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Terms of Soneium Spark

Terms of Service for Soneium Spark Incubation Program​

Last revised: September 5th, 2024

Sony Block Solution Labs Pte. Ltd. (“SBSL,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) announced plans to launch Soneium, a new Ethereum layer-2 solution that operates with the Ethereum main network. As a first step towards developing a thriving Soneium ecosystem, we have released Soneium Minato, a testnet that serves as a public blockchain accessible to all developers and creators interested in building applications. Soneium Minato offers a fast and cost-effective development environment, providing tools that are compatible with Ethereum, which is widely used for existing Web3 app development. This environment allows developers and creators to experience Soneium's specifications firsthand. We are proud of the social significance of this project and pleased to be able to contribute to decentralized platforms through this new initiative.

To further advance this effort, we announced the launch of the Soneium Spark Incubation Program (“Soneium Spark”), an incubation program to develop a community of visionary creators and builders who will shape the future of Soneium. The goal of Soneium Spark is to nurture a community of visionary creators and builders who will shape the future of the industry. With a focus on innovation and strategic growth, we aim to provide an environment where projects can achieve sustainable long-term success.

These Terms of Service (these “Terms of Service”) constitute a legally binding contract between you (“you” or “your”) and us. These Terms of Service govern your application for, participation in, screening, selection, information sharing, demonstrations, and awards related to Soneium Spark. By applying for Soneium Spark, applicants are deemed to have fully understood, and agreed to comply with, all terms and conditions of these Terms of Service. For matters not stipulated herein, the applicable rules or interpretations shall apply, and updates will be announced on the official website as necessary.

In the event of any inconsistency between any information set out on our website (including the FAQs) and any provision in these Terms of Services, the provisions in these Terms of Service shall prevail unless otherwise determined in our sole discretion.

Submission Content​

We are looking for solutions that will spark an innovative and healthy ecosystem for Soneium. Soneium Spark invites projects in the following categories:

DeFi

  • DEX (AMM)
  • DEX Aggregator
  • Lending
  • Yield and Points Farming
  • Perpetuals and Synthetics
  • Options
  • Derivatives
  • CDP Stablecoins
  • Others

Web3 Experiences

  • NFT
  • Gaming
  • Entertainment
  • Social

Open Category

Application Period​

From September 6, 2024, to September 30, 2024. We reserve the right to extend the application period in our sole discretion.

Timeline​

  • 10.09.2024 to 14.09.2024: Online Soneium Spark Orientation Week in the form of online sessions by Soneium team and Partners
  • 30.09.2024: Applications are closed
  • 14.10.2024: Winner Announcement
  • 15.11.2024: Demo Day

Eligibility​

We will accept applications from individuals, teams composed of individuals, or legal entities.

For individuals or teams:

  • You or all team members must be 18 years of age or older at the time of application and not reside in the Crimea region of Ukraine, Cuba, the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, Iran, the so-called Luhansk People's Republic, North Korea, or Syria (collectively, the "Sanctioned Regions").
  • You personally or the team representative must submit the application. Team representatives must obtain consent for the application and agreement to these Terms of Service from all team members before applying. By applying, you represent and warrant that you and all team members meet the eligibility requirements and have agreed to the Terms of Service.

For legal entities:

  • The legal entity, its directors and beneficial owners must not be located or residing in the Sanctioned Regions. The legal entity’s representative must be 18 years of age or older at the time of application and not reside in the Sanctioned Regions.
  • The legal entity’s representative must complete all necessary internal procedures for application and agreement to these Terms of Service before applying. By applying, you represent and warrant that you and the legal entity meets the eligibility requirements, and you have been properly authorized and empowered to agree to these Terms of Service on behalf of the legal entity.

Process and Evaluation Criteria​

To participate in Soneium Spark, each applicant is required to submit a project by completing an application form through the website located at https://soneium.org/en/blog/soneium-minato-testnet-is-live-along-with-soneium-spark-incubation-program/, which requires an overview of your project, a team introduction, your aspirations, a demo video of your project, as well as some extra information. Applicants shall not submit any confidential information.

  1. The project you submit to us will be evaluated in each of the following rounds (subject to the selection of your project to move on to the next round) based on criteria established by SBSL in its sole discretion, including, but not limited to, the team’s growth potential, specificity of the roadmap, past performance, technical and business advantages, and willingness to contribute to the Soneium ecosystem.

    Soneium Native dApps: We will give preference to the teams willing to build an exclusive dApp/brand in the Soneium ecosystem by either choosing Soneium as their first chain or by migrating from other chain(s) to Soneium. We will give preference to the teams that will have a token launch on Soneium on their roadmap.

  2. During the evaluation process, SBSL may ask you questions; however, SBSL will not provide any coaching, advice, or assistance to you regarding your project during the process. No confidential information will be exchanged in connection with Soneium Spark. SBSL shall not be under any obligation of confidentiality with respect to any information submitted or exchanged in connection with Soneium Spark, unless SBSL determines it necessary and separately enters into a non-disclosure agreement with you.

  3. Submissions will be evaluated by our team on a rolling basis, and we endeavor to notify applicants of their status within 2 to 4 weeks following the submission date. We reserve the right to request for additional information. Selected winners will receive further details regarding the program's logistics.

Awards​

  1. We will provide marketing, technical and business support (together, the “Support”) to awardees, and the level of support provided will depend on whether the applicant is a Gold Award or a Silver Award winner. The actual content and duration of the Support will be determined by SBSL at its sole discretion, based on the project details and other circumstances. You agree to use all reasonable efforts to cooperate with us during the provision of the Support, including providing relevant information and participating in relevant discussions.

  2. If a potential or actual award winner does not comply with these Terms of Service, fails to meet the eligibility requirements, or fails to respond within 5 days from the time the notification is sent, the award may be forfeited without selecting a replacement winner being chosen. SBSL reserves the right to either select an alternate award winner or forfeit the award.

  3. Everything regarding Soneium Spark and the awards (including the Support) is provided ‘AS IS’ without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

Conditions​

  1. If requested by us, you agree to provide us with information related to your participation in Soneium Spark, including, but not limited to, your or your team members’ names, ages, e-mail addresses and countries of residence, Company Information, information on your project, your funding status, and willingness to contribute to the Soneium ecosystem. You acknowledge that if you fail to provide the information requested by us, or if upon verification of the provided information it is determined that you do not meet (or may not meet) the eligibility requirements, you may not be able to proceed to the next evaluation process or may be ineligible to receive awards or may be disqualified from Soneium Spark, as determined in our sole discretion.

  2. You agree that SBSL may disclose or furnish any information you submit to us to Sony Group Corporation, Startale Labs Pte Ltd., Sony Ventures Corporation, other investors or our affiliates (collectively, the “SBSL Parties”), and that the SBSL Parties may use such information in connection with Soneium Spark.

  3. You shall attend all event-related activities, including briefings on the selection process, workshops, sessions, and the award ceremony. If you are unable to attend the activities (whether due to circumstances beyond your control or otherwise), you must give notice to us in advance. We reserve the right to disqualify you from Soneium Spark if you fail to actively participate in the activities related to Soneium Spark.

  4. You shall use the Discord, e-mail or other designated tools to communicate with each other and with Soneium team members.

  5. You agree and understand that even if you win awards in Soneium Spark and launch your own project on Soneium or other blockchains, it does not mean that your project is authorized from a legal perspective. Your participation in Soneium Spark is not, and shall not be deemed to be, an endorsement by any SBSL Parties of you or your project.

  6. You agree and understand that we will never be an issuer, broker, exchange, or custodian for tokens that you issue, buy, sell, handle, or receive from users on Soneium or other blockchains by participating in Soneium Spark.

  7. You understand that the project submitted to Soneium Spark needs to be designed in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and if such condition is not fulfilled, the subject project will be disqualified. You agree that your project shall not contain illegal, pornographic, obscene, violent or immoral content, shall not contain offensive and insulting remarks, shall not contain contents that violate national laws, regulations, and policies, and other information that is considered inappropriate by SBSL in its sole discretion.

  8. You agree and understand that the awards are not open at any stage to persons or entities resident in Sanctioned Regions, nor any individual or entities named on any lists of persons or entities subject to economic sanctions maintained by Japan, the European Union, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Nations as updated from time to time.

  9. You agree not to engage in any acts prohibited by applicable economic sanctions laws.

  10. SBSL reserves the right, at its sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any applicant who is (1) found or suspected to be tampering with the operation of Soneium Spark, (2) deemed to be acting in violation of these Terms of Service, (3) deemed to be acting in an unsportsmanlike manner, (4) deemed to be acting with the intent to disrupt the normal operation of Soneium Spark, (5) found to have provided false or misleading information, (6) uses Soneium Spark or any of our services for any unlawful or criminal activities or purpose, (7) undertakes any activities that damage the interests or reputation of any SBSL Parties.

  11. You undertake that (1) the project is not and shall not be subject to any claim by or disputes with any third party; and (2) there has been no negative publicity or media explore on the project or any team member

Intellectual Property Rights​

  1. The intellectual property rights to the content submitted to Soneium Spark shall belong to the applicant (including individuals or teams); however, the intellectual property rights to the content created or developed by SBSL as a result of, or in the course of, Soneium Spark shall belong to SBSL.

  2. Applicants shall represent, warrant and undertake that the information provided to Soneium Spark, including, but not limited to, their submission content, texts and images, presentations, videos, and other materials, is true, accurate and complete and neither infringes upon others' intellectual property rights or other rights nor violates any laws (“Content Undertaking”); otherwise, we will revoke their eligibility to participate in or receive awards from Soneium Spark. Should any SBSL Party be subjected to any claims by third parties in connection with the aforementioned Content Undertaking, the applicant shall immediately resolve the issue. In addition, the applicant shall indemnity and hold harmless the SBSL Parties from any and all liabilities, claims, losses and costs (including any resulting litigation costs, attorney fees, or other related expenses) arising from or in connection with any breach of the Content Undertaking. If said claims result in direct or indirect damage to the SBSL Parties, including, but not limited to, reputational damage, the applicant shall also be liable to compensate therefor.

  3. The applicant agrees to grant the SBSL Parties, without compensation, the right to use the texts and images, presentations, photos, videos, and other materials provided for Soneium Spark, for the purposes of conducting, documenting, promoting, and marketing of or in connection with Soneium Spark or related activities, an any region, at any time, and for any numbers of times. These include, but are not limited to, the use of the names and portraits of the applicants. Such use includes, but is not limited to, printing, exhibiting, promoting, reporting, publishing, making public, or sublicensing to third parties for use. The applicant further agrees that the SBSL Parties may adapt, reproduce, edit, and exercise all other rights that a copyright owner is entitled to under copyright law, without further notice to the applicant. If such actions do not constitute defamation or any infringement of the author's moral rights, the applicants agree not to exercise their moral rights against the SBSL Parties.

  4. The applicant agrees to grant to us, without compensation, the right to take photographs and video recordings during and in connection with Soneium Spark, to request the applicant to provide relevant photos or videos, and to publish such photos or videos in any form, for the purposes of conducting, documenting, promoting, and marketing of or in connection with Soneium Spark or related activities.

  5. The applicant acknowledges and agrees that SBSL and the SBSL Parties may independently create, develop, or pursue projects, products, or services that may be similar to or competitive with those submitted to Soneium Spark. Participation in Soneium Spark does not preclude SBSL or the SBSL Parties from pursuing such projects, products, or services, and neither SBSL nor the SBSL Parties shall be liable to the applicant for any such actions.

  6. You acknowledge and agree that SBSL retains ownership of all rights, title and interest to Soneium Spark. This includes, but is not limited to, the content, material, information, data, software, images, text, logos, illustrations, scripts, service marks, trademarks, logo, audio, video, music and the overall design and look. You further acknowledge and agree that Soneium Spark program may contain content or features that are protected by copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or other proprietary rights and laws.

  7. The SBSL name and logos and certain other logos and trademarks are trademarks and service marks of SBSL (collectively, the “SBSL Trademarks”). Other company, product, and service names and logos used and displayed during the course of Soneium Spark may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners who may or may not endorse or be affiliated with or connected to SBSL. Without our prior written permission in each instance, nothing in these Terms of Service or Soneium Spark should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any license or right to use any of the SBSL Trademarks. All goodwill generated from the use of the SBSL Trademarks will inure to our exclusive benefit.

Modifications to Soneium Spark​

We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify, upgrade, suspend, or discontinue, whether temporarily or permanently, Soneium Spark (or any terms and conditions thereof) at any time and without liability. You agree that SBSL will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of Soneium Spark.

Governing Law​

These Terms of Service are governed by the laws of Singapore without regard to its conflict of law provisions. With respect to any disputes or claims in respect of these Terms of Service and Soneium Spark, you and SBSL agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts located in Singapore.

Changes to Terms​

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change or modify any portion of these Terms of Service at any time. If we do this, we will publicly post the updated Terms of Service on our websites located at https://soneium.org/en/blog/soneium-minato-testnet-is-live-along-with-soneium-spark-incubation-program/ and will indicate at the top of this page the date that these Terms of Service were last revised. You may read the current, effective copy of these Terms of Service. Your continued participation in Soneium Spark from and after the date on which any such changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms of Service. You should periodically visit this page to review the current Terms of Service, so that you are kept aware of any revisions. If you do not agree to abide by these or any future Terms of Service, you cannot continue to participate in Soneium Spark. Without limiting anything set forth elsewhere in these Terms of Service, you agree that we shall not be liable to you or any third party as a result of any losses suffered by any modification or amendment.

Force Majeure​

We will not be in default hereunder by reason of any failure or delay in the performance of our obligations where such failure or delay is due to civil disturbances, riot, epidemic, hostilities, war, terrorist attack, embargo, natural disaster, acts of God, flood, fire, sabotage, fluctuations or unavailability of electrical power, network access or equipment, or any other circumstances or causes beyond the reasonable control of SBSL.

Limitation of Liability​

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE SBSL PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, USE, OR DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE SBSL PARTIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, RESULTING FROM ANY MATTER RELATING TO SONEIUM SPARK, SONEIUM OR SONEIUM MINATO.

IN NO EVENT WILL THE SBSL PARTIES’ TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, OR CAUSES OF ACTION EXCEED ONE HUNDRED SINGAPORE DOLLARS (100 SGD); PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH ABOVE SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE RELATED TO OR ARISING FROM SBSL’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT.

Entire Agreements​

These Terms of Service (together with the terms incorporated by reference thereto in these Terms of Service) constitute the entire agreement between you and SBSL in connection with Soneium Spark, and supersede any prior agreements between you and SBSL with respect to Soneium Spark.

Severability​

If any provision of these Terms of Service is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of these Terms of Service remain in full force and effect.

Assignment​

You may not assign these Terms of Service without the prior written consent of SBSL, but SBSL may assign or transfer these Terms of Service, in whole or in part, without restriction.

Contact​

Please contact us to report any violations of these Terms of Service or to pose any questions regarding the Terms of Service or Soneium Spark.