(1) To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, a Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) —
- Shall have registered to participate in the Challenge under the rules promulgated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as published in this announcement;
- Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement;
- In the case of a private entity to win a cash prize, shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the case of an individual to win a cash prize — whether participating singly or in a group — shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. Private entities not incorporated in or maintaining a primary place of business in the United States and non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents can either participate as a member of a team that includes a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, or they can participate on their own. However, such non-U.S. entities and citizens and non-permanent residents are not eligible to win a monetary prize (in whole or in part). Their participation as part of a winning team, if applicable, may be recognized when the results are announced. Similarly, if participating on their own, they may be eligible to win a non-cash recognition prize.
- May not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
- May not be a federal employee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or any other component of HHS, acting in their personal capacity;
- Who is employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS), should consult with an agency Ethics Official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this Challenge;
- May not be a judge of the Challenge, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution or distribution of the Challenge, or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child).
- Who is under age 18 must submit a signed copy of the parent/legal guardian consent form. The form can be found at https://ncats.nih.gov/files/LitCoin-Parental-Consent-Form-508.pdf.
(2) Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop their Challenge submissions unless use of such funds is consistent with the purpose of their grant award and specifically requested to do so due to the Challenge design as described in this announcement. Federal grantees who use federal funds to develop their Challenge submissions must also obtain written prior approval from the appropriate grants management or program officer and provide documentation of prior approval upon request by NIH.
(3) Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.
(4) Submissions must not infringe upon any copyright or any other rights of any third party.
(5) By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the federal government and its related entities (as defined in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, as amended), except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue or profits, whether direct, indirect or consequential, arising from participation in this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
(6) Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage or loss potentially resulting from Challenge participation, no Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals or entity) participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in order to participate in this Challenge.
(7) By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals or entity) agrees to indemnify the federal government against third-party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.
(8) A Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals or entity) shall not be deemed ineligible because the Participant used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made available to all Participants participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.
(9) By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals or entity) warrants that he, she or it is the sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works that the submission comprises, that the works are wholly original with the Participant (or is an improved version of an existing work that the Participant has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the submission does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the Participant is aware. In addition, each Participant grants to NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share and display publicly the submission on the web or elsewhere.
Additionally, competition prize winners (both cash and noncash prize winners) will grant a license to NIH and NCATS to use, disclose, reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform and display publicly, in any manner and for any purpose, and to have or permit others to do so, the software created as part of their submission, in perpetuity. Submitted software shall have no dependencies on commercial products (including software libraries).
Each Participant will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the Challenge, each Participant must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Participant’s rights to the federal government. To receive an award, Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but Participants must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.
(10) NIH reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (a) cancel, suspend or modify the Challenge, and/or (b) not award any prizes if no entries are deemed worthy.
(11) Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals or entity) agrees to follow all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies.
(12) Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals or entity) participating in this Challenge must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this Challenge constitutes each such Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.
In addition,
- An application may be disqualified if it fails to function as expressed in the description provided by the participant, if it provides inaccurate or incomplete information, or if any components of the application are missing.
- Submissions must be free of malware. Participants agree that NCATS may conduct testing on the application(s) to determine whether malware or other security threats may be present. NCATS may disqualify the application(s) if, in NCATS’ judgment, the application may damage government or others’ equipment, operating environment or security posture.
- The submissions must not use government logos or official seals and must not claim endorsement by NIH or NCATS.