Official Rules

  1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY: Participation in the Next Great Idea Contest (the "Contest") constitutes Entrant's full and unconditional agreement to accept and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsors, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest.
  2. ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible, an Entrant must be of majority age and a legal resident of one of the 50 United States or District of Columbia. Employees or agents of Mansueto Ventures LLC ("MV") and Hilton Hotels Corporation (together, the "Sponsors") and of the Sponsors' parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries and participating advertising/promotional agencies, and the members of their immediate families and households are not eligible. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law.
  3. TO ENTER: Complete and submit the Official Entry Form at www.inc.com/greatidea or www.fastcompany.com/greatidea between 12:00:01 AM (ET) on April 1, 2008 and 11:59:59 PM (ET) on May 10, 2008 ("Entry Period") in accordance with the on-screen instructions. Entrant will be required to write a description of an idea for an original, new product or service and its potential market (the "Essay"). The Essay must be no more than 5,000 characters (including spaces), must be original and must not infringe upon the intellectual property, privacy or publicity right or any other legal or moral right of any person or entity, or violate any laws, rules or regulations. Click on the "Submit" button at the end of the Official Entry Form. LIMIT ONE (1) ENTRY PER PERSON OR E-MAIL ADDRESS (regardless of whether more than one person uses the same e-mail address). Subsequent Entries submitted by the same Entrant will be void. Entries submitted in person, by mail, by fax or by any other means will not be accepted. Entries must be received during the Entry Period. Sponsors are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete or Entries not received for any reason. The term "Entrant" as used in these Official Rules refers to each eligible individual who submits an Entry. The term "Entry" as used in these Official Rules refers to the information and Essay provided on the Official Entry Form.
  4. JUDGING/SELECTION OF WINNER: Ten (10) Finalists with the highest scores from all eligible Entries will be selected by members of MV's staff in accordance with the following criteria: originality (25%), marketability (25%), viability of plan (25%) and the quality of the presentation (25%). Sponsors reserve the right to select fewer than ten (10) Finalists and/or not award any or all prizes if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries. Decisions of judges are final and binding. The 10 Finalists will be posted at www.inc.com/greatidea and www.fastcompany.com/greatidea on June 6, 2008 for voting by the general public. Voting is subject to the terms and conditions provided in Section 9 of these Official Rules.

    The Finalist who receives the most votes will be declared the Winner. In the event of a tie among the votes, the Finalists involved in the tie will be reviewed by at least three of the judges who selected the Finalists, who will select the Winner based on the criteria set forth herein and whose decisions shall be final and binding. The Winner will be notified via email and/or phone call (at Sponsors' discretion) as soon as practical after the close of voting.

  5. PRIZE: The Winner will receive US $5,000 in the form of a check and be featured in a full page advertisement in Inc. Magazine and Fast Company Magazine. If for any reason, Sponsors are unable to place this advertisement, winner will receive only the check portion of the prize without additional compensation. The Winner is responsible for all Federal, State and local taxes, and will be issued an IRS 1099 Income Tax Form in the amount of $5,000. All other expenses not specified herein are the responsibility of the winner.
  6. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION:

    1. By entering the Contest, each Entrant represents and warrants that his/her Essay is original and has been legally created, does not infringe upon the intellectual property, privacy or publicity right or any other legal or moral right of any person or entity, or violate any laws, rules or regulations. Each Entrant further warrants that he/she owns all legal rights and permissions necessary to enter the Essay in the Contest and to exploit or grant to Sponsors the right to exploit the Essay for any commercial or other purposes anywhere in the world.
    2. Each Entrant shall retain ownership of the intellectual property rights for the idea contained within Entrant's Essay, however, Sponsors shall have the exclusive right to control the initial exploitation of the Essay and the idea contained within the Essay for corporate or commercial purposes. Further, by entering this Contest, and to the extent allowed by law, Entrants grant Sponsors and their licensees the absolute right and permission to edit, modify, publish, exploit and use the content of and elements embodied in the Entries (including without limitation the Essay) and the Entries themselves in perpetuity in any and all media including but not limited to digital and electronic media, print media, computer, audio and audiovisual media (whether now existing or hereafter devised), in any language, throughout the world, and in any manner, for trade, advertising, promotional, commercial, or any other purposes without further approval or consideration. The foregoing includes, but is not limited to, Sponsors' right to post the Finalists' Essay (in whole or in part) on www.inc.com/greatidea and www.fastcompany.com/greatidea for public voting as part of the Contest. Entrants waive and release Sponsors, from any and all claims that Entrants may now or hereafter have in any jurisdiction based on "moral rights" or "droit moral" or unfair competition with respect to Sponsors' exploitation of the Entries without further compensation to Entrants of any kind, and agree not to instigate, support, maintain, or authorize any action, claim, or lawsuit against Sponsors or their licensees, on the grounds that any use of any Entry, or any derivative works, infringe or violate any of the Entrants' rights therein.
    3. Each Entrant agrees that Sponsors have access to and/or may exploit ideas and concepts which may be similar or identical to the idea contained in the Essay. Entrant understands and agrees that s/he will not be entitled to any compensation or other consideration because of the use by Sponsors of any such similar ideas and concepts and further understand and agree that Sponsors' use of such similar ideas and concepts which are similar or identical to those contained in the Essay shall not obligate Sponsors to negotiate with nor entitle Entrant to any compensation or other claim. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize for an item of equal or greater value. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.
    4. By accepting prize, Winner agrees to the use of his/her name, biographical material, photo, voice, likeness and Essay (in whole or in part and as modified by Sponsors) for the purposes of advertising, trade and promotion without further compensation including, without limitation, a feature on Winner and his/her Essay (in whole or in part and as modified by Sponsors) in a full page advertisement about the idea and the winner (which include the name of the Contest and Sponsors) in Inc. Magazine and Fast Company Magazine, unless prohibited by law. Winner agrees to be available for and participate in any interviews and/or photo shoot requested by Sponsors.
    5. Winner may forfeit prize if Sponsors are unable to contact him or her within 7 days of first attempted notification. In such event, the prize may be awarded to an alternate winner. The Winner will be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability Release and, if legally permissible, a Publicity Release all within 7 days of acknowledged notification. Failure to comply with these deadlines may result in forfeiture of the prize.
    6. By entering Contest, Entrants agree to hold Sponsors, its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and each of their respective directors, officers, employees and assigns harmless for any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in the Contest and/or acceptance or use of the prize. Sponsors are not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the Contest or in the announcement of the prize.
  7. INTERNET: Sponsors are not responsible for malfunctions of electronic equipment, computer hardware, software, malfunctions of the Entrant's email provider, lost, late, incomplete Entries or Entries not received during the Entry Period. Entries not containing the required information and Entries not submitted in the required format will be disqualified. Any attempted form of entry other than described herein is void. Sponsors are not responsible for problems or electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of Entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone, equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive Entry information by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or any web site or any combination thereof. If for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsors reserve the right at their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Sponsors reserve the right, but not the obligation, to select winners from eligible Entries received as of the termination date. Sponsors further reserve the right to disqualify any individual who tampers with the Entry process. Entries that have been tampered with or altered are void. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting an Entry, the Entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the e-mail account is registered. Entries become the property of Sponsors and will not be acknowledged or returned.
  8. E-MAIL ADDRESS CHANGE POLICY: It is the sole responsibility of the Entrant to notify MV in writing if the Entrant changes his/her e-mail address. To do so, send notice of new e-mail address to greatidea@mansueto.com.
  9. VOTING: The 10 Finalists will be posted at both www.inc.com/greatidea and www.fastcompany.com/greatidea on June 6, 2008. Vote for your favorite Finalist on either but not both sites between June 6, 2008 at 10:00AM (ET) and July 6, 2008 at 11:59PM (ET). Votes must be submitted in accordance with the on-screen instructions. Voting in the Contest is open to all individuals except employees of the Sponsors and of the Sponsors' parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries and participating advertising/promotional agencies, and the members of their immediate families and households. The voting process for the Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Limit one (1) vote per person regardless of the site at which you vote. An IP address may only be used to submit one (1) vote regardless of the number of persons who share the IP address. Payment or other consideration in exchange for votes is prohibited. Subsequent votes by a single voter will be disqualified. Votes generated by script, macro or other automated means or any other means intended to impact the integrity of the voting process as determined by Sponsors in their sole discretion are void.

    Sponsors, their parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries and participating advertising/promotional agencies, and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the foregoing (collectively, "Released Parties") are not responsible for incorrect/inaccurate voting information. Released Parties assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, votes. Released Parties are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or telephone lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any vote to be cast or tabulated on account of technical problems, human error or traffic congestion on the Internet or at website, or any combination thereof or for any other reason, or for any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer relating to or resulting from participation in voting process or downloading any materials. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE VOTING PROCESS OR THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to modify, terminate, or suspend the voting or void any vote should a virus, bug, non-authorized human intervention, action of entrant or voter, or other cause corrupt or impair the administration, security, or fairness of the voting. Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify any individual they find to be violating these terms, tampering with the voting process, or acting in an unsportsmanlike or improper manner and void all associated votes. If the voting process is terminated early by Sponsors, Sponsors reserve the right to count the eligible votes among all non-suspect, eligible votes received up to time of cancellation. The decision of the Sponsors with respect to the tallying of votes, and the invalidation or disqualification of any suspected votes, shall be final and binding.

  10. RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES: By submitting an Entry, Entrant agrees that: (1) in the event of any dispute or claim arising out of or connected with the Contest, the parties shall make a good faith effort to resolve that dispute or claim through mediation facilitated by a neutral third party located in New York, NY, the cost of which shall be borne by MV; (2) in the event that the parties are unable to reach a resolution through mediation, the parties select the State and Federal Courts located in the State of New York, County of New York as the exclusive forum in which the matter may be litigated, on an individual basis without resort to class action; (3) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Contest but in no event attorneys' fees; and (4) under no circumstances will Entrant be permitted to obtain any compensation for, and Entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Entrant and Sponsors in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and performed in New York. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.
  11. WINNER'S LIST: To receive the winner's list or a copy of the Official Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Mansueto Ventures LLC, Attn: The Next Great Idea Contest, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195.
  12. SPONSORS: The Sponsors of this Contest are Mansueto Ventures LLC, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195 and Hilton Hotels Corporation, 9336 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.