Terms and conditions

Entering the Competition

1. The Small Business Trade Mission competition (the “Competition”) is open to UK residents aged 18 and over, working for or with a small business (defined below). You must have the permission of the owner of the small business that you work for or with and which will be featured in any entry or will obtain the benefit of any prize, in order to enter. The small business (“Business”) must (i) be UK registered, (ii) have no more than 250 employees and (iii) have an annual turnover of no more than £50million.
2. The Competition is not open to employees or agencies of Guardian News & Media Limited (“GNM” or the “Promoter”), their group companies or family members, freelance contributors to GNM, or anyone else connected to the Competition.
3. Entrants into the Competition shall be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions.
4. To enter the Competition you must complete and submit the online form on www.theguardian.com/trade-mission, which requires answering questions about the Business you work for or with. You warrant and represent that the information provided is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. No purchase is necessary. If you have any questions about how to enter or otherwise in connection with the Competition, please email us at trade.mission@theguardian.com with “Small Business Trade Mission” in the subject line.
5. Only one entry is permitted per Business. You are responsible for the cost (if any) of sending your Competition entry to us. The winners shall be the selected Businesses on whose behalf the relevant Competition entries were submitted. If the individual who submits the Competition entry is unable to attend any of the events detailed herein and to which he/she is invited by the Promoter, another representative of the Business may attend such event(s) at the discretion of the owner of the Business.
6. All entrants, or at least one representative of the entrant’s Business, must be available to attend the events detailed in these Terms and Conditions.
7. GNM accepts no responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, misdirected or incomplete or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason. Proof of delivery of the entry is not proof of receipt by GNM.
8. Entries to the Competition may be submitted from 14:00 GMT Tuesday 4 November 2014 and must be received by 23:59 GMT on Friday 5 December 2014. Entries received outside this time period will not be considered. GNM reserves the right in its absolute discretion to extend the closing date where the entries received are of insufficient quality.
9. You own the copyright to your Competition entry as its author. If another person has photographed or filmed any part of your entry, you warrant that you have received an assignment of all associated copyright to that entry from that person. The Promoter may ask to see evidence of that assignment at any time.
10. By submitting an entry to the Competition, you give GNM:

a. Permission for your entry to be published on GNM websites including but not limited to www.theguardian.com (“GNM Websites”) and on any social media account controlled by GNM, including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter accounts (“GNM Social Media Accounts”) , and you grant GNM a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use and publish your Competition entry in electronic format (including on GNM Websites and GNM Social Media Accounts) and hard copy (including in GNM publications) for purposes connected with the Competition, and to adapt the entry to enable such publication (including to crop or otherwise edit it for such purposes), and you hereby irrevocably waive, for the benefit of GNM, all moral rights in the entry to which you are entitled; and

b. The right to use your name, Business’ name and county of residence for the sole purpose of identifying you as the author of your entry and/or as a winner of the Competition.

11. Your entry must be your own work, must not be copied, must not contain any third-party materials and/or content that you do not have permission to use, must not promote any goods or services other than those of your Business or include any trade marks (other than those belonging to the Promoter or your Business) and must not show inappropriate or dangerous behaviour, or otherwise be obscene, defamatory, distasteful, offensive, or in breach of any applicable law or regulation, or in breach of any confidentiality obligations owed by you to third parties. If we have reason to believe your entry is not your own work or is in breach of this paragraph 11 then we may not consider it and may disqualify it.

12. Entrants confirm that each individual whose image is featured in the Competition entry has given consent for the use of his/her image in connection with this Competition and in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. Where an individual whose image is featured in a Competition entry is aged less than 18 years the entrant confirms that the parent or guardian of that individual has given the relevant consent.

13. If your entry features the image of any individuals representing or employed by your Business or makes any reference to or uses any branding of your Business, you confirm that your Business has consented to such activities.

14. We may disqualify your Competition entry for the following reasons: your entry does not comply with these Terms and Conditions; you have not obtained the consents detailed in paragraphs 1, 11, 12 and 13 above; your Business has for any reason fallen into disrepute in the reasonable opinion of the Promoter; you are not eligible to enter the Competition; or you cannot be contacted. In the event of disqualification, we may select a new winner in accordance with the selection processes outlined below.

15. Picking the winners

1. A panel of judges, including at least one member who is independent of GNM, will select a shortlist of 20 candidate Businesses (“the Candidates”) from all valid entries received in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
2. When selecting the Candidates , the judges will consider the following factors:

• Product innovation, quality and viability
• Readiness for export
• Market fit
• Owner/Operator passion
• The capacity, in the view of Judges, to export to the United States

16. The judges will select and notify the shortlisted Candidates on or before 17 December 2014. If a selected Candidate does not respond to GNM within 7 days of being notified, their place in the Competition will be forfeited and GNM will be entitled to select another Candidate in accordance with the process described above (and that Candidate will also have to respond to notification of their win within 7 days or else they will also forfeit their place in the Competition).

17. One representative of each of the Candidates will be invited to attend a judging day (“Judging Day”) at the Guardian Head Office in London on 15 January 2015. All entrants, or another representative of the entrant’s Business, must be available to attend the Judging Day. The Judging Day will require each Candidate’s representative to discuss their Business and its product and be interviewed by the judges.

18. A panel of judges present on the Judging Day will select 10 winners (“Winners”) from the Candidates using the same criteria specified at paragraph 16.

19. The panel of judges will include at least one member who is independent of GNM.

20. Full details of the judging process detailed at paragraphs 15 and 18 and the names of the judges are available on request to trade.mission@theguardian.com. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

21. The Prize

1. The 10 Winners will each win a place for one representative of the Business on a five-day trade mission to Atlanta (USA) leaving between Monday 2nd March and Sunday 8th March 2015. The prize includes economy class return flights from London to Atlanta and 4 star accommodation for the duration of the trip. For those Winners not based in London, all reasonable transfer costs to the airport on the day of departure will be included. All travel associated with the prize in Atlanta, including transfer to and from the airport, will be provided. GNM accepts no responsibility for any costs associated with the prize that are not expressly included in the prize. For the avoidance of doubt, the prize excludes all other costs including but not limited to food and drink, any additional accommodation or travel, any inoculation and/or vaccination costs, hotel supplementary charges, VISA applications and any insurance, including but not limited to travel and medical insurance, unless otherwise stated.
2. One representative of each of the Winners will be invited to attend a 1 day pre-trip briefing (“Pre-Trip Briefing”), which will take place at the Guardian Head Office in London between Monday 2nd February and Friday 6th February 2015. For those Winners not based in London, all reasonable travel costs will be included. Attendance at the Pre-Trip Briefing is not a requirement of the Competition. Winners will not forfeit their prize if they are unable to attend the Pre-Trip Briefing.
3. The Winners will be notified by GNM by email on or before 19 January 2015 and given details of how to claim their prize. If a Winner does not respond to GNM within 7 days of being notified of their win, the Winner’s prize will be forfeited and GNM shall be entitled to select another Winner in accordance with the process described above (and that Winner will also have to respond to notification of their win within 7 days or else they will also forfeit their prize). If a Winner rejects their prize or the entry is invalid or in breach of these terms, the Winner’s prize will be forfeited and GNM shall be entitled to select another Winner.
4. The name and county of the Winners, in addition to their winning entries, will be published on www.theguardian.com/trade-mission on or before 19 January 2015 and such information shall remain available until January 2016.
5. One representative of each of the winning businesses must be available to travel between Monday 2 March and Sunday 8 March 2015. It is the responsibility of each traveller to ensure that they hold a valid passport and all other travel documentation and visas as required before departure, as well as travel insurance as required.
6. The prizes are non-exchangeable, non-transferable and not redeemable for cash or any other prize.
7. GNM reserves the right to substitute the specified prize with an alternative prize of similar value in the event that the specified prize is not available.

Some other rules

1. The name and county of the Winners in addition to their winning entries will be available from 19 January 2015 on www.theguardian.com/trade-mission and such information shall remain available until January 2016.
2. The Winners may be required to take part in promotional activity related to the Competition and the Winners shall participate in such activity on the Promoter’s reasonable request. The Winners consent to the use by the Promoter and its related companies, both before and after the closing date of the Competition for an unlimited time, of the voice, image, photograph and name of selected representatives of the Winners for publicity purposes (in any medium, including still photographs and films, and on the internet, including any websites hosted by the Promoter and its related companies) and in advertising, marketing or promotional material without additional compensation or prior notice and, in entering the Competition, all entrants consent to the same.
3. The Promoter shall use and take care of any personal information you supply to it as described in its privacy policy, a copy of which can be seen at http://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy, and in accordance with data protection legislation. By entering the Competition, you agree to the collection, retention, usage and distribution of your personal information in order to process and contact you about your Competition entry, and for the purposes outlined above.
4. GNM accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss, liabilities, injury or disappointment incurred or suffered by you as a result of entering the Competition or accepting the prize. GNM further disclaims liability for any injury or damage to your or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participation in or downloading any materials in connection with the Competition. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall exclude the liability of GNM under law for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for death or personal injury resulting from its negligence.
5. GNM reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, this Competition with or without prior notice due to reasons outside its reasonable control (including, without limitation, in the case of anticipated, suspected or actual fraud). The decision of GNM in all matters relating to the Competition is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. GNM shall not be liable for any failure to comply with its obligations relating to this Competition where the failure is caused by something outside its reasonable control. Such circumstances shall include, but not be limited to, weather conditions, fire, flood, hurricane, strike, industrial dispute, war, hostilities, political unrest, riots, civil commotion, inevitable accidents, supervening legislation or any other circumstances amounting to force majeure.
7. The Competition and these Terms and Conditions will be governed by English law and entrants to the Competition submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
8. Promoter: Guardian News & Media Limited, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU.