Biodesign Sprint 2025 Participation Agreement
1. INTRODUCTION
By participating in the BDC Biodesign Sprint (“Biodesign Sprint”), you agree to the conditions stated in this participation agreement (“Agreement”) and that you are the age of majority in the place of your residence. If you are under the age of majority you confirm your parent or legal guardian has given permission and consent for you to participate in the Biodesign Sprint. Note that “you” or ”your” refers to Biodesign Sprint participants (including the team members). “We”, “our” or “us” refers to Biodesign Challenge INC (“Organizer”) and its affiliates and partners (collectively referred to as “BDC”).
2. TIMELINE
● Registration Period: August 1 - September 30, 2025
● October 1-3: Online Kickoff Orientation
● Friday, December 5, 11:00 - 3:00 pm ET: Semifinals, all teams present
● Saturday, December 6, 12:00 - 4:00 pm ET: Sprint Finals, Top Eight Finalists present
3. WHAT IS THE BIODESIGN SPRINT?
In September 2025, BDC will launch its two month-long Biodesign Sprint: Ocean Futures. This is a design program and competition that extends an abbreviated version of the Biodesign Challenge to a new cohort of institutions invested in cutting-edge design and the preservation of the world’s oceans.
4. WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Participants will include student practitioners in the fields of art, design, and biotechnology. Participation in Biodesign Sprint: Ocean Futures is reserved for 1) schools that have never participated in the Biodesign Challenge and 2) schools that last participated in Biodesign Challenge more than three years ago.
5. SUBMISSIONS
5.1 The Biodesign Sprint requires teams to create an innovative, demonstrative solution that addresses the design brief. The winning team will be chosen by our panel of judges, made up of leading voices from BDC. The judges’ decisions are final, binding, and incontestable. Judging will be based on a BDC judging rubric established and utilized over the last ten years that can be found at https://www.biodesignsprint.org/judging.
5.2 All submissions must meet the following general conditions:
a. The language used in your submission must be the English Language.
b. Teams are required to make an oral presentation during the judging of the Biodesign Sprint.
c. The content of your submission must be acceptable for all viewing audiences. Materials that contain text, sound, or images that we (in our sole discretion) regard as vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate for public viewing, or that present BDC in a negative light, will be automatically disqualified.
d. Your submission does not contain any personal data other than the ones you personally submitted during the registration and submission process.
e. Your submission will be original and will not violate any third-party rights including intellectual property.
5.3 Any submission which is incomplete or indecipherable will be deemed invalid and will be disqualified. Any submission that does not fulfill the conditions set out above will be deemed ineligible and will be disqualified.
6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
6.1 During your involvement in this Biodesign Sprint, you may provide or communicate your entry to us, as well as photos, documents, presentations, written or oral statements, or other materials on which your entry is based. After the Biodesign Sprint, you may further develop materials based on, or arising from, your entry (collectively, Your Material).
6.2 As between you and us, you own all intellectual property rights in Your Material, including any modifications and enhancements you make to Your Material during the Biodesign Sprint. We will not own any intellectual property rights in Your Material.
6.3 Participation in the Biodesign Sprint does not require you to transfer ownership of your submission (or any part of it) to BDC. However, by participating in the Biodesign Sprint, and entering a submission, you grant BDC a perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, publish, modify and otherwise communicate internally or to the public, Your Material for marketing, promotional, and internal purposes. Please also read Section 6.8 below carefully for Sponsor’s rights to Your Works (defined below).
6.4 You acknowledge that it is up to you and your team members to decide how the intellectual property rights in the entry are owned (subject to the license granted to us under clause 6.2). We do not accept any liability for any disagreement among team members regarding ownership of any intellectual property rights contained in Your Material.
6.5 Without providing legal advice, we encourage participants to work together after completion of the Biodesign Sprint to further develop any concept or technology created here, and to address relevant intellectual property issues through use of a collaboration agreement such as Seedhack’s Collaboration Founders Agreement available at: seedcamp.com/seedhack-founders-collaboration-agreement-version-2-0.
6.6 You represent and warrant that, to the best of your knowledge, any work product is your own original work, and is not within the intellectual property rights of any third party, including any former or current employers. If you are unsure, you should consult any former or current employment agreement to which you are a party. Under no circumstances will BDC be liable to you or any third party for any damages, direct or otherwise, arising out of use of this Biodesign Sprint work product.
6.7 We understand that during the Biodesign Sprint, you may use content found on the internet or from a third-party. If you use any third party copyrighted materials, you must have appropriate permission, including for open source content, and disclose the permission to us before or during the Biodesign Sprint. We will not be liable for any loss, damage, claim, or expense relating to or resulting from any claim of infringement of any copyright, trade secret, or other proprietary or intellectual property right of any third party. We reserve the right to ask you to take down any content that may infringe any intellectual property right.
6.8 Sponsor shall have an exclusive period of one year following the final judging of the Biodesign Sprint (the “Option Expiration Date’) within which to license or acquire all rights (including intellectual property rights), title, and interest in and to any or all of your work presented and developed for the Biodesign Sprint (collectively, “Your Works”) (the foregoing option, “Option”). In the event that you receive an offer to acquire any rights for Your Works from a third party prior to the Option Expiration Date, you will provide prompt notice to Sponsor. If no offer for Your Materials is made by Sponsor by the Option Expiration Date, You will have the right to use and/or to sell or grant a license to third parties to use Your Materials; provided, however, that you shall not have any right to use BDC’s name, brands, trademarks, Confidential Information, other intellectual property, or BDC resources in any of Your Material, and you may not sell or license any of Your Material containing any of the foregoing. By participating in the Biodesign Sprint, and entering a submission, you grant BDC and its affiliates an exclusive (subject to BDC’s rights to Your Materials in Section 6.3), royalty-free, fully-paid, transferrable, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use Your Works (including Your Materials and all intellectual property rights in the Works and Your Materials) for marketing, promotional, and internal purposes. If Sponsor does not exercise the Option, as of the Option Expiration Date, such license will become non-exclusive, perpetual and irrevocable. Sponsor is a third-party beneficiary to this Agreement.
6.9 We (and our licensors) reserve all intellectual property rights in any materials we disclose to you. However, we grant you a license to reproduce and modify the materials we disclose to you for the sole purpose of your participation in the Sprint. You must remove any of our materials provided by us to you from Your Material at the conclusion of the Biodesign Sprint.
6.10 We are not under any obligation to use your team’s submission for any purpose (even if it has been selected as a winning entry).
6.11 We retain the rights to all training materials provided during the Biodesign Sprint and you shall use such training materials solely for the purpose of the Biodesign Sprint.
7. USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
By using social media platforms to post information related to the Biodesign Sprint, you agree that:
a. No social media manipulation is allowed, including but not limited to flaming other teams’ social media and attempts to hijack other teams’ social media.
b. You will not divulge any commercial or confidential information related to BDC that you learn over the course of the Biodesign Sprint.
c. All contents posted on social media do not infringe any intellectual property rights.
8. GENERAL BEHAVIOR AND CONDUCT
8.1 By participating in the Biodesign Sprint, you agree that you will:
a. Always behave in a professional manner, and treat all persons participating in the Biodesign Sprint with respect and dignity. In particular, you should not use any foul or abusive language which may cause offense to anyone.
b. Not engage in any behavior which is inappropriate (e.g. you must not make any unwelcome sexual advances to participants), or any other form of harassment. You must not make any racist, sexist, or ageist remarks or other statements which may cause offense to anyone or make anyone feel uncomfortable.
c. Not engage in any unlawful conduct.
d. Not engage in any conduct which may expose other people to risks to their health and safety.
8.2 We will not in any way be liable for any loss, damage, claim, or expense relating to or resulting from any bodily injury or death of any person, or any damage to or loss of any real and/or tangible property caused by your negligent or willful acts or omissions.
9. GOVERNING LAW
These Rules shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, United States of America, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. Any dispute between the parties that is not subject to arbitration or cannot be heard in small claims court will be resolved in the state or federal courts of New York and the United States, respectively, sitting in New York, New York, except to the extent prohibited by applicable local law. This does not affect any rights you may have under the law of the country in which you are resident, including your right to have a dispute in relation to the Competition or these Official Rules heard in the courts of that country solely to the extent required under such applicable local laws.
10. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND PRIVACY
Throughout the Biodesign Sprint, you may gain knowledge about BDC’s business activities, products, services and/or technical expertise which BDC regards as confidential (“Confidential Information”). You agree that you will not divulge, use or make copies of any Confidential Information.
As part of the Biodesign Sprint, we collect different types of personal information about you. The personal information collected includes name, phone number, and associated institution. Sometimes, we may also need to collect personal information about other people from you. Where this is the case, we rely on you to let those people know you are providing us with their information. We also rely on you to let them know about this Statement.
We collect your personal information when you or your authorised representative give it to us. For example, this could be in a web form or during a chat session, when you use our networks, products and services, or when we get information about you from other places, including your institution or administration.
We mainly use your personal information to provide products and services to you, including access to Biodesign Challenge resources. We also use your information for other business purposes like administration, communication, and marketing.
Personal information is stored on our private, encrypted electronic server, accessed only by Biodesign Challenge personnel. If you would like your personal information to be updated or removed at any time, you reserve the right to do so. If any privacy issues or concerns arise, please email us at info@biodesignchallenge.org to rectify the situation.
11. OTHER CONDITIONS
By registering and participating in the Biodesign Sprint, you agree:
a. To abide by this Agreement which is a legal agreement between you and BDC with respect to the Biodesign Sprint and that you have the ability and capacity to enter into this Agreement.
b. To abide by and accept as final and binding, all decisions made by us on matters related to the Biodesign Sprint;
c. That we have the right, at our sole discretion, to disqualify any participant for breach of the terms stated in this Agreement;
d. That we have the right to cancel or suspend the Biodesign Sprint with or without notice and for any or no reason. We will not be responsible for any damage or inconvenience caused by any cancellation or suspension of the Biodesign Sprint;
e. That BDC shall not be responsible for any loss, damage, cost or expense arising or incurred by you in connection with this Biodesign Sprint, and breakdown in IT equipment;
f. To allow us to publish your actual name, nationality, and age, in our publicity and marketing efforts for the Biodesign Sprint without any reference, liability, or compensation to you;
g. If you do not agree with any of these terms and conditions of this agreement, do not register and participate in this event.
12. INDEMNITY
12.1 You will indemnify and hold us (including our employees, directors, and agents) harmless against any loss, damage, claim, or expense (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation and defense) relating to or arising or resulting from any:
a. Bodily injury to or death of any person, or damage to or loss of any property caused by your negligent or wilful acts or omissions;
b. Breach of your confidentiality obligations under this Agreement;
c. Claim of infringement of any patent, copyright, trademark, or other proprietary or intellectual property rights of any third party;
d. Misuse by you of our training materials; or
e. violation by you of any applicable laws
12.2 For the avoidance of doubt, BDC is the sole administrator of the Biodesign Sprint and is solely responsible for the Biodesign Sprint, judging, and any awards. You waive all rights and claims against BDC and its respective directors, employees, and agents for any loss or damages (direct or consequential) of every kind, whether known or unknown, arising out of, or relating to the Biodesign Sprint.