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Future Protein Engineers Contest Official Rules

No purchase necessary to enter or win A PRIZE.  A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. 

By participating in this contest, you declare that you have read and fully agree to the Official Rules below.

ENTRY PERIOD: The Future Protein Engineers Contest (the “Contest”) starts at 12:00:01 AM Pacific Time (“PT”) on September 26, 2022, and ends at 11:59:59 PM PT on November 9, 2022 (the “Entry Period”).

ELIGIBILITY:  Contest is open to all legal US residents living in the United States who are at least 13 years of age, and attending middle school or high school as of the date of entry. Employees and their immediate family members (parents, children, siblings or spouse, regardless of where they live and persons living in same household, whether related or not) of Codexis, Inc. (the “Sponsor”), and any other entities directly associated with this Contest, are not eligible to enter or win. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.  Winning a prize is contingent upon compliance with these Official Rules and fulfilling all requirements set forth below.

HOW TO ENTER:

  1. Go to www.futureproteinengineers.com (“Website”) during the Entry Period and provide contestant’s and all participants’ full name, email, and birthdate in the spaces provided (“Submission Form”).
  2. For each of the two age groups, there are two formats for Submissions. For contestants 13 to 15 years of age, (i) a storyboard or cartoon, or (ii) an infographic (i.e., a poster) may be submitted. For contestants 16 years of age and older, (i) an infographic or (ii) a video may be submitted. For storyboard, cartoon, and infographic entries, any format may be used (e.g., digital, hand-drawn, paint, cardboard cut-outs, etc.), as long as it can be photographed or scanned and then uploaded for submission. Only photographed or scanned entries will be accepted (i.e., no physical entries should be submitted for judging). For video entries, upload a video that is at least 2 minutes and not longer than 4 minutes in length. The video can be a recorded PowerPoint® presentation, filmed footage, or animated. Each Submission should answer the questions below.
    • 13-15 Year Old Contestants:
      What enzyme are you interested in and why do you want to know more?
      What does this enzyme do and how does it support human or environmental health?
      As a future protein engineer, what would you improve about this enzyme, and why?
    • 16 Years and Older Contestants:
      What enzyme are you interested in? Describe its characteristics briefly.
      What does this enzyme do, how does it work, and how does it support human or environmental health?
      What aspects of the enzyme would you engineer, and for what desired outcome?
  1. Have each person who appears in the Submission review, complete and sign a consent form (“Consent Form”). If Participant is under 18 years of age, a parent/guardian must provide their printed name and signature on the form in the spaces provided. If a non-human animal is included in a Submission, the animal’s owner must also provide their printed name and signature in a Consent Form.  Each contestant must include all of the completed Consent Forms with their Submission.
  2. Once all required fields in the Submission Form are completely filled out and all required Consent Forms have been uploaded, click the box certifying your compliance with these Official Rules and then click the “Submit” button.

Each Submission submitted through the Website that fully complies with these Official Rules will be considered to be an entry in the Contest (“Entry”).

FORMAT:  Storyboard/cartoons and infographics must be submitted in one of the following formats:  JPG (JPEG), PNG, or PDF. Videos must be in one of the following formats: MP4, MOV, WMV, FLV, AVI, or AVCHD.

STANDARDS: 

The Submission you submit with your Entry must comply in all respects with the following or your Entry will be disqualified:

  • The Submission must be your own original work;
  • The Submission must not contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including but not limited to, privacy rights, rights of publicity, copyright or other intellectual property rights;
  • The Submission must not disparage Sponsor or the Contest Partners;
  • The Submission must not contain any names, images, likenesses, or other indicia of any person who has not submitted a Consent Form;
  • The Submission should not reveal any personal information about another individual, including another person’s address, phone number, e-mail address, credit card number or any information that may be used to track, contact or impersonate that individual;
  • The Submission must not feature brand names, trademarks or service marks other than those owned by Sponsor or Contest Partners, for which entrant has a limited license to use to incorporate in the Submission for this Contest;
  • The Submission must not communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and goodwill to which Sponsor and the Contest Partners wish to associate;
  • The Submission must not contain material that is indecent, obscene, hateful, tortious, defamatory or libelous;
  • The Submission must not contain material that promotes (i) violence, (ii) bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual; or (iii) discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age; and
  • The Submission must not contain material that is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in any jurisdiction where Submission is created.

By submitting a Submission, you represent and warrant that it: (a) is your original work; (b) has not been previously published; (c) does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity; and (d) that you have obtained a Consent Form from any person whose name or likeness is used in the Submission.

MOBILE DEVICES:  If you participate via a smart phone or other mobile device, message and data rates may apply.  Not all cellular service providers offer the service necessary to participate in this Contest through a mobile device. Please check with your provider for specific capabilities, charges and pricing.

PRIZES:  There will be 4 categories for judging, taking into account the different formats (storyboard/cartoon or infographic and videos).  There will be 4 sets of prizes.

For ages 16 and older:  the first place award for infographics is a $200 Visa® Gift Card, for videos, the first place award is a $250 Visa® Gift Card; the second place award for infographics is a $150 Visa® Gift Card, the second place award for videos is a $200 Visa® Gift Card; and for infographics, the third place award is a $100 Visa® Gift Card, and for videos, the third place award is a $150 Visa® Gift Card (each a “Prize Winner”).

For ages 13-15: the first place award for infographics is a $150 Visa® Gift Card, the first place award for storyboards is a $150 Visa® Gift Card; the second place award for infographics is a $100 Visa® Gift Card, the second place award for storyboards is a $100 Visa® Gift Card; and third place award for infographics is a $50 Visa® Gift Card, and the third place award for storyboards is a $50 Visa® Gift Card (each a “Prize Winner”).  Visa® Gift Cards are subject to card terms and conditions.

One prize awarded per winning Submission.

No cash redemption or substitution allowed, except at Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion.  Sponsor reserves the right at any time to substitute a prize or a component thereof for any reason with a prize or a prize component of equal or greater value, including, without limitation, at the Sponsor’s sole discretion, a cash award.  All expenses not specifically mentioned as part of a prize are solely the responsibility of the winner.  All federal, state and local taxes imposed on the acceptance of the prize are solely the responsibility of each Prize Winner.

WINNER DETERMINATION:

A panel of qualified judges determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion will select from among all valid Entries the five (5) best overall Submissions (the “Finalists”) in each age group and format. Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:

  • Response to Contest Questions
  • Creativity
  • Clarity of Expression
  • Content Accuracy

The Finalists will be announced on website on or about December 1, 2022.  The public will vote on the website from 12:00:01 AM PT from December 2, 2022,  to 11:59:59 PM PT on December 12, 2022 (the “Public Judging”).  In each Submission category and age group (as described above), the Submission receiving the most votes will be declared the first place Prize Winner, the Submission receiving the second most votes will be declared the second place Prize Winner, and the Submission receiving the third most votes will be declared the third place Prize Winner. Winners will be announced on the website during the week commencing November 29, 2022.  In the event of a tie, the judges who selected the Finalists will review the tied entries and pick the Prize Winners’ placements (e.g., first and second place or second and third place).

NOTIFICATION:  Sponsor will attempt to notify each Finalist by e-mail, phone and/or mail using the information provided on the Submission Form within three (3) days of the selection of the Finalist.  If a Finalist cannot be reached within three (3) days of initial attempt, or if any attempted notification is returned as undeliverable, the Finalist will not be entered into the Public Judging.  The person or team entering the Submission that was judged as the next best Submission by the judges will be declared a Finalist and the notification process will begin again, and will be repeated until five (5) Finalists in each age group and format category (i.e., storyboards and infographics in the 13-15 year old group; and infographics and videos in the 16 year old and higher group) have been successfully notified.

TO CLAIM PRIZE:  Sponsor will attempt to notify the Prize Winners within five (5) days after they have been selected as Prize Winners, but Sponsor is not responsible for any undelivered mail or emails, including without limitation e-mails that are not received because of a winner’s privacy or spam filter settings which may divert any winner notification to a spam or junk folder.  If, after a good-faith attempt during the 5-day period, Sponsor is unable to award or deliver a prize, the prize will be forfeited.

If more than one person collaborated on a Submission, the prize will be awarded to the first person named in the Submission and it shall be solely that person’s responsibility to distribute the prize as agreed by persons who collaborated on the Submission.  Sponsor and Contest Partners have no responsibility or liability with respect to the allocation of any prize.

GENERAL RULES OF PARTICIPATION:  No purchase necessary to enter Contest or win a prize.  This Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, local and municipal laws.  By entering, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in these Official Rules.  Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, undeliverable or incomplete Entries.

Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entrant that Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, violates these Official Rules.  Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, at any time, without notice.  If for any reason this Contest is not able to be conducted as planned, including, but not limited to, by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or any other causes beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, then Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest, or any part of it, and select the Prize Winners from valid Entries received up to the termination or suspension date.

In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of an individual who actually submitted an Entry, the Entry will be deemed submitted by the Authorized Account Holder of the e-mail account provided in the Submission Form. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail account by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.  Potential Prize Winners may be required to show proof of being the Authorized Account Holder.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

INTERNET LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY:  Sponsor is not responsible for: failures or malfunctions of phones, tablets, computers or other hardware or devices (each a “Device”); phone lines, cellular systems or telephone or data transmission systems; interrupted or unavailable networks, server or other connections; any error, omission, interruption, defect or delay in any transmission or communication; traffic congestion on the Internet; or any technical problem, including but not limited to any injury or damage to any person’s Device related to or resulting from Contest participation.

NO LIABILITY; RELEASE AND INDEMNIFICATION:  By entering, entrants and winners agree to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsor and Contest Partners, and their respective subsidiaries and affiliated companies, contractors, distributors, sales representatives, vendors, advertising and promotion agencies, prize providers and any other entities directly associated with this Contest, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claims made by entrants, or by any third parties, related in any way to the operation of this Contest, as well as any other claims, damages, charges, fines or liability due to any injuries, damages or losses to any person (including death) or property of any kind, or any claims of violation of rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of a prize or participation in this Contest or in any Contest-related activity.  The Released Parties shall have no liability for any problems or errors of any kind whether computer, network, mechanical, human, electronic, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest.

DISPUTES:  THIS CONTEST IS GOVERNED BY, AND WILL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AND THE FORUM AND VENUE FOR ANY DISPUTE SHALL BE IN SAN MATEO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. THE REMEDY FOR ANY CLAIM SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL DAMAGES, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY PARTY BE ENTITLED TO RECOVER PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES OR HAVE DAMAGES MULTIPLIED OR OTHERWISE INCREASED, INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES OR OTHER SUCH RELATED COSTS OF BRINGING A CLAIM, OR TO RESCIND THIS AGREEMENT OR SEEK INJUNCTIVE OR ANY OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF. PARTICIPANTS AGREE THAT THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF ANY PARTICIPANT AND/OR RELEASED PARTIES AND/OR ANY OTHER PARTY SHALL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY, WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION. ANY DEMAND MUST BE FILED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR FROM THE END OF THE ENTRY PERIOD, OR THE CAUSE OF ACTION SHALL BE FOREVER BARRED.

RIGHTS TO SUBMISSION:  By submitting an Entry, you hereby irrevocably license the Submission to Sponsor and the Contest Partners the right to publicly display, perform and broadcast your Submission for purposes of publicizing, judging and conducting the Contest.  By accepting a prize, you hereby irrevocably license the Submission to Sponsor and the Contest Partners in perpetuity for all lawful uses, including without limitation education, public relations, advertising and promotional purposes, in any media now known or hereafter created, without approval rights or additional compensation.

PUBLICITY RELEASE:  Each Finalist and Prize Winner consents to the use of his/her name, likeness, biographical information, and voice for purposes of publicizing, judging and conducting the Contest, and for promotional purposes and in advertising worldwide, without approval rights or additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.

WINNERS LIST REQUEST:  To request the names of the Prize Winners, please send a self-addressed, stamped business size envelope by January 12, 2023 to: Codexis Inc. Attn: Marketing, 200 Penobscot Drive, Redwood City, CA  94063.

SPONSOR:  Contest is sponsored by Codexis, Inc., 200 Penobscot Drive, Redwood City, CA 94063.

Privacy notice:  Personal information collected during the Contest may be used or disclosed by Sponsor and its Contest Partners and their affiliates as stated in these Official Rules, for purposes of Contest administration, winner identification and qualification, winner notification, and prize award, as described in “Publicity Release” above, or as otherwise permitted by our Privacy Policy. In addition, we may disclose your name, age, grade, and other identifying information to your school or teacher for the purpose of confirming your participation in the Contest.