Terms & Conditions

HACKATHON HAARLEM — TERMS & CONDITIONS
Organizer: Digilize Agency B.V., Nassaulaan 68a, Haarlem, 2011 PE, Netherlands
KvK: 96975903 | VAT: NL867857572B01
Co-organizer: The Social Club (Curiosity Connects)
Event: Hackathon Haarlem, 6 June 2026, De Koepel, SRH Haarlem
Last updated: April 2026

1. Definitions

1.1 Organizer. These Terms are concluded between each Participant and Digilize Agency B.V., Nassaulaan 68a, 2011 PE Haarlem, Netherlands ('Organizer'). The Social Club (Curiosity Connects) acts as co-organizer of the Event. References in these Terms to protections or rights of the Organizer also extend to its co-organizer, staff, contractors, volunteers, judges, mentors, and venue personnel acting in connection with the Event.

1.2 Participant refers to any individual who registers for and/or attends Hackathon Haarlem.

1.3 Team refers to a group of up to four Participants competing together.

1.4 Submission refers to any code, application, prototype, design, presentation, documentation, or other work created or presented during the event.

1.5 Event refers to Hackathon Haarlem taking place on 6 June 2026.

1.6 Background IP means any code, models, prompts, data, designs, documents, know-how, software, or other intellectual property owned or controlled by a Participant before the Event or developed independently of the Event.

1.7 Challenge Provider means a sponsor or partner identified by the Organizer in the official Event materials as providing a specific challenge brief.

1.8 Lead Partner means a principal sponsor of the Event, identified as such in the official Event materials. Where a Lead Partner provides a challenge, they are also considered a Challenge Provider under these Terms.

1.9 Supporting Partner means a sponsor providing financial, technical, or in-kind support for the Event without providing a specific challenge brief.

1.10 Challenge Submission means a Submission entered into a specific Challenge Provider challenge.

1.11 Challenge Field means the business field expressly described in the relevant challenge brief as published by the Organizer before registrations close.

1.12 Winning Challenge Submission means the Submission selected by the judges as winner of a specific Challenge Provider challenge.

2. Participation & Eligibility

2.1 Age Requirement. Participation is open to individuals aged 16 or over. A Participant under 18 may register, attend, submit a project, accept a prize, and grant any rights under Sections 5 and 7 only with prior written consent from their legal representative. The Organizer may request proof of identity and legal authority before confirming registration or releasing any prize.

2.2 Registration Process. Registration is complete only upon confirmation by the Organizer. The Organizer reserves the right to refuse or cancel registrations at its sole discretion, including in cases of capacity limits, code of conduct violations, or incomplete information.

2.3 Attendance. Participants must attend in person. Registration is non-transferable.

2.4 Agreement. By registering for, attending, or otherwise participating in the Event, each Participant confirms they have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms & Conditions in their entirety.

3. Entry Fee & Payments

3.1 Fees. The entry fee is the exact amount shown on the official registration page at the time of checkout. Unless stated otherwise, that amount includes VAT and the standard food and beverage package stated on the registration page.

3.2 Refund Policy. Entry fees are non-refundable unless the Event is cancelled by the Organizer.

3.3 Cancellation. In the event of cancellation by the Organizer, Participants will be refunded the full entry fee. The Organizer's liability is limited to this refund and does not extend to further compensation including travel or accommodation costs.

4. Code of Conduct

4.1 Standard of Conduct. Participants agree to conduct themselves professionally and respectfully at all times during the Event.

4.2 Disqualification. The following behavior will result in immediate disqualification and removal from the venue without refund:

• Harassment, discrimination, or intimidation of any kind
• Deliberate sabotage of other Teams
• Violation of applicable law
• Any form of cheating as defined in clause 10

4.3 Finality. The Organizer's decision on code of conduct matters is final and binding.

5. Intellectual Property & License Grant

5.1 Ownership. Participants retain ownership of their Background IP and of their Submissions. These Terms do not transfer ownership of any Submission to the Organizer, any Challenge Provider, or any third party.

5.2 Team authority. Each Team member accepts these Terms individually and grants rights only for the materials that member contributes. No Team member may accept a sponsor prize or grant exclusive, optional, or expanded rights on behalf of another Team member unless that other Team member separately agrees in writing.

5.3 Organizer license. By submitting a project, each Participant grants Digilize Agency B.V. and The Social Club a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to host, copy, store, review, test, judge, record, display, distribute, and communicate the Submission solely for Event administration, judging, anti-cheating verification, archiving, portfolio use, press, publicity, and promotion of this Event and future editions.

5.4 Limits on Organizer use. The Organizer license in clause 5.3 does not permit the Organizer to sell, license, or commercialize a Submission as a standalone product or service, and does not permit the Organizer to reuse participant source code in client work, except under a separate written agreement with the relevant Participants.

5.5 Non-confidentiality. Unless the Organizer states otherwise in writing before submission, Submissions are non-confidential and may be shared with judges, mentors, technical reviewers, and the relevant Challenge Provider for the purposes set out in these Terms.

5.6 Mandatory submission package for sponsor challenges. As a condition of eligibility for a Challenge Provider prize, each Team entering that Challenge Provider's brief must submit, no later than the submission deadline: (a) a live demo or demo video; (b) a presentation deck; (c) build and run instructions; (d) a dependency and open-source notice list; and (e) either a read-only repository link or a source-code archive in a standard format, if required by the relevant challenge brief. The Team grants the Organizer and the relevant Challenge Provider the right to retain one archival copy of that package for evidentiary, audit, judging, dispute-resolution, and license-compliance purposes.

5.7 Challenge Provider evaluation license. Any license granted to a Challenge Provider applies only to those parts of a Challenge Submission that the relevant Team members own or are authorized to license, and always subject to any Background IP restrictions, third-party rights, and open-source license terms. Subject to that limitation, each Team member grants the relevant Challenge Provider an indefinite, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to access, host, copy, run, test, analyze, and internally modify the Challenge Submission solely for internal evaluation, internal research and development, internal proof-of-concept work, and internal decision-making within the Challenge Field.

5.8 Limits on Challenge Provider evaluation license. Unless separately agreed in writing with the relevant Participants, the license in clause 5.7 does not permit a Challenge Provider to: (a) sell, license, sublicense, distribute, or otherwise commercialize the Submission; (b) deploy it to paying customers; (c) publish or release the source code publicly; or (d) transfer the Submission to unrelated third parties, except professional advisers or contractors bound by written confidentiality obligations for the permitted internal-use purposes.

5.9 Winner enhanced rights. Clauses 5.9 and 5.11 take effect only if all members of the winning Team sign a written winner addendum within five (5) business days after the award announcement. Until that addendum is signed, only clause 5.7 applies. Once signed, the relevant Challenge Provider receives, for six (6) months from the award announcement, an exclusive, royalty-free license within the Challenge Field to privately pilot the Winning Challenge Submission with up to three named pilot customers or implementation partners, each under written confidentiality obligations.

5.10 Commercial rollout. Any external commercial rollout by a Challenge Provider beyond the private pilot rights in clause 5.9, including public launch, sale, sublicensing, or deployment to paying customers, requires a separate written agreement with the relevant Participants.

5.11 Option to expand rights. If the winner addendum is signed, the relevant Challenge Provider also receives an exclusive option for six (6) months from the award announcement to negotiate the purchase or broader commercial licensing of the participant-owned intellectual property embodied in the Winning Challenge Submission. The option does not create an obligation on any party to conclude a final agreement and does not include Background IP unless expressly stated in a later written agreement.

5.12 Background IP and open source. Any Background IP, third-party materials, and open-source components remain subject to their original ownership and license terms. Participants must identify all material third-party and open-source components used in the Submission and may not grant rights they do not have authority to grant.

5.13 Attribution. The Organizer, Lead Partners, and each Challenge Provider will make reasonable efforts to credit the Team when publicly showcasing a Submission.

5.14 Minors. Where a Participant is under 18, the written consent required under clause 2.1 must expressly approve the rights and licenses granted in this Section 5.

6. Prizes & Judging

6.1 Eligibility for Prizes. Prize details will be communicated prior to the Event. The Organizer reserves the right to modify prizes at any time prior to the Event.

6.2 Judging Scrutiny. Judging decisions — whether by jury, audience vote, or a combination thereof — are final and binding. No correspondence will be entered into regarding judging outcomes.

6.3 Team Awards. Prizes are awarded to the winning Team as a whole. Distribution of prizes among Team members is the sole responsibility of the Team.

6.4 Documentation. Prize winners may be required to provide identification and complete additional documentation before prizes are released.

6.5 Clawback. The Organizer reserves the right to withhold or reclaim any prize if it is subsequently determined that the winning Team violated these Terms, including through cheating as defined in clause 10.

7. Photography, Video & Content

7.1 Media Rights. The Organizer may photograph and film the Event for use in marketing, social media, press materials, and event documentation.

7.2 NIL Rights. By participating, Participants grant the Organizer the right to use their likeness, name, and Team name in such materials without further compensation.

7.3 Opt-out. Participants who object to being photographed or filmed must notify the Organizer in writing prior to the Event. The Organizer will make reasonable efforts to accommodate such requests.

8. Privacy & Data Processing (AVG/GDPR)

8.1 Controller. For registration, participant communications, event administration, judging, anti-cheating verification, prize administration, and related event operations, Digilize Agency B.V., Nassaulaan 68a, 2011 PE Haarlem, Netherlands, email: ai-hackathon@digilize.agency, is the data controller.

8.2 Purposes and legal bases. The Organizer processes personal data for registration and attendance management, team formation, judging, anti-cheating verification, prize administration, safety and logistics, event archiving, publicity, and, where separately consented to, future event marketing.

8.3 Recipients. Personal data may be shared with the co-organizer, judges, mentors, technical reviewers, Lead Partners, Supporting Partners, relevant Challenge Providers, venue partners, ticketing/payment providers, IT hosting providers, professional advisers, and public authorities where legally required.

8.4 Retention. The Organizer will state the retention period for each main data category, or the criteria used to determine that period, in the Event privacy notice made available during registration.

8.5 Rights. Participants have the right to request access, rectification, erasure, restriction, and objection, and, where applicable, portability; where processing is based on consent, Participants may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting prior lawful processing; Participants also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.

8.6 Required data. The Organizer will indicate which personal data is required to register or administer prizes and the consequences of not providing that data.

8.7 Transfers and automated decisions. The Organizer will state in the Event privacy notice whether any personal data is transferred outside the EEA and whether any automated decision-making is used; if none is used, the notice will say so.

8.8 Accessibility and health information. If a Participant voluntarily provides accessibility or medical information needed for attendance support, the Organizer will use only the minimum information necessary for that purpose and limit access to staff who need it.

9. Liability & Personal Safety

9.1 Compliance with instructions. Participants must follow all venue, safety, technical, and Organizer instructions during the Event.

9.2 Mandatory law. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability to the extent such exclusion or limitation is not permitted under mandatory law.

9.3 Limitation. Subject to clause 9.2, the Organizer is not liable for loss, theft, damage to personal property, delay, disappointment, or indirect or consequential loss, except to the extent caused by the Organizer's intent or deliberate recklessness, or otherwise where liability cannot lawfully be excluded.

9.4 Aggregate liability. Subject to clause 9.2, the Organizer's aggregate liability for direct loss arising out of or in connection with the Event is limited to the amount of the entry fee paid by the Participant.

9.5 Co-organizer. Any exclusion or limitation in this Section also applies to the Organizer's co-organizer, staff, volunteers, contractors, judges, mentors, and venue personnel acting in connection with the Event.

9.6 Force Majeure. In the event of force majeure, the Organizer may cancel, postpone, or reasonably modify the Event. If the Event is cancelled before it starts, the Participant will receive a refund of the entry fee.

10. Cheating & Fair Play

10.1 Integrity. The integrity of the competition is fundamental to the Event. The following constitute cheating and will result in immediate disqualification:

• Submitting code, designs, or other work that was substantially created before the Event began, unless explicitly permitted by the challenge brief
• Presenting work created by individuals outside the registered Team without disclosure
• Gaining unauthorized access to another Team's work, systems, or materials
• Using AI-generated code or content without disclosure where the challenge brief explicitly prohibits it
• Any misrepresentation of the Submission's origin, authorship, or functionality during judging
• Collusion between Teams to manipulate judging outcomes

10.2 Audit Rights. The Organizer reserves the right to request access to version control history, commit logs, or other evidence of build process at any time during or after the Event to verify the authenticity of a Submission.

10.3 Retroactive Action. Disqualification may occur during or after the Event, including after prizes have been awarded. In such cases, prizes must be returned to the Organizer within 14 days of written notification.

10.4 Final Determination. The Organizer's determination of cheating is final and binding. No appeals process is available.

11. Amendments

11.1 The Organizer may amend these Terms before the Event only where reasonably necessary for legal compliance, safety, security, or operational reasons. Registered Participants will be notified by email of any material change. If a material change adversely affects a Participant before the Event starts, that Participant may cancel registration and receive a refund of the entry fee.

12. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

12.1 Law. These Terms & Conditions are governed exclusively by Dutch law (Nederlands recht).

12.2 Jurisdiction. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Event shall be submitted to the competent court in Noord-Holland, Netherlands, unless mandatory law gives the Participant the right to bring the claim before another competent court.

13. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, it shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.