Terms and Conditions – Pet Photo Competition 2023

Pet Photo Competition Terms & Conditions

  1. Sponsorship and Eligibility

William Mattar Pet Photo Contest (“promotion”) is sponsored by William Mattar, P.C., which has a principal office located at 6720 Main Street, Suite 100, Williamsville, New York 14221. There is no purchase or other consideration necessary to be eligible to participate in this this promotion. This promotion is only open to residents of New York State who are eighteen (18) years or older at the time of participation and competent to enter into legally binding contracts under applicable law. Promotion is void in other states and where otherwise prohibited or restricted by law. If you fail to comply with these Terms and Conditions you are not eligible to participate in this promotion. Please review these Terms and Conditions carefully. If you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, you are not eligible to participate in this promotion. If you are an employee or staff member of William Mattar, P.C., William K. Mattar, Esq., or William Mattar Law Offices, herein collectively referred to as “William Mattar Law Offices” or “the Firm,” an advertising or promotional agency of William Mattar Law Offices or any other enterprise that contributed promotional consideration (such as prizes, administration, or hosting services), you are not eligible for this promotion. This includes summer, part-time, full-time, and temporary staff members. Family members of employees, which includes siblings, parents, significant others, children, grandchildren, or grandparents, are also not eligible for this promotion. Also, people living in the same household as individuals ineligible for this promotion are not eligible for this promotion. If you are a lawyer or an employee or staff member of any law firm, you are not eligible for this promotion. This includes summer, part-time, full-time, and temporary staff members. Family members of law firm employees, which includes siblings, parents, significant others, children, grandchildren, or grandparents, are also not eligible for this promotion. Also, people living in the same household as individuals otherwise ineligible are not eligible for this promotion.  

  1. Promotion Period – How to Participate

This promotion is structured to have two time periods: An Entry Period where eligible participants submit an original photograph of a pet, including but not limited to a dog or cat, and a Voting Period where eligible participants are able to cast a vote for one photograph. The Entry Period begins on November 6, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. EST and ends on November 10, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. EST. During that time period eligible participants will have an opportunity to submit one original photograph of a pet through the Firm website, available at williammattar.com. Mailed or hard copies will not be accepted. The photograph must depict a pet, including but not limited to a cat or dog, that has not previously been submitted by another eligible participant. The photograph must be appropriate, inoffensive, in good taste and not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, right of privacy or publicity, or other intellectual property of any person or entity. By submitting the photograph, the participant represents and warrants that the participant is the copyright owner of the photograph and has obtained the express permission of any person also depicted in the photograph to submit such photograph for viewing by the public on the Firm’s website. The photograph may not depict any person under the age of 18. Only one photograph submission per person/email address. By submitting a photograph, the participant agrees that they have reviewed these Terms and Condition. The Firm reserves the right to reject any photograph should it determine, in its sole discretion, that the person is not eligible to participate or the photograph does not comply with these Terms and Conditions. If a participant would like to know before submission whether a photograph complies with these Terms and Conditions, an email inquiry with the photograph attached may be emailed to brittany@williammattar.com with the subject “Pet Photo Contest” at any time before closure of the Entry Period. Firm makes no guarantees that it will be able to respond to all such inquiries before the close of the Entry Period. The firm has no obligation to provide notification that a submitted photograph was deemed non-compliant with these Terms and Conditions. All entries must be received before the end of the Entry Period. When entering to submit a photograph, the participant will be asked to provide certain contact information including first name, last name, phone number, email address, and county of residence. The participant will also be given the option to agree to receive future marketing communications from the Firm. To participate in this promotion, participants need not agree to receive future marketing communications from the Firm and can participate in this promotion without agreeing to receive such communications by leaving the applicable checkbox unchecked. Once a participant provides contact information, a verification link will be sent to the provided email address. Once the email address is verified, the participant will have the ability to upload one photograph of a pet. Only one photo submission per person/email address will be accepted. The Voting Period opens to the public on November 13, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. EST and ends on November 21, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. EST. During that time, eligible persons will have the opportunity to review submitted photographs and cast one vote for their favorite photograph. In order to cast a vote, the participant will be asked to provide certain contact information including first name, last name, phone number, email address, and county of residence. The participant will also be given the option to agree to receive future marketing communications from the Firm. To participate in this promotion, participants need not agree to receive future marketing communications from the Firm and can participate in this promotion without agreeing to receive such communications by leaving the applicable checkbox unchecked. Once a participant provides contact information, a verification link will be sent to the provided email address. Once the email address is verified, the participant will have the ability to cast one vote for one photograph. Only one vote per person/email address will be accepted. Participants may participate only through the Firm’s website at Williammattar.com.  The Firm will not accept photograph submissions or votes through social media, mail, email, fax, telephone, or in person. The Firm is not responsible for any technical difficulty registrants face, including but not limited to, busy signals, overload on website, problems, and technical/electronic malfunctions. The Firm is also not responsible for registrant(s) having difficulties sending/receiving emails or phone calls or accessing the Firm’s website or its social media accounts  

  1. Duties of Participants; Limitation of Liability

By entering this promotion, participant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and the decisions of Firm, which shall be final. Participants who provide false, misleading, or untruthful information will not be considered valid and will be excluded from the promotion. The Firm reserves the right to disqualify and exclude any participant who, in its sole suspicion, tampers with the registration process, intentionally submits more than a single submission or casts more than a single vote, violates Terms and Conditions, or acts in a deceptive or disruptive manner. Examples of deceptive or disruptive actions include, but are not limited to, auto-generated registration by macro, script, or other means. Other examples include, but are not limited to, inputting fictitious information, or using a “bot” or any automated process of any kind to submit more than one vote. Such actions or conduct will be deemed a violation of Terms and Conditions. Firm will exercise reasonable diligence to identify persons who provide false, misleading, or untruthful information or are otherwise invalid but cannot guarantee that all such persons will be identified, and the determinations of Firm will be final. All federal, state, and local laws apply. The Firm and the employees, officers, directors, shareholders, agents, and representatives of the Firm, affiliates, subsidiaries, and advertising, promotion and legal advisors are not responsible for and shall not be liable for: (i) late, lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, or unintelligible registrations; (ii) telephone, electronic, hardware, or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures, or difficulties; (iii) errors in transmission; (iv) any condition caused by events beyond the control of Firm that may cause the promotion to be disrupted or corrupted; (v) any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind caused by contest prize(s) or resulting from acceptance, possession, or use of contest prize(s), or from participation in the promotion; or (vi) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the promotion. The Firm’s maximum liability for any claims arising from this promotion shall be the lesser of prize(s) value or Fifty dollars ($50.00). The Firm reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions to correct a typographical or other error. By entering promotion, participants agrees: (a) to release and hold harmless the Firm and its respective members, officers, directors, employees, affiliates, and agents from and against any and all liability in connection with the promotion, including, without limitation, legal claims, costs, losses, damages, demands, or actions of any kind; and (b) to indemnify and hold the firm and their respective members, officers, directors, employees, affiliates, and agents harmless from and against any and all claims, expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and settlement costs), damages, suits, costs, demands, and/or judgments whatsoever, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (i) such indemnified individuals’ or entities’ use or publication of the participant’s entry or photograph; and/or (ii) the participant’s breach of these Terms and Conditions or any representation made by the participant herein. The provisions of this paragraph are for the benefit of the Firm and its respective members, officers, directors, employees, affiliates, and agents. Each of these individuals and entities shall have the right to assert and enforce these provisions directly against each participant on its/her/his own behalf.  

  1. Redemption/Winning:

 The photograph with most votes at the end of the Voting Period will be deemed the Winner. One (1) Winner, whose submitted photograph received the most votes, will be identified on or around November 22, 2023, and the participant who submitted that photograph will be contacted within 24 hours through the provided contact information. If such participant does not respond by November 27, 2023, the prize will be deemed abandoned and the Firm reserves the right to contact the participant who submitted the photograph with the second most votes through the provided contact information. If such person does not respond within 24 hours, the prize will be deemed abandoned and the Firm reserves the right to contact the participant who received the third most votes through the provided contact information. The winning photograph will be publicly announced on or around November 30, 2023. The participant who submitted the winning photograph may select an animal shelter or animal rescue group of their choice to receive a donation of $1,000.00 from the Firm. The animal shelter or animal rescue group must have operations in New York State to be eligible to receive the donation. The participant who submitted the Grand Prize-Winning photograph will also receive a $50 digital Chewy gift card for their own pet. The Prize is non-refundable and may not be resold or transferred under any circumstances. The Firm may, in its sole discretion, substitute a prize of equal or greater value. Prize claim instructions will be provided once contact is made with the participant who submitted the winning photographs. The Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied. All prize details, including verification of identity, are at the Firm’s sole discretion. There is no cash redemption or any exchanges of prizes. The Firm is not responsible for the reimbursement or replacement of any prize. Federal, state, and local taxes, and all similar fees and assessments, are the responsibility of the winner.  

  1. Permissions

As noted above, participants will be given an opportunity to agree to receive promotional, advertising, and/or marketing materials including emails and text messages/SMS from the Firm. Participants are not required to agree to receive such communications, and may opt out of receiving those communications by leaving the applicable checkbox unchecked. Participants who agree to receive such promotional, advertising, and/or marketing materials, including emails and text messages/SMS can opt out at any later time by emailing marketing@mattar.com and by typing “Opt-Out” in the email subject line. Please also provide your name and email address in the body of the email when requesting to opt out. Participants must agree to terms of the Privacy Statement contained on Firm’s website, available at: https://williammattar.com/disclaimer/, except that your information will not be used to send promotional information unless you affirmatively opt in at time of registration. In submitting a photograph during the Entry Period, the participant provides consent for the Firm to use such photograph for use and reproduction on its website for advertising and publicity purposes so that it may be viewed by the public and receive votes during the Voting Period as set forth herein. Should the participant who submitted a photograph wish for the photograph to be removed from the website after submission and before the end of the Voting Period, such request should be emailed to brittany@williammattar.com from the verified email address with the subject matter “Pet Photo Contest.” The Firm cannot guarantee that all such requests will be honored before the end of the Voting Period.  

  1. Miscellaneous

Restrictions, conditions, and limitations may apply. Should any provision of these Terms and Conditions be deemed invalid or unenforceable, that shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. The promotion is subject to all applicable laws. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. The Firm’s failure to enforce any terms of these Terms and Conditions does not constitute a waiver of that provision. Should there be any conflict between these Terms and Conditions and other announcements, emails, marketing materials, or any other subject matter, these Terms and Conditions will govern.  

  1. Inquiries or Questions

Any inquiries or questions regarding this promotion, may be sent by email to HYPERLINK "mailto:brittany@williammattar.com?subject=Pet Contest Inquiry" or by regular mail to William Mattar, P.C., 6720 Main Street, Suite 100, Williamsville, New York 14221. Firm cannot guarantee that inquiries or questions will be answered before the end of the promotion period.