UPTON TEA IMPORTS ESSAY CONTEST

Do you love to write?
An integral part of the Upton Tea Quarterly has always been the “article,” which has become a long-standing tradition here at Upton Tea Imports. Over the past 30 years, our valued customers have shared with us how much these articles about tea have meant to them and their families. They related how they looked forward with great anticipation to receiving a new Quarterly and reading the article over a cup of tea. With that wonderful feedback in mind, we are offering our valued customers the opportunity to write the article for our Winter 2019 Quarterly. Please see the Official Rules below. We look forward to reading your articles!

OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT IS NECESSARY AND WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE ENTRIES RECEIVED.

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. VALID IN THE U.S., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

SPONSOR: This Contest is sponsored by Upton Tea Imports, 100 Jeffrey Ave Ste 1, Holliston, MA 01746 (“Sponsor”).

AGREEMENT TO RULES: By participating in the Upton Tea Imports Contest (the "Contest"), You unconditionally accept and agree to comply with and abide by these rules and the decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final and binding in all respects. These Official Rules describe the manner in which the Contest will be conducted. Please read these Official Rules carefully as they contain important information about how the Contest will be conducted, including eligibility to enter, deadline dates for entry, and rules regarding entry to the Contest.

OVERVIEW OF THE CONTEST – HOW TO ENTER: The Contest is a search for a customer of Upton Tea Imports who will receive Upton Tea Imports Valued Customer points. To enter, each Entrant (“You/Your” or “Entrant”) must submit an original written article as follows: (1) the article must be between 800-1,500 words, and must be entirely in English on why Upton Tea Imports is special to You; and (2) Your entry must comply with the requirements of these “Official Rules” (“Entry(ies)”). All Entries must be submitted in a Microsoft Word document to article@uptontea.com, and must include a valid e-mail address by which Sponsor may reach You on or about October 14, 2019. Entries that are incomplete, illegible, corrupted, false, lost, late, misdirected, deceptive, or otherwise not in compliance with the Official Rules may be disqualified from the Contest at Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion.

BINDING AGREEMENT: In order to enter the Contest, You (a) agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the interpretation of these Official Rules by Sponsor, and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects; and (b) acknowledge compliance with these Official Rules. Therefore, please read these Official Rules carefully. You agree that submission of an Entry to the Contest constitutes an agreement to these Rules. You may not enter the Contest and are not eligible to receive the prizes described herein unless you agree to these Official Rules. These Official Rules form a binding legal agreement between You and Sponsor. Entrants also agree to: (a) comply with any and all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations; and (b) release and hold harmless Sponsor and the Contest Entities, as defined herein, from and against any claims, injury, or damages arising out of or relating to participation in the Contest and/or the use, misuse, or redemption of any prize, and for any claim including claims based upon defamation, publicity rights, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, or any other intellectual property-related cause of action arising from or related to the Contest, any prize, or Sponsor’s advertising and marketing related to the Contest, Entrants, or any winner. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

ELIGIBILITY: Only legal U.S. citizens or lawful permanent U.S. residents who are legal residents of 50 United States, District of Columbia, and who are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry (“Entrants”) are eligible to enter to win. Officers, directors, and employees of Sponsor and its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, distributors, vendors, suppliers, retailers, sales representatives, advertising and promotion agencies (all such individuals and entities referred to collectively, the "Contest Entities"), and each of their immediate family members (i.e., parent, child, sibling, or spouse) and/or people living in the same household are NOT eligible to enter the Contest or win a prize. This Contest is void where prohibited. When submitting Your Entry, Entrants are required to provide complete and truthful information. Entries submitted by persons who do not meet the eligibility requirements (including all requirements with respect to age and residence) are void. Sponsor will disqualify any Entry from individuals who do not meet the eligibility requirements.

CONTEST PERIOD: The Entry Period will begin on May 24, 2019, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") and end on September 15, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. ET (the “Entry Period”). Sponsor’s office clock will be the official timekeeper for the Contest. Entries must be actually received during the Entry Period, regardless of the date or time submitted by the Entrant. All dates are subject to change. Entries submitted before or after the Entry Period will not be eligible. There is a limit of one (1) entry per person. Additional entries will not be acknowledged. You may only enter on behalf of yourself. ORIGINALITY: You warrant and represent that Your Entry is original and has been legally created, and that You own all rights to Your Entry, including, without limitation, that Your Entry:

1. does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights or any other legal or moral rights of any third party;
2. has not been entered in any previous contest or won any previous award;
3. has not been published or distributed previously in any media; and
4. complies in all respects with the requirements set out in these Official Rules.

THIRD PARTY RIGHTS: Your Entry must not contain any elements that would infringe upon any third party’s rights (including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade secret, or right of publicity or privacy). In addition, Your Entry must not include any commercial content that: (1) promotes any product or service other than one owned or branded by Sponsor (including, without limitation, any corporate or commercial advertising, corporate logos, brand names, or slogans); or (2) disparages the Sponsor, Contest Entities, or their partners, customers, competitors, or any third party in any way. Sponsor may determine, in its sole discretion, whether the Entry violates the rights of any third party, and Sponsor’s determination as to whether the Entry potentially violates the rights of any third party is final.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT LIMITATIONS: Your Entry must not include any nudity, sex, explicit activity, violence, or drug use, or any references to same or any content that is false, fraudulent, deceptive, misleading, defamatory, threatening, trade libelous, slanderous, libelous, disparaging, unlawfully harassing, profane, obscene, pornographic, hateful, indecent, inappropriate or injurious to any individual, Sponsor, any Contest Entity, or any third party (as determined in Sponsor’s sole discretion).

WINNER SELECTION: On or about October 14, 2019, Sponsor will select five (5) finalists and one (1) first prize winner based on the content of the Entries (“Winners”). The Winners will be selected by a panel of Upton Tea Imports employees who are selected by the Sponsor in its sole discretion (“Judges”). The Judges will evaluate the eligible Entries and select the Winners in their sole discretion based on the number of votes received by the Judges. There will be no ties, and the Judges’ decisions are final. The Winners may be required to execute and return additional documents required by the Sponsor within a time frame specified by the Sponsor. Entrants agree that the Sponsor has the sole right to decide all matters and disputes arising from this Contest and that all decisions of Sponsor are final and binding and not subject to challenge or appeal.

NOTIFICATION: Sponsor will attempt to notify Winners on or about October 14, 2019. The first prize Contest Winner and all finalists will be notified by e-mail using the contact information provided by Entrant at the time of entry. Winners give their permission to be contacted by such means in connection with the Contest. Sponsor shall have no liability for any Winner notification that is lost, intercepted, or not received by a Winner for any reason. If a Winner does not respond in writing to Sponsor within seven (7) business days after the notice is sent, that Winner will be disqualified, and Sponsor will select an alternate Winner in his/her place from the remaining Entries received.

The PRIZE: All qualified Entries will receive 300 Valued Customer points (approx. value $3.00). One (1) first prize Winner will be awarded 30,000 Valued Customer points (approx. value $300). Five (5) finalist Winners will receive 5,000 Valued Customer points (approx. value $50). No substitution or transfer or cash redemptions of prizes is permitted. All federal, state and local taxes and any expenses relating to the acceptance and use of a prize are the sole responsibility of each Winner. All federal, state and local laws apply.

OPT-IN: By entering the Contest, you agree to receive emails from Sponsor, related or unrelated to the Contest, including marketing emails.

GRANT OF RIGHTS: If You win, you hereby give Sponsor permission to use Your name, city, and likeness for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. Entrants retains ownership of all intellectual property rights in and to their Entry. However, by participating in the Contest, except where prohibited by law, each Entrant grants to the Sponsor and Contest Entities and their agents and assigns (collectively, the “Released Entity/Entities”) in perpetuity the non-exclusive, irrevocable, sublicensable, royalty-free license, right, and permission to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, use, edit, modify, rearrange, add to, delete from, copy, reproduce, translate, separate, adapt, publish, combine with other material, reuse, adapt, create derivative works based upon, and exploit the content of and elements embodied in his/her Entry in any and all media now or hereafter known, including but not limited to digital and electronic 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 review, notice, approval, consideration, or compensation. Each Entrant agrees that the Released Entities may, but are not required to, attribute an Entry to an Entrant. Each Entrant waives and releases the Released Entities from any and all claims that Entrant may now or hereafter have in any jurisdiction based on “moral rights,” “droit moral,” or unfair competition with respect to the Released Entities’ exploitation of the Entrant’s Entry without further notification or compensation to Entrant of any kind, and agrees not to instigate, support, maintain, or authorize any action, claim, or lawsuit against the Released Entities and each of their affiliates, licensees, or any other person in connection with this Contest, on the grounds that any use of any Entry, or any derivative works thereof, infringe or violate any of Entrant’s rights therein.

LIABILITY RELEASE: Each Entrant acknowledges and agrees that nothing in these Official Rules will require the Released Entities to use an Entry in part or in whole. Each Entrant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the relationship between the Entrant and any of the Released Parties is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship, and that the Entrant’s decision to submit his/her Entry for purposes of the Contest does not place any of the Released Parties in a position that is any different from the position held by members of the general public with regard to elements of the Entries, other than as set forth in these Official Rules. Each Entrant understands and acknowledges that the Released Parties have wide access to ideas, stories, designs, and other materials. Each Entrant also acknowledges that many ideas may be competitive with, similar to, or identical to his/her Entry(ies) and/or each other in theme, idea, format, or other respects. Each Entrant acknowledges and agrees that he/she will not be entitled to any compensation as a result of a Released Entity’s use of any such similar or identical material that has or may come to a Released Entity from other sources. Each Entrant acknowledges and agrees that the Released Parties do not now, and shall not have in the future, any duty or liability, direct or indirect, vicarious, contributory, or otherwise, with respect to the infringement or protection of the Entrant’s copyright in and to his/her Entry. By entering the Contest, You agree to release and hold harmless the Released Entities from any liability, claim, or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not, from Your participation in the Contest; Your acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of the prize or any portion thereof; unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; and/or electronic or human error in the administration of the Contest. Each Entrant acknowledges that, with respect to any claim by the Entrant relating to or arising out of a Released Entity’s actual or alleged exploitation or use of any Entry, or other material submitted in connection with the Contest, the damage, if any, thereby caused to the applicable Entrant will not be irreparable or otherwise sufficient to entitle such Entrant to seek injunctive or other equitable relief or in any way enjoin the production, distribution, exhibition, or other exploitation of any Released Entity-owned or Released Entity-related material based on or allegedly based on the Entry, and Entrant’s rights and remedies in any such event shall be strictly limited to the right to recover damages, if any, in an action at law.

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS: All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant from the Contest if, in its sole discretion, it reasonably believes that an Entrant has tampered with the entry process or has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices, or annoys, abuses, threatens, or harasses any other Entrants, Sponsor, the Contest Entities or the Judges, or who is otherwise in violation of these Official Rules.

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest should virus, bug, non-authorized human intervention, fraud, or other cause beyond Sponsor's control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, or proper conduct of the Contest. In such case, Sponsor may select the winner from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor.

Nothing in these Official Rules is intended to waive any claim that an Entrant cannot unilaterally waive under applicable law. If any provision of these Official Rules shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Official Rules and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. A Released Entity’s failure to enforce any provision in these Official Rules will not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. No waiver of any term or condition of these Official Rules shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other term or condition. Headings are solely for convenience of reference and will not be deemed to affect in any manner the meaning or intent of the documents or any provision hereof. In the event there is a discrepancy or inconsistency between disclosures or other statements contained in any Contest-related materials, the privacy policy or terms of use on the Sponsor’s website, and/or the terms and conditions of the Official Rules, the Official Rules shall prevail, govern and control and the discrepancy will be resolved in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion.

PRIVACY: By participating in the Contest, Entrants hereby agree that Sponsor may collect and use their personal information submitted with the Entry. Among other things, the information You provide may be used for sending Entrants company updates and announcements about Sponsor and its products.

GOVERNING LAW: All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with California law without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of laws rules (whether of California or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than California.

WINNER'S LIST: For the name of the winner or the Official Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Upton Tea Imports, attn: Direct to Consumer, Winter 2019 Upton Tea Quarterly Article, 100 Jeffrey Ave Ste 1, Holliston, MA 01746. Specify "Winners List" or "Official Rules" in your request. All such requests must be received within one (1) year after the end of the Contest.