RESOURCES

Terms and Conditions

1. To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, a Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) —
   1. Shall have complied with all the requirements;
   2. Shall be age 18 or older
   3. May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
   4. May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
   5. May not be a Federal employee of the Department of Health and Human Services) (or any other component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity;
   6. 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;
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 HHS.
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. 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.
6. 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 winner of the prize competition grants to HHS 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, and a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice, or have practiced for or on its behalf, the solution throughout the world. Each winner of the challenge 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 winners of the challenge rights to the Federal government. To receive an award, Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights, but Participants must grant to the Federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.
7. Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
8. 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.
9. The Challenge Organizers reserve 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.
10. Individual competitors and teams may originate from any country, as long as United States federal sanctions do not prohibit participation
    1. See the Sanctions Programs and Country Information | U.S. Department of the Treasury
11. Submissions must originate from either the U.S. or a designated country (see definition of designated country at https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-25#FAR_25_003), OR have been substantially transformed in the U.S. or designated country prior to prototype delivery pursuant to FAR 25.403(c).
12. Submissions must be made in English. All challenge-related communication will be in English. You are required to ensure that all releases or transfers of technical data to non-U.S. persons comply with International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) 22 C.F.R. §§ 120.1 to 130.17. Submissions from outside individuals and non-expert teams are encouraged. All applications will go through a process of due diligence; any application found to be misrepresentative, plagiarized, or sharing an idea that is not their own will be automatically disqualified.
13. All ineligible applicants will be automatically removed from the competition with no recourse or reimbursement.
14. No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the competition.
15. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to indemnify the Challenge Organizers and Federal government against third-party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.
16. Participants shall not use the NIOSH, CDC or HHS names, logos or official seals in their submissions and must not claim endorsement from those entities.
17. Participants agree that CDC may disqualify the submission if, in CDC’s judgment, the program is inconsistent with CDC’s public health mission, may be ineffective or harmful, or any other reason deemed necessary.
18. Record Retention and FOIA: All materials submitted to HHS as part of a submission become HHS records and cannot be returned. Any confidential commercial information contained in a submission should be designated in accordance with 45 C.F.R. § 5.41. Participants will be notified of Freedom of Information Act requests for their submissions in accordance with 45 C.F.R. § 5.42.
19. Each Participant (whether participating as a Team or Entity) agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies