Terms and Conditions - Global Guardians of the Genome Art Challenge Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

SPONSORS
1. The Global Guardians of the Genome Art Challenge (“Contest”) is sponsored by:
  GENEWIZ from Azenta Life Sciences , 115 Corporate Boulevard, South Plainfield, NJ 07080, USA, GENEWIZ GmbH, Bahnhofstr. 86, 04158 Leipzig, Germany, GENEWIZ UK Ltd, Hope End, Takeley, Essex CM22 6TA, United Kingdom, and Azenta Japan KK, NF Park Building 4F, 2-9-15 Futaba, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 142-0043
2. Contest Administrator. GENEWIZ from Azenta Life Sciences shall serve as the Contest administrator ("Administrator") and shall coordinate judging, communications, winner selection, and contest administration on behalf of the Sponsors.
ELIGIBILITY
1. Contest is open only to legal residents of the Promotion Area who are: eighteen (18) years or older, of the age of majority in their state or country of residence, whichever is higher, at the time or entry, who are professionally engaged in scientific or research activities.
2. The Promotion Area consists of: United States, Canada (collectively “North America Region”); United Kingdom, European Economic Area, Switzerland (collectively “European Region”); Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Singapore (collectively “Asia-Pacific Region”), excluding jurisdictions where participation is prohibited by law.
3. The following individuals are not eligible to enter to win:
  1. Employees, officers, directors, contractors, and agents of a Sponsor and its affiliates, and their immediate family and household members;
  2. Residents of jurisdictions where participation is prohibited;
  3. Persons located in Russia, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, the Crimea region of Ukraine, or any jurisdiction subject to comprehensive sanctions;
  4. Persons appearing on any denied-party, sanctions, export-control, or restricted-party list maintained by any applicable governmental authority.
4. Institutional Compliance. By entering, each participant represents that participation in the Contest and acceptance of any prize complies with all applicable laws, regulations, and the policies of the participant's employer, institution, governmental agency, university, healthcare organization, or other affiliated organization. Participants are solely responsible for obtaining any required approvals, and Sponsors may require proof of such compliance before awarding a prize.
5. Compliance Right of Sponsors. Sponsors reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to: screen any potential winner against applicable government restricted party and sanctions lists prior to awarding any award; require reasonable certifications from a potential winner confirming eligibility under this Section 2; and disqualify and select an alternate winner if any entrant or potential winner is determined to be ineligible under this Section 2, in each case without liability to the entrant.
CONTEST PERIOD
1. The Contest shall begin on September 14, 2026, at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (ET) and shall end on September 30, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET (the “Contest Period”). Entries received outside of the Contest Period will not be considered. Sponsor’s timekeeping system is the official timekeeping device for the Contest, and Sponsor shall have sole discretion in determining the timeliness of any actions or inactions related to the Contest.
CONTEST DESCRIPTION
1. The Contest is a skill-based art competition. Participants are invited to submit original artwork depicting scientific discovery, genomics, life sciences, biotechnology, laboratory research, or another contest theme designated by Sponsors in the Contest promotional announcement. Winners will be selected based solely on the judging criteria set forth in these Official Rules. No random drawing will be used to determine winners.
HOW TO ENTER
1. During the Contest Period:
  Visit the designated contest website.
2. Complete the electronic entry form.
3. Submit:
  1. Name;
  2. Contact information;
  3. Country of residence;
  4. Title of artwork; and
  5. Digital copy of artwork in an approved format.

Limit one (1) entry per person unless otherwise expressly permitted.

Incomplete or non-compliant entries may be disqualified.

6. ARTWORK REQUIREMENTS

1. Submitted artwork must:
  1. be original;
  2. Be created solely by the entrant;
  3. Relate to the designated contest theme,
  4. Not infringe copyright, trademark, publicity, privacy, or other rights;
  5. Not contain confidential or proprietary information;
  6. Not contain patient information, regulated data, or third-party confidential data;
  7. Not contain unlawful, offensive, defamatory, discriminatory, harassing, or inappropriate material.

Sponsors reserve the right to disqualify any entry that fails to comply.

b. Prohibition on AI-Generated Artwork

Entries must be created by the entrant's own artistic effort. The following are prohibited:

Artwork generated wholly or partially by generative AI systems;

1. 1. Text-to-images AI generated content;
  2. AI-generated illustrations;
  3. AI-generated composites;
  4. AI-generated modifications that materially contribute to the final artwork

By submitting an entry, entrant certifies that:

"The submitted artwork is my original work and was not created in whole or in part using generative artificial intelligence or similar image-generation technologies."

Sponsors may request information regarding the creative process and may disqualify any entrant who fails to comply.

7. SELECTION OF WINNERS

1. Judging Criteria
  
  Qualified entries will be evaluated by a judging panel selected by the Sponsors.
  
  Entries will be scored using the following criteria:

Criteria	Weight
Originality and Creativity	50%
Artistic Quality	30%
Relevance to Theme	20%

1. 1. Originality and Creativity (50%)
    
    Judges will evaluate: Novelty of concept, the uniqueness of artistic expression, and creative interpretation of the Contest theme
  2. Artistic Quality (30%)
    
    Judges will evaluate: composition, visual quality, technique, and effective use of medium
  3. Relevance to Theme (30%)
    
    Judges will evaluate the clarity and effectiveness of the artwork to communicate the designated Contest theme.

Judges' decisions shall be final and binding.

a. Tie-Breaking Procedure

In the event of a tie, the entry receiving the higher score in Creativity and Originality shall be ranked higher. If a tie remains, the entry receiving the higher score in Artistic Execution and Technical Skill shall be ranked higher. If a tie remains, the tied entries shall be re-evaluated by the judging panel using the published judging criteria. No random selection shall be used.

8. PRIZES

1. One Grand Prize Winner will be selected for each Region listed in Section 2(b).
2. The Grand Prize Winner will have their artwork featured prominently in the Sponsor’s marketing campaign, including publication on a Guardians of the Galaxy trading card, together with public recognition as the grand prize winner and a GENEWIZ from Azenta Life Sciences-branded promotional merchandise prize pack with an approximate retail value ("ARV") of $100.00.
3. In addition to the Grand Prize Winner, Sponsors may designate up to 10 Finalists. Finalists may receive: recognition as an official Contest Finalist; publication of their name and artwork on Sponsors' websites, social media channels, conference materials, scientific outreach initiatives, or other promotional materials. Finalist recognition does not constitute a prize and has no cash value.

9. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS TO SUBMITTED ARTWORK

1. Ownership of Artwork. Entrants retain all ownership in their submitted artwork.
2. License to Sponsors.
  1. By submitting an entry, entrant grants Sponsors and their affiliates a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to reproduce, publish, display, distribute, transmit, archive, publicly perform, publicly display, adapt, and otherwise use the submitted artwork, entrant name, artwork title, and artist statement in connection with: administration of the Contest; judging and winner announcements; scientific outreach campaigns; educational activities; conference and trade show displays; websites and social media; greeting and trading cards; public relations campaigns; advertising and marketing activities; and other business and promotional purposes of Sponsor.
  2. As a condition of acceptance of a prize or selection of artwork for publication in a publicity campaign, greeting card series, trading card series, or similar promotional program, entrant grants Sponsors a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free exclusive license to use the selected artwork for promotional, marketing, educational, publicity, and related business purposes. Entrant shall retain copyright ownership of the selected artwork but shall not license, commercialize, or otherwise authorize third-party use of the selected artwork in a manner that conflicts with the Sponsors' exclusive license.
  3. Use of Non-Winning Artwork. Sponsors may select and use non-winning entries pursuant to the license granted herein. Entrants acknowledge and agree that: non-winning entries may be displayed, published, featured, or incorporated into future promotional programs; selection of artwork for publication is separate from winner determination; and use of artwork by Sponsors does not entitle entrant to any additional compensation beyond any prize expressly awarded under these Official Rules.

10. ENTRANT REPRESENTATIONS

Each entrant represents and warrants that:

1. The artwork is original;
2. The entrant owns all rights required to submit the artwork;
3. No third-party permissions are required, or all permissions have been obtained;
4. The artwork does not infringe any third-party rights

Entrant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Sponsors from third-party claims arising from breach of these representations.

11. PUBLICITY RELEASE

1. Except where prohibited by law, participation in the Contest constitutes entrant's consent to Sponsors' use of entrant's name; city, state, province, or country of residence; artwork; title of artwork; biographical information; and statements relating to the Contest for publicity, promotional, advertising, educational, and business purposes worldwide without further notice, approval, or compensation.

12. WINNER NOTIFICATION

1. Potential winners will be notified using the email address provided with their entry. Sponsors may require proof of identity, eligibility confirmation, institutional compliance certification, publicity release, and any additional documentation reasonably required by the Sponsor to administer the Competition. Failure to comply may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.

13. PRIVACY, PROMOTION

1. Any personal information collected in connection with the Contest will be processed in accordance with Sponsor's Privacy Policy, available at https://www.genewiz.com/public/company/policies/privacy-policy. By entering, entrants consent to Sponsor’s collection and use of their personal information for Contest administration, winner verification, prize fulfillment, and legal compliance purposes, which may be updated from time to time.
2. Participation in the Contest is not conditioned upon consenting to receive marketing communications. Entrants may separately elect to receive information regarding Sponsor's products, services, promotions, and events by providing an affirmative opt-in at the time of entry. Any such communications will be subject to Sponsor's Privacy Policy and applicable law, and consent may be withdrawn at any time.
3. Except where prohibited by law, acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for Sponsor to use the winner's name, city and state, institution name, likeness, and prize information for advertising and promotional purposes without further compensation.

14. MISCELLANEOUS

1. Release of Liability. By participating in the Contest, each entrant agrees to release and hold harmless Sponsors, their affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives (collectively, the "Released Parties") from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses arising out of or relating to: participation in the Contest; submission, use, publication, display, reproduction, or other exploitation of any artwork or entry materials in accordance with these Official Rules; acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize; any acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize; any technical, administrative, or human error relating to the Contest; any claim that entrant's participation or acceptance of any prize violates entrant's employer, institutional, ethics, procurement, grant, or other compliance requirements; any claim arising from use of the artwork authorized under Section 9(b); and any dispute regarding eligibility, judging, scoring, winner selection, or prize award, except to the extent resulting from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of a Released Party. Nothing in these Official Rules excludes or limits any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under applicable law.
2. Compliance and Sanctions. Sponsors reserve the right to refuse, withhold, substitute, or revoke any prize if awarding the prize would violate applicable sanctions laws, export-control laws, anti-corruption laws, institutional policies, or other legal requirements.
3. Limitation of Liability. Sponsors are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, corrupted, delayed, misdirected, or technically defective entries, nor for technical failures, unauthorized intervention, fraud, or events beyond Sponsors' control. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Sponsors disclaim liability arising from participation in the Contest or use of any prize.
4. Governing Law. These Official Rules are governed and shall be construed by the laws of New Jersey, USA, for entrants residing in the North America Region; England and Wales for entrants residing in the European Region; and Singapore, for entrants residing in the Asia-Pacific Region, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Nothing in these Official Rules limits mandatory consumer protections available under applicable law.
5. Suspension, Modification, Cancellation, or Termination. The Sponsor reserves the right to suspend, modify, cancel, or terminate the Contest without advance notice, including, without limitation, in the event of any act, occurrence, or reason that it believes would compromise the legality, integrity, administration, or fairness of the Contest, including, without limitation:
  1. fraud, misconduct, or unauthorized intervention;
  2. technical, software, hardware, network, website, platform, or communications failures;
  3. computer viruses, malware, cyberattacks, or other security incidents;
  4. Errors in the administration of the Contest;
  5. force majeure events, including acts of God, natural disasters, severe weather, epidemic, pandemic, public health emergency, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labor disputes, utility failures, or governmental actions
  6. actual or potential violations of applicable laws, regulations, or regulatory guidance; or
  7. any other event beyond Sponsor's reasonable control.
6. In the event of any such occurrence, Sponsor may take such action as Sponsor determines to be fair, reasonable, and appropriate under the circumstances, including extending deadlines, modifying Contest procedures, suspending the Contest, canceling the Contest, or selecting winners from among eligible entries received prior to the occurrence using the judging criteria set forth in these Official Rules.
  1. Sponsor's decisions regarding the administration, modification, suspension, cancellation, termination, and continuation of the Contest shall be final and binding.
  2. Severability. If one or more provisions of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall be valid and enforceable.
  3. Winners List. After completion of the Contest, the Grand Prize Winner and Finalists may be announced on Sponsors' websites, social media channels, or related promotional materials.