Sumitomo 0–1 Challenge 202-

0-1 CHALLENGE PROGRAM TERMS – AMERICAS FY2021

By submitting an application you agree to be bound by these terms. If you have any questions about these terms, please contact us before you submit your application.

ABOUT US
1. The Program is organized by Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (we, us or our). We are a company registered in the United States of America with the EIN 13-5612163. Our registered office address is 300 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017.
2. The Program is organized in conjunction with L Marks Limited (the Administrator). The Administrator is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 7756651. The Administrator’s registered office address is 20 Broad Lane, Hale, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA15 0DF.
3. We are working together with the Administrator to deliver the Program but nothing in these terms is intended to suggest any other association between us and the Administrator.
SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION
1. Subject to limited exceptions described later in this Section 2.1, the Program is only open to employees of our company and of our affiliates and group companies (collectively, SC Group). You must not submit an application unless you meet this requirement. Applications are open to any employee (individuals or teams of up to three) of the SC Group in the Americas, including group companies. Teams are recommended. Non-employees may participate on a team with a team leader who is a SC Group employee, on the same application process, as employees. Non-employees will need to complete some additional paperwork with us.
2. The application period is open from July 14, 2021 to September 22, 2021.
3. The Administrator’s computer is the official timekeeping device for the Program.
4. Whilst applications will remain open until 11:59pm (PST local time) on the closing date, we strongly advise that you submit your application in good time prior to this to avoid the risk of missing the deadline due to technical problems or other issues.
5. We reserve the right to consider and accept applications which are submitted after the closing date, or which have been started but not submitted by the closing date. However, this is entirely within our discretion and we are under no obligation to do so.
6. All applications are submitted via the application portal, The Bridge. Applicants who want to submit more than one business idea must email the additional application(s) to sca01challenge@sumitomocorp.com. However, only one idea per person will move on to Pitch Day.
7. You must ensure that you read the application form carefully, complete all sections appropriately and follow any instructions given in the form.
8. You must complete the application form in English. If you arrange for any part of the information that you submit to be translated from another language, you are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the translation.
9. We reserve the right to reject any application for any reason (as determined by us in our sole discretion), including, for example where:
  1. the application is not completed in accordance with the instructions set out in the application form;
  2. the application is not completed in English;
  3. you have not properly identified yourself or are not an eligible employee;
  4. we consider that any content that you have submitted is not in accordance with (or may not be in accordance with) your responsibilities to us (see paragraph 5); or
  5. we do not consider that your application describes an idea or concept which would benefit from participation in the Program.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
1. Following the application closing date we will assess all eligible applications which have been submitted in accordance with the following criteria:
  1. Idea – How innovative and unique is the idea as well as how applicable and achievable is it? What is competitive advantage would we have if we were to implement this idea?
  2. Scalability (Growth Potential) – What is the commercial potential of the idea to provide financial value? How technically complicated is it? How quickly can the idea be implemented and integrated into our business?
  3. Strategic Value – How well does the idea fit with Sumitomo’s values and strategies?
2. We will also undertake due diligence on you, including to verify your qualifications and role in the creation of the business idea. You must provide any reasonable assistance that we require in carrying out this process. Unfortunately we will not be able to proceed with any application where the outcome of the due diligence is unsatisfactory in any respect, as determined in our absolute discretion.
3. We will select the most promising applications and invite the applicants who submitted them to participate in a pitch day hosted in New York City. We anticipate that around [10 – 15] applicant teams will be selected, although we reserve the right to select more or less depending on the quantity and quality of applications received.
4. If you are invited to attend pitch day, we will notify you of the exact location of the event, the date and time at which you need to attend and any other important arrangements that you need to be aware of.
5. If you are based outside of New York City and are unable to attend pitch day in person, we will try to make arrangements for you to attend remotely, for example by using Skype or our offices’ video conferencing systems.
6. Following pitch day, we will select the successful applicants who will be invited to participate in the Program. We expect to invite around [5-10] teams to participate, but we reserve the right to vary this number depending on the applications received.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
1. You must submit your application and participate in the application procedure in good faith and in a professional and reputable manner.
2. Without limiting the generality of paragraph 5.1, you must not at any time submit any information or content to us which you know or have reason to believe may be:
  1. fraudulent, false, inaccurate, misleading or incomplete;
  2. illegal, unlawful or in breach of any applicable regulation or guideline;
  3. defamatory or derogatory to any person;
  4. obscene, offensive, insulting or explicit;
  5. infringing of any person’s rights, including intellectual property rights, contractual rights, privacy or confidentiality;
  6. harmful or infected with malicious code;
  7. contrary to our corporate values and/or
  8. potentially damaging to our reputation if it were to be disclosed to any person.
3. If you submit any information or content and subsequently become aware that it may contravene paragraph 4.2 (for example because new information has come to light or because of a change in circumstances) you must inform us immediately and, where appropriate, provide us with updated information or content correcting the issue.
PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM
1. If you are chosen to participate in the Program then to ensure that both you and we get maximum benefit from your participation, you must ensure that you:
  1. participate in all hosted events, speeches, workshops and other events offered during the course of the Program;
  2. engage with us throughout the Program in a positive, constructive and enthusiastic manner and ensure that any other team members do likewise; and
  3. participate in any publicity for the Program, such as videos to be posted on the Program website.
2. We believe that the Program represents an exciting learning and development opportunity for you and the opportunity to increase your profile within the business and play a key role in shaping our future. However, the benefit that you receive from the Program will vary very much from individual to individual and will depend on various factors, including your own level of engagement with the Program. We are therefore unable to guarantee any particular outcome or any particular benefit to you, in each case, in connection with your participation in the Program, and disclaim any obligation to do so.
3. Your participation in the Program is undertaken in the course of your employment and remunerated in the usual manner through the payment of your salary and provision of any other contractual benefits. Your selection to participate in the Program does not constitute a promotion or change of role and you will not be entitled to receive any additional payment, incentive or benefit in consideration of your participation unless otherwise expressly agreed to by us in writing.
OUR RIGHTS
1. Whilst we do not expect the Program to end early, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate the Program at any time .
2. We reserve the right to suspend or disqualify any participant from the process at any time or for any reason, including where we consider it necessary to protect the integrity or operation of the Program, our legitimate interests and/or the interests of other participants, or where we suspect that the participant has breached these terms or acted in an inappropriate, unethical or otherwise inappropriate manner.
3. You are participating in the Program in the course of your employment, and you therefore acknowledge that any rights, title and interest in any ideas, concepts or materials (“Intellectual Property”) that you create or contribute in connection with the Program will belong to us. Unless otherwise agreed in writing we will have the right to use these Intellectual Property to benefit our business or in any other way that we consider appropriate without any obligation to provide you with any compensation in connection therewith. Further, the terms of your Secrecy, Non-Disclosure & Proprietary Rights Agreement (the Employee IP Agreement) with us shall apply to any Intellectual Property created by you in connection with the Program and such Intellectual Property shall be deemed “Work Product” (as defined in the Employee IP Agreement). The terms of the Employee IP Agreement are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY
1. During the course of the Program you may be provided with confidential information about us, our business and that of our affiliates. As with any confidential information you are provided with in the course of your employment, we expect you to keep this strictly confidential. Please see your terms and conditions of employment and our internal policies for more information. Further, the terms of the Employee IP Agreement with us concerning confidentiality of our information shall apply to any information learned by you in connection with the Program.
2. By agreeing to participate in the Program you acknowledge that where you contribute any ideas, concepts or other materials to the Program these are being contributed for our benefit, and (to the extent that they are of a confidential nature and not already in the public domain) they will therefore be considered to be our confidential information. You must not share these ideas, concepts or other materials with anyone else without our permission.
RESPONSIBILITY
1. We will do our best to treat your application and run the Program in accordance with these terms. However, neither we nor the Administrator will be responsible for:
  1. any incorrect or inaccurate information provided about the application process or the Program in error;
  2. technical failures of any kind, including of the server handling applications;
  3. failure to receive an application for any reason;
  4. unauthorised intervention of any third party in any part of the application process; or
  5. technical or human error in the administration of the application process.
2. You should keep a copy of any information that you submit to us electronically and, where you are sending us physical documentation, only send us a copy and retain the original. We cannot be responsible for any loss of data or documentation.
3. The Administrator acts as a service provider to us and you will not have any direct relationship with the Administrator. If you have any queries, issues or problems in relation to the Program please contact us in the first instance. You agree that you will not have (and will not seek) any direct remedy against the Administrator in respect of any of its acts or omissions.
4. Nothing in these terms shall limit or exclude our or the Administrator’s liability any loss or damage the exclusion or limitation of which is prohibited by the laws of the State of New York.
CONTACT DETAILS
1. Any inquiries about the Program should be sent to sca01challenge@sumitomocorp.com.
2. If we need to contact you (or serve any contractual notices on you) we will use the contact details you provided when you submitted your application. If your contact details change at any time, please let us know immediately.
GENERAL
1. Nothing in these terms overrides or replaces any provisions of your terms and conditions of employment or any internal policies, and those terms and conditions and policies will apply to your participation in the Program. Your employment with us is “at will” and may be terminated at any time for any reason or for no reason, and nothing in these terms constitutes a continuing offer or promise of employment.
2. We reserve the right to modify, cancel or suspend the application process for the Program or any part of it at any time, for example where we suspect any fraudulent activity, where there is a technical failure or where there is any other unexpected event or event beyond our control.
3. We also reserve the right to suspend or disqualify any applicant from the process at any time in our sole discretion, including where we consider it necessary to protect the integrity or operation of the Program or our legitimate interests, or where we suspect that an applicant has breached these terms or acted in a manner that is inappropriate, unethical or otherwise inappropriate.
4. Our failure to enforce any provision of these terms at any time will not constitute a waiver of our rights under that provision.
5. The invalidity of any provision of these terms shall not in any way affect the existence or enforceability of the remaining terms. If any provision is found to be unenforceable then we shall be entitled to replace it with an enforceable provision that reflects the intention of the unenforceable provision as closely as reasonably practicable.
For your and our convenience, we have kept these terms as short as possible. If any dispute arises which is not covered by these terms, or as to the interpretation of these terms, we will discuss the dispute with the Administrator and, acting reasonably, will determine the best way to resolve it. Our decision shall in all cases be final.
1. These terms, together with your Employee IP Agreement set out the entirety of the terms that are applicable to the Program, and operate to the exclusion of any publicity material or other documentation.
2. To ensure fairness for all applicants, we cannot agree variations to these terms for individual applicants. If we communicate with you in any way, whether in writing or orally, nothing that we say or do is intended to (or will) amend or override these terms in any way.
3. In certain circumstances we may however need to amend these terms of a general basis, with revisions that apply to all applicants. Where we make any changes to these terms, we will notify all applicants who have already submitted applications and give them the opportunity to withdraw their application if they no longer wish to proceed as a result of the change.
4. These terms shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to the conflict of laws rules and principles thereof. Each of you and us irrevocably consents and submits to the jurisdiction of the state courts and the U.S. federal courts situated in the Borough of Manhattan, New York to resolve any disputes with respect to these terms or the Program and for any actions, suits or proceedings arising out of or relating thereto. EACH PARTY KNOWINGLY WAIVES ITS RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE PROGRAM.