Terms of Use

Build for Good Terms and Conditions

These are the terms and conditions (“Terms and Conditions”) governing participation in Build for Good, which is organised by the Government Technology Agency (“GovTech”). The objective of the Competition (defined below) is to empower citizens to build solutions to tackle problems faced by everyday Singaporeans.

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before participating in this Competition, as they will form a legally binding agreement between GovTech and you. If you or any member of your team does not accept these Terms and Conditions, you and/or your team will be disqualified and will not be eligible to participate in this Competition. By registering for and participating in this Competition, you and all members of your team confirm that you have read, understood, fully agree to and unconditionally abide by these Terms and Conditions.

In these Terms and Conditions, “GovTech”, “we”, “our”, and “us” refer to GovTech (defined below) and “you”, “your” or “yourself” refers to you as a participant of and/or applicant for registration for the Competition.

1. Definitions

1.1 The following terms shall have the meanings ascribed below:

1.1.1. “Competition” means the Build for Good Competition event and competition organised by GovTech with its competition website at the following URL: build.gov.sg (“Website”), and all activities associated therewith;

1.1.2. “GovTech” means Government Technology Agency, a statutory board constituted under the Government Technology Agency Act 2016;

1.1.3. “GovTech Entities” means GovTech, the Government of Singapore (including its departments, ministries and organs of state) and all its statutory boards and agencies collectively;

1.1.4. “IP” means all (a) copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and all other intellectual property rights or proprietary rights, (b) processes, methodologies, procedures, and trade secrets, (c) software, tools, scripts and machine-readable texts and files, and (d) literary work or other work of authorship, including documentation, reports, drawings, charts, graphics and other written documentation;

1.1.5. “Organising Committee” means GovTech’s representatives and personnel tasked with administering and managing the Competition;

1.1.6. “Party” means you or GovTech, and “Parties” means you and GovTech collectively;

1.1.7. “Participants” means all persons of the registered teams individually and collectively, that are participating in the Competition. “Participant” means each of the Participants;

1.1.8. “Platform” means the computer systems and services providing the computer processes and environment for the Competition;

1.1.9. “Rules” mean the rules, regulations and decisions prescribed by GovTech for the Competition, including these terms and conditions set out herein and those set out at the following URL: build.gov.sg. The Rules shall be deemed to be part of these Terms and Conditions.

1.2. Reference to “Clauses” or “Clause” shall refer to the clauses or clause of these Terms and Conditions and shall include all sub-clauses of the respective clauses being referred to.

2. Eligibility

2.1. This Competition is open to individuals living, working and/or studying in Singapore aged 18 years old and above at the time of registration which have received an invitation from GovTech to apply for registration for the Competition.

2.2 Employees and vendors of GovTech and their family members are not eligible to participate in the Competition.

3. Team Participation

3.1. You may register to participate in this Competition individually or as a team of up to 5 members. If you are participating with a team, references to “you” in these Terms shall be a reference to “you” and your team. You shall ensure each of your team members complies with these Terms. Any breach of these Terms by you or any of your team members may disqualify you and your team from participating in this Competition. Any withdrawal from the Competition shall only be permitted for valid reasons and/or unforeseen circumstances, and shall be subject to GovTech’s prior written approval.

3.2. When exercising its rights of disqualification, GovTech may at its sole and absolute discretion determine whether to disqualify you, one or more members of your team or your entire team. If certain member(s) of your team withdraw or are disqualified, the remaining member(s) may continue participating in this Competition without the disqualified member(s), and without the right to replace any disqualified member(s). The remaining member(s) may also elect to withdraw from the Hackathon. You agree that GovTech shall not be liable for any losses or damages you may suffer, arising out of any such changes or discontinuation.

3.3. Each individual can be a member of only one team in the Competition.

4. Compliance

4.1. By participating in the Competition, you are deemed to have agreed to and shall always fully comply with the Rules prescribed by GovTech and as may be modified, added to or updated by GovTech from time to time. All decisions made by GovTech in relation to the Competition, including the award or non-award of prizes and other benefits, shall be in the sole and absolute discretion of GovTech and shall be final and binding on all Participants.

5. Registration

5.1. You are required to register for this Competition by completing the registration process on the Website. By submitting your information, you warrant that all information provided by you during the registration process and your participation in this Competition, are accurate and complete. If you are participating as a team, each team member shall also register for this Competition by completing the registration process.

5.2. Registration for this Competition closes on 15 May 2023, 2359h (Singapore Time) (“Closing Date”). GovTech reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion to disqualify any late registrations. Except with the prior written consent of GovTech, no amendments shall be made to any registrations (including the composition of any team) after the Closing Date. GovTech is not responsible or liable in any manner whatsoever for any delay or failure to register resulting from issues arising from any internet service providers or your equipment.

5.3. The Competition commences on 3 June 2023 and ends on 1 July 2023 (both days inclusive).

6. Materials Submitted

6.1. All IP, computer code, programs, software, documents, solutions or materials submitted by or introduced by you for or pursuant to the Competition (“Submissions”) shall not contain any confidential or proprietary information of any party without that party’s prior permission and consent, and shall not infringe the IP rights of any third party. You warrant and represent that you have the requisite right and license to submit these Submissions to GovTech for purposes of the Competition. Additionally, without prejudice to the foregoing, you warrant and represent that your Submissions shall not contain any malicious code, illegal, infringing or undesirable content or materials.

6.2. All Competition entries and any accompanying material submitted to the GovTech shall become the property of GovTech on receipt and shall not be returned.

6.3. All Competition entries must not contain any offensive, obscene, indecent, inappropriate, hateful, threatening, malicious, corrupt, defamatory or libellous expressions.

6.4. You warrant and represent that your Submissions are your original works and that your Submissions have not been entered into any other competition (including other hackathons) or considered for any grant or award. You are permitted to use open source materials (“Open Source Materials”), provided that you comply fully with all applicable terms and conditions of the Open Source Materials and have the requisite rights and permission to use the Open Source Materials in your Submissions and the Competition.

7. Prohibited Acts

7.1. You shall not do any of the following:

7.1.1. Illegal, immoral or unethical activities or behaviour of any kind;

7.1.2. Any form of collusion, cheating, coercion, or intimidation; and

7.1.3. Any acts of sabotage, tampering, misuse, or attacks.

Any violations related to the above may result in immediate disqualification.

7.2. Should you have any doubt or concerns over whether any particular course of conduct or action intended by them in the Competition is appropriate or otherwise, you may seek clarification from the Organising Committee.

8. Confidentiality

8.1. Any document, material or information which GovTech discloses to you that is marked as “Confidential” or with other similar indicia are to be kept confidential by you and shall not be disclosed by you to any third parties (including any other Participant) without the prior written consent of GovTech. You shall not use the Confidential Information for purposes other than to participate or compete in the Competition.

8.2. Confidential Information shall not include information that is in the public domain through no fault of or breach by you, and shall not include information already rightfully known by you without obligations of confidentiality prior to its disclosure to you by GovTech.

8.3. You hereby acknowledge and agree that Confidential Information provided in relation to this Competition (by GovTech or otherwise) may include official information and that your attention has been drawn to the Official Secrets Act 1935 of Singapore (the “OSA”) and in particular section 5 of the OSA which relates to the safeguarding of official information.

9.1. You understand and acknowledge that GovTech and its agents may in their sole and absolute discretion, monitor all activities and processes of the Participants on the Platform or environment, and may intercept or otherwise terminate any activity or process, if GovTech is of the opinion that such action is necessary for the security and integrity of the Competition.

10. Intellectual Property

10.1. Except as provided for otherwise in this Clause 10, nothing in this Clause 10 shall affect the ownership or the right to license IP of any Party.

10.2. You will retain ownership over any IP (including your Submission) developed, created or generated by you prior to and during the course of the Competition. In consideration of your participation in the Competition, you shall grant to the GovTech Entities, a non-exclusive, transferrable, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free right and licence to use, modify, reproduce, distribute, publish, publicly perform, sublicense, and create derivative works (or have others exercise such right and licence on their behalf) of all IP in any Submission (including copyright in any source or object codes), whether or not for the relevant GovTech Entity’s business or operational purposes, and including the right to sub-license such IP or derivative works. For the avoidance of doubt, the ownership of all IP comprised in any derivative works created by or for the relevant GovTech Entity shall vest solely in the relevant GovTech Entity.

10.3. You shall only use any computer program, code or application released by GovTech for the Competition (referred to as “GovTech Code”) to the Participants for the Competition and lawful purposes only. GovTech retains all rights and title to such GovTech Code.

10.4. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, you shall irrevocably and unconditionally waive, and shall cause to be irrevocably and unconditionally waived, all existing and future moral rights (including the right of identification) to the Submissions wherever in the world. Such waiver shall (a) survive the termination of these Terms and Conditions however caused and (b) extend to the GovTech Entities and their licensees, assigns and successors-in-title.

11. Disclaimer of Liability

11.1. By registering for and/or participating in the Competition, you hereby agree to assume all risks and waive all rights to claim against any of the GovTech Entities. To the extent permitted by law, the GovTech Entities shall have no liability or responsibility whatsoever under contract, tort or any other causes of action, for any direct or indirect losses or damages which you may suffer or incur arising out of or in connection with the Competition, including any loss of property, reputation, revenue, expectations of gain or profit, loss of or corruption to data, damage to computer systems, and/or loss of confidentiality of information, all of which the GovTech Entities hereby expressly disclaim any liability or responsibility for. In particular, due to the nature of the Competition and its environment, you shall have the sole responsibility to protect your own computer systems against harm, damage, loss, threats, attacks and malicious activity of any kind and nature, whether intentional or otherwise, and the GovTech Entities shall have no liability or responsibility whatsoever to you, arising from any such harm, damage, loss, threats, attacks and malicious activity however arising. The aforesaid disclaimers of liability shall apply regardless of whether the GovTech Entities have knowledge of the possibility of such losses or damages so disclaimed or otherwise, and regardless that these losses and damages are foreseeable, or otherwise.

11.2. The Competition, Platform, services, computer program, code, application and materials provided by GovTech are without any warranty and/or guarantee of any nature, whether express or implied, and are provided on an as “as-is” and “with all faults” basis. Any warranty of merchantability, fitness of purpose, uninterrupted use, warranty, non-infringement and absence of defects or faults are hereby expressly disclaimed. The above exemptions, liabilities and disclaimers shall apply to the maximum permitted by law.

11.3. Your participation in this Competition shall be at your own risk and expense, and you shall (a) bear your own costs and expenses incurred in connection with the Competition, and (b) be solely responsible for providing all hardware, software and other relevant equipment.

11.4. GovTech reserves the right at its sole and absolute discretion at any time to postpone, cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition without the need to assign any reason. GovTech further reserves the right at its sole and absolute discretion to disqualify any Participant which GovTech deems to have been guilty of fraudulent, dishonest or other wrongful conduct, or any other conduct that GovTech deems injurious or potentially injurious to the reputation of GovTech or GovTech Entities (including without limitation any conduct that threatens the integrity or fairness of the Competition), without the need to give any prior notice. GovTech shall have no liability or responsibility to any Participant affected by the aforesaid actions.

12. Warranty, Indemnity

12.1. By registering for and/or participating in this Competition, you represent, undertake and warrant that: (a) you have the requisite rights, licenses and approvals necessary to grant the rights and waivers in Clause 10 to the GovTech Entities; (b) your Submission will not infringe upon any third party IP or proprietary rights (including confidential information or trade secrets); (c) your Submission will not incorporate or be developed with any equipment, software or tools that would prevent or prohibit the GovTech Entities from exercising the rights expressly stated in the manner described in Clause 10 above; and (d) the GovTech Entities will not be required to seek the consent of a third party to exercise the rights described in Clause 10 above.

12.2. You shall defend, indemnify and keep indemnified the GovTech Entities at all times from and against all liabilities, claims, actions, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by all or any of the GovTech Entities resulting from: (1) any breach of the Rules and/or these Terms and Conditions by you; (2) any claims and actions alleging that your Submissions infringe the IP of any third party; (3) any harm or damage caused by you to any third party; and/or (4) any fraudulent or wilful representation or conduct of you.

13. Limitation of Liability

13.1. Without prejudice and in addition to the GovTech Entities’ other rights, the GovTech Entities shall not be liable to you in any way, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any and all losses, damage or liabilities caused or arising (1) from any breach, failure or default to perform any of its obligations (whether arising under these terms or at law), or (2) in relation or connection with this Competition, including but not limited to your registration and participation in this Competition.

14. Experts and Judges

14.1. Experts: GovTech may appoint experts to assist you with participating in this Competition. You may accept the expert’s assistance at your own discretion and risk. GovTech shall not be in any way responsible for any acts or omissions of the experts.

14.2. Judges: Submissions will be judged by the panel of judges appointed by GovTech. The judges will, in their sole and absolute discretion, select and rank the winning Submissions, Participants and/or teams. All decisions by the judges are final and not subject to review, appeal or reconsideration.

15. Awards and other benefits

15.1. All awards and other benefits, including any awards available and the eligibility criteria to receive any awards, are determined by GovTech at its sole and absolute discretion. GovTech reserves the right at any time to change, substitute and/or forfeit the award(s) available and/or eligibility criteria to receive any awards. Awards cannot be transferred or substituted by any recipient and/or exchanged for any cash or other awards. If any Participant and/or team does not accept any award, GovTech may at its sole and absolute discretion, forfeit the award entirely and/or select an alternate recipient to receive the award.

15.2. By registering for and/or participating in this Competition, you or any member of your team confirm that by accepting any award, you agree to participate in any marketing, promotion, publicity and/or other key events relating to the Competition. Further details on the awards and/or other key events can be found on the Website.

15.3. Participants identified by GovTech at GovTech’s sole and absolute discretion will be given the opportunity to sign on as OGP volunteers and receive sponsorship of $10,000 each for up to 3 winning teams (“Opportunity”). If the said Participant decides to proceed with the Opportunity, the Participant shall be subject to such additional terms and conditions as GovTech may impose, and shall execute such documents and/or agreements with GovTech and/or third parties that may be required to facilitate the Opportunity.

16. Personal Data

16.1. GovTech may be required to collect your personal data during the course of your registration and/or participation in this Competition. By registering for this Competition, you consent to GovTech’s use of your personal data in connection with the Competition, including for the publication of your photos or recordings on such media platforms that GovTech may from time to time determine for the purposes of promoting or reporting on this Competition. Please refer to our Privacy Statement here at https://build.gov.sg/privacy/ for more details. The Privacy Statement shall be deemed part of these Terms and Conditions.

17. General

17.1. Disputes: These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Singapore. The Parties irrevocably agree that the courts of Singapore shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle and adjudicate any dispute, claim, question or disagreement (“Disputes”) arising out of the Competition. The Parties irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of courts of Republic of Singapore. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, GovTech may at any time refer any Dispute to be finally resolved by arbitration in Singapore in the English language by a sole arbitrator in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) for the time being in force which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Clause. The seat of the arbitration shall be Singapore. The arbitrator shall be agreed upon between the Parties, or on failure to agree within thirty (30) days of a written proposal by one Party to the other Party, to be appointed by the SIAC acting in accordance with the SIAC Rules. This arbitration agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Singapore.

17.2. Survival: Any provision of these Terms and Conditions Contract that expressly or by implication is intended survive or to come into or continue in force on or after termination or expiry of the Competition including Clauses 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 17 shall so survive or come into force.

17.3. Severability: In the event that any of these Terms and Conditions is determined to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, such provision or part of it shall, to the extent it is illegal, invalid or unenforceable, be deemed not to form part of the Terms and Conditions but, to the extent permissible, such illegal, invalid or unenforceable terms shall be deemed to have been replaced by terms that are (a) valid and enforceable and (b) express the intention or produce the result closest to the original intention of the invalid or unenforceable terms. The legality, validity and enforceability of the remainder of the Terms and Conditions shall not be affected.

17.4. Waiver: Any waiver given by GovTech must be in writing and signed by an authorised representative GovTech. No omission, delay or failure by GovTech to enforce any right or remedy shall be deemed to be a waiver or variation of such right or remedy. No waiver by GovTech of any right or breach by you shall be deemed to be a waiver of any other right or any subsequent breach by you.

17.5. Rights of Third Parties: Save for the GovTech Entities, a person who is not a party to the contract comprising these Terms and Conditions shall have no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act to enforce any provision of these Terms and Conditions. GovTech Entities may enforce and rely on Clauses 10, 11, 12, 13 and 17 in their own names. Variation or rescission of these Terms and Conditions shall not require the consent of any third party.

17.6. Updates: GovTech reserves the right to amend or add to these Terms and Conditions and the Rules from time to time by publication of the same on the Competition website, which amended or additional Terms and Conditions and Rules shall continue to bind all Participations. You are advised to be kept updated on such amendments and additions by visiting the Website.

17.7. Order of Precedence: In the event of any conflict, inconsistency or ambiguity between or in any one or more terms in these Terms and Conditions (including, without limitation, the Rules and Privacy Statement), such conflict, inconsistency or ambiguity shall be resolved in favour of GovTech and the provision or interpretation which is more favourable to GovTech shall prevail. Notwithstanding any other term, GovTech has the sole and absolute discretion to determine which term or interpretation is more favourable to it and such decision shall be binding on you.