Go California 2024: DogTrekker Photo Contest Official Rules

1. Contest Dates: The Go California Photo Contest begins at 12:00:01 a.m. PT on June 1, 2024, and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. PT on September 31, 2024 (“Contest Period”). DogTrekker Inc. (the “Sponsor”) may change the dates and/or terms of (the “Contest”) without prior notice.
2. Eligibility. The Contest is open to legal residents of the United States, 21 years of age and older, except where prohibited by state or local laws. Employees or agents of the Sponsor or any other entity associated with the Contest, their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, franchisees, divisions, advertising, promotional, fulfillment and marketing agencies, their immediate families (parent, child, sibling or spouse), and persons living in the same households as such individuals (whether related or not) are not eligible to participate in the Contest. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CONTEST.
3. How to Enter. Participants may enter the Contest by submitting photos via the official entry page located at https://dogtrekker.com/rules/.
4. All entries and votes must be received before 11:59:59 p.m. PT on September 30, 2024. Duplicate entries of an already submitted photo are void. An individual can post multiple photos, but no more than once per day.
5. Entries that meet the following requirements will be posted on the Contest page, where voting will take place:
   • Photos must be taken in the State of California or the east portion of Lake Tahoe in Nevada.
   • All photos must include at least one dog.
   • Dog safety must at all times be considered.
   • All submissions must list where the photo was taken, the photographer’s name, and dog’s name.
   • The entrant must be the person who took and has full rights to the photo. When photographing the work of others, it must be as an object in its environment and not a full-frame close-up of another person’s art.
   • Borders or frames around the image are not permitted, and a watermark, signature, date, or copyright notice is not permitted on the image.
   • The photo must be in its original state and cannot be altered in any way, including removing, adding, reversing, or distorting subjects within the frame.
   • Photos that have been altered using artificial intelligence software (AI) will not be accepted.
   • Submit photos as high-resolution JPG/JPEG, PNG, or GIF files.
   • Any act to subvert the entry process in the Contest is prohibited and may result in disqualification.
6. Selection of Winners. One grand prize winner will be chosen by votes from readers, and one grand prize winner will be chosen by the DogTrekker team, in each case from photos submitted during the Contest Period. The first winner will be the entrant who receives the highest number of legitimate votes from online voting. The second will be through voting by the DogTrekker team, considering impact, lighting, composition, sense of place, and joy of traveling with a dog on vacation. Five runner-up winners will be selected by online voting, and five runner-up winners will be selected by the DogTrekker team. Winners for all prizes will be notified by phone and/or email by the Sponsor by October 31, 2024. All prizes must be claimed within 10 days of the date notified or will be forfeited. The chance of winning depends on the number of qualified entries received.
7. Prizes: Each grand prize winner described in Section 6 will win $500 cash. Each of the runner-up winners will win $100 cash. Total cash prizes will equal $2,000.
8. Identification/Taxes. Each winner will be required to produce identification satisfactory to the Sponsor. Each winner will be asked to provide proof of age, residency, and social security number and complete an affidavit of eligibility, liability, and publicity release, as prepared by the Sponsor, prior to receiving their prize. Each winner will be responsible for any taxes or fees that result from the receipt and/or use of their prize and may receive an IRS Form 1099-Misc where the prize value exceeds $600. All federal, state, local, and other taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility of the applicable winner. The Contest is void where prohibited by law. Anyone using fraudulent means to participate and/or win the Contest will be disqualified. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of an online entrant, the online entry in question will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the email. The authorized account holder shall be the natural person to whom the applicable email address has been assigned by the Internet access provider, service provider, or other online organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. A Potential Winner may be requested to provide the Sponsor with proof that the Potential Winner is the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the winning entry, and proof that they own all rights to the photo.
9. Release. By entering “the Contest” and/or accepting the prize, entrants/prize winners agree to: (a) be bound by these rules; (b) release the Sponsor, their  affiliates, employees, advertising and promotion partners, fulfillment and/or judging agencies, and agents  (together, the “Sponsor Parties”) from all liability, claims, action, or proceedings relating to the Contest and from injuries or damages arising in connection with or relating to participation in the Contest, or use or misuse of any prize; (c) waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest or these Official Rules. By accepting the prize, winner further acknowledges that the Sponsor and any Sponsor Party have neither made, nor are in any manner responsible or liable for, any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied in fact or in law, relative to the prize or prize suppliers or to any portion thereof, including but not limited to its quality, merchantability, mechanical condition, or fitness for a particular purpose including, without limitation, use of any equipment associated with the prize. By participating or enter in the Contest, participants (and their guest or traveling companion, if applicable) grant to the Sponsor a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, world-wide right and license to use the participant’s name, likeness, social media handle, biographical information, and location where  photos were taken, and to use reproduce, distribute, adapt, or modify the participant’s submitted photos, in any advertising, marketing, or promotional material, on social media, or in any other media now existing or created in the future, without additional financial or other compensation.  .
10. Conditions/Restrictions. Sponsor is not responsible for technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any computer, cable, network, hardware, software, or website. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, interrupted or unavailable network server or other connections, miscommunications, failed telephone or computer or telephone transmissions or technical failure, jumbled, scrambled or misdirected transmissions, for incorrect or inaccurate entry information, howsoever caused, or other error of any kind whether human, mechanical or electronic. Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete, stolen, garbled, or misdirected entries, all of which are void. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or suspend a promotion, game or contest should a virus, bug, computer or other problem beyond the control of Sponsor corrupt the administration, security or proper execution of any Internet promotion, game or contest, or the Internet portion of any promotion, game or Contest. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may award prizes to entries received by alternate means. In the event that the randomly chosen winner refuses to accept the prize(s), all prizes become the property of the Sponsor. All participants agree to be bound by these Official Contest Rules.
11. Rules. Any violation of these rules will result in disqualification. Copies of these rules are available by sending a request, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, to “DogTrekker Go California Rules Request,” PO Box 151289, San Rafael, CA 94915.”  Any questions regarding this Contest promotion should be directed to TEAM@DogTrekker.com. All decisions by Sponsor are final. Sponsor reserves the right to modify these Official Rules for clarification purposes without materially affecting the terms and conditions of Contest to void suspect entries and/or cancel, terminate or suspend any portion of this Contest should a virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes beyond the control of Sponsor corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play of the Contest and, in any such event, at its discretion, select winners from eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to the event requiring such termination, cancelation or suspension.
12. Privacy: Any information, data, submissions, or entries made in connection with this Contest are governed by DogTrekker’s Privacy Policy, available here: https://dogtrekker.com/privacy/. 
13. Disputes. Except where prohibited, all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and the Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of California. Entrant agrees to indemnify Sponsor and Sponsor’s agents, advertising, promotional, fulfillment and marketing agencies for all claims brought by third parties concerning Contest Entry Material.