Rules & Terms of Participation

1.    Participation in the Program is free of charge.

2.    The Idea must focus on technology entrepreneurship and involve themes defined in the National Smart Specializations, in particular it must be related to the energy, raw materials, health and finance sectors.

3.    Submissions must be entered by no less than two and no more than six natural persons making up a team operating in the form of a Company and starting business within the meaning of § 21 of the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and Development of 10 July 2015 (“Teams Submitting an Entry to the Program”).

4.    Natural persons making up a Team Submitting an Entry to the Program who do not operate in the form of a Company must establish such a Company no later than by the date of signing the Program participation agreement.

5.    Each Team Submitting an Entry to the Program may only submit one entry to the Program. Each Team Submitting an Entry to the Program may enter only one entry in only one track (from among the following tracks: Let’s fintech with PKO Bank Polski!; Health, Energy, Raw Materials, or General), it being understood that the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter has the right to assign a participant to a different track than that suggested by the relevant Team Submitting an Entry to the Program.

6.    At least half of the Participating Team Members must be Polish nationals.

7.    Each of the Participating Team Members must be over 18 (eighteen) years of age.

8.    The Submissions must be the original work solely of the Teams Submitting an Entry to the Program. At the time of making a Submission, the Team Submitting an Entry to the Program must hold all the rights, titles and/or interests in the Idea and the business plan to be performed as part of the Program, and must not violate any contract or third-party rights, including but not limited to any patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark, publicity or privacy right, or disclose any proprietary or confidential information of another person or entity in violation of applicable law. Prior to making a Submission, the Team Submitting an Entry to the Program must take all the necessary steps to ensure adequate protection of all intellectual property rights defined in the Submission. 

9.    The signatory Company must be vested with all the rights and bound by all the obligations referred to in Section 8 of the Rules by the time of signing the Program participation agreement.

10.    The Participant must hold relevant rights to use the intellectual property in connection and/or for the purpose of the implementation of the Idea. Such property rights shall have been validly and effectively acquired by the Participant and may not be encumbered with third-party rights.

11.    In case of any doubt about the legal status of a Participating Team, Participating Team Member, third-party intellectual property, or any other aspect of a Submission, the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter may require that the Participating Team seek independent legal counsel. The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter does not provide any legal advice.

12.    The Participating Teams shall disclose any forms of funding received by the date of the Submission, in particular any funding related to participation in another acceleration program implemented as part of the Program or received in connection with the Idea. In the case of any doubts concerning the status of the funding and, accordingly, the eligibility of the Participating Team for the Program, the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter will deliberate on such eligibility and communicate its decision to the Participating Team.

13.    Participating Teams must not have accepted any Institutional Funding in excess of PLN 2,000,000 for their Idea.

14.    Participating Teams may have accepted Non-Institutional Funding for their Idea provided that this will not affect their eligibility for the Program in accordance with the Project requirements.

15.    Submissions must be submitted online within the stipulated dates. No late entries will be accepted.

16.    A Team Submitting an Entry to the Program selected as one of the best teams in the Program based on its Submission will enter into a Program participation agreement with the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter. If any of the Teams Submitting an Entry to the Program refuses to enter into a Program participation agreement in the wording proposed by the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter, the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter may deny its participation in the Program.

17.    If the Participating Team has already launched any operations in connection with its Idea, such operations should be developed in Poland so as not prevent the Participating Team from expanding their operations outside Poland

18.    Only 2 (two) Participating Team Members per each Participant may participate in the Workshops, including the MIT Workshops if the Participating Team is selected by the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter. The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter may require that those Participating Team Members conclude separate agreements regulating the terms and conditions of their participation in the Workshops (including, but not limited to, confidentiality agreements).

19.    A Participating Team shall be responsible for any costs related to their participation in the Workshops, including travel and accommodation costs, unless the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter grants financial support for this purpose to the Participating Team subject to the rules applicable to the Program.

20.    The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter reserves the right to disqualify at any time any Submission that in its judgment violates the letter or spirit of the guidelines, terms, processes or rules of the Program or Project. Any violation of these rules will disqualify a Participating Team from the Program and result in forfeiture of any Program benefit awarded to the Participating Team.

21.    Any Participating Team or Participating Team Member engaging in immoral activities, including lying, cheating or any activity that may adversely affect the image of the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter or the Program, will be disqualified from the Program at the discretion of the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter.

22.    Participating Teams will comply with all applicable domestic and EU laws. Participating Teams will comply with the terms of the Project defined in the Program Documentation for the Project.

23.    The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter reserves the right to share (publish) any content included in a Submission (including the identities of the Participating Team Members and the written description of the Idea) for any Program or publicity related purpose and will not be considered confidential.

24.    The Participating Team Members agree to the use of his or her image in the marketing and/or information materials concerning and connected with the Program. The Participating Team Members agree that pitch videos concerning their respective projects may be uploaded to the MIT Enterprise Forum Global Video Portal.

25.    By accepting the Submission of a given Participating Team for the Program and/or by selecting the Idea of a given Participant as one of the top ideas in the Program, the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter and/or any person related to the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter shall be under no obligation to perform any services and/or undertake any actions for the benefit of any of the Participating Teams or the Participating Team Members, unless specified otherwise in the respective agreements entered into between the Participating Teams and the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter. None of the Participating Teams or the Participating Team Members shall have any claim and will not raise any claims towards the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter or any person or entity involved in the Program on any basis, including on the basis of participation in the Program, and he or she waives any claims that he or she may have. In particular, the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter is not responsible in any way for agreements between Participating Teams or Participating Team Members and third parties.

26.    Neither the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter, nor any person involved in the Program on the side of the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter, the MIT Enterprise Forum or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shall bear liability for any damage incurred by the Participating Teams or Participating Team Members in connection with their participation in the Program.

27.    Materials submitted to the Program become the property of the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter and will not be returned to the Participating Team.

28.    Participating Teams and Participating Team Members agree that they will not use the name Massachusetts Institute of Technology or the MIT Enterprise Forum or any variation, adaptation, or abbreviation thereof, or of any of its departments, trustees, officers, faculty, students, employees, or agents, or any trademark or logo owned by MIT or MIT Enterprise Forum in any advertising or publicity without the written permission of the MIT Technology Licensing Office for MIT or of the MIT Enterprise Forum.

29.    All Participating Teams agree to participate in media and press opportunities related to the Program. These opportunities include, but are not limited to:
a)    all Participating Teams may be asked to provide a short written description of their Idea that will be made available to media and may be released publicly, either in part or in its entirety;
b)    all Participating Teams may be asked to speak to the media for any Program related interviews when requested by the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter;
c)    all Participating Teams may be asked to provide quotes and/or content for any Program related press releases.

 Participating in media and press opportunities in no way requires Participating Teams to disclose any proprietary or otherwise confidential information related to their businesses. The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter agrees to provide consultation to any team, upon request, to avoid such disclosures while participating in press related opportunities.

30.    The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter reserves the right to annul, postpone, cancel or amend the Program for any reasons whatsoever without prior notification to the Participating Teams. The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter bears no responsibility whatsoever for any such annulment, postponement, cancellation or amendment. The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter shall promptly notify the Participating Teams of any such annulment, postponement, cancellation or amendment.

31.    The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter bears no responsibility in the event of the interruption, postponement, cancellation or annulment of the Program due to external factors (in particular related to a change in the principles, method of implementation and assignment of the Project) or force majeure (indicatively due to natural disasters, strikes, war, acts of terrorism or threats of terrorism, accidents, fires, floods or other natural disasters or civil unrest, etc.) which make it extremely difficult or impossible to hold the Program and that the abovementioned events lay beyond the scope of control and therefore the responsibility of the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter and the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter is relieved pro rata and without penalty from its reciprocal obligations from the Program.

32.    After the end of the round of the Program in which the Participating Team has taken part, any obligation of the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter ceases to exist. The Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter shall neither have, nor undertake any obligation with regard to any of the Participating Teams or the Participating Team Members.

33.    The obligations of Participating Teams and Participating Team Members shall survive the completion of the Program to the extent that the Program participation agreement, Polish or EU legislation or the terms of the Project so provide.

34.    Each of the Participating Team Members gives his or her consent that the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter may process and keep his or her personal data in accordance with the Act on Personal Data Protection dated 29 August 1997 for any purposes related to the Program and/or for any marketing and information purposes, including in particular by way of collecting and storing such data in the database of the Participating Team Members, and/or sending correspondence by post or via email.

35.    Any decisions of the Local MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Chapter are final.

36.    The Terms of Participation and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Poland.

37.    The Polish courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from or related to the Program.

38.    The Terms of Participation have been drafted in Polish and English. In case of any discrepancies between the two language versions, the Polish version will prevail.

DEFINITIONS: