Organizers

1. The “BEST with LESS” Hong Kong Tertiary Sustainable Packaging (F&B Industry) Design Competition (hereafter referred to as the “Competition”) is jointly organized by the Maxim’s Caterers Limited (“MCL”) and the CUHK Centre for Social Innovation Studies (hereafter “CSIS”) (collectively referred to as the “Organizers”).
2. By registering for the Competition, participants (“Participants”) agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions contained herein and MCL reserves the right to disqualify any participant from the Competition at any time if there is reason to believe that the participant has breached any of the rules.

Eligibility &Registration

3. The Competition is open to full-time students currently enrolled in any university or tertiary education institutions in Hong Kong. Each participating team (“Team”) must consist of 2 to 6 members, who may be from different institutions within Hong Kong.
4. Teams interested in participating must register via the official “BEST with LESS” Competition website (https://www.bestwithless.com.hk/) by June 14, 2024 (Hong Kong time and ends at 23:59). All registration information must be completed accurately and truthfully.
5. There is no registration fee for participating in the Competition. Participants are not required to pay any fee to the Organizers for participation.
6. MCL has the final decision on the eligibility of the Participants.

Proposal Submission

7. Teams must submit their design proposal (“Proposal”) by August 16, 2024 (Hong Kong time and ends at 23:59) via email to info@bestwithless.com.hk. Proposals will be accepted based on the timestamp of the email server. Late submissions will not be accepted.
   
8. All submissions must comply with the submission requirements mentioned below. Failure to comply may result in disqualification at any stage of the Competition, and MCL will not be held liable for any non-compliant proposals received.
9. Submission Requirements:
   a. Teams must create eco-friendly, practical, and economically viable packaging solutions.
   b. Proposals must address the following aspects in English or Chinese (maximum 300 words each):
       i: User Needs and Pain Points:
           ● Identify the target beneficiaries of your sustainable food packaging design
           ● Describe how your design addresses specific problems or pain points for these users.
       ii: Solution's Benefits and Impact:
          ● Outline the benefits that your design will bring to the target users and the broader community
           ● Discuss how your design could change current norms and practices in food packaging
           ● Explain the feasibility of widespread adoption of your solution.
           ● Highlight the advantages of your design over existing market solutions.
       iii: Innovation and Sustainability:
          ● Describe the innovativeness and uniqueness of your design.
           ● Explain how your design utilizes environmentally friendly materials and promotes recyclability.
           ● Discuss how your design minimizes the use of packaging materials and demonstrates cost-effectiveness.
           ● Highlight how your design encourages reuse and long-term adoption.
10. Teams may submit more than one Proposal.
11. All Proposals must be original and solely created and owned by the Participants. They must not contain or include any copyrighted elements of third parties unless properly licensed. MCL shall be entitled to require Participants to produce proper evidence to prove such license by third parties.
12. All Proposals must be original and solely created and owned by the Participants. They must not contain or include any copyrighted elements of third parties unless properly licensed. MCL shall be entitled to require Participants to produce proper evidence to prove such license by third parties.
13. All Proposals must not have been previously submitted to other competition or provided to any third party for any purposes before submitting to us.
14. Hard copies and editable digital files of shortlisted Proposals may be requested at a later date.
15. All costs associated with the submissions of Proposals are to be borne by the Participants.
16. Organizers are not responsible for any delays, losses, errors, or technical failures in submission of proposals due to technology issues. Proof of dispatch is not proof of receipt. All Participants in the Competition are on a voluntary basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Organizers will be exempted from all legal liabilities, compensations, losses and responsibilities that may be caused by the Competition and/or the prize that may be awarded.
17. Submitted Proposals will not be returned to Participants and will be, at the sole discretion of MCL, destroyed one year after the conclusion of all Competition-related activities.

Judging Panel

18. The judging panel (“Judging Panel”) for the Competition will comprise the following members:
    a) Mr. Pippo Au - Head of Supply Chain, Maxim’s Group;
    b) Professor FUNG, Anthony Y. H. - Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, CUHK;
    c) Mr. Henry Ho - Founder of TOPAWARDS ASIA;
    d) Mr. Thomas Fan - Head of Quick Service Restaurants, Maxim’s Group;
    e) Professor Wa Ka Ming - Assistant Professor Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, CUHK;
    f) Mr. Stanley Wong - Founder & Creative Director of 84000 Communications;
    g) Dr. Royce Yuen - Co-CEO of MaLogic (HK).

Model Preparation

19. The Judging Panel will shortlist 10-15 innovative designs (“Shortlisted Designs”) in late August 2024. Teams selected in this phase will be notified via email and will receive further instructions regarding the next steps in the Competition process. For the avoidance of doubt, the Judging Panel is not obliged to shortlist any innovative designs at all, if it considers that none of them qualifies for shortlisting.
20. All shortlisted Teams are required to produce a physical prototype for each of their Shortlisted Designs. To support the development of these prototypes, MCL will sponsor each Team with HK$1,500 to help cover materials and other associated expenses.
21. In addition to the prototype, each shortlisted Team must design an exhibition panel to be displayed at a public exhibition from September 21 to September 27, 2024. This panel should effectively showcase the details of their design and the corresponding prototype. MCL will provide specific requirements for the design of these panels to ensure a cohesive and informative display at the public exhibition.

Awards and Prizes

22. All Shortlisted Designs will be scored by the Judging Panel (80%) and Public Voting (20%) at the public exhibition on September 21 and the morning of September 22, 2024, based on the following criteria:
    a) Eco-Friendliness (16%) – utilization of environmentally friendly materials and recyclability;
    b) Aesthetics (16%) – creativity and originality in design;
    c) Continuance (16%) – design that promotes repeated use in daily life;
    d) Practicality (16%) – cost-effectiveness, considering production expenses;
    e) Reduction of packaging materials (16%) – efficacy in reducing material use by weight or volume;
    f) Public voting (20%).
23. The winning Teams (“Winners”) will be determined based on the rank of the score of their Shortlisted Design. In the event of a tie, the rank will be decided by the Judging Panel.
24. Winners will receive the following prize(s) (“Prize”):
    a) Champion (1 team):  HK$30,000 scholarship from MCL and an award trophy;
    b) 1st Runner-up (1 team): HK$20,000 scholarship from MCL and an award trophy;
    c) 2nd Runner-up (1 team): HK$10,000 Scholarship from MCL and an award trophy;
    d) Outstanding award (3 teams): dining vouchers, a HK$2,000 scholarship from MCL, and an award trophy per team.
25. Winners of the Competition will be unveiled and announced during the award ceremony scheduled in the afternoon of September 22, 2024 (“Award Ceremony”). Attendance at the Award Ceremony is mandatory for all shortlisted Teams, as it is an integral part of the competition celebrations and results announcement. MCL reserves the right to disqualify shortlisted Team(s) which fail to attend the Award Ceremony.
26. Following the Award Ceremony, the winning results will be publicly announced on the “BEST with LESS” website and across MCL’s social media pages in late September 2024. Winners will also be notified by email individually.
27. All Prizes awarded by MCL are non-transferable and Winners may not exchange the Prize for cash or other services.
28. All Winners must collect the Prizes in person. In the event that a Winner is unable to claim the Prize in person, he/she may authorize a delegate to claim the prize on his/her behalf.

Intellectual Property Rights

29. All Participants of the Competition agree to attend and participate in all related events and activities, including interviews, auditions, ceremonies, lectures, workshops, training sessions, field trips, press conferences, and campaigns (collectively “Program Event”). Participation is voluntary. MCL and all its subsidiaries and affiliated companies (collectively “Maxim’s”) reserve the right to record participants’ images and voices during these events in any form of media (“Recordings”). All intellectual property rights (IPRs) in these Recordings are solely owned by Maxim’s, which is entitled to use them indefinitely worldwide for various purposes including, but not limited to, demonstration, education, display, exhibition, advertisement, marketing, promotion. Participants grant Maxim’s all necessary consents for the exploitation of their appearance and voice in the Recordings and release Maxim’s from all related claims and liabilities.
30. By submitting a Proposal, each Participant (regardless whether or not he is also a Winner) grants, free of any charges, MCL the   option (“Option”) to license from that Participant, his design including the Proposal and all IPRs (as defined below) therein submitted for the Competition (“Design”)  for one year from the date of the Award Ceremony ( “Appraisal Period”), whereby during the Appraisal Period,
    a) MCL shall be entitled to utilize exclusively the Design in such lawful ways as it considers appropriate, including copying, reproducing, altering, modifying, reverse engineering, disassembling, decompiling, posting, publishing, transmitting, transferring, the same, for the purpose of appraising the Design and for considering whether to exercise the Option;
    
    b)nless with the prior written consent of MCL, Participants shall not transfer, assign, license, create any derivative work of the Design or otherwise use the Design in such as a way as to be inconsistent with the rights of MCL under sub-clause (a) herein, or enter into any agreement, discussions or negotiation with any third parties (“Third Parties”) to do so;
    
    c) MCL shall be entitled, by written notice to the Participant, to exercise the Option, whereupon MCL shall pay to the relevant Team (comprising relevant Participants) creating the Design, a fee of HK$5,000 (to be shared equally among Participants forming the Team), and that Team (including all its Participants, jointly and severally) shall grant MCL a perpetual, exclusive, irrevocable, transferrable, assignable, sub-licensable, license (“License”) to use the Design worldwide and globally, for such purposes as MCL deems appropriate and whether for profit or otherwise, and MCL shall be entitled to require the relevant Team (including all its Participants, jointly and severally) to enter into a formal license agreement on usual and customary terms as MCL may stipulate, to perfect the License ; and
    
    d) for the avoidance of doubt, MCL shall be entitled to exercise more than one Option in respect of more than one Design during the Appraisal Period.
31. “Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) includes all forms of intellectual property, including, without limitation, patents, designs, copyrights, trademarks, and rights in confidential information, whether registered or unregistered, and including all applications and rights to apply for and be granted such rights, globally.
32. The Participant warrants that:
    c) he is the owner and creator of the relevant Design, either alone or jointly with other Participants with whom he forms a Team;
    d) he has not granted any licenses or rights to the Design that are inconsistent with the rights to be granted under the Option and License;
    e) the Option and License granted herein is valid and enforceable and do not and will not infringe or violate any Third Parties’ IPRs, privacy rights, or any other rights.
33. Participants are fully responsible for any legal and related liabilities arising from any possible breach of IPRs in respect of their Designs. They must indemnify MCL and other concerned parties against any claims and liabilities arising from any such breaches.
34. If a Participant disposes of any part of the IPRs relating to a submitted Proposal, whether by way of assignment, transfer or license, after the Proposal is submitted, MCL reserves the right to disqualify that Participant and declare that that Proposal is invalid.
35. Designs created by Winners (“Winning Designs”) are subject to investigations regarding originality and eligibility for IPRs registration. If they do not pass such investigations, MCL reserves the right to forfeit the Prizes awarded without any liability to the relevant Winners or any other persons, and other Designs may be selected as the Winning Designs.
36. When a Design is declared a Winning Design, MCL reserves the right to modify the Winning Design professionally, develop different versions of the Design and/or create derivative work out of it, in terms of colours, size, form, resolution and all other features, with or without the consent of the Participants or Winners.
37. By joining the Competition, Participants agree that MCL has the right to display or publish selected Designs from the Competition for purposes including: (i) exhibition; (ii) printed publication; (iii) online publication; and (iv) other media promotions of MCL.

Use of Personal Information

38. Any personal data (as defined in the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (“PCPO”)) supplied by the Participants or persons for the purpose of the Competition will be treated as confidential and will be handled and processed by the Organizers in accordance with PCPO and will not be disclosed or released by the Organizers without the Participant's permission. Personal data of Participants will only be used for the purpose for which the same is provided or given. If any Participants have any questions about the use of his personal data in relation to this Competition, please send email to info@bestwithless.com.hk.

Others

39. Decision made by the Judging Panel shall be final, conclusive and binding on all Participants. No objections of the Participants will be considered. MCL reserves the right to suspend, change, call off or terminate the Competition at any time, without providing any reasons and without incurring any liabilities to any persons or having to pay any compensations to any parties or Participants.
40. MCL reserves the right to amend or revise these terms and conditions at any time at its sole discretion and in case it does so, it will endeavour to inform all relevant parties to whom these terms and conditions applies but shall be under no binding obligation to do so.
41. If a Chinese version of these terms and conditions is available, in case of any inconsistency between the English and Chinese versions of these terms and conditions, the English version shall prevail.
42. In case of any inconsistency between these terms and conditions and any agreement(s) between the Organizers, then as between the Organizers themselves, the agreement(s) between the Organizers shall prevail.
43. These terms and conditions are governed by Hong Kong law, and all parties to whom it applies agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong courts.

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