Stripe Japan Expert Guide Contest

Last updated: 2021-11-10

Terms and Conditions

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER, WIN OR CLAIM A PRIZE.

A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE AN ENTRANT’S CHANCES OF WINNING.

1. ELIGIBILITY: The Japan Expert Guide Contest ("Contest") is open to any person of 20 years of age or older residing in Japan. Employees of Stripe ("Sponsor") and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, and advertising and promotion agencies (collectively "Sponsor Entities"), and their immediate families and household members are not eligible to enter or win. For purposes of the Contest, "immediate families" means parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, and siblings.

2. CONTEST PERIOD : The Contest begins on November 15, 2021 at 12:01am and ends on January 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM JST. The Sponsor’s computer serves as the Contest’s official clock.

3. TO ENTER: To enter the Contest, the following steps must be followed:

Step 1: Create a Japanese or English guide in any format (e.g., video, written, sample project) that expertly demonstrates how Stripe’s API can be used to tackle a common business need for a particular audience ("Entry"). Ideas include, but are not limited to:

  • accepting recurring payments for SaaS businesses;
  • managing pay-ins and pay-outs for multi-sided marketplaces;
  • improving checkout conversion rates for ecommerce businesses;
  • supporting local forms of payment for businesses expanding globally; or
  • offering payments as a new revenue stream for B2B platforms.

Step 2: Publish your guide online and promote it to fellow developers.

Step 3: Submit a link to your published guide for our judging panel to review. The link must be submitted by 11:59 PM JST on January 31, 2022.

4. LICENSE: Each entrant represents and warrants that he or she is the author and owner of the Entry and has all rights therein. Submission of an Entry constitutes entrant’s consent to give Sponsor Entities a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, create derivative works from, and display such Entry in whole or in part on a worldwide basis and to incorporate it into other works, in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, including for promotional or marketing purposes. If requested, entrant will sign any documentation that may be required for Sponsor Entities or their designees to make use of the Entry. Each entrant agrees not to exercise any and all moral rights they may have in respect of the Entry. Each entrant further agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor Entities from and against any claims, lawsuits, liabilities or expenses (including attorney’s fees) arising out or related to that entrant’s Entry or violation by entrant of these Terms of Conditions.

5. PRIZES: Winners (as defined below) will be awarded the following prizes ("Prizes"):

  • 1st place: ¥500,000 in cash or a ¥18,000,000 Stripe processing voucher;
  • 2nd place: ¥250,000 in cash or a ¥9,000,000 Stripe processing voucher; and
  • 3rd place: ¥100,000 in cash or a ¥3,600,000 Stripe processing voucher.

The Prizes will be delivered directly to the Winners’ addresses submitted with the Entry. There is no substitution for the Prize or any portion of the Prize, except if made by Sponsor who reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute the Prize or portion of the Prize of comparable value. Prizes are not transferable, except in the sole discretion of Sponsor. All details of the Prizes are at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Incidental expenses and all other costs and expenses which are not specifically listed as part of a Prize in these Terms and Conditions and which may be associated with the award, acceptance, receipt, and use of all or any portion of the awarded Prizes are solely the responsibility of the respective Winners.

6. SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNER: All Entries will be assessed by our judging panel and scored across the five criteria below, each carrying equal weighting:

  1. Accuracy: Is the Entry technically accurate and does it make use of Stripe’s API in a straightforward and elegant way? Is the sample code you include error-free?
  2. Articulation: How well do you explain your thoughts? Do you employ compelling images, code snippets, or other tactics to improve your audience’s understanding?
  3. Creativity: Do you demonstrate both breadth and depth? Do you include multiple Stripe products? Do you show a novel approach to solving problems?
  4. Experience: Have you paid attention to production quality? How well have you balanced length with usefulness? It’s OK to create lengthy guides, as long as value isn’t being diluted.
  5. Usefulness: How well does the Entry address a specific business need for a specific audience? Do you link to the appropriate Stripe documentation?

Our judging panel consists of members appointed by the Sponsor at its own discretion. Our judging panel will select three winners ("Winners") based on the criteria above. All decisions of the judging panel are final and binding on all entrants. The odds of winning depend on the number of Entries received and the quality of the Entry assessed by the criteria above.

The Winners will be notified on email by February 28, 2022. Upon the request of the Sponsor, the potential Winners may also be required to return an Affidavit of Eligibility, Prize Acceptance Form, Liability Release and, except where prohibited, a Publicity Release ("Prize Documentation"). Failure of a Winner to accept the Prize or respond to any Prize notification within fourteen (14) days, or provide the Prize Documentation within said time period, or the return of any Prize notification as refused or undeliverable, may result in said Winner’s disqualification, the forfeiture of his or her interest in the Prize, and the award of the Prize to a substitute Winner to be selected based on the criteria above from all remaining eligible entries.

7. APPLICABLE LAW AND JURISDICTION: The Contest is subject to all applicable laws and regulations. Any dispute arising out of the Contest or the Prize shall be governed by the laws of Japan, and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH ENTRANT HEREBY WAIVES ALL RIGHTS TO CLAIM PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES AND ANY OTHER DAMAGES, OTHER THAN THE DAMAGES THAT ARE RELATED TO OR ARISING FROM SPONSOR’S WILLFUL MISCONDUCT OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE.

8. WAIVERS AND RELEASES: By entering, entrants agree: (a) to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding; (b) to waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest or these Terms and Conditions; (c) that they may be contacted in person, by phone, or by e-mail, with respect to the Contest; (d) that Sponsor, its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, and advertising and promotion agencies, and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, and employees (collectively "Releasees") are not responsible for lost, damaged, or misplaced entries, incorrect or inaccurate transcription of entry information, or for any human or other error, technical malfunction, lost/delayed data transmission, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, line failures of any telephone network, computer equipment, software, inability to access any online service or web site, or any other error or malfunction, or any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participation in the Contest, or for any injury to person or property; and (e) that the Releasees will not be liable for losses or injuries of any kind resulting from acceptance/ possession/ use and/or misuse of the Prize, travel to and from any prize-related activity, participation in the Contest, or printing, mailing or distribution errors. Each Winner further acknowledges that Sponsor does not make any warranties, express or implied, relating to the Prize itself and that Sponsor expressly disclaims the implied warranties or merchantability and fitness for a particular use.

9. RIGHT TO VOID/TERMINATE/MODIFY: If for any reason the Contest is not capable of being executed as planned due to a pandemic, measures of any governmental authority, or anything outside Sponsor’s control, or if tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any suspected Entry and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest, and/or award the Prizes from among all eligible, non-suspected Entries received as of the date of the termination, as Sponsor determines in its sole discretion. Entries not complying with these Terms and Conditions are subject to disqualification.

10. PERSONAL INFORMATION: Entrants agree that their personal information, including, but not limited to, name, e-mail address, phone number, physical address, may be processed, stored and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest and for any of the purposes set forth in the Privacy Policy at https://stripe.com/privacy. Entrants must agree and consent to the Privacy Policy. Without limiting the foregoing, such data may also be used by the Sponsor in order to contact the Winners, check an entrant’s identity and contact information, or to otherwise verify an entrant’s eligibility to participate in the Contest or to receive any prize.

11. PUBLICITY: Unless prohibited by law, entry into the Contest constitutes permission for the Releasees to use that entrant’s name, address (city and prefecture), picture, biographical information, statements, voice and likeness in any advertising and publicity Sponsor may conduct activities or promotions relating to the Contest in any media or format, whether now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to the World Wide Web, at any time or times in perpetuity, without further compensation or notice, except where prohibited by law.

12. SEVERABILITY: If any provision(s) of these Terms and Conditions are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.

13. SPONSOR: The Sponsor of the Contest is Stripe Japan, [Insert address of the Sponsor].

14. Anti-Social Forces Elimination: By entering the Contest you represent and warrant that you:

  1. are not affiliated with Anti-Social Forces (as defined below);
  2. are not a member of Anti-Social Forces; and
  3. do not have any socially criticized relationship with Anti-Social Forces such as providing funding or other support, or conducting continuous business transactions.

14.2 "Anti-Social Forces" shall mean an organized crime group, a corporate racketeer, and any other similar organization.

14.3 Sponsor shall be entitled to disqualify your Entry or forfeit your Prize without prior notice if Sponsor finds you are in breach of the representation and warrant in Section 14.1.