Terms and conditions

  1. How to participate
    1. In order to enter an Ideas Challenge competition and submit an application for a challenge, complete an online form at https://forms.office.com/r/ePVhp5UK4Sh and enter the information requested.
    2. Applications can be made by individuals or teams of people. All applications must include the name and BT email address of all contributors to that application.
    3. Applications that do not comply with these terms and conditions will be void and will not be entered into this competition.
    4. Your entry must outline your idea to solve one of the challenge sets. The more information you can provide, the better.
    5. You may enter this competition as many times as you wish.
  2. Start date
    1. Separate competitions will be held in respect of separate challenges, and the competitions will open when a challenge is set on the [Etc.] website.
  3. Closing date
    1. The closing date for each competition will be stated on the [Etc.] website, and entries must be submitted by 23:59 on the date specified. Entries received after this time will be void and will not be entered into this competition.
  4. Selection of the winner
    1. Up to five applications will be selected to enter the next round of the competition. These applications will be short-listed from all entrants by the panel of judges, which will be formed from the Etc. Factory team.
    2. The short-listed applicants will then have the opportunity to present their idea in a pitch to the panel of judges, who will decide on the winner.
    3. The winner of the competition will be the applicant with the idea chosen by the panel of judges to have the most prospect of commercial success if launched as a customer proposition out of all entries correctly submitted in accordance with these terms and conditions. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The names of the judges are available on request.
  5. Prize
    1. The prizes will be determined by the applicant’s progress through the competition. Applicants short-listed to pitch their idea will receive a Just To Say voucher of £50. The winner will receive a further Just To Say voucher of £250. Where an application is made by a team of people, the prize will be split equally between all members of the team.
    2. Where two applicants feature the same or similar ideas, the judges shall determine the best one. If this cannot be done, the prize will be shared between both applicants, who will be encouraged to pitch their idea together.
    3. We may substitute a cash alternative for the prizes.
    4. Further rewards may be available for any ideas that are taken through Etc’s incubation process and launched for trial or taken to market. Any decisions as to the trialling and/or commercial launch of any idea or product or service based on an idea shall be at the absolute discretion of the Etc. team.
  6. Restrictions and requirements
    1. The competition is open to BT employees and contractors
  7. Notification of the results and receipt of the prizes
    1. We will notify the short-listed applicants and the winner by email as soon as possible after the closing date of the competition and the pitch respectively.
    2. The short-listed applicants and winner will receive their prizes within one month of being notified.
  8. Publicity and personal information
    1. By entering this competition, you agree to your personal information being used to process your entry, to contact you about your entry, and for the purpose outlined in clause 8.2 below. We will use your personal information only in accordance with these terms and conditions and our Privacy Policy [insert link to privacy policy (standard BT internal one – I’ll try to locate)].
    2. You may be asked to participate in internal publicity relating to this competition if you are short-listed or selected as a winner.
  9. General
    1. This competition is operated by Etc., part of the Digital business unit of BT Communications plc, One Braham Street, London E8 1EE.
    2. All applications must be your own independent and original creation and must not infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of any third party, nor breach the confidential information of any third party.
    3. You acknowledge that copyright and any other intellectual property rights in applications will automatically transfer to BT under your employment contract. If it does not, for example if you are a contractor, and your application is short-listed, you agree to assign to BT (by way of a written document, separate to these terms and conditions) all intellectual property rights in the application with full title guarantee and to waive your moral rights in the application.
    4. While nothing in these terms and conditions will limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or for fraud, we will not be legally responsible to you for any losses that were not foreseeable to us or you at the time of entry to the competition or which are caused by a third party.
    5. The laws of England and Wales apply to these terms and conditions, although if you are resident elsewhere you will retain the benefit of any mandatory protections given to you by the laws of that country.
    6. Any disputes will be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. This means that you can choose whether to bring a claim in the courts of England and Wales or in the courts of another part of the UK in which you live.

September 2022