These rules and the release are not negotiable.  If you object to a contest rule, you should probably not enter.

1. Time Zone. All time referred to are Pacific U.S. time.

2. Contest Management Decisions Are Final.

3.  Prize List. The prizes are as stated on the Official Prize List page.  If there is any discrepancy in  descriptions of prizes at other pages, the Official Prize List page prevails.

3a.  Possible Genre Or Other Category Prizes.  The Great Movie And TV Logline Contest management may, at its option, add genre prizes or other special prizes to the contest. 

4. Announcements And Notifications At Web Sites Only.  All formal Contest notifications to contestants as a group will be made solely by posting them at this web site.  Any notice which conflicts with the information at this site is invalid with respect to the conflicting information.

5. No Refunds.  You agree by entering that your failure to enter the contest via the contest entry form is cause for forfeiture of your entry fee.  Exception: if the entry server becomes inoperable, contest management may, at its option, extend the deadline or refund registration fees to entrants who assert that they were unable to enter due to such failure,

6. Acceptable Formats.  Your submission must be via the online contest entry form. Submissions on paper, by email, or in any other format or medium will not be accepted.

7. Deadlines and Dates.  Contest dates and deadlines are as posted on the contest home page.  Any other date or deadline conflicting with that page, such as an erroneously posted date or deadline on another contest page, is void.  Your logline(s) must be submitted by the deadline.  Contest management reserves the right to extend deadlines should the submission traffic be excessive.

Deadlines will not be individually extended for any contestant.  By entering, you agree that your sole remedy in case of any system failure, including a failure on our part, which prevents submission or receipt of your entry, is refund of your entry fee.  No refunds will be given for failing to enter.

8.  Refund is sole remedy. The sole remedy for any failure other than a failure on your part, including a failure to receive or judge your sent entry, is the full refund of your entry fee.  You agree in entering that contest management is not liable for any inconvenience, hardship, expense, lost time, or any other expense other than your entry fee(s) for any reason, regardless of whether such failure was caused by us, our staff or agents, you, third parties, the Internet or Internet email systems or other causes or sources.   Any decision to forgo other activities, change your schedule, miss work, or otherwise inconvenience yourself to enter this contest is purely your responsibility.

9a..  No refund if entry is judged. If your entry is received and read by a contest judge, you agree that you will not be entitled to a refund for any reason, including non-receipt of the feedback on your entry.

9b. No refund for failure to submit.  If you fail to submit or attempt to submit a logline, you will not receive a refund.  You must retain proof that you attempted to submit.  The submission procedure provides that you must attempt to upload your logline, and if that fails, you must email it as an attachment to the submission backup email address posted at the submission page and the home page.  Your record of this sent email is proof that you attempted to submit your logline. 

10. Contact information.  All requests for refunds must be sent only to customer.service@creativescreenwriting.com, not to any other contest manager.  Refunds will be made after contest deadlines have passed.

11. Limited right to display your logline. Your entry or entries remain your intellectual property.  However, by entering, you grant to us the following rights:

• The irrevocable right to publish your logline and your name if your logline is chosen as one of the 100 winning loglines
• The irrevocable right to publish your logline,  giving you credit, if it is an exemplary logline even if not among the top 100
• The irrevocable right to publish your logline without your name for teaching purposes. 

12. No technical, writing, or format support.The contest management will assist with web site problems and file uploading problems, but otherwise does not and will not provide any technical support whatsoever on software, file formats, or how to write a logline, other than information posted at this site.

No assistance whatsoever is provided on writing a logline other than the guidance posted at this and supporting web sites.  Requests for personal assistance with file creation, file formats, writing, style, proper logline format, or any other subject related to writing a logline will not be honored.  See the guidance posted and referred to in contest pages.
 
13. Writing partners may enter together.  Each partner must be an individual at least 18 years of age.

14. Original, unproduced work. Submitted loglines must be for unproduced, unoptioned, and wholly original work of the writer(s). There must be no dispute about the ownership of submitted loglines, the source screenplay, or the writers’ right to submit the logline.  Entrants may not use characters or any other copyrighted material owned by others except if the logline is for a “spec” episode of an actual TV show.
      
15.  Multiple entries allowed and encouraged.  You may enter more than once.  However, each entry must be a separate shopping-cart transaction with its own order number.  If an entrant pays for two entries in one shopping cart transaction, only one will be allowed.  The entrant may obtain a refund for the second entry upon written request to customer.service@creativescreenwriting.com.

16.  Writers in the “Master” and “New” screenwriter divisions must not have earned more than $25,000 (in cash or other consideration) for writing services for film or television in the three years before the contest opened.

17.  Length. Your entry must be one logline no more than two sentences and no more than 250 characters in length.

The contest management does not advise, consult, provide examples of, or assist entrants in any way on what constitutes Hollywood logline format, other than through the links provided on contest pages.

18. Our employees and contractors banned.  Employees, contractors, or immediate family members of principals of Coverage, Ink., Creative Screenwriting, The Screenwriting Expo, and their parent company Inside Information Group, Ltd. may not submit loglines. 

Exceptions: a writer who has written rarely for Creative Screenwriting or CS Weekly or who has worked in a one-time or one-time-annually capacity (such as one time in the past two years as a Screenwriting Expo on-site worker or volunteer) may be accepted at contest management's option.

19. Right to modify rules; your right to withdraw with refund based on rule or deadline change.  As the Contest is a unique Contest using a unique combination of technologies, management reserves the right, with notice given on the website only, to modify these Rules, the deadlines, methods of submission, and any other details to facilitate the smooth and effective management of the contest or to correct or remedy a problem. 

20.  Judging and Scoring.  The judges are professional Hollywood script readers and contest judges.  Each logline will be given a score from zero to 100 by one judge based on these two judging criteria:
    50% for the quality, clarity, deftness, and intangible strengths of the writing;
    50% for the marketability of the story as described in the logline.

Thus a perfect score would be 100 points.

Winners will be chosen in each division on the basis of the highest scores within the division.   The top 100 will be chosen based on highest scores.  

20a. TIES: If judges' scores are tied for first through fifth prize, the contest manager will judge the entries and add  or subtract percentages of points to determine winners.  

21. Feedback on your logline.  If you provide a valid, unblocked email address in the entry form, your score and feedback will be emailed to you after the contest deadline.

22. No verbal abuse of contest management and staff. This contest requires that you maintain decorum at all time in contacts with the contest management, just as you would with a producer, agent, or manager.  Verbal abuse of the contest management or staff is cause for disqualifying you from the contest.  If we disqualify you for abuse, we will refund your entry fee, but we will also reserve the right to ban you from future contests.
 
23. If a contestant submits two loglines which, in the sole view of contest management, are nearly identical or so closely similar as to constitute the same story line, contest management will disqualify the lower-scoring of such entries from cash  prize consideration.  If an entry is so disqualified, the contestant shall be entitled to a refund upon request for any entry or entries disqualified on this basis.  Contest  management shall have the right to sole discretion over whether to publish the any such similar logline if the contestant has requested a refund.  

24.  Contest management has the right to revise the rules  at any time during the contest until prizes are awarded in  order to cope with unforeseen circumstances.  Notice of rules changes will be made on this page only.  Any contestant who can demonstrate to the satisfaction of contest management that his or her entry is specifically adversely affected by a rules change after entering may withdraw his or her entry and receive a refund.

25.  Release.  By entering this contest, you agree to the rules above and execute the Release below:


Writers who apply to The Great Movie and TV Loglines Contest (The Contest) agree to the following terms.

For the purpose of this statement, "I," "me," and "my," include  the plurals "we," "us," and "our" if there is more than one author.

I attest that I have read and understand and complied with the Rules and Regulations of The Contest and that I am the author and sole owner of all rights to the Material.

I understand that due to the nature of the Contest, it is possible and indeed highly likely that other submissions will bear close resemblance to mine.  I agree to abide by and not dispute a judge's decision on the score given to my entry; that I do not have the right to learn the individual judge's name or how the judge arrived at the decision. 

I agree that any dispute arising between us shall be subject to binding arbitration pursuant to the then effective Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator will be someone with at least 10 years of motion picture industry experience and shall have the authority to award all appropriate relief, including equitable or injunctive relief; provided, however, that the arbitrator is not authorized to award punitive damages. The award issued by any such arbitrator may be entered and confirmed as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. The state with jurisdiction over any disputes relating to this Agreement is California, and the sole location for proper venue is Los Angeles, California.

Furthermore, I indemnify Coverageink.com, Creative Screenwriting, the Screenwriting Expo, The Contest, and Inside Information Group, Ltd., their employees, associates, judges and sponsors against all claims, losses, expenses, damages and liabilities, including liabilities for claims of theft or misappropriation of ideas or intellectual property by third parties.

I understand that the submission of the Material into The Contest does not establish any fiduciary or confidential relationship between us, nor is there one intended or created by reason of this letter and/or submission of the Material. I have retained a copy of the Material and agree that you shall not be obligated to return the Material to me, and I release you from all liability if the Material is lost, misplaced, stolen or destroyed. Furthermore, I understand that it is my sole responsibility to register Material with the U.S. Copyright Office and/or with the Writer’s Guild of America.