■Eligibility. BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION (referred to herein as "SPONSOR"), IS THE SPONSOR OF THIS CONTEST. THIS CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, MEXICO, CHILE, ARGENTINA, COLOMBIA, VENEZUELA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, FRANCE, BELGIUM, THE UNITED KINGDOM, LUXEMBOURG, GERMANY, AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND, SWEDEN, FINLAND, DENMARK, NORWAY, SPAIN, IRELAND, RUSSIA, THE NETHERLANDS, AND SOUTH KOREA WHO ARE: (i) AT OR OVER THE AGE OF MAJORITY IN THEIR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH THAT THE ENTRANT SUBMITS AN ESSAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE RULES TO SPONSOR TO ENTER THE CONTEST; AND (ii) NOT RESIDENTS OF THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA, VERMONT, CONNECTICUT, OR MARYLAND IN THE UNITED STATES; OR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, CANADA ("ENTRANTS"). If you are under the legal age of majority in your country of residence, or in your state of residence if you are a resident of the United States (a "minor"), one of your parents or legal guardians must submit a signed written statement with your entry, stating that he or she has read, understood, and agreed to these Contest rules, and that such agreement constitutes acceptance of these Contest rules on behalf of you and him- or herself. If you reside in the state of North Dakota, Vermont, Connecticut, or Maryland in the United States, or the province of Quebec in Canada, you are not eligible to participate in this Contest. To be eligible to win a prize, entries must be completed and received by Sponsor in the format designated below. Directors, officers, and employees of Sponsor, its parent, and any of their respective affiliate companies, subsidiaries, agents, professional advisors, advertising and promotional agencies, and immediate families of each are not eligible to win any prizes. All applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. There is no cost to enter or win. Offer void where prohibited. In the event of any dispute, each entry will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the email address from which the email was sent.
■Disclaimer. Sponsor, all participating sponsors, and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, professional advisors, employees, and agencies will not be responsible for: (i) any late, lost, misrouted, garbled, distorted, or damaged transmissions or entries; (ii) telephone, electronic, hardware, software, network, Internet, or other computer- or communications-related malfunctions or failures; (iii) any Contest disruptions, injuries, losses, or damages caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor; and (iv) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.
■Contest Period: The Contest shall commence August 15, 2011, at 12:00 AM PST (8:00 AM BST) (the "Commencement Date"), and shall continue in duration until 11:59 PM PST October 15, 2011 (7:59 AM BST, October 16, 2011) (the "Deadline"). All entries must be received by the Deadline to be eligible to win a prize.
■Entry in the Contest: Beginning on the Commencement Date, you can enter the Contest by preparing a short story based upon Sponsor's products, characters, themes, locations, etc., and then uploading your submission to Sponsor at http://www.blizzard.com/en-gb/community/contests/form/writing2011.html , as well as completing the digital questionnaire found on that page. Your submission must be in English and must be between 2,500 and 7,500 words in length to be considered for the Contest. You are limited to one (1) entry in the Contest. Any entries or submissions that depict or glorify overly graphic, lewd, obscene, vulgar, or profane behavior, or that utilize lewd, obscene, vulgar, or profane language, either as part of the submission or as the name of the submission, will be disqualified at the sole discretion of Sponsor.
■Prizes.
A. First Place. One (1) qualified Entrant will be judged to be the winner of the Contest and will receive a prize package consisting of a trip to Blizzard headquarters in Southern California for winner and a travel companion, consisting of round-trip coach airfare from the regional airport nearest winner’s residence to either Los Angeles International Airport, or John Wayne Airport (as determined by Sponsor), lodging for two nights, and a meal with Blizzard employees, with an estimated value of $1,000.00. In addition the winner will receive a prize package consisting of the following prizes: a Doomhammer™ hammer, with an approximate retail value of $300.00; and a prize package consisting of one (1) Diablo® Archive, Warcraft® Archive, StarCraft® Archive, Warcraft®: War of the Ancients Archive, and World of Warcraft®: Chronicles of War, each signed by Chris Metzen, cover artists, and the Blizzard writing staff, with an approximate retail value of $85.84.
B. Runner Up Winners. Seven (7) qualified Entrants will be judged to be runners-up of the Contest and will receive prize packages consisting of one (1) Diablo Archive, Warcraft® Archive, StarCraft® Archive, Warcraft®: War of the Ancients Archive, and World of Warcraft®: Chronicles of War, each signed by Chris Metzen, cover artists, and the Blizzard writing staff, with an approximate retail value of $85.84.
■ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL TAXES ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECEIPT OR USE OF ANY PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER. No more than one (1) prize may be won by any one Entrant to the Contest. All prizes will be awarded. Prize winners must execute an affidavit of eligibility and liability release before they can receive their prizes. Prizes returned as undeliverable or otherwise not claimed within fifteen (15) days after transmission of notification will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. Prizes are not transferable. Each trip prize winner's travel companion must also sign a release before ticketing. No substitutions or exchanges (including cash) of any prizes will be permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value for any prize. Limit one prize per household or address. All prizes are awarded "AS IS."
■Judging. Sponsor shall choose the winners from all qualified Entrants who have submitted an entry prior to the Deadline. Winners shall be chosen by Sponsor at its sole discretion, based upon which Entrants display the most original, authentic, accurate, and compelling submissions. Sponsor shall announce the winners of the Contest on or about December 16, 2011. The decision of Sponsor is final. Prize winners will be notified by email within fourteen (14) days thereafter. To claim a prize, winners should follow the instructions contained in their notification.
■Sponsor Use of Entries. All entries and materials submitted to Sponsor in connection with the Contest (collectively, "Entry Materials"), along with all copyright, trademark, and other proprietary rights associated therewith, become the property of Sponsor upon submission, including the right to use your name, voice, bio, and likeness if requested by Sponsor. The Entry Materials will not be returned to any Entrant. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge that Sponsor shall have the right to use, modify, reproduce, publish, perform, display, distribute, make derivative works of, and otherwise commercially exploit the Entry Materials in perpetuity and throughout the universe, in any manner or medium now existing or hereafter developed, without separate compensation to you or any other person or entity. You agree to take, at Sponsor's expense, any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits and other documents) reasonably requested by Sponsor to effect, perfect, or confirm Sponsor's rights as set forth above in this section 8. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may not sell, sublicense, or distribute the Entry Materials or any derivative of the Entry Materials without the express written permission of Sponsor.
■Original Work of Authorship. You hereby warrant and represent that: (i) you own all rights to all Entry Materials submitted by you; and (ii) all such Entry Materials are original works of authorship on your part and have not been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work and do not violate, misappropriate, or infringe any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right of any other person or entity.
■Collection of Information. The Entry Materials include a survey that requires you to enter your name, email address, and country or state of residence. By entering the Contest, you consent to Sponsor's use of this information to inform you of open positions with Blizzard, and to associate your name with your submission in promotional materials for the Contest in the event that you are chosen to be a winner. As stated above, the Contest is not open to anyone under the age of majority in his or her country or state of residence. In the event that Sponsor becomes aware that you are under the age of majority in your country or state of residence, Sponsor will delete, erase, or destroy any and all personally identifiable information that is obtained from the Entry Materials. In the event that you are a citizen of France and/or any other country whose citizens are eligible for this Contest, and pursuant to French law pertaining to data collection and processing, you are informed that the data collector is Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., and the data collected will be transferred to the United States of America. Upon request, you will be provided with access to your personal data. You also have a right of opposition to the data collection, under certain circumstances. To exercise such right, you may write to Blizzard Entertainment Creative Writing Contest—Personal Data, c/o Blizzard Entertainment, P.O. Box 18979, Irvine, CA 92623. You may also withdraw your personal data upon request; however, you will be disqualified as an Entrant in the Contest if you withdraw your personal data prior to the determination and fulfillment of the prizes listed in section 5 herein.
■General Release. By entering the Contest, you release Sponsor, other participating sponsors, and any of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agencies (collectively, the "Released Parties") from any liability whatsoever, and waive any and all causes of action related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Contest or delivery of, misdelivery of, acceptance of, possession of, use of, or inability to use any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses, and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty, or other theory, to the extent permitted by law.
■Winners List; Rules Request: For a copy of the winners list, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope after December 16, 2011, and before June 30, 2012, to Sponsor at the following address: Blizzard Entertainment Creative Writing Contest—Winners List, c/o Blizzard Entertainment, P.O. Box 18979, Irvine, CA 92623. To obtain a copy of these rules, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope to Sponsor at the following address: Blizzard Entertainment Creative Writing Contest—Rules Request, c/o Blizzard Entertainment, P.O. Box 18979, Irvine, CA 92623. Residents of WA and VT may omit return postage. Please specify if you want the rules in English, French, German, Spanish, or Korean.
■Copyright Notice: The Contest and all accompanying materials are copyright © 2011 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.
■Miscellaneous: The Contest and these Official Rules will be governed, construed, and interpreted under the laws of the United States. Entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects. Sponsor reserves the right to change these Official Rules at any time, at its sole discretion, and to suspend or cancel the Contest or any Entrant's participation in the Contest should viruses, bugs, unauthorized human intervention, or other causes beyond Sponsor's control affect the administration, security, or proper play of the Contest, or should Sponsor otherwise become (as determined at its sole discretion) incapable of running the Contest as planned. Entrants who violate these Official Rules, tamper with the operation of the Contest, or engage in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Sponsor, the Contest, or any other Entrant (in each case as determined at Sponsor's sole discretion) are subject to disqualification from entry into the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to lock out persons whose eligibility is in question, who have been disqualified, or who are otherwise ineligible to enter the Contest. In the event of any dispute, each entry will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the email address from which the email was sent. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, an online service provider, or another organization (e.g., a business or educational institution) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Automated entries are prohibited, and any use of such automated devices will cause disqualification. If you have any questions about these Official Rules or the Contest, please email them to contestquestions@blizzard.com or send written questions to Sponsor at the following address: Blizzard Entertainment Creative Writing Contest, c/o Blizzard Entertainment, P.O. Box 18979, Irvine, CA 92623.
■Contest Sponsor: The sponsor of the Contest is Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
