The Gazette Contest and Giveaway Rules

THE GAZETTE GENERAL

CONTEST/GIVEAWAY RULES

The Gazette newspaper ('The Gazette') will conduct occasional Gazette contests and/or giveaways as described in these Rules.  Participation in any contest or giveaway constitutes the full and unconditional agreement to, and acceptance of, these Rules, by each contestant. All decisions of The Gazette are final and absolute and not subject to inquiry or appeal. The giveaway may be temporarily postponed or discontinued by The Gazette at any time without prior notice.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  NO PURCHASE WILL IMPROVE A CONTESTANT'S CHANCES OF WINNING. 

ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE ENTRIES RECEIVED.

ALL FORMS MUST BE FILLED OUT COMPLETELY AND TRUTHFULLY. FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION AND PROVIDE TRUTHFUL AND PERTINENT INFORMATION MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM THE CONTEST.   DISQUALIFICATION IS IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE GAZETTE.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants and contestants must be legal US residents 18 years of age or older and reside in the distribution area of The Gazette as defined by circulation which includes the following Iowa counties: Allamakee, Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Linn, Poweshiek, Tama, Washington, and Winneshiek.

If a winner is ineligible and disqualified, The Gazette reserves the right in its sole discretion to determine an alternate winner. Employees of The Gazette or its affiliates, the giveaway of contest's participating sponsors and their advertising agencies, employees of other newspapers, radio or television stations, and members of the immediate family of any such persons are not eligible to participate in the contest or giveaway and to win a prize. The term "immediate family" includes spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren, whether as "in-laws," or by current or past marriage(s), remarriage(s), adoption, co-habitation or other family extension, and any other persons residing at the same household whether or not related.

CONTEST PERIOD:

The Contest Period will commence at the date as outlined in the contest announcement and end either at Midnight Central Time the day after the contest has begun, or as outlined in the contest announcement (the 'Contest Period

").  The Gazette reserves the right to extend the Contest Period.

HOW TO ENTER:

Contestants can enter the contest or giveaway during the Contest Period by following the instructions in the contest or giveaway announcement. This may include, but is not limited to, a Facebook post, text message, mailing or telephone call.

All entries must be submitted by the end of the Contest Period.

Multiple entries by means of software-generated or other automated processes will be disregarded. 

The Gazette will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, wrongfully addressed, late, misdirected or illegible entries or for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, the malfunction of any telephone or communications network or equipment, or computer hardware or software, whether originating with sender or The Gazette.  All entries become property of The Gazette.  Entry in the Contest constitutes an assignment to The Gazette of all intellectual property rights in the entry materials, if any.  In the event that The Gazette cannot reasonably determine, in its discretion, the identity of the winner of the prize, the prize shall be awarded to an alternate winner.  Any questions regarding the eligibility of entries submitted shall be determined by The Gazette in its sole discretion.  The Gazette reserves the right to disqualify any entries by persons determined to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Contest.  The Gazette reserves the right to cancel the Contest if it becomes technically corrupted.

SELECTION OF WINNERS:

The winners of the contest or giveaway will be selected at random from the total eligible entrants at the time of the selection.   

The winner of the contest will be announced at the conclusion of the Contest. The winner will be notified of their prize via Facebook, e-mail, telephone call or text message on the day of the random selection for the prize to verify that they meet eligibility requirements. There will be two (2) attempts to connect via Facebook, e-mail or telephone with the winner. A winner who does not respond to the e-mail or telephone notifications within 48 hours of the first notification shall forfeit their prize and a new winner may be selected randomly from all the entries received during the Contest Period.

Once verified, the winner will be notified via Facebook message, e-mail, telephone call or text message regarding when, how and where their prize may be picked up. The prize must be picked up at The Gazette office located at 501 Second Ave. SE, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during regular business hours which are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m Central Time.  Prizes must be picked up within five (5) days of when the winner is first notified or the prize will be forfeited.  Winners will be required to display an original picture ID, and will be required to sign an eligibility, liability and publicity release affidavit acceptable to The Gazette.

Prizes cannot be redeemed for cash or substituted for any other items by the winner(s).  The winner(s) cannot assign or transfer prize. The Gazette reserves the right to substitute a comparable prize of like or greater value, including cash, for any prize, for any reason.

LIABILITY RELEASE:

By entering the Contest, each contestant and winner waives any and all claims of liability against, and agrees to release,  indemnify and hold harmless The Gazette, its parent and subsidiary companies and affiliates, its advertising agencies, and the Contest's additional sponsors, and their respective officers, directors, agents and employees, from any and all claims, demands and/or causes of action, and all liability, losses or damages of any kind, including but not limited to personal injury, death or property damage, resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, of any nature or kind whatsoever, whether based on contract, negligence or any other legal theory, whether presently known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, that arise out of the conduct of the Contest, the contestant's participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activity, or a winner's ownership or use of any prize.

PUBLICITY RELEASE:

By entering the Contest, each contestant and winner grants The Gazette, its affiliates, its sponsors and its advertising and promotion agencies the right to use the contestant's name, address (city and state only), voice, likeness and performance, and any portion thereof, without prior notice or royalty or compensation for editorial, promotional or any other lawful purpose and in any media now known or hereinafter devised (including without limitation, print publications, television or radio broadcasts, and online publication via the Internet).  Such right shall be irrevocable, extend throughout the universe and inure in perpetuity. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, The Gazette shall own all rights, title and interest in and to all performances, recordings, videos and images rendered by contestants in connection with the Contest.

MAIL, TELEPHONE, COMPUTER AND OTHER DISCLAIMERS:The Gazette disclaims all liability for any delays, misdelivery, loss, or failure in the delivery of any entry or item sent by email or other electronic transmission, or other delivery method. The Gazette is not responsible for mechanical, technical, electronic, communications, telephone, computer, hardware or software errors, malfunctions or failures of any kind, including:  failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed transmission of online entries, traffic congestion on telephone lines, the Internet or at any website or lost or unavailable network connections which may limit an online entrant's ability to participate in the Contest, and any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating in or downloading any information necessary to participate in the Contest.

The Gazette is not responsible for error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware, or software malfunctions of any kind, or inaccurate transmission of or failure to receive entry, winner(s) or other giveaway information by The Gazette or entrants for any reason whatsoever.  The Gazette is also not responsible for any injury or damage to any entrant's or any other person's telephone or computer related to or resulting from playing or downloading any materials in the giveaway or for entries that are late, misdirected or incomplete.  All entries become the property of The Gazette and will not be returned.  CAUTION:  ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATIONS OF THE GIVEAWAY IS A VIOLATION OF THE CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, The Gazette RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

TAXES:

Any valuation of the prize stated above is based on available information provided to The Gazette, and the value of any prize awarded to a winner may be reported for tax purposes as required by law.  All taxes, including federal, state and local taxes, are the sole responsibility of winner.  Each winner must provide The Gazette with valid identification and social security number before any prize will be awarded.

MISCELLANEOUS:

This Contest is void where prohibited by law.  By entering the Contest, contestants agree: (a) to these Official Rules and to all decisions of The Gazette, which shall be final in all respects; and (b) that The Gazette, its affiliates, its advertising agencies, and the Contest's additional sponsors, and their respective officers, directors, agents, parent companies and subsidiaries and their officers, directors, agents and employees have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guaranty, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relating to any prize. The Gazette, its sponsors, and their advertising and promotion agencies are not responsible for cancellations, postponements, or delays.  The Gazette shall have the sole discretion to administer the Contest and interpret and apply these Rules.  Anyone using fraudulent means to participate in and/or win the Contest will be subject to disqualification.  The Gazette, reserves the right to disqualify any contestant at any time, for any reason, including, without limitation, language, activities or behavior deemed inappropriate.

Other than the prize received by the winners, no contestant shall be entitled to receive any wages, benefits, fees or other compensation whatsoever as a result of participating in the Contest.

Any expenses incurred by an applicant or contestant during the application process, including but not limited to, internet access and materials preparation (videotape, photos, etc.) are the sole responsibility of each applicant and neither The Gazette, nor any Contest sponsor will issue reimbursement for any expenses.  

The laws of Iowa shall govern this Contest, without regard to Iowa's choice of law rules. The state and federal courts located in Linn County, Iowa shall be the exclusive forum for any dispute regarding this Contest or any Rule or activity associated with the Contest, and all applicants and contestants consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts to resolve any disputes concerning the Contest.

Each applicant and contestant agrees to abide by these Rules. The Gazette may substitute prizes, amend rules or discontinue the Contest at any time. The Gazette disclaims any responsibility to notify the contestants of any aspect related to the conduct of the Contest.

The Contest, and all Contest material, is © 2015 by The Gazette. All rights reserved.