Show Us Your Ugly Blots: Terms and Conditions

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

1. SPONSOR: Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (“Sponsor”), 3050 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO 63103.

2. BINDING AGREEMENT: By entering into the Giveaway (as defined below), each person submitting or attempting to submit an entry (“Entrant”) agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) and the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding.  Therefore, please read these Terms prior to entry to ensure you understand and agree.  An Entrant may not submit an entry to the Giveaway and is not eligible to receive the items described in these Terms unless the Entrant agrees to these Terms.

3. TERM: The submission period for the Ugly Blot Giveaway begins on June 1, 2025 at 12:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time (“CDT”) and ends on December 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CDT (the “Promotion Period”).  Sponsor is the official timekeeper for the Giveaway. PARTICIPANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTION. 

4. ELIGIBILITY: The following entities/individuals are not eligible to participate: 

a. Any local, state, provincial or federal or other government or government agency or any officials or employees thereof; 

b. Any affiliates of Sponsor or any employees of Sponsor or its affiliates and their immediate family and household members;

c. In the US: Healthcare organizations (HCOs), including hospitals, healthcare professionals (HCPs) and employees thereof; and Academic institutions located in or providing services in Vermont or employees thereof.

5. Sponsor is not responsible for: (i) lost, late, incomplete, invalid, illegible, unintelligible, incomplete, damaged, altered, counterfeit, obtained through fraud, late, or misdirected entries, which will be disqualified; (ii) for failed, partial or garbled computer transmissions; or (iii) for technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to electronic malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software; or (iv) for any error, technical or otherwise. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any submission not in compliance with these Terms. 

6. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Entries must not infringe any third-party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or confidentiality obligations, or otherwise violate applicable laws.  No trademarks, logos, company names or advertising of third parties are allowed unless expressly permitted by the Sponsor.  Content may not be offensive or defamatory, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion.  The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject and/or disqualify any entries (in whole or in part) that the Sponsor deems, in its sole discretion, to be obscene, defamatory, libelous, profane, discriminatory, false, misleading or deceptive, or that promote illegal behavior, or otherwise inconsistent with its editorial standards or reputational interests, or that the Sponsor believes may violate any applicable law or regulation, or the rights of any third party.  Entrants are responsible for providing any necessary releases for the use of the Entries by Sponsor in any format, including in relation to any third party’s name, likeness or work including in the Entry. 

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS / PUBLICITY: As a condition of entry, Entrants grant to the Sponsor and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees and assigns, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive and royalty-free right to use, reproduce, edit, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, modify, publish and otherwise make use of the Entries and any Entrant’s name, image, and likeness or other information in any and all media, including but not limited to the Entrants’ Instagram handle, and profile picture, whether now known or hereinafter created, throughout the world and for any purpose, and waives any moral rights with respect to any submitted Entry.  In addition to other things, the rights granted to the Sponsor include, but are not limited to, the right to resize, crop, censor, compress, edit, feature, caption, affix logos to, and to otherwise alter or make use of the Entry.  The Entrants acknowledge and agree that the Sponsor shall have no obligation to post, display or otherwise make publicly available any Entry submitted by the Entrant. Entrants consent to allowing the Sponsor and its affiliates to display their Entries on any of their websites and/or social media pages for promotional marketing purposes. Entrants consent to being contacted by Sponsor or one of its representatives for follow-up marketing activities related to this Giveaway.

8. PRIVACY.  By participating in the Giveaway, you agree that your personal data including, but not limited to, name, mailing address, phone number, and email address (“Personal Information”) may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by the Sponsor, or any party authorized by them for the purposes of conducting and administering the Giveaway, including its affiliates. This Personal Information may also be used by Sponsor or any party authorized by them, including its affiliates, to verify your identity, postal address and telephone number in the event you qualify for any applicable prize as well as to deliver the applicable prize.   You further agree that your Personal Information may be used to fulfil additional terms of the Giveaway or to contact you in response to a question submitted by you or regarding Sponsor’s products or services that may be of interest to you.  This Personal Information may also be shared by the Sponsor or any party authorized by them with any third-party for the purposes of fulfilling the terms of this Giveaway or another service that you have requested, to support the Sponsor’s business, to comply with the law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary in order to conform to the requirements of law or comply with legal process served on Sponsor, and to protect and defend Sponsor’s rights or property. You understand and agree that this may mean that your Personal Information is transmitted, processed or stored in the United States.  Note that we may share this Personal Information with our agents located in our various offices throughout the world.  Some of those offices may be in countries with data protection laws different than those established under your national, state, provincial or local law.

9. LIMITATION AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY: IN NO EVENT SHALL THE SPONSOR OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR LOSS OF PROFITS, INCURRED BY ENTRANTS OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY OR IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING FROM THE GIVEAWAY, EVEN IF THE SPONSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. By accepting a giveaway, the receiver agrees to release and hold harmless the Sponsor, its affiliates and agents from any and all liability, loss or damages arising from or in connection with receipt or participation in this Giveaway, and they shall have no liability for any injury, misfortune, or damage to either persons or property incurred by entering, participating in this Giveaway.

10. RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY, OR DISQUALIFY: The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify these rules and/or cancel the Giveaway at any time without notice. Entrants agree that the Sponsor shall have no liability for unsuccessful efforts to notify any entrant, or for any injuries, losses, or damages by reason of the entrant’s participation in the Giveaway or use of the giveaway.

11. GENERAL CONDITIONS: All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. The Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify individuals who violate these rules, misrepresent themselves or provide misleading information to the Sponsor. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Giveaway. Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Giveaway is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such entrant to the fullest extent of the applicable law. Entrants agree to be bound by the decisions of the Sponsor. The Sponsor will interpret these rules and resolve any disputes, conflicting claims or ambiguities concerning the official rules. If any provision of these official rules is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these rules, which shall remain in full force and effect. The Sponsor reserves the right to modify or terminate the Giveaway or to make such other decisions regarding the administration or outcome as the Sponsor deems appropriate.

12. GOVERNING LAW: This Giveaway is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all entrants agree to personal jurisdiction and venue in Boston, Massachusetts for the resolution of all actions, litigation, claims and disputes, and agree that all actions, litigation, claims and disputes shall be brought in a court with competent jurisdiction in Boston, Massachusetts.