Terms and Conditions (T&C) International

IDEAsforEARS Children’s Invention Contest

The information on how to enter and all the details of the competition will be provided on the competition entry form. To the extent of any inconsistency, the terms below prevail. By entering the competition, the participant’s parent or legal guardian accepts these terms.

1. Entry is open to all children aged between 6-12 years old (during the competition period) residing in participating countries.
2. Children of employees (and their immediate families) of MED-EL and agencies associated with this competition are ineligible to enter. Immediate family means any of the following: child or step-child (whether natural or by adoption), niece, nephew, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister or 1st cousin.
3. Additionally, the following categories of persons are excluded from the competition:
   1. Any child covered under any federally funded health insurance program including Medicare, Medicaid, Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, Black Lung, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, TRICARE, Veterans Health Care, Public Health Service programs, Indian Health Services, state health care programs receiving federal funding under the Maternal and Child Health Block Grants (Title V), Social Service Block Grants (Title XX), and State Child Health Plan (Title XXI) (except for the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program or vocational rehabilitation programs), who is (or may reasonably be predicted in the future to be) a user of MED-EL products.
   2. Any child who is an immediate family member of a physician, audiologist or other health care professional, or other person who is in a position to refer or influence the referral or purchase of federally reimbursed health care business to MED-EL.
4. Children wishing to participate need to obtain parental or legal guardian consent prior to submission. Consent will be documented on the entry form.
5. Entries must be submitted between 09 November 2023 and 17 January 2024. Entries close at midnight on 17 January 2024. Participants may only enter once.
6. For all entry details, please visit www.ideasforears.medel.com
7. MED-EL in its sole discretion, will select finalists based on demonstration of originality, creativity, practicality, imagination, innovation and brand appropriateness. The judging criteria is based on an original invention that can improve the quality of life for people with hearing loss.
8. Entries from the United States will be judged by a panel based at MED-EL Corporation in Durham, NC.
9. Finalists from each participating country will then be judged by a panel based at MED-EL’s headquarters.
10. Overall global winners (number of winners to be defined based on quality of submissions and number of participants) will be awarded a trip to Innsbruck (=main prize). The trip will take place mid of June 2024 and includes 2 nights stay with breakfast at a hotel in Innsbruck for 1 child & 1 guardian in a standard room, economy travel to & from Munich, Vienna, or Innsbruck airport only, airport transfers, Innsbruck Welcome Card. Prizes cannot be transferred. Secondary prizes consist of MED-EL merchandising products.
11. The overall global winner will be announced on or before (depending on availability and suitable times) 31 January 2024 via a global media release.
12. Entries and ideas submitted in the competition, whether winning or not, become the exclusive property of MED-EL and will not be acknowledged nor will they be returned. These can also be used for marketing and publicity for MED-EL.

13. Photographs of the finalists and their work may be posted on the ideas4ears website or used in future promotional, marketing or publicity purposes, in any media, without compensation, restriction on use, attribution or liability.
14. Entrants warrant that the entries submitted for the competition are their original work personally created by them.
15. The winners will be notified by phone and/or email. If a winner does not respond within 72 hours of being notified, MED-EL reserves the right to determine a new winner. MED-EL’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The prize cannot be exchanged for cash, credit or service and no exchange communications will be entered into.
16. The winners will be invited to participate in publicity events and promotions with the media both in online and offline channels. Those who enter agree to be willing to participate in such activities if they are chosen as a competition winner.
17. Each entrant agrees that, his or her submission in its entirety or any portion thereof, (including name, city / town / participating country and photo) may be published by MED-EL (print and/or online, social media) and used for other publicity purposes and activities. Please note: this will NOT include entrants’ email or home addresses.
18. By entering the competition participants agree to be bound by these terms and conditions and that the decision of MED-EL is final and binding in all matters relating to this competition.
19. All submissions are deemed received at the time of receipt by MED-EL and NOT at time of transmission by the entrant. MED-EL records are conclusive as to the time of receipt. Late, lost, stolen, misdirected, illegal, incomplete, illegible, damaged, reproduced, or altered submissions are invalid. MED-EL is not responsible for such submissions nor for any error, technical malfunction, loss, omission, communications delay or failure.
20. MED-EL reserves the right to vary these terms or to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the competition at any time without prior notice.
21. MED-EL accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage, injury or disappointment suffered by any participant (including any guest) resulting from entering the competition and/or by the acceptance and/or participation in any of the prizes.