Official Rules

1. Eligibility: The Pets in the Swimming Pool Photo Contest (the "Contest") is open only to individuals who are at least eighteen (18) years of age, or the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence, whichever is older. Employees of Pacific Backyard LLC or other companies associated with the Contest, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee may enter photos but are not eligible to win the contest.
    
   
2. Sponsor: The Contest is sponsored by Pacific Backyard LLC, 14525 Southwest Millikan Way #1810, Beaverton, OR 97005 ("Sponsor").
    
   
3. Agreement to Official Rules: By entering the Contest, you indicate your full and unconditional agreement to, and acceptance of, (a) these Official Rules and (b) Sponsor's decisions, which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
    
   
4. Entry Period: The Contest begins at 1:00 p.m. ET on July 19, and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on August 2. Entries submitted before or after the Entry Period will not be eligible. Sponsor's computer is the official time-keeping device for the Contest.
    
   
5. Content Requirements: Your Entry must not: (a) violate any third party rights, including, but not limited to, copyrights, trademark rights, or rights of privacy and publicity; (b) contain defamatory statements; (c) include threats to any person, place, business, or group; (d) be obscene or indecent; (e) depict any risky behavior, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion; (f) contain any third party trademarks or logos; and (g) have won any other photo contests. Sponsor reserves the right to remove any Entry for any reason.
    
   
6. Entrant's Warranties and Representations: By submitting an Entry, you warrant and represent that: (a) you own all rights to the Entry; (b) to the extent the Entry depicts any individual, you are the individual pictured, or, alternatively, that you have obtained written permission from each person appearing in the Entry to grant the rights to Sponsor as described in the "Sponsor's Rights to Entries" section below, and can make written copies of such permissions available to Sponsor upon request; and (c) the Entry complies with all requirements of these Official Rules.
    
   
7. Entrant's Warranties and Representations: By submitting an Entry, you warrant and represent that: (a) you own all rights to the Entry; (b) to the extent the Entry depicts any individual, you are the individual pictured, or, alternatively, that you have obtained written permission from each person appearing in the Entry to grant the rights to Sponsor as described in the "Sponsor's Rights to Entries" section below, and can make written copies of such permissions available to Sponsor upon request; and (c) the Entry complies with all requirements of these Official Rules.
    
   
8. Sponsor's Rights to Entries: By submitting your photo, you certify that you own the copyright to the picture, and that you agree to grant Pacific Backyard LLC, nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable right and license to copy, reproduce, publish in any media, distribute, and display all submitted photos, images, and text. Pacific Backyard LLC, reserves the right to alter pictures and edit text if at any time Pacific Backyard deems them, at its sole discretion, to be inappropriate in this forum.
    
   
9. Selection of Potential Winner: An open voting period will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET on July 19, and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on August 9. The photo receiving the most votes will be the winner. In the case that a Pacific Backyard employee’s photo receives the most votes, the photo with the most votes that was not submitted by an employee will be deemed the winner. In the event of a tie the Sponsor reserves the right to select the winner (break the tie).
    
   
10. Notification and Requirements of Potential Winners: Sponsor will attempt to notify the potential winner within five (5) business days of the date of selection. If a potential winner does not respond within five (5) business days after the notice is sent, the Sponsor will select an alternate potential winner in his/her place based on the number of votes received. Only three (3) alternate potential winners will be contacted. Except where prohibited, a potential winner may be required to complete and return an affidavit of eligibility, a liability/publicity release, and a release in which he/she irrevocably assigns and transfers to Sponsor any and all rights, title, and interest in Entry, including, without limitation, all copyrights and trademark rights, and waives all rights in the Entry. If a potential winner fails to sign and return these documents within the required time period, an alternate potential winner may be selected in his/her place according to the Judging Criteria. Only three (3) alternate potential winners may be contacted.
     
    
11. General Conditions: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, or other technical problem, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules; or (b) award the prize(s) according to the Judging Criteria from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. Sponsor 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 or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Failure by Sponsor to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Proof of sending any communication to Sponsor by mail shall not be deemed proof of receipt of that communication by Sponsor. In the event of a dispute as to any online entry, the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter will be deemed to be the participant. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.
     
    
12. Release and Limitations of Liability: By participating in the Contest, you agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents (the "Released Parties") from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (b) technical errors related to computers, servers, providers, or telephone, or network lines; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (f) 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 of any prize. You further agree that in any cause of action, the Released Parties' liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorney's fees. You waive the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.
     
    
13. Privacy and Publicity: Any information you submit as part of the Contest will be used for purposes of this Contest and treated in accordance with Sponsor's Privacy Policy. Except where prohibited, participation in the Contest constitutes an entrant's consent to Sponsor's use of his/her name, likeness, opinions, biographical information, and state of residence for promotional purposes in any media without further payment or consideration.
     
    
14. Disputes: Except where prohibited, you agree that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Oregon, USA. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, your rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Oregon, USA, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of Oregon, USA or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Oregon, USA.
     
    
15. Results: The winner will be posted on the Backyard Ocean website.