Photomicrography Competition
Nikon Small World Competition Official Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
ENTER THE 2025 NIKON SMALL WORLD COMPETITION
1. ELIGIBILITY: The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition (the “Competition”) is open only to individuals who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry and have access to a light microscope. The following individuals are not eligible to enter the Competition: (a) employees of Nikon Instruments Inc., Shaw & Todd, Inc., their respective parent companies and affiliated companies, and/or the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee, (b) the Competition Judges, regardless of the date of appointment, and/or their immediate family and household members, and/or (c) individuals engaged (as a business owner or employee) in the manufacture, distribution, and/or sale of microscopes, related accessories, and/or photographic equipment. PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION AND/OR THE RECEIPT OF ANY PRIZE MAY BE RESTRICTED OR VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
2. SPONSOR: Nikon Instruments Inc., a Delaware corporation, 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747. ADMINISTRATOR: Shaw & Todd, Inc., 8501 Emerald Dunes Road, Wilmington, NC 28411.
3. AGREEMENT TO OFFICIAL RULES: Participation in this Competition constitutes the entrant’s (“you,” “your” or the “Entrant”) full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor and/or Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to this Competition. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
4. TIMING: Sponsor will receive entries to the Competition beginning on December 2, 2024 at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time USA ("ET") and ending on April 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET (the "Competition Entry Period"). Sponsor's computer is the official time-keeping device for the Competition.
5. HOW TO ENTER: During the Competition Entry Period, visit www.nikonsmallworld.com (the “Website”) and:
(a) Follow the links and instructions to complete the Competition entry form (the “Entry Form”), including your name, telephone number, email address, a valid home address (P.O. Boxes are not permitted), country, the school, institution or other organization the Entrant is affiliated with (the “Affiliation”) and the address of such Affiliation, the type, make and model of the equipment used to capture the entry(ies) submitted to this Competition, a description of each image submitted, and other information requested by Sponsor (collectively, the “Registration Information”);
(b) Upload up to three (3) photomicrographic digital images taken by the Entrant (collectively, the “Images”) to the Entry Form.
(c) Indicate your agreement with these Official Rules and that Sponsor may contact Entrant regarding this Competition using any of the Registration Information submitted on the Entry Form, by checking the box displayed on the Entry Form and submitting the Entry Form together with all Registration Information and Images.
The Registration Information and Images are both required to enter this Competition and are hereinafter collectively referred to as your “Submission.” Submissions will be accepted only until the end of the Competition Entry Period, that is, April 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET. By uploading your Submission, you represent, warrant, and agree that your Submission conforms to the Guidelines and Restrictions set forth below (collectively, the “Guidelines and Restrictions”) and that Sponsor and/or Administrator, in their sole discretion, may remove your Submission and disqualify you from the Competition if it believes, in its sole discretion, that your Submission fails to conform in any way whatsoever to the Guidelines and Restrictions. All Submission files will be retained by Sponsor and will not be returned to the Entrant.
Guidelines and Restrictions
- Images must be submitted in .jpeg, .png, .psd, or .tiff format.
- Images should be submitted with the highest quality with regard to file size, bit depth, and resolution.
- Images do not need to be taken with a Nikon-branded microscope.
- AI generated images are not permitted and Nikon holds the right to request the original image for verification.
- Images must be taken by Entrant using a light microscope. Images taken with an electron or any other microscope(s) that do not capture imagery using optical light technology are not eligible.
- Images must utilize a microscope objective in all work.
- Macro photography is not eligible.
- Images that have won any place or recognition previously in any active or ongoing photomicrography competition, are not eligible
- The Submission must be in the English language.
- The Submission must not contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including but not limited to trademark, privacy, publicity or other intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement.
- The Submission must not disparage Sponsor, Administrator or any other person or entity.
- The Submission must not contain brand names, logos and/or trademarks; any URL addresses; and/or the names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, image, and/or likenesses of third parties.
- The Submission must not contain viruses, Trojan horses, worms, bots, spyware or any other computer code that is intended to or does damage, interfere with, and/or surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or information.
- The Submission must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, discriminatory, obscene, hateful, tortious, defamatory, slanderous or libelous, or contain material that is otherwise unlawful, in violation of or contrary to any applicable laws or regulations.
Each Entrant may upload a maximum of three (3) Images during the Competition Entry Period. Submissions received from any person or email address in excess of the stated limit will be void. Submissions generated by script, macro or other automated means are void. Entrant represents and warrants that he or she owns the rights to the Submission and has the full right and authority to submit the Submission to the Competition.
In the event of a dispute as to any Submission, the authorized account holder of the email address used to register will be deemed to be the Entrant. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Each Entrant may be required to show proof of being an authorized account holder.
6. PUBLICITY: Entering a Submission to the Competition constitutes Entrant’s express consent that if awarded a Prize (as hereinafter defined), Entrant agrees and grants to Sponsor and its affiliates, agencies, dealers, distributors, resellers, licensees, media outlets used, successors and assigns, and/or Administrator (collectively, the “Nikon Parties”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, fully-paid, irrevocable, perpetual right and license to reproduce, modify, post, publish, edit, reformat, shorten, display, and/or otherwise use Entrant’s Images and/or Entrant’s name, city, country, and/or Affiliation, in whole or in part, for promotional, trade, marketing, and/or publicity purposes solely in connection with the Competition, in any form, media or technology now known or later developed including but not limited to websites, social media pages, printed materials, traveling exhibits, the Nikon Small World calendar, in emails, and/or at trade shows and events, without any compensation, notification, permission or other consideration. If requested, Entrant will sign any releases and/or other documentation that may be required for Sponsor and/or other Nikon Parties to make use of the rights Entrant is granting to use the Submission as described herein. Subject to the foregoing license, Entrant shall retain ownership of the copyright to the Images. Each winner accepts and acknowledges that Sponsor shall not be obligated to use the Submission or any part thereof, and that Sponsor in its sole discretion shall have the right to refrain from using the Submission. Sponsor shall not incur any liability whatsoever to the extent Sponsor chooses to refrain from any exploitation of its rights hereunder.
7. WINNER DETERMINATION: After the Competition Entry Period, a panel of qualified judges determined by Sponsor and/or Administrator in their sole discretion (the “Judges”) will select the twenty (20) Entrants (the "Finalists") from among all eligible Submissions based on the following criteria (“Judging Criteria”):
- Creativity/Originality
- Informational Content
- Technical Proficiency
- Artistic and Visual Impact
The Judges will determine the first (1st) place through twentieth (20th) place winners based on the Judging Criteria. Separate Honorable Mention and Images of Distinction awards may be awarded in the sole discretion of the Judges. Sponsor and/or Administrator reserves the right to select fewer than twenty (20) Finalists, if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive at least twenty (20) eligible and qualified Submissions.
8. WINNER REQUIREMENTS: Potential winners will be notified by email, mail or phone on or around August 1, 2025 that they have won a Prize in the Competition and that the specific Prize level awarded will be publicly announced on or around October 1, 2025. Each potential winner (or parent/legal guardian if a minor in his/her jurisdiction) will be required to sign and return a Certification of Eligibility, Liability, and Publicity Release and applicable tax forms, which must be received by Administrator within seven (7) days of the date notice or attempted notice is sent, in order to claim the Prize. If a potential winner cannot be contacted, fails to execute and return the Certification of Eligibility, Liability, and Publicity Release and tax forms or provide any other requested information within the required time period, does not comply with these Official Rules, or a Prize is returned as undeliverable, then the potential winner forfeits the Prize. If a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, the Prize may be awarded to a runner-up, if any, in Sponsor and/or Administrator’s sole discretion. Prizes will be fulfilled within eight (8) weeks after the confirmation of the winners. In the event the winning Entrant requests that Sponsor credit additional individuals with respect to the winning Submission in any Competition publicity, such mention may be included, declined, and/or omitted by Sponsor in Sponsor’s sole discretion.
9. PRIZES: There will be twenty (20) winners ranked from first (1st) place through twentieth (20th) place, plus Honorable Mention prizes, and prizes for images of distinction if and as determined by the Judges (collectively, the “Prizes”).
First Prize: Three Thousand U.S. Dollars ($3,000.00)
Second Prize: Two Thousand U.S. Dollars ($2,000.00)
Third Prize: One Thousand U.S. Dollars ($1,000.00)
Fourth Prize: Eight Hundred U.S. Dollars ($800.00)
Fifth Prize: Six Hundred U.S. Dollars ($600.00)
Sixth Prize: Four Hundred U.S. Dollars ($400.00)
Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Prizes: Three Hundred U.S. Dollars ($400.00) each.
Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Prizes: Three Hundred U.S. Dollars ($300.00) each.
Honorable Mentions: Two Hundred U.S. Dollars ($200.00) each. The number of Honorable Mention Prizes will be determined by the Judges in their sole discretion.
Images of Distinction: The number of Images of Distinction Prizes will be determined by the Judges in their sole discretion. Nikon will provide the winner with a Gift Card (defined below) in the amount of Thirty-Five U.S. Dollars ($35.00)
All Prizes will be awarded in the form of a cash gift card preloaded in the amount of the Prize in U.S. Dollars (the “Gift Card”). The Gift Card may subject to additional terms and conditions, which may include an expiration date for use.
Winners are solely responsible for any and/or all taxes, duties, and fees of any kind associated with the receipt and/or use of any and all Prizes. Each Prize shall be awarded in full to the winner who is the registered Entrant. Prizes will not be awarded, split or apportioned between or among multiple individuals.
All Prizes are non-transferable and no substitution will be made except at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a Prize for one of equal or greater value if the designated Prize should become unavailable for any reason. All Prizes are provided “as-is” without any warranties or guarantees whatsoever of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
There is a limit of one (1) Prize per Image submitted to the Competition. Any Entrant who has won the First Prize in any of the three (3) Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competitions immediately preceding this Competition are not eligible to win the First Prize in this Competition, but may win other Prizes.
10. RELEASE: By receipt of any Prize, winners agree to and shall release, indemnify, and hold harmless Sponsor, Administrator, and the other Nikon Parties, and each of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, and agencies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees, and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim, damage, losses, liabilities, causes of action, costs, and expenses (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees) including, but not limited to, illness, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of any breach of these Official Rules, participation in the Competition, receipt or use or misuse of any Prize, and/or claims by any individual(s) associated with the winning Entrant or Submission that they are entitled to all or any portion of a Prize.
11. GENERAL CONDITIONS: Sponsor reserves the right to update, change or modify these Official Rules in its sole discretion without notice. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Competition, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, human error or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Competition, as determined by Sponsor and/or Administrator in their sole discretion. If terminated, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, determine the winners from among all non-suspect, eligible Submissions received up to time of such action using the judging procedure outlined above. Sponsor and/or Administrator, in their sole discretion, reserve the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the Submission process or the operation of the Competition or to be acting in violation of the Official Rules of this or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner and void all associated Submissions. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Competition may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including but not limited to attorneys’ fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
12. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY:Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information by any cause including without limitation, printing, typographical or other errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Submission process or the Competition; (4) printing, typographical, technical, computer, network or human error which may occur in the administration of the Competition, the uploading, the processing or judging of Submissions or votes or the tabulating of votes, the announcement of the Prizes or in any Competition related materials; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, incomplete, invalid, damaged or stolen mail; or (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Competition or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize (including any travel/activity related thereto). Released Parties are not responsible for lost, damages, misdirected, and/or undeliverable Submissions or for any technical problems, malfunctions of computer systems, servers, providers, hardware/software, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission or any combination thereof. Released Parties are not responsible for any unauthorized third party use of any Submission.
13. DISPUTES: Entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Competition or any Prize shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the courts located in Suffolk County, New York, USA; (2) any and all of Entrant’s claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to reasonable and actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Competition, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (3) under no circumstances will Entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and Entrant hereby waives all rights to claim indirect, punitive, incidental, consequential damages, and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All matters, issues, and/or questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the Entrant, Sponsor, and/or Administrator in connection with the Competition, shall be governed by, and construed solely in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, USA, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York.
14. ENTRANT'S PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Neither Sponsor nor Administrator will use the Entrant’s Registration Information or share it with any third parties for any purpose, except as expressly permitted under Section 6 of these Official Rules, and/or to the extent elected by Entrant as described below in this Section 14.
Prior to entering a Submission in the Competition, each Entrant will be requested on the Entry Form to indicate his or her preferences regarding how Sponsor may use Entrant’s name, address, and/or email address to contact Entrant for certain purposes such as (a) to advise the Entrant of future Competitions and/or invite the Entrant to enter such Competitions, and/or (b) to offer and/or send the Entrant a Nikon Small World calendar that includes the Competition’s winning entries. If Entrant does not tick the box next to the applicable type of communication indicating consent to receiving such communication, then Sponsor will not contact Entrant for that purpose. Upon receipt of any communications from Sponsor to which Entrant has previously consented to receiving, the Entrant may “opt out” of receiving future emails by following the link and instructions contained within the email received.
If Entrant is a California, USA consumer, or a USA consumer of any other state that has enacted data privacy legislation pertaining to Entrant’s personal information (collectively, “Privacy Laws”), this is notice under the Privacy Laws that Entrant’s “personal information” (as that term is defined under the Privacy Laws) collected by Nikon for and in connection with the Competition will be used by Nikon for the business purpose of administering and/or fulfilling the Competition, including but not limited to contacting Entrant concerning the Competition and announcing the Competition winner in accordance with these Official Rules. For more information, please visit Nikon’s Privacy Policy available at https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/
15. WINNER LIST: The winners of the Competition will be announced publicly on the Website and various online media outlets on or around October 15, 2025. To request a list of the winners of this Competition, you may send an email to nikonsmallworld.us@nikon.com after October 31, 2025.
Updated Official Rules as of December 2, 2024
F-10066
