1. Teams We encourage teams of 2 to 5 people. Participants may participate remotely, but at least one team member must be present to submit solutions to challenges.

2. Fresh Code To ensure a level field for all contestants, everyone must start coding at the same time—9am local time on October 24, 2015. Before this time, you are free to work on your design, logo, wireframes, idea validation, make digital mockups, etc., but no coding can be done beforehand. The exception to this rule would include material that is freely available to the public. Some examples of this would be: public domain images, creative commons music, and open source libraries.

3. Build on Technology Designated in Sponsor Challenge (if designated) Teams will build on the technology of the sponsors for the particular challenge participants accept.

4. It’s Okay to Hack! Use APIs, Services, and Open Source Feel free to use any tools, tricks, gems, frameworks, 3rd party services, APIs, open source projects, libraries, or workarounds you’ve discovered over the years to help you build quicker. Use any language, hosting service, etc. you please.

5. Ownership and IP Just being a team member at the hackathon does not mean that you get to own any code or IP that your teammates (or the audience) produce in the future based on the idea. Any ideas you pitch or share at the hackathon are released into the ‘public domain’ and we do not require attendees to sign non-disclosure agreements. It’s a hackathon; if you’re worried about people stealing your startup idea, this might not be the right place to unveil it.

6. Be Respectful Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and racist, sexist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate.

8. Submissions Each hack will have a unique ChallengePost page and each team must submit their project by 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 25, 2015.

9. Main Stage Pitches The top two or more submissions for each challenge will be asked to pitch their solutions on the main stage. Judges will pick the top submissions.

10. Prizes The prize winners will be chosen at the conclusion of Day 2 of the legal hackathon.

11. Have fun, it’s a hackathon. Hack, meet new people, get creative, and have a good time. Use whatever languages or hacks you have in your arsenal. Show us hardware. Show us new concepts. Show us anything you’d like.

Getting something meaningful done within such a short amount of time can be stressful, but we’d like to encourage everyone to take a break every now and then to relax and enjoy the event.