Speedrun Games Startup School – Participant Terms & Conditions

Speedrun Games Startup School – Participant Terms & Conditions

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR APPLICATION TO AND PARTICIPATION IN THE SPEEDRUN GAMES STARTUP SCHOOL (THE “PROGRAM”) ARE SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Last Revised on: May 1, 2023

These SPEEDRUN GAMES STARTUP SCHOOL terms and conditions (the “Program Terms”) are entered into by and between you and Speedrun Accelerator, L.L.C. and affiliates under common control (collectively, “Speedrun”, “we,” “us”, “our”). In connection with your admission and participation in the Speedrun Games Startup School, and in consideration thereof and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, and intending to be legally bound, you agree to enter into these Program Terms and the terms herein.

You represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age and that you have all necessary authority and capacity to agree to these Program Terms, including the rights, licenses and waivers contained herein. If you have any questions regarding the Program, the application process, or these Program Terms, please contact speedrun@a16z.com Further your use of the Program website at a16z.com/speedrun (“Program Website”) and participation in the Program is also governed by the general terms and conditions for a16z.com set forth at https://a16z.com/tos-privacy/ (“General Terms”). The General Terms are incorporated by reference into these Program Terms, provided that in the event of a conflict between the General Terms and these Program Terms, these Program Terms will supersede and control as it applies to the Program and Program Website.

SECTION 9 CONTAINS AN ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. BY AGREEING TO THESE PROGRAM TERMS, YOU AGREE (A) TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES (WITH LIMITED EXCEPTION) RELATED TO THE PROGRAM THROUGH BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION, WHICH MEANS THAT YOU WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO HAVE THOSE DISPUTES DECIDED BY A JUDGE OR JURY, AND (B) TO WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN CLASS ACTIONS, CLASS ARBITRATIONS, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS, AS SET FORTH BELOW. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OPT-OUT OF THE ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND THE CLASS ACTION WAIVER AS EXPLAINED IN SECTION 9.

1. Application:

If you would like to apply to participate in the Program, you may do so by completing our application form available at a16z.com/speedrun or such other location we may specify from time to time. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older. All applications must be submitted by specific deadlines we may specify for each round of application, and we reserve the right to deny any applications for late submission.

2. Acceptance:

Speedrun will review applications and select participants in its sole discretion. If you are selected to participate in the Program, we will notify you using the contact information provided on your application. You must confirm your participation in the Program by the deadlines we may specify from time to time (each confirmed individual, a “Participant”).

3. Fees:

We do not charge any fees for participation in the Program. Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodations and other ordinary course hospitality expenses. Speedrun may offer stipends to certain Participants in its sole discretion.

4. Participation:

The Program will include presentations and sessions led by Speedrun as well as by outside subject matter experts, speakers and mentors (collectively, “Mentors”). As a Participant, you agree that you:

  • will attend the Program in person as we may require (that is, certain portions may be able to be attended remotely);
  • will present your business plan and/or a product demo during the Program demo day;
  • will not photograph, videotape, transcribe, or voice record the Program or any portion thereof;
  • will not violate any law or any obligation you have to any third party by or through your participation in the Program;
  • will not engage in any harmful, fraudulent, deceptive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable
  • behavior in connection with the Program;
  • will not make, or cause to be made, any statements, observations, or opinions, or communicate any information (whether oral or written), that disparages or is likely to harm the reputation of Speedrun, its affiliates and/or any Mentor (except that nothing contained in these Program Terms shall be deemed to prohibit you from testifying truthfully under oath pursuant to any lawful court order or subpoena or otherwise responding to or providing disclosures required by law); and
  • will abide by all additional policies, instructions or requirements we provide relating to the Program and/or any facilities in which the Program takes place.

By submitting an application to the Program, or otherwise participating in the Program, (i) you represent and warrant to Speedrun that you are legally authorized to attend and participate in the Program, and that your participation will not violate the terms of any laws, including any U.S. immigration or other laws, (ii) you represent and warrant that your participation in the Program will not violate any duty which you may have to any other person or entity (such as a present or former employer), including obligations concerning providing services (whether or not competitive) to others, confidentiality of proprietary information and assignment of inventions or other intellectual property, and you agree that you will not do anything during your participation in the Program that would violate any such duty or obligations, and (iii) you agree that you are solely responsible for determining whether your participation in the Program might violate or change the terms of your visa or work conditions. Further, you acknowledge and agree that your application to, and participation in, the Program will not create an employment relationship with Speedrun or any other person (including, without limitation any affiliate of Speedrun or any Mentor) nor does it create any expectation of future employment with Speedrun or any other person. You also acknowledge that Speedrun reserves the right to limit, terminate, remove, dismiss or otherwise modify your involvement with the Program at any time and for any reason, including, without limitation because you violate these Program Terms.

5. Consent and Release

We may photograph and/or record the Program or portions thereof. By participating in the Program, you grant Speedrun and its affiliates, distributors, agents successors and assigns an unlimited, transferable, perpetual right and license to use, modify, publish and disseminate your name, likeness, image and/or voice, film, copy, record, and photograph your image, likeness, image and voice and/or any materials you make available in connection with the Program in connection with any videos, images, music, sound recordings, books, articles, podcasts or other media (the “Media”) we may make or release in connection with the Program, without your consent or compensation to you. You also agree to allow us to use and display your name and logo on our website and in promotional materials to identify you as a Participant. You hereby release Speedrun and its affiliates, Participants and Members from all legal and equitable rights relating to any claims, liabilities, demands, actions, and expenses associated with our use of the above license or any Media. You acknowledge that the Media will be owned by Speedrun or its affiliates, and that you have no right to review or approve any such Media before use.

6. Ownership

Other than Your Information (as defined below) You agree that Speedrun and/or its licensors own all right, title and interest in and to the Program Website and Program Content (as defined below) (including any and all intellectual property rights therein), and you agree not to take any action(s) inconsistent with such ownership interests.

7. Information

Due to the nature of the Program, none of Speedrun, its affiliates, any Participant, nor any Mentor can agree to obligations of confidentiality, non-use or non-disclosure with regard to any of your content or any other ideas, information, feedback, pitches, developments or materials that you may provide or share during or in connection with the Program (collectively, “Your Information”). You agree that by providing or sharing Your Information with us and/or otherwise via the Program, you agree that Your Information will not be considered confidential or proprietary, and you grant Speedrun, its affiliates, Participants, and Mentors a license to access, use, host, cache, store, reproduce, transmit, display, publish, distribute, and modify Your Information, including as required to be able to operate and provide the Program (including the Program Website). You agree that these rights and licenses are royalty free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide and irrevocable, and include a right for us to make Your Information available to, and pass these rights along to, others with whom we have contractual relationships related to the provision of the Program, and to otherwise permit access to or disclose Your Information to third parties if we determine such access is necessary to comply with our legal obligations. As part of the foregoing license grant you agree that the other Participants and Mentors may have the right to comment on and/or tag Your Information and/or to use, publish, display, modify or include a copy of Your Information as part of their own participation in the Program; except that the foregoing right of other Participants and Mentors shall not apply to any of Your Information that you post privately for non-public display to us. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we reserve the right, and have absolute discretion, to remove, screen, edit, or delete any of Your Information at any time, for any reason, and without notice. By posting or submitting Your Information, you represent and warrant that you have, or have obtained, all rights, licenses, consents, permissions, power and/or authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein for Your Information. You agree that Your Information will not contain material subject to copyright or other proprietary rights, unless you have the necessary permission or are otherwise legally entitled to post the material and to grant us the license described above.

8. Privacy

Except as otherwise set forth herein, your application to and participation in the Program will be governed by our privacy policy https://a16z.com/tos-privacy/.

9. Arbitration; Class Action Waiver

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY – IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT AND TO HAVE A JURY HEAR YOUR CLAIMS. IT CONTAINS PROCEDURES FOR MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION AND A CLASS ACTION WAIVER.

Agreement to Arbitrate. Any remaining dispute, controversy, or claim (collectively, “Claim”) relating in any way to your participating in the Program will be resolved by arbitration, including threshold questions of arbitrability of the Claim. You and Speedrun agree that any Claim will be settled by final and binding arbitration, using the English language, administered by JAMS under its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures (the “JAMS Rules”) then in effect (those rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this section, and as of the date of these Program Terms). The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) governs the arbitrability of all disputes. However, the arbitrator will apply applicable substantive law consistent with the FAA and the applicable statute of limitations or condition precedent to suit.

Arbitration will be handled by a sole arbitrator in accordance with the JAMS Rules. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court that has jurisdiction. Any arbitration under these Program Terms will take place on an individual basis – class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. You understand that you and Speedrun are each waiving the right to trial by jury or to participate in a class action or class arbitration.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, you and Speedrun agree that the following types of disputes will be resolved will have the right to bring an action in a court of proper jurisdiction for:

  • disputes or claims within the jurisdiction of a small claims court consistent with the jurisdictional and dollar limits that may apply, as long as it is brought and maintained as an individual dispute and not as a class, representative, or consolidated action or proceeding;
  • disputes or claims where the sole form of relief sought is injunctive relief (including public injunctive relief); or
  • intellectual property disputes.

Opt-Out. You have the right to opt-out and not be bound by the arbitration provisions set forth in these Program Terms by sending written notice of your decision to opt-out to legal@a16z.com. The notice must be sent to Speedrun within thirty (30) days of your agreeing to these Program Terms; otherwise you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes on a non-class basis in accordance with these Program Terms. If you opt out of only the arbitration provisions, and not also the class action waiver, the class action waiver still applies. You may not opt out of only the class action waiver and not also the arbitration provisions. If you opt-out of these arbitration provisions, Speedrun also will not be bound by them.

WAIVER OF RIGHT TO BRING CLASS ACTION AND REPRESENTATIVE CLAIMS. To the fullest extent
permitted by applicable law, you and Speedrun each agree that any proceeding to resolve any dispute, claim, or controversy will be brought and conducted ONLY IN THE RESPECTIVE PARTY’S INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS PART OF ANY CLASS (OR PURPORTED CLASS), CONSOLIDATED, MULTIPLE-PLAINTIFF, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING (“CLASS ACTION”). You and Speedrun AGREE TO WAIVE THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS ACTION. You and Speedrun EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY ABILITY TO MAINTAIN A CLASS ACTION IN ANY
FORUM. If the dispute is subject to arbitration, THE ARBITRATOR WILL NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO COMBINE OR AGGREGATE CLAIMS, CONDUCT A CLASS ACTION, OR MAKE AN AWARD TO ANY
PERSON OR ENTITY NOT A PARTY TO THE ARBITRATION. Further, you and Speedrun agree that the ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE PROCEEDINGS FOR MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S CLAIMS, AND IT MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CLASS ACTION. For the avoidance of
doubt, however, you can seek public injunctive relief to the extent authorized by law and consistent with the Exceptions clause above.
IF THIS CLASS ACTION WAIVER IS LIMITED, VOIDED, OR FOUND UNENFORCEABLE, THEN, UNLESS THE PARTIES MUTUALLY AGREE OTHERWISE, THE PARTIES’ AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE SHALL BE NULL AND VOID WITH RESPECT TO SUCH PROCEEDING SO LONG AS THE PROCEEDING IS PERMITTED TO
PROCEED AS A CLASS ACTION. If a court decides that the limitations of this paragraph are deemed invalid or unenforceable, any putative class, private attorney general, or consolidated or representative action must be brought in a court of proper jurisdiction and not in arbitration.

10. Miscellaneous

a. Disclaimers

THE Program, THE Program Website AND ALL CONTENT AND INFORMATION RELATED THERETO INCLUDING THE “Media” AS DEFINED ABOVE AND ANY OTHER CONTENT AND MATERIALS LOCATED
AT THE Program Website (COLLECTIVELY, THE “Program Content”) ARE PROVIDED “AS-IS”, AND NEITHER SPEEDRUN, NOR ITS OR ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS (THE “Speedrun Entities”), NOR ANY MENTOR IS PROVIDING ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDING THE Program OR THE Program Content OR ANY OTHER FEEDBACK, GUIDANCE OR INFORMATION THAT ANY SPEEDRUN ENTITIES OR ANY MENTORS MAY PROVIDE YOU IN CONNECTION THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING IN CONNECTION WITH ANY OF YOUR PROJECTS), INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS THEREOF, AND HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. Nothing contained in the Program or the Program Content or any other feedback, guidance or information that any Speedrun Entities or any Mentors may provide you in connection the Program can or should be construed as professional advice of any kind (including business, employment, investment, accounting, tax, and/or legal advice). Always seek the advice of qualified legal counsel in connection with any legal or regulatory questions you may have regarding any of your projects. No Speedrun Entities are liable for any errors or omissions in the Program or the Program Content or for any damages or loss you might suffer in connection with the Program or the Program Content. Neither Speedrun nor any other Speedrun Entities can control and have no duty to take any action regarding how you may interpret and use the Program or the Program Content or what actions you may take as a result of having been exposed to it, and you hereby release us from all liability related to your having acquired or not acquired Program Content.

Your participation in the Program is not an indication that any Speedrun Entity will invest in any business you are associated with, nor is it an invitation to invest in any Speedrun Entity or business or Speedrun affiliate. You acknowledge and agree that neither Speedrun nor any other person (including, without limitation, any other Speedrun Entity or any Mentor) is in any way obligated to invest or offer the opportunity to invest or to consider an investment or opportunity to invest. In no event will any Speedrun Entity be limited in, or restricted from, the pursuit of any opportunities, either alone or with third parties.

If there is a dispute between Participants, or between any Participant and any third party, including with respect to the consent and release for the Media set forth above, you agree that no Speedrun Entity is under any obligation to become involved. In the event such a dispute occurs, you hereby release the Speedrun Entities from all claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or the Program. If you are a California resident, you shall and hereby do waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which says: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.”

b. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY SHALL ANY SPEEDRUN ENTITY BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON IN CONNECTION WITH THE Program Content OR THE Program OR ANY OTHER FEEDBACK, GUIDANCE OR INFORMATION THAT ANY SPEEDRUN ENTITIES OR ANY MENTORS MAY PROVIDE YOU IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROGRAM FOR (A) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, ACCURACY OF RESULTS, OR COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR (B) ANY AMOUNT, IN THE AGGREGATE, IN EXCESS OF $100, OR (C) ANY MATTER BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL.

c. Indemnification

By participating in the Program, you agree that you shall defend, indemnify and hold the Speedrun Entities harmless from and against any and all claims, costs, damages, losses, liabilities and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and costs) incurred by the Speedrun Entities arising out of or in connection with: (a) your violation or breach of any term of these Program Terms or any applicable law or regulation; (b) your violation of any rights of any third party; (c) your participation in the Program, (d) Your Information, or (e) your negligence or willful misconduct. If you are obligated to indemnify any Speedrun Entity hereunder, then you agree that Speedrun (or, at its discretion, the applicable Speedrun Entity) will have the right, in its sole discretion, to control any action or proceeding and to determine whether Speedrun wishes to settle, and if so, on what Program Terms, and you agree to fully cooperate with Speedrun in the defense or settlement of such claim.

d. Changes

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, reschedule cancel, and/or discontinue all or any part of the Program, impose limits on or restrict access to the Program or any Program Content, remove any Program Content, or change these Program Terms, in each case at any time for any reason. We may modify these Program Terms from time to time in which case we will update the “Last Revised” date at the top of these Program Terms. The updated Program Terms will be effective as of the time of posting, or such later date as may be specified in the updated Program Terms. Your continued participation in the Program after the modified Program Terms have become effective will be deemed your acceptance of the modified Program Terms. If we make changes that are material, we will use reasonable efforts to attempt to notify you.

e. Termination

Provisions that, by their nature, should survive any termination of these Program Terms shall survive termination. By way of example only, all of the following will survive termination: any liability arising from your participation in the Program, any limitations on our liability, terms regarding disputes, and the “Consent and Release”, “Ownership” “Information”, “Arbitration; Class Action Waiver” and “Miscellaneous” sections.

f. General

You may not assign, delegate or transfer your acceptance to the Program, these Program Terms or your rights or obligations hereunder in any way (by operation of law or otherwise). We may transfer, assign, or delegate these Program Terms and our rights and obligations without consent. These Program Terms are governed by and will be construed under the laws of the State of California, without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof. If any provision of these Program Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated, to the minimum extent necessary, so that these Program Terms shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. There are no third party beneficiaries intended under these Program Terms. These Program Terms and the General Terms are the only agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter herein; provided, however, that these Program Terms do not supersede any other agreements we may have with you with respect to different subject matter.

 

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