2023 Dorm Therapy TikTok Contest Official Rules

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NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. NO PURCHASE WILL IMPROVE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. BY ENTERING, YOU AGREE TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES, WHICH ARE A CONTRACT. THESE OFFICIAL RULES REQUIRE YOU TO AGREE TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES RATHER THAN GOING TO COURT, GRANT US CERTAIN RIGHTS AND LICENSES, PROVIDE US CERTAIN INDEMNITIES, WAIVE CERTAIN OF YOUR RIGHTS AND REMEDIES, AND LIMIT OUR LIABILITY AND OBLIGATIONS TO YOU. READ THEM CAREFULLY AND DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE CONTEST IF YOU DO NOT AGREE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

OBJECTIVE: Your objective in entering is to submit a video that demonstrates your smart ideas on how to use your space (storage, layout, etc.) and exemplary design/aesthetics through high quality video.

1. Eligibility: The 2023 Dorm Therapy TikTok Contest (the “Contest”) is open to anyone who is at least eighteen (18) years old or the age of majority in their country or jurisdiction, whichever is older (“Entrant(s)”), who:

(a) has an active email account;

(b) is currently enrolled as a college student;

c) currently lives in the on-campus or off-campus home, dorm, condo, apartment, or other dwelling (each a “home”) that is the subject of their entry.

with the exception of residents of or those living in countries that are currently embargoed or under sanctions from the United States, a list of which is available on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s website and which includes Afghanistan, Belarus, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Crimea, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Nicaragua, North Korea, Palestine, Russia, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.  Employees of Apartment Therapy, LLC, any advertising, promotional, other agencies, or sponsors involved in the creation, development, or administration of the Contest, and any of its or their direct or indirect parent, subsidiary, and affiliate companies, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible to participate or win. The Contest is void wherever prohibited or restricted by law. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. Participation constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein. Entry in the Contest does not constitute entry into any other promotion, contest, or sweepstakes.

2. Administrator: Apartment Therapy, LLC, 270 Lafayette Street, Suite 1300, New York, NY 10012, is the Administrator of the Contest. 

3. Timing: Entries may be submitted between September 12, 2023, at 9 a.m. (Eastern), and October 16, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) (the “Entry Period”). Administrator’s computer shall be the official timekeeping device for the Contest. 

4. How to Enter:  During the Entry Period,  post a video tour of your space to TikTok, hashtag #dormtherapycontest, and follow and tag @dorm_therapy. The Contest is limited to one Entry per household. Mass Entries or Entries generated by a script, macro or use of automated devices will be disqualified. All Entries must be received during the Entry Period. Once you are notified that you are a finalist, you will have 3 days to complete the official finalist submission form we’ll provide.  For purposes of these Official Rules, “receipt” of an Entry occurs when Administrator’s servers record the Entry information resulting from an Entrant clicking the “Submit Form” button on the contest submission form. An automated computer receipt (such as one confirming delivery of an Entry) does not constitute proof of actual receipt by Apartment Therapy for purposes of these Official Rules. Once an Entry has been submitted, it may not be changed, altered or modified by Entrant.

Important restrictions and requirements for your Entry:

  • Video footage must be the original work of the Entrant, and they must not have been entered into any prior contest, sweepstakes, or promotion.
  • Entrant must obtain, prior to submission of any Entry, all necessary permissions from any designers who have contributed to the design of the home, and must provide names of such designer(s) for appropriate crediting along with the Entry.
  • Entries may not include any people or photos of people.
  • Entries may not include multi-image collages.
  • Entries may not include watermarks or other overlaid text.
  • Entries may not be inappropriate, offensive or obscene or endorse any form of hate or hate group.
  • Entries may not defame, misrepresent or contain disparaging remarks about other products, people or companies.
  • Entries may not contain trademarks, logos or trade dress (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors/interiors) owned by others, or advertise or promote any brand or product of any kind, or contain any personal identification such as personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses.
  • Entries may not infringe any copyrighted materials owned by others (including photographs, sculptures, paintings and other works of art or images published on or in websites, television, movies or other media).
  • Entries may not contain materials embodying the names, likenesses, photographs or other indicia identifying any person, living or dead, without permission.
  • Entries and Entrants may not engage in speech or behavior or communicate messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill to which Administrator wishes to associate.
  • Entries may not depict and may not be in violation of any law.

Administrator reserves the right to disqualify any Entry for violation or potential violation of any of the foregoing, in its sole discretion.  Administrator also reserves the right to blur or otherwise edit or alter photographs or content submitted as part of an Entry for compliance.

By submitting an Entry, you acknowledge that your Entry may be commented upon, favorably or unfavorably, by viewers of Administrator’s websites and its social media accounts, and you hereby release Administrator of any obligation to edit, hide or otherwise remove any comments on your behalf. 

For clarity, Administrator will follow its Comment Policy (https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/about/comment-policy) when evaluating and addressing viewer comments. Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of any Entry by third parties. Administrator does not guarantee the posting of any Entry. Without limiting the foregoing, you shall indemnify the Administrator and be solely liable for any damage and/or costs resulting from any infringement of copyrights, proprietary rights or any other harm resulting from any Entry by you to or through this website.

5. Judging and Winner Selection; Notification/Verification of Winner:

Qualifying Round: Administrator’s team will judge each Entry and assign it a confidential score from 0-12, based on video quality, vibe, cleverness, and creativity. Entries with the highest scores will move forward (and if an Entry gets a 0 in any of those categories it will be eliminated). The number of Entries that will advance out of the Qualifying Round depends on the number and quality of Entries received.

Voting:  The Entries advancing from the Qualifying Round will be published for public voting on Dorm Therapy’s TikTok on October 23, 2023. Voting will last from 9 a.m. Eastern on October 23, 2023, until 5:00 p.m. Eastern on November 20, 2023.

The Grand Prize Winner is the entry that receives the highest engagement (likes, comments, shares, and saves). In the event of a tie for the most votes, Administrator’s team will vote to determine the Winner.

Grand Prize Winner and Category Winners Announced:  December 4, 2023.

Should there be any attempt to manipulate the voting or winner selection process, Administrator reserves the right to select the Winner, disqualify any votes, disqualify any Entry, and take any other action it deems appropriate in order to conduct this Contest fairly and equitably. Entrants may not obtain votes in exchange for, or provide or benefit from, any inducement, vote exchange, vote farming, or any other material benefit, that artificially inflates an Entrant’s vote total, as determined by Administrator in its sole discretion.

All decisions of Administrator are final and binding on all matters. Administrator reserves the right to adjust any deadline(s) as the result of causes beyond its immediate control.

Receiving a prize is contingent upon compliance with these Official Rules.  The potential winner will be required to execute certain documents, which may include, without limitation, an affidavit of eligibility, liability release, W-9 and, where imposing such a condition is permitted, a publicity release (collectively, “Prize Claim Documents”).  If a potential winner cannot be contacted, does not wish to accept the prize, or fails to sign and return the Prize Claim Documents within the specified time period, that potential winner forfeits the prize and an alternate winner will be selected based on the vote totals of the remaining Entrants.

A background check may be conducted on potential winners. In the sole discretion of Administrator, a potential winner may be disqualified for any of the following reasons: (i) if Administrator believes that such Entrant has (x) tampered with the entry or voting process or has undermined the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, hacking, deception or other unfair practices, or (y) has engaged in conduct that annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other Entrant, or any representative of the Released Parties, or which would reflect negatively on any of the Released Parties; or (ii) if such Entrant is not eligible based on the eligibility requirements set forth in these Official Rules. In the event it is determined that a potential winner has not complied with these Official Rules, has failed to execute and return any required documents within the specified time period, has made false statements, is ineligible, or if a prize notification is returned as undeliverable, then such potential winner will be disqualified. If a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, Administrator may select an alternate winner based on the vote totals of the remaining Entrants.

6. Prizes:  One Grand Prize winner will receive $500  (US) and the chance, in Administrator’s discretion, to be featured on Dorm Therapy’s platforms. If the Grand Prize winner does not fully complete the Prize Claim Documents within 3 days of being notified of winning, Administrator may at its sole discretion select an alternate winner based on the vote totals of the remaining Entrants.

Winners may receive an IRS form 1099 or equivalent and are solely responsible for all federal, state, and/or local taxes and other fees associated with prize receipt, regardless of whether prize is used in whole or in part.

A winner will not receive a prize until they have been verified as a winner by Administrator and have completed the Prize Claim Documents.

7. Release and Force Majeure: By participating in the Contest, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Administrator. By submitting an entry, you represent and warrant that all of the information provided as part of your entry is accurate, does not violate any third party’s legal rights (including, without limitation, copyrights, trademarks, and rights of privacy and publicity) and otherwise does not violate applicable law. 

By participating in the Contest, you hereby agree to release and hold harmless Administrator, any sponsors, and each of their respective direct or indirect parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, related entities, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies and each such company’s officers, directors, equity holders, employees, contractors, and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all losses, liability, illness, injury, claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt, possession, use or misuse of a prize. 

The Released Parties assume no responsibility for any damage to your, or any other person’s, home or dwelling, personal property, or computer system which is occasioned by participating in the Contest, or for any computer system, phone line, hardware, software or program malfunctions, or other errors, failures, delayed computer transmissions or network connections that are human or technical in nature. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Released Parties are not responsible for incomplete, illegible, misdirected, misprinted, late, lost, damaged, stolen, or postage-due submissions or notifications, or for lost, interrupted, inaccessible or unavailable networks, servers, satellites, Internet service providers, websites or other connections, or for miscommunications, failed, jumbled, scrambled, delayed or misdirected computer, telephone or cable transmissions, or for any technical malfunctions, failures, difficulties or other errors of any kind or nature, or for the incorrect or inaccurate capture of information, or the failure to capture any information. 

In the event Administrator is prevented from awarding any prize or continuing with the Contest as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control, including, but not limited to, fire, flood, natural or man-made disaster, epidemic, pandemic, or other public health emergency, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, satellite or equipment failure, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared) or any federal state or local government law, rule, regulation or order, order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within Administrator’s control (each a “Force Majeure” event or occurrence), then, subject to any governmental approval which may be required, Administrator shall have the right to modify, suspend or terminate the Contest. If the Contest is terminated earlier than contemplated hereunder, Administrator will (if possible) select the Winner from amongst all eligible, non-suspect entries received and still eligible to win as of the date of the event giving rise to the termination, using the judging criteria contained herein as its guide.  Inclusion for consideration in such selection shall be each Entrant’s sole and exclusive remedy under such circumstances. These Official Rules cannot be modified or amended in any way except in a written document issued in accordance with law by duly authorized representatives of Administrator.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these Official Rules shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.

By submitting an Entry, Entrant acknowledges and agrees that Administrator may obtain many entries in the Contest and that such entries may be similar or identical in theme, idea, format or other respects to others submitted in the Contest and/or other contests staged and/or sponsored by Administrator and/or the other Released Parties, and Entrant waives any and all claims Entrant may have had, may have, and/or may have in the future that any composition, photograph and/or other works accepted, reviewed and/or used by Administrator or its designees may be similar to his or her entry. Entrant acknowledges and agrees that no Released Party has now, nor shall any of them have in the future, any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of any copyright in and to Entrant’s entry.

8. Publicity, License, and Release: Except where prohibited by law, participation in the Contest constitutes Entrant’s grant to Administrator of an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, unrestricted, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, adapt, transmit, distribute, prepare derivative works of, and display and perform publicly Entrant’s name, likeness, photographs, videos, and other Entry materials, voice, opinions and/or hometown and state, individually or collectively with others, including without limitation the right to resize, crop, censor, blur, compress, edit, feature, caption, affix logos to, and otherwise alter or make use of such items for promotional purposes and any other lawful purpose, in any and all media, manner, and formats now known or hereafter devised, without further payment or consideration. 

As a condition of entering the Contest, you consent to (i) Administrator obtaining and delivering your name, address and other information to third parties for the purpose of administering the Contest and complying with applicable laws, rules and regulations, (ii) the collection, storage and use of your personally identifiable information by Administrator in accordance with its privacy policy, located at www.apartmenttherapy.com/about/privacy-policy, and as otherwise set forth herein, (iii) Administrator’s Terms of Use, located at www.apartmenttherapy.com/about/terms, and (iv) the publication of your full name and information.  Any communication or information transmitted to Administrator by electronic mail or otherwise is and will be treated as non-confidential and nonproprietary. Proof of submission is not considered proof of delivery to, or receipt by, Administrator of such entry.

9. General Conditions: Administrator reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, human error or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Administrator in its sole discretion. In such event, Administrator reserves the right to select the winner from amongst all eligible, non-suspect entries received and still eligible to win as of the date of such impairment. Administrator reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Administrator reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Administrator’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. 

10. Limitations of Liability: The Released Parties are not responsible for: (a) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by any Entrant or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (b) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (c) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (d) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (e) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of a prize. No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded.

11. Choice of Law:  These Official Rules shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Any legal proceedings against Administrator or any of the Released Parties that may arise out of, relate to, or be in any way connected with the Contest or these Official Rules shall be brought exclusively in the state and federal courts of New York located in New York County and you hereby waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such courts.

12. Dispute Resolution; Binding Arbitration:  In this Section 12 and in Sections 13 and 14 below only, “we” and “us” are used to refer to you and Administrator together.

A. We each agree to first contact the other party with any disputes and provide a written description of the problem, all relevant documents/information and the proposed resolution. You agree to contact us with disputes by contacting us at the address provided in these Official Rules. We will contact you based on the contact information you have provided us.

B. We each agree to finally settle all disputes (as defined and subject to any specific exceptions below) only by arbitration. In arbitration, there is no judge or jury and review is limited. However, just as a court would, the arbitrator must honor the terms and limitations in these Official Rules and can award the same damages and relief. The arbitrator’s decision and award is final and binding, with some exceptions under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), and judgment on the award may be entered in any court with jurisdiction. We each also agree as follows:

i. “Disputes” are any claims or controversies against each other related in any way to the Contest or these Official Rules – this includes claims you bring against our officers, directors, employees, partners, successors, agents, affiliates, subsidiaries and their related companies, and claims Apartment Therapy may bring against you.

ii. If either of us wants to arbitrate a dispute, we agree to send written notice to the other party providing a description of the dispute, previous efforts to resolve the dispute, all supporting documents/information, and the proposed resolution. We will send notice to you based on the contact information you have provided us and notice to us must be sent to: Apartment Therapy, LLC, ATTN: Legal Department, 270 Lafayette Street, Suite 1300, New York, New York 10012. We agree to make attempts to resolve the dispute. If we cannot resolve the dispute within forty-five (45) days of receipt of the notice to arbitrate, then we may submit the dispute to formal arbitration.

iii. The FAA applies to these Official Rules and this arbitration provision. We each agree that the FAA’s provisions, not state law, govern all questions of whether a dispute is subject to arbitration.

iv. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its arbitration rules. If any AAA rule conflicts with these Official Rules, these Official Rules will apply. You can obtain procedures, rules and fee information from the AAA at 1-800-778-7879 or www.adr.org.

v. The arbitration will be conducted by a single neutral arbitrator and will take place in New York, New York. The federal or state law that applies to these Official Rules will also apply during the arbitration.

vi. We each agree not to pursue arbitration on a class wide basis. We each agree that any arbitration will be solely between you and us (not brought on behalf of or together with another individual’s claim). If for any reason any court or arbitrator holds that this restriction is unconscionable or unenforceable, then our agreement to arbitrate doesn’t apply and the dispute must be brought in court in the state or federal courts located in New York County.

vii. The prevailing party in the arbitration will be entitled to recover its costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and experts’ fees, which are incurred in connection with the arbitration.

C. Either of us may bring qualifying claims in small claims court.

13. No Class Actions:  TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, WE EACH WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO PURSUE DISPUTES ON A CLASSWIDE BASIS; THAT IS, TO EITHER JOIN A CLAIM WITH THE CLAIM OF ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY, OR ASSERT A CLAIM IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY ON BEHALF OF ANYONE ELSE IN ANY LAWSUIT, ARBITRATION OR OTHER PROCEEDING.

14. No Trial by Jury:  TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, WE EACH WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LAWSUIT, ARBITRATION OR OTHER PROCEEDING.

15. Winner List: For the Winner’s name, visit https://www.dormtherapy.com/tour-dorm-therapys-2023-tiktok-contest-winning-dorm-room-100003200 . The Winner’s name will be posted after verification is complete.

16. Questions:  Any questions, comments or complaints regarding the Contest should be directed to Dorm Therapy at tiktokcontest@dormtherapy.com. 

Alison Goldman

Contributor

Alison Goldman is an editor, writer, and TV binge-watcher based in Chicago. She's held editorial positions at Boston.com, WomensHealthMag.com, and Glamour magazine. She's also worked as a full-time freelance journalist, crafting lifestyle and culture content with an emphasis on women’s issues for publications including Cosmopolitan, The Lily from The Washington Post, The Boston Globe Magazine, and Chicago Magazine. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

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