Geospatial Hackathon terms and conditions

Thank you for participating in TakiWaehere – The New Zealand Geospatial Hackathon (“Hackathon”) organized by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). These terms and conditions (“agreement”) constitute a binding legal agreement between you (the “applicant”, or the “participant”) and MBIE with respect to the Hackathon. In this agreement, the term “we”, “us”, “our” or “organizers” refers to MBIE, as applicable, and the term “you” refers to you, the entrant, both as an individual and as part of your team.

By registering for this Hackathon or participating in any way, you fully and unconditionally agree to comply with this agreement. Please carefully read the following agreement. If you do not agree to be bound by this agreement, do not register for and participate in this Hackathon and do not submit an entry.

This Hackathon is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

Overview

The Hackathon is designed to encourage university students to develop innovative solutions to challenging issues faced in New Zealand using Jupyter Notebooks and the use of Maxar imagery including 30-50cm optical, 8-band multispectral, and shortwave infrared to process, analyze, and/or extract meaningful insights (“licensed content”). For the purposes of this agreement the Hackathon will be conducted in the English language.

The Hackathon will take place across New Zealand, being hosted by New Zealand University campuses. The Hackathon will take place from noon on 17 April 2021 to noon on 18 April 2021.

In the event of any changes/updates, please refer to the MBIE webpage that is set up for this Hackathon.

Registration

Interested persons and teams must register online via the Hackathon website during Step 1 (described below). Applicants must provide, at a minimum, their name, contact information, and other information to support their application to qualify for the Hackathon.

Eligibility

The Hackathon is open to both individuals and teams who are residents of New Zealand.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in the jurisdiction where they reside, whichever is older.

The following people are not eligible to participate:

• individuals who are, or at any point since June 1, 2020, have been employed by (i) Maxar Technologies Inc., or any of its direct or indirect affiliates or subsidiaries;
• immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of any those employees or former employees;
• residents of countries other than New Zealand.

Hackathon steps and requirements

Step 1– Registration for Hackathon

Registration will open on Tuesday 23 February 2021 and close on Friday 19 March.

Interested persons (“applicants”) will register at the registration site:

Registration form(external link)

To register applicants will be required to submit details of the Hackathon team and select their Hackathon topic from a range of pre-determined Hackathons. Applicants will then be able to select their Area of Interest (AOI). applicants may also suggest their own Hackathon topic and AOI which will be assessed by the organizer and sponsor for suitability for this Hackathon. If suggesting their own Hackathon topic, applicants will be required to submit a short description of their proposed project for the Hackathon.

All applicants will be notified via email when their registration is complete and the Hackathon proceeds to Step 2.

Step 2 – Hackathon event

The Hackathon event will begin on 17 April at 12:00pm and end on 18 April at 12:00pm.

Registered participants are given access to the Maxar imagery required for their project.

Over the course of 24 hours, participants will use Jupyter Notebooks and/or Maxar imagery to create, develop, test, and finalize their submission for the Hackathon. Participants will receive instructions, guidance, and coaching sessions prior to the Hackathon commencing. Throughout the Hackathon, mentors and support will be provided by the host universities, in person and though an online collaboration platform. Participants and mentors will receive training from Maxar via webinar prior to the Hackathon.

Participants must submit their final entry by the end of the 24-hour period on 18 April 2021. Late entries will not be accepted, and incomplete entries will be disqualified. Specific submission instructions will be provided to participants on the MBIE website in advance of the Hackathon.

Step 3 – Final evaluation

The judges will review all the complete Entries and select the winning projects.

Step 4 – Winners announced

The winning projects will be disclosed within one week of the Hackathon.

General solution requirements

Applicants will need to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Required components: You must use Jupyter Notebooks as part of your solution. You will be judged primarily on how you use Jupyter Notebooks to process and propose an innovative idea/solution. The licensed content for Jupyter Notebooks that will be made available as part of this Hackathon is subject to change at any point before or during the Hackathon.
• Other technologies: You are allowed to use third-party code, libraries, SDKs, and APIs as long as these technologies comply with applicable law and you have the appropriate license rights.
• Number of submissions: Each team may only submit one entry per Hackathon.
• All materials related to your Entry must be in English.

We reserve the right to assess your eligibility and compliance with this agreement at any point during the Hackathon.

Judging

The judges will consist of a panel from various industries. If a judge or participant has a conflict of interest, they must identify the conflict to us and that judge will be recused from judging the entry with the conflict. An alternate judge will be identified as a substitution for the judge with the conflict.

The judges will evaluate your entry according to the following judging criteria, each of which will be scored on a scale of 100. In the event of a tie, judges will deliberate to determine the winner.

Entries may be subject to a due diligence review for eligibility and compliance with this agreement or any other posted requirements. Determination of eligibility and compliance is at our sole discretion and may result in your disqualification. All judges’ decisions are final.

Prizes

Prizes will be awarded to the winning entries submitted in the Hackathon across all Hackathons. All winning entries may be directed to the same or different Hackathons. Organizers reserve the right not to award a prize in the event of an insufficient number of eligible entries meeting the minimum judging criteria as determined in Organizer’s sole discretion. Organizers reserve the right to award additional prizes or giveaways with little or no notice.

You stand a chance to win:

Teams placing first

• $5,000 cash prize
• New imagery taskings for research
• Three months SecureWatch data access (50GB - Limit of 10 users per team)
• University ‘space selfie’ (one 30-50cm resolution optical image timed for university site collection)

Teams placing second

• $5,000 cash prize
• Three months SecureWatch data access (50GB - Limit of 10 users per team)
• University ‘space selfie’ (one 30-50cm resolution optical image timed for university site collection)

Teams placing third:

• $5,000 cash prize
• One month SecureWatch data access (25GB - Limit of 10 users per team)
• University ‘space selfie’ (one 30-50cm resolution optical image timed for university site collection)

The prize money will be sent to the winning team within two months of the receipt of all necessary forms and identification and subject to compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Each recipient is solely responsible for paying income taxes (if any) on the awarded prize(s).

How your entry may be used

If you do not want to grant us these rights to your entry below please do not enter this Hackathon.

By submitting an entry, you acknowledge that public, non-confidential disclosure of your final Entry and of any of your own unregistered intellectual property to any person, including but not limited to us, may adversely affect any rights (including precluding you from obtaining registered rights in a patentable invention) which might otherwise accrue in the final entry or your own unregistered intellectual property rights. All information provided by you to us or to any Participant will be treated by the parties as subsisting in the public domain.

Further, you hereby grant us an irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide rights and license to: (a) use, review, assess, test, and otherwise analyze your entry and all its content in connection with the Hackathon; and (b) feature, display, or describe your Entry and its content for promotional purposes (including, but not limited to, in advertisements, press releases, presentations, and trade shows) in all media, now known or later developed. You also agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted. By granting this license, you do not transfer ownership of your entry (or any part of it that you create or own).

You acknowledge that we, other entrants or others may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your entry, and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your entry. You understand that we cannot control the information you disclose to us or our representatives in the course of participating in the Hackathon, or what we or our representatives will remember about your entry. You also understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your entry.

By participating in the Hackathon, you agree that we may use any information in our representatives’ unaided memories in the development or deployment of our products or services without liability or compensation to you.

You understand that you will not receive any compensation or credit from us for use (other than the award that you may receive according to these terms) of your entry in connection with this Hackathon. This provision does not limit any compensation you may receive through us or third parties as a result of your use or marketing or profiting from the prototype beyond this Hackathon or as provided in this agreement. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your entry by those accessing or viewing your entry.

Please note that after the Hackathon you and/or your entry may be publicized in advertisements related to the Hackathon. These advertisements may be distributed online and posted on our site or third-party websites.

While we reserve the rights set forth above, we are not obligated to use your Entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning entry.

Privacy and publicity

Information you submit to us when you participate in the Hackathon will be treated in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020. In addition, when you submit information on a website run by a third party in connection with this Hackathon, your information may be used by that third party in accordance with its privacy policy.

You may be filmed or photographed while you are participating in the Hackathon. Except where prohibited, by participating in the Hackathon, you agree that we may use free-of-charge your name, likeness, photographs, audio-visual footage, comments, and any other record of your participation in the Hackathon for promotional purposes at any time and in any media.

Representations and warranties

By registering for or by submitting materials to this Hackathon, you represent and warrant that:

• You are accepting the licensing terms and conditions of the use of Maxar imagery.
• Your entry does not violate the rights — including, but not limited to, patents, copyrights, trademark rights, trade secrets, confidentiality obligations, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights— of any third party.
• Your entry does not violate any applicable laws or regulations;
• You have complied with the terms of this agreement;
• You have secured all rights necessary from third parties to submit the entry.

Other general terms

Compliance required: By registering and participating in the Hackathon, you indicate your full and unconditional agreement to this agreement and other instructions related to the Hackathon, as well as to our decisions regarding the Hackathon, which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements in this agreement. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to disqualify and seek damages from any individual or team who fails or failed to comply with any provision of this agreement, cheats, tampers with the operation of the Hackathon, or otherwise acts in a disruptive or inappropriate manner.

• We may modify any provision of this agreement, at any time, by posting the updated agreement at MBIE Geospatial Hackathon webpage. You are responsible for checking this page regularly.
• Contributing to the Hackathon or accepting prizes will constitute acceptance of the revised agreement.
• You may withdraw from the Hackathon at any time; if you withdraw from the Hackathon you will not be eligible to receive a prize.
• Entire agreement: This agreement prevails in the event of any conflict or inconsistency with any other communications, including advertising or promotional materials.
• We reserved the rights to impose any additional terms and conditions without any prior notices.

Disqualification and suspension

The organizer may, in its sole discretion, immediately disqualify any applicant or participant that:

• Breaches (as reasonably determined by MBIE) this Agreement or breaches of any license terms that relate to the Maxar Imagery or the Licensed Content fails to comply with any of the representations and warranties in this agreement;
• Submits an entry that is offensive or otherwise unlawful;
• Violates third-party rights by submitting an Entry or otherwise participating in the Hackathon; or
• Interferes with any other applicant or participant’s entries or ability to participate in the Hackathon.

The organizer has the right to cancel or suspend the Hackathon with or without notice and for any or no reason.

The organizer is not responsible for any damage or inconvenience caused by a cancellation or suspension of the Hackathon.

Licensing and intellectual property rights

The organizer does not claim or receive any other license or intellectual property right in anything you own prior to the Hackathon, or anything that you develop and submit as part of the Hackathon. To the extent that your entry includes or relies upon the Maxar Imagery, or the licensed content, Maxar retains all title and rights to the Maxar Imagery and licensed content, as applicable, and you do not receive any license or ownership rights in any of the licensed content or the Maxar Imagery except as specifically set forth in the Maxar Imagery Subscription Agreement that will be provided to eligible participants.

Nothing in this agreement shall be interpreted as granting you permission to use or display any of the sponsor trademarks (including any logo or brand) or rights in any licensed content, or other intellectual property owned by the organizer other than as expressly provided in this agreement.

You agree to contact us for approval prior to promoting or publicizing your participation in and, if applicable, your winning the Hackathon, if such promotion or publication references or uses the organizers or other trademarks associated with this Hackathon.

Disputes and third-party rights

If you are an employee of a corporation, government agency, or an academic institution, you are responsible for ensuring that your participation in the Hackathon complies with any policies your corporation, agency, or institution may have regarding participation in contests of this type. If we have reason to believe that you violate

Any of those policies, we reserve the right to prohibit you from participating in the Hackathon or receiving a prize at any time. We are not responsible for any disputes arising between you and your employer.

Damages, warranties and contributory negligence

Damages at large

Any liability of any party to, and arising from, this Agreement for loss or damage is strictly limited to the sum of NZD $10000.

Implied warranties

Each party excludes all implied terms, representations and warranties whether statutory or otherwise, relating to the subject matter of this agreement to the extent allowed by the law.

Consequential losses

Neither party is liable to the other party for consequential or incidental damages, or loss of profits, revenue, goodwill or opportunities in contract, tort, under any statute or otherwise (including negligence) arising from or in any way related to this Agreement or the Hackathon.

Contributory negligence

Each party’s liability to the other party under this Agreement is reduced to the extent that any damages, liability, loss or costs arise from or are attributable to, any negligent act or omission of the other party or its officers, employees, agents or contractors.

Governing law and disputes

• This agreement and any dispute, claim or cause of action arising out of or in connection with this agreement, whether contractual or not, is governed by the laws of New Zealand.
• The parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand, except as provided under clause 16(c).
• Any dispute, claim or cause of action arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, whether contractual or not, shall be submitted to arbitration in accordance with, and subject to, the Arbitration Act 1996. The seat of Arbitration is Wellington, New Zealand.

We are not responsible for, and will not assist in resolving, any disputes between teammates. We are not responsible for any dispute among teams or team participants related to prizes or the allocation of prizes among team members.

Severability

If for any reason any provision of this agreement is adjudicated to be unenforceable, that provision of the agreement will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to effect the intent of the parties, and the remainder of this agreement will continue in full force and effect.

Organisers

The Hackathon is organized by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Questions and further enquiries

For any feedback, questions or enquiries regarding the Hackathon or the prizes you can contact MBIE at nzspaceagency@mbie.govt.nz.