid consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged.

b) By submitting a Contest Submission, each Entrant irrevocably grants OMRM and its affiliates, legal representatives, assigns, agents, and licensees, the nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, unconditional, unlimited, and worldwide right and permission to reproduce, encode, store, copy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, publicly perform, adapt, exhibit, and/or otherwise use or reuse each Artwork (in its original form or as edited/modified in any way by OMRM in its sole discretion), as well as to use (or not use) it or any portion of it in any and all media without limitation, worldwide and throughout perpetuity, without additional compensation, notice to, or approval from the Entrant or any other party.

c) OMRM shall have the right to edit, modify, publish, use, alter, assign, transfer or dispose of each Artwork however it sees fit without approval of the Entrant.

d) Each Contest Winner agrees that his/her/their personal information may be used in connection with the Contest and OMRM may use the name and/or likeness of each Contest Winner, worldwide in any medium, without limitation, for advertising/ promotion purposes without additional compensation as allowed by law.

e) Each Entrant hereby waives in favor of OMRM, all right of “Droit Moral” or “Moral Rights of Authors” or any other intellectual property rights, privacy/publicity rights, or similar rights or principles of law that he/she/they may now or later have to his/her/their Artwork that might limit or preclude OMRM’s use of the respective Artwork and agrees not to sue or assert any claim against Sponsor & Others arising out of or connected to the use of the Artwork.

f) EACH ENTRANT REPRESENTS, UNDERSTANDS, AND ACKNOWLEDGES THAT NEITHER HE/SHE/THEY NOR ANY THIRD PARTY WILL BE PAID FOR OR RECEIVE ANY FORM OF COMPENSATION OR ROYALTY IN EXCHANGE FOR GRANTING OMRM THE RIGHTS SET FORTH IN THIS RULE 9, OR FOR ANY SUBSEQUENT USE OF SUCH ARTWORK BY OMRM, OTHER THAN THE CONTEST PRIZES DESCRIBED IN THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

10. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. Sponsor & Others are not responsible for illegible, lost, late, incomplete, stolen, misdirected, postage-due, or undeliverable, email or postal mail; or for any computer, telephone, satellite, cable, network, electronic or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, failures, connections or availability, or garbled, corrupt or jumbled transmissions, service provider/ Internet/ web site/ user net accessibility, availability, or traffic congestion, or any typographical, mechanical or technical error, or unauthorized human intervention, or the incorrect or inaccurate capture of registration information, or the failure to capture, or loss of, any such information. Sponsor & Others are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest and assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, typographical or technical error, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to any web site(s). Sponsor & Others are not responsible for any injury or damage, whether personal or property, to participants or to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in the Contest. If for any reason, the Contest is not capable of running as planned, OMRM reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest or any portion of the Contest and/or proceed with the Contest in a manner deemed fair and appropriate to OMRM. IN NO EVENT WILL SPONSOR & OTHERS BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR ACCEPTANCE OF ANY CONTEST PRIZE. OMRM MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT AS TO ANY CONTEST PRIZE OR ANY COMPONENT OF ANY CONTEST PRIZE. OMRM reserves the right to disqualify any individual found, in its sole opinion, to be tampering with the operation of the Contest or any portion of the Contest, to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, or to be acting with the intent to disrupt the normal operation of the Contest or any portion of the Contest. Should any individual attempt to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest, OMRM reserves the right to seek damages or other remedies from any such person(s) responsible for the attempt to the fullest extent permitted by law.

11. PUBLICITY RIGHTS. Each Entrant who submits a Contest Submission agrees to allow OMRM’s designee the perpetual right to use his/her/their name, photos, and/or likeness, and statements for promotion, trade, commercial, advertising, and publicity purposes, at any time or times, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide, without notice, review or approval and without additional compensation except where prohibited by law.

12. RELEASE. By participating in the Contest, each Entrant releases and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor & Others and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives from and against any and all costs, claims, damages, or any other injury, whether due to negligence or otherwise, to person(s) or property (including, without limitation, death or violation of any personal rights, such as violation of right of publicity/privacy, libel or slander), due, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, to participation in the Contest or arising out of participation in any Contest or Contest Prize-related activity, or the receipt, use, or misuse of any Contest Prize or Contest Prize-related activity.

13. DISPUTES: Except where prohibited, by participating in the Contest, Entrants agree that: (a) except as otherwise specifically set forth in these Official Rules, any action arising out of or relating to the Contest, these Official Rules or the rights and obligations of any Entrant and/or OMRM shall be filed exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont (or if the District Court shall not have jurisdiction over the subject matter thereof, then to the Superior Court in and for Bennington County, Vermont), and Entrants hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such court for the purpose of litigating any such action, and right to a trial by jury is hereby waived; (b) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Contest, these Official Rules and/or the rights and obligations of any Entrant and/or OMRM shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action,

(c) any and all claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, and in no event will Entrants be entitled to receive attorneys’ fees or other legal costs;

(d) under no circumstances will Entrants be permitted to obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, and an Entrant’s sole remedy will be an action at law for damages to the extent allowed by subparagraphs (c) and (e) of this Rule 13; and

(e) under no circumstances will Entrants be permitted, and Entrants hereby waive all rights, to:

(i) claim punitive, exemplary, special, incidental, indirect and consequential damages and any other damages (whether due to negligence or otherwise), other than for actual out of pocket costs described in (c) above; and

(ii) have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of any Entrant and/or OMRM, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Vermont, without giving effect or regard to any principles or doctrines of conflict of law of the State of Vermont or any other jurisdiction. If any provision or provisions of these Official Rules shall be held to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable, or in conflict with the law of any jurisdiction, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

14. GENERAL: By participating in the Contest, Entrants agree to abide by these Official Rules. The decisions of OMRM, 1761 Arts, and the Judges shall be final and binding on all matters pertaining to the Contest. All Contest Submissions become the property of OMRM. All pertinent federal laws and laws of the State of Vermont shall apply. Void in all jurisdictions other than the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia and wherever prohibited by law.

SPONSOR/ADMINISTRATOR: Old Mill Road Media, L.L.C.