The Westminster Dog Photo Challenge

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

You can enter The Westminster Dog Photo Challenge ("Contest") beginning 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on December 13, 2011 and ending at 11:59 p.m. ET on January 3, 2012 ("Contest Submission Period").

ELIGIBILITY: Contest is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years or older. Employees of MSG Holdings, L.P. ("Sponsor"), the Westminster Kennel Club, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and advertising and promotion agencies, and members of their immediate family (spouse and parent, children and siblings and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and persons living in the same household, whether or not related, of such employees, are not eligible to enter or win. Void  where prohibited by law. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws.

HOW TO ENTER:  During the Contest Submission Period, to enter, send an email tomsgdogscontest@gmail.com, attach a picture of your dog no smaller than 800x800 pixels and include the following information in the body of the email:  your name, email address, home address, name of your dog, breed of your dog, age of your dog and your dog’s favorite thing to do ("Entry").  All Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on January 3, 2012 to be considered.  Entry should only feature your dog .  No humans or other animals should appear in the photo you submit.  Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means or by any means which subvert the entry process are void. Limit one (1) Entry per person/email address. Entries received from any person or email address in excess of the limitation will be void. All Entries become the sole property of the Sponsor and will not be returned.

Entry may not contain, as determined by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, any content that:

• depicts or encourages cruelty to animals;
• is sexually explicit or suggestive; unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
• promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing); promotes any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous; promotes any particular political agenda or message;
• is obscene or offensive; endorses any form of hate or hate group;
• appears to duplicate any other submitted Entries;
• defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about Sponsor or its products or services or other people or companies;
• contains trademarks, logos, or trade dress (such as distinctive packaging or building exteriors/interiors) owned by others, without permission, to the extent permission is necessary;
• contains any personal identification, such as license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses;
• contains 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), without permission, to the extent permission is necessary;
• communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will with which Sponsor wishes to associate; and/or
• violates any law.

Entry must be the original work of the entrant (or entrant must have permission from photographer to submit the photo as part of this Contest), may not have been previously published, may not have won previous awards, and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity.  If the Entry contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant, and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the Entry, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Entry by Sponsor in the manner set forth in these Official Rules. Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to Sponsor from any entrant at any time. Failure to provide such proof may, if requested, render Entry null and void.

By submitting an Entry, entrant hereby grants permission for the Entry to be posted onwww.msgsoundcheck.com/westminsterphotocontest("Website")and/or other social media websites and otherwise used by Sponsor in accordance with the rights granted herein.  Entrant understands that Sponsor has no obligation to post Entry and understands that Sponsor can take down any Entry at any time.  Entrant agrees that Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for any unauthorized use of Entries by third parties.

Judging : All eligible Entries received by Sponsor will be divided into two (1) categories: (1) Group One and (2) Group Two.  Entries in each category will be judged to select the top twenty-five (25) Entries in each category,by a panel of qualified judges based equally on appearance of dog in photo, personality of dog as portrayed in photo and quality of photo (“Judging Criteria”),for a total of fifty (50) “Quarter-Finalists” .  In the event of a tie, an additional, “tie-breaking” judge will determine the Quarter-Finalist(s) based on the criteria listed herein. Sponsor reserves the right to advance fewer than fifty (50) Quarter-Finalists to the voting phase or to not award all prizes if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries. 

Voting: Round 1 for Group One Quarter Finalists: All Group One Quarter Finalists will be featured on the Website between 12:01 a.m. ET on January 3, 2012 and 11:59 p.m. ET on January 9, 2012 (“Group OneVoting Period”).  The ten (10) Group One Quarter Finalists receiving the highest number of valid votes following the conclusion of theGroup OneVoting Period, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will advance to Round 2.  Round 1 for Group Two Quarter Finalists: All Group Two Quarter Finalists will be featured on the Website between 12:01 a.m. ET on January 10, 2012 and 11:59 p.m. ET on January 16, 2012 (“Group TwoVoting Period”).  The ten (10)Group TwoQuarter Finalists receiving the highest number of valid votes following the conclusion of theGroup TwoVoting Period, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will advance to Round 2. Round 2: The top ten (10)Group OneandGroup TwoQuarter Finalists (collectively, the “Semi-Finalists”) will be featured on the Website between 12:01 a.m. ET on January 17, 2012 and 11:59 p.m. ET on January 23, 2012 (“Round 2 Voting Period”).  The ten (10) Semi-Finalists receiving the highest number of valid votes following the conclusion of the Round 2 Voting Period, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will advance to Round 3 (“Finalists”).  Round 3: The Finalists will be featured on the Website between 12:01 a.m. ET on January 24, 2012 and 11:59 p.m. ET on February 6, 2012 (“Round 3 Voting Period”).  The Finalist receiving the highest number of valid votes following the conclusion of the Round 3 Voting Period, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, will be deemed the potential winner. 

For all Voting Periods : During each Voting Period, individuals will be able to vote for the Finalist who they think is most appealing. Individuals can vote for as many Finalists as they wish; however, there is a limit one (1) vote per person/email address/IP address per Finalist per day during the applicable Voting Period. Votes received from any person/email address/IP address during any Voting Period in excess of the stated limitation will be void. Finalists are prohibited from obtaining votes by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, including, without limitation, offering prizes or other inducements to members of the public, or trading votes, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion; all such finalists will be disqualified and/or such votes void.  In the event of a tie in any Round, a “tie-breaking” judge will break the tie using the Judging Criteria.  Use of script, macro or any automated system to vote or with the intent to impair the integrity of the voting process is prohibited and all such votes will be void.  All prize awards are subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with the terms of these Official Rules.  The decisions of the Sponsor and judges are final and binding on all matters relating to this Contest.

WINNER NOTIFICATION: Potential winner will be notified by telephone, mail and/or email and may be required to complete an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release (unless prohibited by law) and any other documents required by Sponsor, which must be returned within five (5) days of date appearing on prize notification. Return of prize or prize notification as undeliverable, failure to sign and return requested documentation within the specified time period, the inability of Sponsor to contact potential winner within a reasonable time period or noncompliance with these Official Rules by potential winner may result in disqualification and, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, the prize may be awarded to a runner-up.

PRIZE: Winner will receive one (1) 4-pack of tickets for each day of the Westminster Dog Show scheduled to take place on February 13, 2012 and February 14, 2012 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. A collective total of eight (8) tickets will be awarded (i.e., four (4) tickets for each day of the event). Travel and accommodations are not included as part of the prize.  Winning photo may also be featured on the MSG Marquee.  Exact time, duration and frequency of winning photo on the MSG Marquee will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.  Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $644. Tickets are subject to availability. Seat locations will be determined by Sponsor.  Tickets are subject to terms and conditions specified by provider.  Winner and guests must comply with the venue’s rules and regulations.  Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of applicable portion of prize.  All federal, state and local taxes and all other costs and expenses associated with prize acceptance and use not specified herein as being provided, including travel and accommodations. Winner may not substitute, assign or transfer prize or redeem prize for cash, but Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to substitute prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value.  All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

GRANT OF RIGHTS TO ENTRIES:  By submitting an Entry, each entrant grants Sponsor an irrevocable, perpetual, unlimited, royalty-free, fully paid-up license to the Entry submitted (including all rights embodied therein) and understands that Sponsor and its designees may exploit, edit, modify, post, create derivatives of, distribute and otherwise use the Entry and all elements of such Entry, including, without limitation, the names and likenesses of any animals embodied therein, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, in any manner, worldwide, without compensation or notification to, or permission from, entrant or any third party.

GENERAL CONDITIONS:   By participating, each entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these Official Rules and decisions of Sponsor and judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Contest; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, the Westminster Kennel Club, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or any Contest-related activity or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the prize; and (c) to the use by Sponsor and its designees of his/her name, city and state of residence, voice, image and/or likeness for programming, advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, in any manner, worldwide in perpetuity, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from  entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so.   

Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered or garbled Entries, votes or email; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of Entries, the tabulation of votes, the announcement of the prize or in any Contest-related materials.  Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest.  Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person's computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the website.  Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Contest or website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated Entries will be void. Should any portion of the Contest be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of Entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest and, if terminated, at its discretion, select the potential winner from all eligible, non-suspect Entries received prior to action taken using the judging procedure outlined above.CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.