Proximity Prize Program Terms & Conditions

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern participation in The Proximity Prize research awards program described at proximityprize.org (the “Program”), operated and funded by Stiftung Ethereum, Zeughausgasse 7a, 6300 Zug, Switzerland (the “EF”). By submitting work to the Program, a participant (“Participant”) agrees to these Terms. A person submitting on behalf of an organisation represents that they have authority to bind that organisation.

1. The Program

   1. The Program is an experimental and discretionary scientific research awards program. No purchase or payment to the EF is required to participate.
   2. The applicable challenge descriptions, companion papers, problem statements, submission guidelines, frequently asked questions, deadlines, and other materials published or linked by the EF are collectively the “Program Rules” and form part of these Terms. These Terms control in relation to eligibility, evaluation, awards, and the relationship between the EF and Participants; the Program Rules control the scientific and technical submission requirements.
   3. These Terms apply only to The Proximity Prize described at proximityprize.org and do not govern any separate platform-based challenge, grant, or other research rewards program unless expressly stated.

2. Eligibility

   1. A Participant must be at least 18 years old and have legal capacity to accept these Terms. Participation is void where prohibited by law.
   2. The EF may determine eligibility at any time and may exclude any person whose participation would violate applicable law, create an actual or apparent conflict of interest, or undermine the integrity or intended purpose of the Program.

3. Submissions

   1. Each submission must be sent to the address specified in the Program Rules and comply with all applicable scientific, publication, authorship, peer-review, and disclosure requirements. The Participant represents and warrants that:
      1. The submission has been accepted following scientific peer review by a reputable conference or journal appropriate to the field;
      2. The submission is publicly available on an open academic repository, and the relevant public version and timestamp are accurately identified;
      3. The submission clearly states the claimed results, explains how they relate to the Program’s challenges, and situates them with respect to prior work;
      4. All authors, contributors, material dependencies, relevant prior work, conflicts of interest, and material use of artificial intelligence are accurately disclosed, and the human authors have verified and take responsibility for the submission; and
      5. The Participant has all rights and permissions required to submit and publish the work, and the submission does not infringe or misappropriate any third-party right or contain confidential information that the Participant is not entitled to disclose.
   2. The first public version of a submission ordinarily serves as its timestamp. If a major revision is made, the EF may use the timestamp of the relevant revision. Acceptance through peer review, public availability, or timestamp priority is a threshold consideration only and does not create an entitlement to an award.
   3. The Participant is responsible for all costs and risks associated with preparing, publishing, and submitting work. The EF may reject or disregard any submission that it considers incomplete, misleading, technically or scientifically unsound, unlawful, outside the intended scope, or inconsistent with these Terms or the Program Rules.

4. Evaluation & Awards

   1. The EF, acting in consultation with the Prize Judges, has sole and final discretion to determine:
      1. Whether a submission satisfies the peer-review, publication, authorship, conflict, and other eligibility requirements;
      2. The correctness, validity, completeness, and reproducibility of the submission and its proofs;
      3. The novelty, scientific significance, and relevance of the results in light of prior work;
      4. Whether and to what extent the submission resolves a challenge or constitutes significant partial progress;
      5. How overlapping, complementary, dependent, simultaneous, or independently obtained results should be attributed and compared; and
      6. Whether any Participant receives an award and the amount, recipients, division, and allocation of that award.
   2. Evaluation requires expert scientific judgment, and reasonable experts may reach different conclusions concerning a submission. Peer-review acceptance, publication, a timestamp, formal verification, or satisfaction of an apparent technical criterion does not create an entitlement to payment. Formal verification may be considered but is not required unless the Program Rules state otherwise. The EF and the Prize Judges may recognise partial results, split awards among submissions, or deviate from the published guidelines in exceptional cases.
   3. No award exists or becomes payable unless and until an authorised representative of the EF confirms the award and its amount in writing (an “Award Notice”) and the Participant satisfies all conditions stated in the Award Notice and these Terms.

5. Changes, Suspension, & Cancellation

   1. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the EF may at any time amend these Terms or the Program Rules; revise a companion paper, challenge, conjecture, problem statement, scientific criterion, submission guideline, deadline, evaluation process, Prize Judge appointment, or award allocation; introduce, remove, or modify eligibility or publication requirements; or pause, suspend, or cancel all or part of the Program. Such action may apply to pending submissions but will not reduce or cancel an award already confirmed in an Award Notice, except where payment would be unlawful or the award resulted from a breach of these Terms, misrepresentation, fraud, or material error.
   2. Changes will be effective when published on or linked from the Program website, unless a later date is stated. A Participant who does not accept a change must withdraw from the Program. Continued participation after the change takes effect constitutes acceptance.

6. Award Conditions & Payment

   1. Before confirming or paying an award, the EF may require satisfactory proof of identity, age, residence, authorship, payment details and any other information reasonably required for legal, compliance, or administrative purposes.
   2. The EF may withhold, suspend, or cancel an award where required by sanctions, export control, anti-money laundering, tax, or other applicable law, where required checks cannot be completed satisfactorily, or where information supplied by the Participant is inaccurate or incomplete.
   3. Awards are personal and may not be assigned without the EF’s written consent. Participants are solely responsible for all taxes, charges, and reporting obligations arising from participation or receipt of an award.

7. Intellectual Property, Confidentiality, & Publicity

   1. Subject to existing third-party and open-access rights, a Participant retains ownership of its submission. The Participant grants the EF a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, and perpetual licence to reproduce, evaluate, verify, publish, distribute, and otherwise use the submission for administering and documenting the Program and for scientific research relating to the Program.
   2. Submissions must be publicly available as required by the Program Rules and should not contain information that the Participant wishes to keep confidential. Unless the EF expressly agrees otherwise in writing, it assumes no confidentiality obligation in relation to a submission.
   3. The EF may publish a Participant’s name, author list, chosen public handle, submission, results, evaluation status, and award information in connection with the Program. Personal data collected directly by the EF will be processed in accordance with applicable law.

8. Disclaimers & Limitations of Liability

   1. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE PROGRAM, PROGRAM RULES, COMPANION PAPERS, PROBLEM STATEMENTS, CONJECTURES, EVALUATIONS, AND RELATED MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, INCLUDING AS TO ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, AVAILABILITY, FITNESS FOR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
   2. The EF does not warrant that the Program, website, email channel, academic repository, conference, journal, or other third-party service will operate without interruption or error, that a submission will be received, peer reviewed, or evaluated, or that any scientific assessment is correct. Participation and reliance on any Program material are at the Participant’s own risk.
   3. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE EF AND ITS BOARD MEMBERS, PERSONNEL, PRIZE JUDGES, REVIEWERS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE LOSS, OR FOR LOSS OF PROFIT, REVENUE, DATA, OPPORTUNITY, OR EXPECTED AWARD. THEIR AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE PROGRAM SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF US$100 AND THE AMOUNT OF ANY AWARD EXPRESSLY CONFIRMED TO THE PARTICIPANT IN AN AWARD NOTICE.
   4. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability to the extent it cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability for wilful misconduct or gross negligence.

9. Disputes & Governing Law

   1. These Terms, the arbitration agreement contained in this Section 9, and any contractual or non-contractual obligations arising out of or relating to them or the Program shall be governed by the substantive laws of Switzerland, without regard to conflict of laws rules.
   2. Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or in relation to these Terms or the Program, including any dispute concerning their existence, validity, interpretation, performance, breach, or termination, or any related non-contractual obligation, shall be finally resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration of the Swiss Arbitration Centre in force on the date on which the Notice of Arbitration is submitted. The tribunal shall consist of one arbitrator. The seat of the arbitration shall be Zurich, Switzerland. The arbitral proceedings shall be conducted in English.

10. General Terms

    1. These Terms and the Program Rules constitute the entire agreement between the EF and the Participant concerning the Program and supersede prior statements or understandings on the same subject. No failure or delay in exercising a right constitutes a waiver. If any provision is invalid or unenforceable, it shall be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions will continue in effect.
    2. Participation does not create any employment, partnership, joint venture, fiduciary, agency or other service relationship with the EF.