Starlight Celebration Comic Strip Contest (EU)

'Tis the season for the Starlight Celebration once more, and we’re pleased to announce a special contest to go with it: The Starlight Celebration Comic Strip Contest! Join in on the festivities and make Eorzea even brighter by creating a four-panel comic strip using in-game screenshots themed after the Starlight Celebration seasonal event. We will be selecting 120 of the best entries from the English, French and German entries combined. 100 of these will be awarded with one of four special in-game items of their choice and 20 additional grand prize winners will get not only that, but also the exclusive Noble Barding!

FINAL FANTASY XIV (“Game”) Starlight Celebration Comic Strip Contest (“Contest”)

This Contest is being operated and promoted by:

Square Enix Limited registered in England and Wales with company number 01840186 (“Square Enix”, “We”, “we”, “Us”, “Our”) with registered address at 240 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NW.

The Contest is only open to holders of an active FINAL FANTASY XIV service account (“Service Account”) during the Entry Period who are resident in a PAL Territory Country* (“Contestants”, “You”, “you”, “Your”, “your”). Contestants who are residents of France or Spain should refer to the Additional Specific Provisions under these Rules relevant to their country of residence.

* PAL Territory Country means any of the following countries; ÅLAND ISLANDS, ALBANIA, ALGERIA, ANDORRA, ANGOLA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BELARUS, BELGIUM, BHUTAN, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, BOTSWANA, BOUVET ISLAND, BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY, BRUNEI DARUSSALAM (nr. Sri Lanka), BULGARIA, BURUNDI, CAMEROON, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, CHAD, CHRISTMAS ISLAND, COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS, COMOROS, CONGO, CONGO, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE, COOK ISLANDS, CROATIA, CYPRUS, CZECH REPUBLIC, DENMARK, DJIBOUTI, EGYPT, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ERITREA, ESTONIA, ETHIOPIA, FAROE ISLANDS, FIJI, FINLAND, FRANCE, FRENCH GUIANA, FRENCH POLYNESIA, FRENCH SOUTHERN TERRITORIES (South Indian Ocean), GABON, GEORGIA, GERMANY, GIBRALTAR, GREECE, GREENLAND, GUERNSEY, HOLY SEE (VATICAN CITY STATE), HUNGARY, ICELAND, INDIA, IRELAND, ISLE OF MAN, ISRAEL, ITALY, JERSEY, JORDAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KENYA, KUWAIT, KYRGYZSTAN, LATVIA, LESOTHO, LIECHTENSTEIN, LITHUANIA, LUXEMBOURG, MACEDONIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF, MADAGASCAR, MALAWI, MALDIVES (Sri Lanka), MALTA, MAURITANIA (West Africa), MAURITIUS, MAYOTTE, MONACO, MONGOLIA, MONTSERRAT, MOROCCO, MOZAMBIQUE, NAMIBIA, NEPAL, NETHERLANDS, NEW CALEDONIA (Australasia), NEW ZEALAND, NORFOLK ISLAND, NORWAY, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, POLAND, PORTUGAL, QATAR, RÉUNION (S. Africa), ROMANIA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SAINT HELENA, SAMOA, SAN MARINO, SAUDI ARABIA, SERBIA, SEYCHELLES, SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN, SWAZILAND, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TAJIKISTAN, TANZANIA, UNITED REPUBLIC OF, TIMOR-LESTE, TOKELAU, TONGA, TUNISIA, TURKEY, TURKMENISTAN, UKRAINE, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, UNITED KINGDOM, VATICAN CITY STATE, YEMEN, ZAMBIA

PLEASE READ THESE RULES (“Rules”) CAREFULLY. By submitting an entry to the Contest you agree to accept and be bound by these Rules and the terms of any policies referred to in these Rules. We reserve the right to cancel or amend the Contest at any stage if deemed necessary in our opinion and/or if circumstances arise which are outside of our control.


Theme
Create a mini-story using four screenshots related to the theme of enjoying the Starlight Celebration (an in-game seasonal event).

How to Enter
Submit four screenshots related to the theme of Starlight Celebration (an in-game seasonal event) with speech bubbles and/or brief captions (“Text”) and post them in the dedicated contest participation thread here. Only one entry per person. If multiple entries are posted, only the first one submitted will be accepted. Entries cannot be edited after submission. Entries using more or less than four screenshots shall be disqualified.

Contestants must include the following details of the in-game character to whom they wish to allocate the prize (“Character”):

1. Character name;
2. World name; and
3. Choice of one (1) in-game Prize (as defined below).

Please note that if no Character name or world name is submitted, the Prize will be awarded and sent to the character visible on your forum handle. If no Prize is selected, we will select a prize from the list on your behalf.

Accepted Entry Format

• The Text must appear in at least one screenshot.
• At least one of your in-game character(s) must be visible in at least one screenshot.
• You may only use image editing software to crop your screenshot or to add Text.

Entry Period
18 December 2015 8:00 a.m. (GMT) to 6 January 2016 8:00 a.m. (GMT)
*Please note that the in-game seasonal event ends on 31 December 2015 at 14:59 (GMT)

Entry Requirements
Contestants must possess an active Service Account and have access to a working internet connection and web browser in order to be able to enter. Contestants are responsible for all connection charges associated with the internet connection and subscription fees associated with the registration for a Service Account. Contestants must ensure that their contact information is correct at the time of registration for a Service Account, during and after submission of their Entry.

Contestants must accept our privacy policy located here and cookies policy located here. Contestants must have a permanent residence in a PAL Territory Country. Contestants under the age of 18 must obtain the permission of a legal guardian before submitting entries. The Contest is not open to employees, directors or other officers of Square Enix or its respective affiliates, agents, media partners and suppliers.

Winner Selection
The FFXIV EU Community Team will select one hundred and twenty (120) of the best entries from the official Final Fantasy XIV forum languages (English/French/German) based on overall creativity and humour (“Winners”).

From these Winners, the FFXIV EU Community Team will rank and select twenty (20) entries with the most creativity, humour and originality (“Additional Prize Winners”).

Winners will be announced on the forum on or after 20 January 2016 (“Announcement Date”). Once the Winners are announced, Prizes will be delivered to each Winner via the in-game Moogle delivery service (which may be subject to change at our discretion).

Prize

Prizes will be awarded as follows:120 Winners will be awarded with their choice of one (1) of the below FINAL FANTASY XIV virtual prizes (the “Prize”):

• Bluebird Earring
• Mandragora Choker
• Ahriman Choker
• Scarf of Wondrous Wit

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From these Winners, 20 Additional Prize Winners will be awarded with:

• 1 virtual Final Fantasy XIV in-game “Noble Barding” Chocobo barding item (“Additional Prize”).

Attachment 2242

The Prize and the Additional Prize shall be together referred to as the “Prize”*.

*We reserve the right, at all times, to vary or modify any Prize referred to above.

The Prize is a virtual prize with no monetary value and cannot be sold or transferred to third parties. The Prize is only transferable to characters linked to the Contestant’s Service Account.

We reserve the right to re-distribute any Prizes that remain unclaimed. No alternative prize shall be provided in place of the Prize.

Inappropriate Submissions
Entries containing obscenity, vulgarity, discrimination, or any other offensive subject matter and/or containing any plagiarized or copyrighted material will not be considered by the judges. Entries which infringe upon copyright/intellectual property, personal credit, privacy, are counter to public order and/or morals, are judged to be grossly deviant from the established theme, do not contain all of the required information or contain erroneous information may face disqualification. Square Enix reserves the right to judge whether or not material is appropriate for public display.

Additional Specific Provisions
Contestants resident in FRANCE:
In accordance with the 6th January 1978 data protection and freedom of information law n° 78-17, we inform you that you have the right to access, rectify and delete information concerning you, by requesting it in writing to the Promoter.

Contestants resident in SPAIN:
The name of the winner will be sent to anyone who requests the same within three (3) months of the Closing Date and by entering the Competition you hereby agree that the Promoter shall be permitted to do so if you are the winner. Requests should be made via the Square Enix Support Centre.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY LAW SQUARE ENIX WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ENTRY THAT IS SUBMITTED TO THE CONTEST THAT INFRINGES THE COPYRIGHT OR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF A THIRD PARTY. YOU WARRANT AND AGREE THAT YOUR ENTRY WILL CONTAIN WORK THAT IS ENTIRELY ORIGINAL TO YOU AND DOES NOT INFRINGE OR INTERFERE WITH ANY THIRD PARTY COPYRIGHT OR OTHER RIGHTS AND YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY SQUARE ENIX AGAINST ANY LOSS ARISING OUT OF ANY BREACH OF YOUR WARRANTY.

In the event that an entry violates a third-party’s copyright, the user’s Service Account may be suspended or cancelled. All entries and other materials (the "Entry Materials") (including all copyright, trademark, and other proprietary rights associated therewith) submitted by you become the property of Square Enix upon submission, and Entry Materials will not be returned to any contestant. In consideration of our acceptance and review of your Entry Materials into the Contest, you hereby assign to Square Enix absolutely all right, title and interest for the full duration of copyright in and to the Entry Materials throughout the world. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you acknowledge that Square Enix will own all rights to use, modify, and make derivative works of the Entry Materials, without separate compensation to you or any other person or entity. You agree to take, at Square Enix’s expense, any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits and other documents) reasonably requested by Square Enix to effect, perfect, or confirm Square Enix's ownership rights as set forth above in this paragraph. Entry Materials may be used by contestants only for purposes of the Contest or for private, personal, non-public viewing. Entry materials received by Square Enix may be destroyed by Square Enix at any time following the Contest.

Governing Law
These Rules and all or any dispute arising from them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.