2020 STELLARIS AWARD COMPETITION RULES (“COMPETITION RULES”)

The 2020 STELLARIS Award Competition (“Competition”) is designed to promote the research and science of the institutions and end-users of light microscopy products pursuing research in Life Science Research including neuroscience, cell biology, cancer biology, developmental biology, plant biology, microbiology, molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, biochemistry, biotechnology, pathology, virology, etc.

This Competition is sponsored by Leica Microsystems Inc., 1700 Leider Lane, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089, and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Leica reserves the right to change, alter, or modify these rules and/or dates at any time without notice. Any Competition award provided hereunder may be subject to taxes; please direct all questions about tax preparation related to awards to your tax advisor.

ELIGIBILITY

This Competition is open only to legal residents of the United States who are physically located and residing within the United States at the time of application and award and who are employed or otherwise engaged in the Life Science Research industry in a professional laboratory setting. Limit 1 entry per laboratory. Void elsewhere and where prohibited by law. Employees, contractors, directors, and officers of Leica Microsystems Inc. or its affiliates (including those affiliated through their respective parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, dealers, distributors, and licensees; collectively, “Leica Parties”); local, state, or federal employees; employees of any Leica Microsystems Centers of Excellence; employees of any competitors of Leica Microsystems products, including but not limited to Olympus Corporation, Nikon Corporation, Carl Zeiss AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Keyence Corporation, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Bruker Corporation, Abberior Instruments, or any of their affiliates; and any agencies involved in the development and administration of the Competition, and those living in the same households of each, are not eligible to enter or win. All rules outlined in the Competition Application must be adhered to (including, e.g., word limits); the failure to do so may result in ineligibility. Any questions of eligibility will be determined by Leica Microsystems in its sole discretion.

Persons applying to the Competition must be engaged in imaging in the life sciences research field.

COMPETITION PERIOD

The Competition will begin on 10/28/20 at 8:00am CDT and end on 11/18/20 at 6:00pm CST. Applications submitted before or after this time will not be eligible to win an award. Leica’s clock is the official clock for this Competition.

The Award will be distributed after the close of the Competition, consistent with the result, and may be subject to further agreement between the Awardee and Leica, as needed.

CONDITIONS OF APPLICATION

Each end-user or institution must submit within the Competition Period a Competition Application answering the questions and providing the information requested therein.

By submitting a Competition Application, each applicant represents and warrants that: (i) he or she owns or otherwise has the requisite right to submit the information contained within the Competition Application; (ii) the work described in the Competition Application represents the original work of the applicant and has not been copied in whole or in part from any other work; (iii) the Competition Application does not violate or infringe any copyright, trademark/tradename, or other proprietary right of any person or institution; (iv) the Competition Application is the sole and exclusive property of the applicant; (v) publication of the Competition Application on Competition websites and social media pages, use at a Leica event or any other manner permitted hereunder will not infringe on the rights of any third party; and (vi) applicant will indemnify and hold harmless Leica Parties from any claims arising out of the Leica Parties’ use of the Competition Applications as authorized hereunder.

By submitting a Competition Application, applicant hereby grants to Leica a royalty free, irrevocable, perpetual, and worldwide license to use and display the Competition Application or any portions of it on Leica’s social media pages and websites, at a Leica event related to the Competition, or for any other promotional or educational purposes as Leica so directs, without compensation of any kind or further notice to or approval from participant or any third party; provided, however, that any use of applicant’s affiliated company or institution (including any trademarks related thereto) will be subject to prior approval from said company or institution before Leica’s use. Subject to the rights granted to Leica, all applicants retain all copyright and other intellectual property contained in the Competition Application.

By submitting a Competition Application, applicant agrees and acknowledges that his or her application is gratuitous and made without restriction, and will not place Leica under any obligation and that Leica is free to use or otherwise disclose the ideas contained in the Competition Application on a non-confidential basis to anyone, or otherwise use the ideas without any additional compensation to applicant. Applicant acknowledges that, by acceptance of your submission, Leica does not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to Leica, or developed by its employees, or obtained from sources other than applicant. By submitting a Competition Application, applicant acknowledges that Leica has no obligation to use or post any Competition Application or to respond to any applicant in any way.

Finally, by submitting a Competition Application, applicant acknowledges and agrees that applicant’s participation is not and is not intended to be conditioned on any past, present, or future promise to purchase any Leica product or to recommend such present or future purchase.

In the event there is a discrepancy or inconsistency between any disclosures or other statements contained in any Competition materials and these Competition Rules, the Competition Rules shall control.

JUDGING, VERIFICATION, AND AWARDEE SELECTION

One applicant will be chosen by an independent panel of judges—experts in the field of microscopy—selected by Leica to receive the STELLARIS 5 featuring White Light Laser (WLL), 3 HyD S detectors, scanning stage, and 2 years of service as the Awardee. Submissions will be blinded, judged, and ranked using a point system based on the following criteria:

• Scientific value of current research and imaging usage (20 points);
• Description of how your lab’s research will benefit from using a STELLARIS 5 (80 points)

All submissions will be preliminarily evaluated by experts in life science research and microscopy to assess eligibility with these Competition Rules and the general scientific value of the Competition Application. The top 150 submissions will then be evaluated by an independent panel of judges on each aspect of the Competition Application (as described here and in the Competition Application) to determine the Awardee. Only the Awardee will be notified; no additional information will be provided to any applicant after submission except for verification of Leica’s receipt of Competition Application upon request.

Under no circumstances will the judges’ scores be disclosed to the public or any applicant. All decisions made by the judging panel are final.

In the case of a tie, those submissions will be evaluated according to the original criteria by a new independent panel of judges selected by Leica, each of whom was not involved in the initial scoring process. The submission with the highest cumulative score by the new panel will be declared the Awardee.

By participating, applicants agree to these Competition Rules and the decisions of the judges, which are binding on matters relating to this Competition. It is not necessary for applicants to have used/purchased, currently use, or intend to purchase in the future any product marketed or manufactured by Leica, and this will not be a consideration in the Awardee selection criteria.

The potential Awardee will be notified on or around 12/18/20 if they have been chosen to receive the STELLARIS 5 System using the contact information provided in this application. The potential Awardee must sign and return any paperwork required by Leica, including but not limited to, the required affidavit and release(s). If a potential Awardee cannot be reached or fails to respond to any notification attempt within the time period specified by Leica, or if any attempted notification is returned as undeliverable or if a potential Awardee fails to accept the Award or to complete and return any required affidavit or release within the specified time period, a potential Awardee may be disqualified and an alternate potential Awardee may be selected for verification by Leica as Awardee. The Awardee will be announced on or around 1/11/21.

AWARD

“Award”: the STELLARIS 5 featuring White Light Laser (WLL), 3 HyD S detectors, scanning stage, and 2 years of service. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) is $401,644 USD*.

The Award may not be redeemed for cash, but the ARV may be applied to a pending Leica order, by mutual agreement between Leica and Awardee. All federal, state, and local taxes on the prize value, if applicable, are the responsibility of the winner. An IRS form 1099 will be issued to the Awardee upon request if required by law. Any difference between the stated value and actual value will not be awarded. Substitutions, upgrades, and in-kind transfers of Award/Award components may be made by mutual agreement between Leica and Awardee after verification, but Leica is only obligated to provide the ARV to Awardee. If the Award, or any portion thereof, cannot be granted for any reason, Leica reserves the right to substitute an award of equal or greater value, subject to the same restrictions and conditions described above. Arrangements for delivery and related services related to the Award will be made after verification with the Awardee.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Upon Award forfeiture or inabila, no compensation will be given. Leica Parties are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, stolen, illegible, inaccurate, damaged, incomplete, or undeliverable e-mail or direct messages or Competition Applications; 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 / website/ social media platform accessibility, availability, or traffic congestion, or any technical, mechanical, or typographical or other error, or unauthorized human intervention, or the incorrect capture of registration information, or the failure to capture, or loss of, any such information. Leica Parties are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by any website users, tampering, hacking, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition and assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, technical error, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to any website(s). Leica Parties are not responsible for any problem or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer systems, servers or providers, computer equipment or software on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or combination thereof, including injury or damage, whether personal or property, to participant’s or to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in the Competition and/or accepting the Award. If, for any reason, an application is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost or otherwise destroyed, corrupted, or for any other reason not accepted as an application into the Competition, the applicant’s sole remedy is to submit another application into the Competition. If, for any reason, the Competition is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Leica which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Competition, Leica reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition and/or proceed with the Competition, including the selection of the Awardee(s), in a manner it deems fair and reasonable, including the selection of the Awardee(s) from among eligible Competition Applications received prior to such cancellation, termination, modification or suspension. In case of dispute as to the identity of any applicant, entry will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the email address/handle submitted at time of entry. “Authorized Account Holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned an email address/handle by an online service provider responsible for assigning email addresses/handles for the domain associated with the submitted email address/handle. Any potential Awardee may be requested to provide Leica with proof that such potential Awardee is the authorized account holder of the email address/handle associated with the winning Competition Application. Applicants may not register or enter with multiple email addresses/handles nor may applicants use any other device or artifice to apply as multiple registrants. Any applicant who attempts to apply with multiple email addresses/handles under multiple identities or uses any device or artifice to enter multiple times will be disqualified and forfeits any and all Awards won, in Leica’s discretion. Competition Applications by automatic, programmed or like methods will be disqualified. Improper, incomplete, mutilated and illegible entries will be disqualified. This Competition is subject to all federal, state and local laws. Leica reserve the right to disqualify any individual who tampers with the application process or the website, attempts to undermine the legitimate operation of the Competition by cheating, hacking, deception or other unfair playing practices (including the use of automated quick entry programs), intends to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other applicants or Leica or otherwise acts in a disruptive manner. This Competition is offered only in the United States and, by entering, applicants agree that all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Competition Rules, applicants’ rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of Leica in connection with the Competition, are governed by the laws of the state of Illinois, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules. By entering, entrants consent to the jurisdiction and venue of the federal, state and local courts for Lake County, Illinois. AS A CONDITION OF ENTERING, APPLICANTS AGREE (AND AGREE TO CONFIRM IN WRITING): (A) TO RELEASE, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE LEICA PARTIES AND EACH OF THEIR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY, LOSS OR DAMAGE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION PROPERTY DAMAGE, PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, INCURRED WITH RESPECT TO THE AWARDING, RECEIPT, POSSESSION, AND/OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY AWARD OR THE PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY CLAIM BASED ON COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT, MISAPPROPRIATION, FALSE ASSOCIATION, RIGHT OF PUBLICITY, RIGHT OF PRIVACY, DEFAMATION, ANY OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY-RELATED CAUSE OF ACTION AND/OR BREACH OF CONTRACT; (B) UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL APPLICANT BE PERMITTED TO OBTAIN AWARDS FOR, AND APPLICANT HEREBY WAIVES ALL RIGHTS TO CLAIM, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES, OTHER THAN FOR ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES; (C) ALL CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH THIS COMPETITION, OR ANY AWARD, SHALL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY, WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION; AND (D) ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, JUDGMENTS, AND AWARD SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED, EXCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COURT COSTS. APPLICANTS WHO DO NOT COMPLY WITH THESE OFFICIAL RULES OR ATTEMPT TO INTERFERE WITH THIS COMPETITION IN ANY WAY SHALL BE DISQUALIFIED. LEICA IS NOT RESPONSIBLE IF THE COMPETITION CANNOT TAKE PLACE OR IF ANY AWARD CANNOT BE GIVEN DUE TO ACTS OF GOD, ACTS OF WAR, NATURAL DISASTERS, WEATHER, PANDEMIC (AND RELATED GOVERNMENTAL OR INSTITUTIONAL GUIDANCE OR RESTRICTIONS), OR ACTS OF TERRORISM.

PRIVACY POLICY

Please see Leica’s Privacy Policy, available at https://www.leica-microsystems.com/company/privacy-policy/, for details about Leica’s practices regarding the collection and use of personal information in connection with this Competition. By participating in this Competition, applicants hereby acknowledge that they have read and agree to Leica’s Privacy Policy, including Leica’s collection and usage of their personal information consistent therewith

* Corrected on 3/1/21 to reflect actual ARV