DogWOW Challenge — Official Rules

Last updated: [PUBLICATION DATE]

1. Sponsor

The DogWOW Challenge (the "Contest") is sponsored and administered by BTechnology GmbH, Immermannstr. 19, 40210 Düsseldorf, Germany ("Sponsor"). Contact: contact@dogwow.app.

2. Contest Period

The Contest begins on [START DATE], 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) and ends on [END DATE], 11:59 p.m. ET (the "Contest Period"). Entries submitted before or after the Contest Period will not be considered. Sponsor's clock is the official timekeeping device for the Contest.

3. Eligibility

The Contest is open only to natural persons who, at the time of entry: (a) are legal residents of one of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia; (b) are at least eighteen (18) years old and the age of majority in their state of residence; and (c) own the dog featured in their entry or have the owner's permission to feature the dog. Employees, officers, and directors of Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and the Contest judges, as well as members of their immediate families (spouse, parents, siblings, children) and persons living in the same household, are not eligible. The Contest is void outside the eligible territory and wherever prohibited or restricted by law.

Participation constitutes the entrant's full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and to Sponsor's decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest.

4. How to Enter

There are two free methods of entry. Both are treated equally in judging; entries from both methods are judged together as one pool under the same criteria.

Method 1 — Social post. (i) Download the DogWOW app (free trial available; no payment required to enter); (ii) play a DogWOW sound and film your dog's reaction; (iii) post the video publicly on TikTok or Instagram during the Contest Period with the hashtag #DogWOWChallenge in the caption and tagging @dogwow. The account used must be public for the duration of the Contest and until winner announcement, so that the entry can be viewed and judged.

Method 2 — Web entry (no app, no purchase). Film your dog's reaction to any freely available DogWOW sound (a selection is available at no cost at dogwow.app/challenge) and submit the video through the entry form at dogwow.app/challenge — as a publicly accessible video link (e.g., unlisted YouTube, Google Drive, or Dropbox) that remains accessible through winner announcement — together with your name, email address, and state of residence, during the Contest Period.

The hashtag #DogWOWChallenge identifies your video as a Contest entry and serves as the disclosure of your participation in a sponsored contest as required by the U.S. FTC Endorsement Guides. Entries via Method 1 without the hashtag in the caption, or without the @dogwow tag, are invalid.

Limit: up to three (3) entries per person, each consisting of a materially different video. Additional entries beyond the limit will be disregarded in the order received. Entries generated by script, bot, or any automated means, entries posted from fake, purchased, or duplicate accounts, and mass entries are void.

An entry is deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the social media account (Method 1) or the email address (Method 2) used to enter. No entry fee, product purchase, or subscription is required or permitted as a condition of entry; starting the DogWOW free trial is not required for Method 2 and does not improve an entry's chances of winning.

5. Entry Requirements (Content Guidelines)

Each entry must comply with all of the following. Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, disqualify any entry that does not.

1. Original content. The video must be created by the entrant specifically featuring the entrant's dog (or a dog featured with the owner's permission), must be the entrant's own original work, and must not have won any other contest or award.
2. Rights cleared. The entry must not contain third-party material (including music, footage, images, logos, or trademarks) unless the entrant holds all rights or licenses necessary for the uses described in Section 9. Platform-licensed audio available natively within TikTok/Instagram may be used only to the extent the platform license covers such use.
3. Consent of persons shown. Every identifiable person appearing in the video must have given the entrant permission to be filmed and to the uses described in Section 9; for any minor, the consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian is required. Children under 13 must not be the focus of the video.
4. Animal welfare. The dog's wellbeing comes first. Play sounds at moderate volume, never directly at a dog's ear, and stop if the dog shows signs of stress. Entries showing an animal in distress, provoked, frightened for effect, harmed, or placed in a dangerous situation will be disqualified, and Sponsor may report suspected abuse to the relevant authorities.
5. Appropriate content. The video must be suitable for a general audience and must not contain violent, sexual, hateful, discriminatory, defamatory, illegal, or otherwise objectionable content, and must not disparage any person or entity.
6. Format. The video should be between [5] and [60] seconds long. A DogWOW sound must be audibly or visibly used in the video.
7. Compliance with platform terms. Entries must comply with the terms of service and community guidelines of the platform on which they are posted.

By submitting an entry, the entrant represents and warrants that the entry complies with this Section 5 and that all statements made in connection with the entry are true.

6. Judging

All eligible entries received during the Contest Period will be judged by a panel of three (3) qualified judges selected by Sponsor based on the following criteria and weighting:

Each judge will score each entry (or, if the number of entries exceeds [100], each shortlisted entry following an initial screening by the judges against the same criteria) on a written scoring sheet using the weights above. The entry with the highest combined score wins. In the event of a tie, the tied entry with the higher Dog Reaction score wins; if still tied, the judges will jointly determine the winner among the tied entries by majority vote.

All decisions of the judges and Sponsor are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest, including scoring, shortlisting, disqualification, and winner selection. Judging is a subjective evaluation of skill; entrants have no right to a particular score, to review of other entries' scores, or to re-judging.

7. Winner Determination, Notification, and Verification

One (1) potential winner will be selected. The potential winner will be announced on or about [ANNOUNCEMENT DATE] on Sponsor's @dogwow accounts and will be notified via direct message to the entering account (Method 1) or the email address provided (Method 2).

The potential winner must (a) respond to the notification within five (5) days, and (b) sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability Release, and (where lawful) Publicity Release, together with the payment information reasonably requested for prize delivery, within seven (7) days of receipt. Sponsor may require reasonable proof of identity, age, residence, dog ownership or permission, and of the consents described in Section 5.3.

If the potential winner does not respond or return the required documents within the stated periods, cannot be reached after reasonable attempts, is found ineligible, has violated these Official Rules, or declines the prize, the potential winner will be disqualified and the prize may be awarded to the entry with the next-highest score. Sponsor will award the prize provided at least one eligible entry is received.

A potential winner is not a winner until Sponsor has completed verification. Sponsor is not required to publish scores; judging documentation is retained by Sponsor.

8. Prize

One (1) prize: US $500.00, paid in U.S. dollars via PayPal or bank transfer (at Sponsor's option after consulting the winner's reasonable preference) within thirty (30) days after successful verification under Section 7. The approximate retail value ("ARV") of the prize is US $500.00.

The prize is non-transferable, and no substitution or exchange is permitted, except that Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the stated prize becomes unavailable for reasons beyond Sponsor's control. All federal, state, and local taxes, and any costs or expenses associated with entry or prize receipt not expressly stated in these Official Rules (including internet access, filming equipment, and any transaction fees of the winner's payment provider), are the sole responsibility of the winner.

9. License to Entries; Publicity

Entrants retain ownership of their videos. By entering, each entrant grants Sponsor and its affiliates a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, communicate to the public, edit, adapt, translate, excerpt, and create derivative works of the entry (in whole or in part), in any and all media now known or later developed, for the administration and judging of the Contest and for Sponsor's advertising, marketing, social media, and promotional purposes (including paid advertising on Meta, TikTok, Google, and other platforms), without further notice, review, approval, or compensation, except where prohibited by law. This license includes the right to use the entrant's social media handle in connection with reposts and features of the entry.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, each entrant waives, and agrees not to assert against Sponsor's licensed uses, any moral rights or rights of droit moral in the entry.

By accepting the prize, the winner additionally consents (where lawful) to Sponsor's use of the winner's name, social media handle, likeness, voice, city/state of residence, entry, and prize information for advertising and publicity purposes in any media, without additional compensation.

Nothing in this Section requires Sponsor to use any entry. Entries will not be acknowledged or returned.

10. Indemnification

Each entrant agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Released Parties (defined below) from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to (a) the entrant's breach of these Official Rules or of any representation or warranty made in them, (b) the entry, including any claim that the entry infringes or violates the rights of any third party (including copyright, trademark, privacy, and publicity rights), or (c) the entrant's conduct in connection with the Contest.

11. Disqualification

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entry or entrant and to require the return of any prize if it determines (based on reasonable evidence) that the entrant: violated these Official Rules; used purchased, exchanged, automated, or otherwise artificial engagement (bots, engagement pods, paid likes/comments) to inflate Community Response; submitted content that infringes third-party rights or violates Section 5; tampered with or attempted to undermine the operation of the Contest; harassed or threatened Sponsor, judges, other entrants, or any other person; or acted in a manner harmful to an animal. Sponsor may remove or request removal of any entry from its channels at any time. A disqualified entry receives no score, and the prize (if already announced but not yet paid) may be awarded to the next-highest-scoring eligible entry.

12. General Conditions

1. No amendment after start. These Official Rules will not be materially amended during the Contest Period, except as required by applicable law or as expressly provided in this Section.
2. Cancellation/suspension. If the Contest cannot run as planned for reasons beyond Sponsor's reasonable control that corrupt or impair its administration, security, fairness, or integrity (including fraud, technical failures, platform unavailability, changes in platform policies, force majeure, or legal or regulatory action), Sponsor may suspend, modify, or terminate the Contest. In the event of early termination, the judges will evaluate all eligible entries received up to the time of termination under Section 6 and the prize will be awarded accordingly.
3. Platform issues. The Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, misdirected, deleted, or inaccessible entries; for the removal of an entry or the suspension of an account by TikTok, Instagram, or any other platform; for hardware, software, or network failures; or for any error, interruption, or unavailability of the entry form. If an entry becomes inaccessible to the judges (e.g., the account is set to private or the post is deleted before winner announcement), it cannot be judged and will be treated as withdrawn.
4. Severability. If any provision of these Official Rules is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.
5. No employment/agency. Nothing in the Contest creates any employment, agency, or partnership relationship between any entrant and Sponsor.
6. Winner list. For the name, state, and social media handle of the winner, send an email with the subject "DogWOW Challenge Winner List" to contact@dogwow.app within sixty (60) days after the end of the Contest Period.

13. Release; Limitation of Liability

"Released Parties" means Sponsor, its affiliates and subsidiaries, its and their advertising and promotion agencies, the Contest judges, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents, as well as Meta Platforms, Inc., Instagram, TikTok Inc., Apple Inc., and Google LLC.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, by entering, each entrant releases and holds harmless the Released Parties from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, and causes of action of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Contest or the receipt, use, or misuse of the prize, including personal injury, property damage, and claims based on publicity rights, privacy, or defamation.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Released Parties' total aggregate liability to any entrant arising out of or relating to the Contest shall not exceed US $500.00, and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for attorneys' fees. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so portions of the above may not apply to particular entrants; in such jurisdictions, liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law.

14. Disputes; Objections; Arbitration; Class Action Waiver

1. Objection period. Any objection to the judging or the winner determination must be sent in writing to contact@dogwow.app within seven (7) days after the winner announcement, stating the specific grounds. After this period, the winner determination is conclusive for all entrants to the extent permitted by applicable law.
2. Informal resolution first. The parties will first attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to the Contest by contacting each other; a party must send a written description of the dispute to the other and allow thirty (30) days for resolution before commencing any proceeding.
3. Binding individual arbitration. Except as provided below, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to the Contest or these Official Rules that cannot be resolved informally shall be finally resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, before a single arbitrator, conducted in English. The arbitration will take place in the county of the entrant's residence in the United States or remotely by videoconference, at the entrant's option. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator's award shall be limited as provided in Section 13.
4. Small claims carve-out. Either party may instead bring an individual claim in a small claims court of competent jurisdiction.
5. Class action waiver. ALL CLAIMS MUST BE BROUGHT IN THE PARTIES' INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims. If this waiver is held unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim (and only that claim) shall proceed in court.
6. Governing law. These Official Rules and any dispute arising out of them are governed by the laws of the State of [NEW YORK], without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, and, where mandatorily applicable, the consumer protection laws of the entrant's state of residence.
7. Opt-out. An entrant may opt out of the arbitration agreement in Sections 14.3 and 14.5 by emailing contact@dogwow.app within thirty (30) days of first entering, stating their name and entry account; all other provisions of these Official Rules continue to apply.

15. Privacy

Personal data provided in connection with the Contest (name, email address, state of residence, social media handle, payment details of the winner) is processed by BTechnology GmbH as controller for the purposes of administering the Contest, judging, winner notification and verification, prize delivery, and, as described in Section 9, publicity, on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR, and in accordance with applicable US state privacy laws (including the CCPA/CPRA). Data is retained for as long as necessary for these purposes and for the defense of legal claims (generally no longer than twelve (12) months after the end of the Contest, except for the winner's records and as required by law). Details, including your rights of access, deletion, and objection: dogwow.app/privacy.html. Entry data is shared with the judges for scoring and with payment providers for prize delivery; it is not sold.

16. Platform Disclaimers

This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Meta Platforms, Inc. or Instagram. Each entrant releases Meta Platforms, Inc. and Instagram from all liability in connection with this Contest. Any information provided in connection with the Contest is provided to Sponsor, not to Meta.

This Contest is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by TikTok Inc., and TikTok is not associated with it in any way.

Apple Inc. and Google LLC are not sponsors of this Contest and are not involved in it in any way.

17. Contact

BTechnology GmbH · Immermannstr. 19 · 40210 Düsseldorf · Germany · contact@dogwow.app