Terms and Conditions

For the AI Cybersecurity Competition (CyberCup.AI) organized by the School of Cybersecurity at Old Dominion University (ODU) and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (COVA CCI).

1. Definitions

  1. The following terms shall have the meanings ascribed below:
    • "Competition" means the AI Cybersecurity Competition (CyberCup) organized by the School of Cybersecurity at ODU and COVA CCI with its competition website at https://cybercup.ai.
    • "Competition Platform" or "Platform" means the computer systems and services providing the computer processes and environment for the Competition;
    • "ODU" means Old Dominion University, and "COVA CCI" means the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative;
    • "Intellectual Property Rights" or "IP" means all copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and all other intellectual property rights or proprietary rights;
    • "Organizing Committee" means ODU and COVA CCI's representatives tasked with administering and managing the Competition;
    • "Party" shall mean each Participant or the Organizing Committee, "Parties" means the Participants and the Organizing Committee collectively;
    • "Participants" means all persons of the registered teams individually and collectively, that are participating in the Competition. "Participant" means each of the Participants;
    • "Rules" or "Competition Rules" mean the rules, regulations, and decisions prescribed by ODU and COVA CCI for the Competition, including these terms and conditions set out herein and those set out at https://cybercup.ai.
  2. Reference to "Clauses" or "Clause" shall refer to the clauses or clause of these terms and conditions and shall include all sub-clauses of the respective clauses being referred to. These terms and conditions set out herein may be referred to as these or the "Terms and Conditions".

2. Compliance

  • By participating in the Competition, all Participants are deemed to have agreed to and shall always fully comply with the Rules prescribed by ODU and COVA CCI and as may be modified, added to, or updated from time to time. All decisions made by the Organizing Committee in relation to the Competition, including the award or non-award of prizes and other benefits, shall be in the sole discretion of the Organizing Committee and shall be final and binding on all Participants.

3. Materials Submitted

  • All computer code, programs, software, documents, or materials ("Code") used or submitted by the Participants shall not contain any confidential or proprietary information of any party without that party's prior permission and consent. Each Participant warrants and represents that it has the requisite right and license to submit these Code to ODU and COVA CCI for purposes of the Competition.

4. Prohibited Acts

  • To maintain the integrity and fairness of the Competition the following must at all times be observed with by all Participants:
    • Illegal, immoral, or unethical activities or behavior of any kind is strictly forbidden;
    • No form of collusion, cheating, coercion, or intimidation shall be practiced or condoned;
    • Any acts of sabotage, tampering, misuse, attacks that are outside of the Competition environment are expressly forbidden;
    • Any violations related to the above may result in immediate disqualification.

5. Confidentiality

  • Any document, material, or information which ODU and COVA CCI disclose to the Participants that are marked as "Confidential" or with other similar indicia are to be kept confidential by the Participants and shall not be disclosed by the Participants to any third parties without prior written consent.
  • Confidential Information shall not include information that are in the public domain through no fault or breach of receiving the Participants and shall not include information already rightfully known by the receiving Participants without obligations of confidentiality prior to its disclosure to the receiving Participants by ODU and COVA CCI.

6. Consent to Monitoring

  • Participants understand and acknowledge that ODU, COVA CCI, and their agents may in their discretion, monitor all activities and processes of the Participants on the Competition Platform or environment, and may intercept or otherwise terminate any activity or process, if necessary, for the security and integrity of the Competition.

7. Intellectual Property

  • Except as provided for otherwise in this Clause 7, nothing in this Clause 7 shall affect the ownership or the right to license IP of any party.
  • Participants hereby grant ODU and COVA CCI the right and license to use all prompts, computer code, programs, software, technical, and other materials submitted by or introduced by the Participants for purposes of the Competition.
  • Any computer program, code or application released by ODU and COVA CCI for the Competition (referred to as "ODU and COVA CCI Code") to the Participants may only be used for the Competition and lawful purposes only. ODU and COVA CCI retains all rights and title to such ODU and COVA CCI Code.

8. Disclaimer of Liability

  • By registering or participating in the Competitions, all Participants hereby agree to assume all risks and waive all rights to claim against ODU and COVA CCI. The entities shall have no liability or responsibility whatsoever for any direct or indirect losses or damages suffered or incurred by Participants. In particular, due to the nature of the Competition and its environment, all Participants shall have the sole responsibility to protect their own computer systems against harm, damage, loss, threats, attacks and malicious activity of any kind and nature, whether intentional or otherwise, ODU and COVA CCI shall have no liability or responsibility whatsoever to the Participants, arising from any such harm, damage, loss, threats, attacks and malicious activity however arising. The aforesaid disclaimers of liability shall apply regardless of whether the ODU and COVA CCI have knowledge of the possibility of such losses or damages so disclaimed or otherwise, and regardless that these losses and damages are foreseeable, or otherwise.
  • The Competition, Platform, services, computer program, code, models, application, datasets, and any materials provided by Competition Platform are without any warranty and/or guarantee of any nature, whether express or implied, and are provided on an as "as-is" and "with all faults" basis. Any warranty of merchantability, fitness of purpose, uninterrupted use, warranty, noninfringement and absence of defects or faults are hereby expressly disclaimed. The above exemptions, liabilities and disclaimers shall apply to the maximum permitted by law.
  • Participants are expected to bear their own costs and expenses incurred in connection with the Competition.
  • ODU and COVA CCI reserves the right at its sole discretion at any time to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition without the need to assign any reason. ODU and COVA CCI further reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any Participant which they deems to have been guilty of fraudulent, dishonest or other wrongful conduct without the need to assign any reason. ODU and COVA CCI shall have no liability or responsibility to any Participant affected by the aforesaid actions.

9. Warranty, Indemnity

  • Participants warrant and represent to ODU and COVA CCI that their Code or any other submissions is their own original work or that they have the right and license to submit it for the Competition. Each Participant agrees not to submit any Code that infringes the IP of ODU, COVA CCI, or any third party.

10. General

  • Disputes: These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States. The Parties irrevocably agree that the courts of Virginia shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle and adjudicate any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement ("Disputes") arising out of the Competition. The Parties irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of Virginia. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, ODU and COVA CCI may at any time refer any Dispute to be finally resolved by arbitration in the United States in the English language by a sole arbitrator in accordance with the rules of an established arbitration center. The arbitrator shall be agreed upon between the Parties, or on failure to agree within thirty (30) days of a written proposal by one Party to the other Party, to be appointed by the arbitration center. This arbitration agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States.
  • Any provision of these Terms and Conditions that expressly or by implication is intended to survive or to come into or continue in force on or after termination or expiry of the Competition, including Clauses 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10, shall so survive or come into force.
  • In the event that any of these Terms and Conditions is determined to be illegal, invalid, or unenforceable, in whole or in part, such provision or part of it shall, to the extent it is illegal, invalid, or unenforceable, be deemed not to form part of the Terms and Conditions, and the legality, validity, and enforceability of the remainder of the Terms and Conditions shall not be affected.
  • Any waiver shall be given expressly in writing by the authorized representative of the Party concerned. No omission, delay, or failure to enforce any right or remedy shall be deemed to be a waiver or variation of such right or remedy. No waiver of any right or breach shall be deemed to be a waiver of any other right or any subsequent breach.
  • A person who is not a party to these Terms and Conditions shall have no right to enforce any provision of these Terms and Conditions.
  • Updates: ODU and COVA CCI reserve the right to amend or add to these Terms and Conditions and the Rules from time to time by publication on https://cybercup.ai. Participants are advised to stay updated on such amendments and additions by visiting the Competition website regularly.