Participant rules 

First FRANCIS Frugal Innovation Challenge 

The first FRANCIS Frugal Innovation Challenge (henceforth called the “Challenge”) is organised by the  project FRANCIS that is co-funded by the European Commission (“FRANCIS”). It is supported by a team  of mentors: (1) A company (henceforth called “Industry Coach”) will provide technical and business  guidance for the Participants. Each Participant (individual or team) will, in addition, be supported by (2)  a person providing hands-on assistance (henceforth called “Buddy”) such as a student. (3) Scientists (henceforth called “Facilitators”) will run sessions from time to time to support the creative process. 

The aim of these Rules (henceforth called the “Rules”) is to set out the terms and conditions governing  your involvement in the Challenge as a Participant. You can also join the Challenge as a Supporter or a  Buddy. If you want to do so, you have to sign a different set of rules. Please check the Challenge website for more details. 

By registering for this Challenge as a Participant, you fully and unconditionally agree to comply with the  following Rules. If you do not agree with any of these Rules, do not register for this Challenge and do  not submit an entry. If you join the challenge and want to leave later on, you are free to do so. 

1. DATES AND TIMES 

This Challenge begins on 25 January 2023, at 9:00 am CET and ends on 28 July 2023, at  5:00 pm CET. The Challenge will be accessible 24 hours a day on the dedicated Challenge website  operated by Agorize at https://francis-challenges.agorize.com (henceforth called the “Challenge  website”), subject to possible IT maintenance operations and malfunctions. Dates and times in these  Rules refer to Central European Time (CET). 

2. AGREEING TO THE RULES 

Any eligible person, who is registered on the Challenge website and enrolls to participate in the  Challenge (henceforth called “Participant” or “You”), is required to review and accept the Challenge  Rules at hand. By accessing and accepting these Rules, You:  

(i) enter into a valid and enforceable contractual relationship with FRANCIS regarding participation in  the Challenge. The registration and enrolment in the Challenge do not set up any subordination  relationship between FRANCIS and the Participant, and 

(ii) fully and unconditionally agree to comply with these Rules. Participants express their agreement  by checking an online box while enrolling for the Challenge.  

In case of non-respect of these Rules, the Participant will be immediately disqualified from the  Challenge and no Grant will be awarded.  

3. REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION IN THE CHALLENGE 

To take part in the Challenge, we must have received your completed registration by 5 April 2023. To register, the Participant must create a user account on the Challenge website and truthfully and  accurately complete required personal information, such as full name, email address, etc.  

Any registration based on inaccurate, false or incomplete information will result in the Participant’s  disqualification. Refusing collection, recording and use of their personal data that is strictly necessary  to perform the Challenge will result in the Participant’s disqualification. The Participant is solely  responsible for the information they provide when they register. Any intentional or non-intentional  mistake, anomaly or inconsistency, regarding this information, may result in the Participant’s  disqualification. FRANCIS reserves the right to proceed all necessary verifications regarding the  Participant’s identity, postal and/or email address. 

Deletion of a Participant’s user account on the Challenge website will be deemed as a withdrawal from  the Challenge. In this case, the Participant, will not participate in the Challenge, and will not obtain any  compensation, regardless of whether the deletion results from the Participant’s personal act or not.

You must also have accepted the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy during the creation of  your user account and your registration to the Challenge as well as the Data Protection Notice.  

Registration for and participation in the Challenge is free, with no purchase or payment obligation.

4. ELIGIBILITY 

This Challenge is open and offered solely to individuals who are at least eighteen (18) years old and with  full legal capacity. Each individual may only participate once in each Challenge.  

FRANCIS specifically invites the following groups to join the challenge: 

• Troubled families. Individuals, who are part of a family (i) of at least two people living together,  (ii) with one family member in need of special care, for example because of low or high age  (children, senior citizens) or a disability, and (iii) that feel restricted in budget and space (low  income, small home).  
• Green minimalists. Individuals, who (i) have a modest lifestyle by choice or force, for example  because they value simplicity or have restricted financial means, and (ii) aim at fostering  ecological and social sustainability.  
• Independent senior citizens. Elderly individuals and couples, who (i) consider themselves  senior citizens, (ii) live on their own or with friends/family, and (iii) manage their own household.  

All documents that may confirm the Participant’s eligibility will be required prior to awarding any Grants  (identity document, self-declaration of group membership).  

This Challenge is not open to employees and representatives of the FRANCIS project partners and the  members of their families.  

This Challenge is void in countries where it is prohibited or restricted by law. 

5. PURPOSE OF THE CHALLENGE AND PARTICIPATION 

Participation in the Challenge can be individual or as a team. 

• Individuals. Individual Participants must enter the Challenge in their individual capacities.
• Teams. Individual Participants form a team of up to 5 members (henceforth called “Team”). Each  Team member must accept these Rules, by clicking a hyperlink through the Challenge website  https://francis-challenges.agorize.com. FRANCIS may disqualify any Team (and all its members)  in the case where any one member has not accepted or violates these Rules. 

The goal of the Challenge is for Participants to submit contributions meeting the requirements  determined by FRANCIS in the Challenge task, and that are formalised by Proposals. The task includes  information on the Challenge, including the topic and relevant deadlines (henceforth called the “Task”).  The Task is accessible through the Challenge website.  

6. PROPOSALS 

During the Challenge, Participants may upload documents or other materials (such as texts,  presentations, videos, etc.) relating to their idea to the Challenge website in response and as a solution  to the FRANCIS’ Challenge (henceforth called the “Proposal”).  

To be eligible, Proposals must (i) address the specific issue set out in the Task, (ii) be in a common digital  format, such as DOC, DOCX, PDF, PPT, PPTX, KEY, ODT, MP3, MPEG, MOV, MP4, (iii) be in English,  German, or Turkish and in general terms must comply with these Rules.  

If a Proposal cannot be downloaded, is not in the right format or is incompatible, illegible, or  unintelligible, the Proposal will be disqualified.  

By submitting a Proposal, Participants represent and warrant that: 

• The Proposal exclusively includes contributions from an individual Participant or Team. ● Otherwise, if any content from a third party has been used in the development of the  Proposal, all rights, authorisations, and agreements necessary to submit the Proposal and  grant the rights mentioned herein have been obtained. The existence of uncredited third party contributions in the Proposal will result in the disqualification of the Proposal and the  related Participants;  
• No other individual and/or entity is entitled to claim any rights from the use of the Proposal;  and 

• The content of the Proposal does not and will not infringe or violate any rights of any third  party or entity, including, without limitation, intellectual property rights, privacy,  competition law, confidentiality, or any contractual or extracontractual right. All Proposals  suspected of any law(s) and/or any third party’s right will be ineligible. 

Participants are responsible for and shall bear any costs or expenses associated with preparing and  submitting Proposals. Participants assume all risk of damaged, lost, late, incomplete, invalid, incorrect  or misdirected Proposals.  

7. CHALLENGE PROCESS 

Challenge Rounds. The Challenge consists of several Rounds (henceforth called “Rounds”). There will  be a fixed time for every Round: eight weeks for product ideas (Round One), six weeks for product  concepts (Round Two); eight weeks for product prototypes (Final Round). 

• Round One. Proposals will be accepted from 25 Januar 2023, 9:00 am CET to  Sunday, 5 April 2023, 5:00 pm CET. At the end of this Round (henceforth called “Round  One”), about 20 Proposals will be selected to proceed to Round Two, supported by a Grant. 
• Round Two. Proposals will be accepted from Monday, 20 April 2023, 9:00 am CET to Sunday,  19 May 2023, 5:00 pm CET. At the end of this Round (henceforth called “Round Two”), about 5 Proposals will be selected to proceed to the Final Round, supported by a Grant. 
• Final Round. The teams of the selected Proposals will have time from Monday, 29 May 2023,  9:00 am CET to Sunday, 21 July 2023, 5:00 pm CET to complete simple prototypes, based on  a prototyping kit provided by FRANCIS. Participants are not required to upload a Proposal on the Challenge website for this Round (henceforth called “Final Round”). The Final Round  ends with an event, where the finalists will present their prototypes. 

Proposal. If a Participant does not upload a Proposal on the Challenge website before the deadline, this  will be considered as a withdrawal from the Challenge. The Participant may not join the Challenge and may not obtain any compensation from FRANCIS. 

Selection criteria. Proposals will be judged according to the Selection criteria described below (henceforth called “Selection criteria”). You agree and acknowledge that the Challenge relies on your  creativity, capacity, ability, and ingenuity to solve difficult problems. The Challenge does not depend,  even partially, on chance or luck, and therefore should not be considered as a lottery. Under no  circumstances are factors such as appearance, religion, membership in a trade union, political opinions  or sexual orientation considered.  

Notification to Participants. Once the selection has been completed, Participants will be notified by  email, phone, or by other means, at FRANCIS’ discretion, of the results of each Round. FRANCIS will be  free to alter the dates on which results are released should this become necessary due to the number  of projects to be assessed. The final ranking decided by the Jury will be announced on the day that the  presentations are made. 

Participant support. FRANCIS offers all Participants creativity session for improving their ideas. This is  the first challenge FRANCIS is running and the project is looking for the best ways to support teams.  This means that different teams may receive different messages and different creativity sessions.  FRANCIS will then evaluate, which ones worked best to support teams. That is also why FRANCIS asks  teams not to share the messages and creativity exercises they received with other teams. FRANCIS is  committed to treating everyone equally and fairly and ensure that everyone gets support. 

1. Round One

All Round One Proposals must be received by FRANCIS on or before 5 April 2023, 5:00 pm CET.  Proposals must meet the specifications set out in Section 6, above, and include the following:  

• Description of the idea based on the template provided by FRANCIS. FRANCIS offers  creativity sessions to support the idea development. 
• Completion of some survey questions during registration and idea submission 

Criteria based voting will take place from 6 April 2023, 9:00 am CET, to 20 April, 5:00  pm CET. 

The Jury, i.e. members of the FRANCIS consortium and external advisors of FRANCIS (the “Jury”), will evaluate the Proposals and select Proposals for the next Round based on their content and the  following Selection criteria:

• Relevance: How well does the idea match the task description? Is it specifically relevant for  one of the target groups and/or target countries of the project? Is it easy to use for  consumers? 
• Innovation: How innovative is the idea, is it something new compared to existing solutions?
• Feasibility: How easy is it to turn the idea into a solution (device, service, etc.)? What are  the chances that the solution succeeds on the market and reaches many consumers? 
• Impact: What are the potential impacts of the idea on society and/or nature? How big are the impacts? 
• Clarity: How well are the idea and its potential impacts described? Are they easy to  understand? 

The weighing of the Selection criteria in Round One is as follows: Relevance 40%, Innovation 20%,  Feasibility 10%, Impact 20%, Clarity 10%.  

About twenty Participant ideas will be selected at the end of this Round for the next Round. Participants  will be informed of the results of Round One by Friday, 31 March, 5:00 pm CET.  

1. Round Two

All Round Two Proposals must be received by FRANCIS on or before Friday, 19 May 2023, 5:00 pm CET.  Round Two Proposals must meet the specifications set out in Section 6, above, and include the  following: 

• Description of the concept using the template provided by FRANCIS. FRANCIS offers  creativity sessions to support the concept development. 
• Proof of identity (ID card) 

Criteria based voting will take place from 22 May 2023, 9:00 am CET to 2 June 2023,  5:00 pm CET. 

The Jury will evaluate the Proposals and select Proposals for the next Round based on their content and  the Selection criteria detailed above. The weighing of the Selection criteria in Round Two is as follows:  Relevance 0%, Innovation 20%, Feasibility 50%, Impact 20%, Clarity 10%.

About five Participant concepts will be selected at the end of this Round for the next Round. Participants will be informed of the results of Round Two by 5 June, 5:00 pm CET.  

1. Final Round

Participants who have been selected to participate in the Final Round will be directly notified. In the  event a Participant does not answer after FRANCIS has tried to contact them by email and by phone,  FRANCIS reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify this Participant. This disqualification shall  not entitle the Participant to claim any kind of compensation from FRANCIS.  

The Final Round consists of an oral presentation of the selected concepts by the Participants (in English).  If needed, the team’s Buddy can take part in and support the presentation. Participants are not required  to upload a Proposal to the Challenge website before the Final Round.  

However, Participants must prepare a Proposal which meets the specifications set out in Section 6 and  which includes the following:  

• Simple prototype based on the toolkit provided by FRANCIS 
• Pitch for the idea  

The prototype and the pitch will be used to present the concept in the final event. 

At the end of the Final Round, the Jury will evaluate and rank the selected Proposals based on their content and the Selection criteria detailed above. The weighing of the Selection criteria in the Final  Round is as follows: Relevance 0%, Innovation 20%, Feasibility 20%, Impact 50%, Clarity 10%. 

8. Rewards 

The grants to be awarded to selected Teams of the first and the second Round of the Challenge are  subject to compliance with the following cumulative conditions: 

• The Proposals comply with Section 6 (“Proposals”); 
• Each Participant of a selected Team complies with Sections 10 and 12; 
• It can be proven that the selected Participants fulfil the conditions of eligibility of Section 4.

No Grant will be awarded to selected Teams who do not fulfill the above. 

Subject to these Terms and Conditions, once confirmed by FRANCIS, the Participants will receive the  following: 

• First Round: All registered Participants will receive a participation certificate and a badge  that they can share on social media.  
• Second Round: About 20 Teams will receive a fixed financial Grant (henceforth called the  “Grant”) when they submit their Proposal at the end of the Round as well as a token of  appreciation. 
• Final Round: About 5 Teams will receive a fixed Grant when they submit their Proposal at  the end of the Round as well as a token of appreciation. FRANCIS will invite them to the final  event, where they can present their concept and prototype. The Teams with the highest  ranking will get the opportunity to sell their concept to the Industry Coach or to get  FRANCIS’ support for the further development. An independent legal advisor (intellectual  property lawyer) will support the final teams in this step free of charge (costs will be covered  by FRANCIS). 

Each member of a Participant Team will receive an equal share of the Grant attributed to the Team.  

No assignment or transfer of Grants is allowed by a selected Team. If a potentially selected Team cannot  be reached or is unable to accept the Grant, FRANCIS shall have no further obligation to the team.  FRANCIS will not replace any lost or stolen Rewards after being given to selected Teams. Selected Teams will accept the Grant “as it is”. FRANCIS disclaims any warranty regarding the Grant.  

In the event a selected Team cannot be reached, by email or by phone, for more than two (2) weeks  after the first attempt to reach them was made, they will be deemed as having waived their right to  claim the Grant and will not be entitled to any Grant or any kind of compensation. 

Any Participant who does not fulfil the conditions of Participation as provided in the Rules during their  registration and/or at any time during the Challenge will be summarily disqualified from the Challenge without prior notice and will not be entitled to any Grant. In the assumption that a Grant is awarded to  a Participant who does not meet the conditions of Participation when registering or throughout the  duration of the Challenge, FRANCIS reserves the right to require the Participant to return the awarded  Grant.

9. COMMERCIALISATION AND IPR SCENARIOS 

The Participants shall present their ideas for the target audience specified on the Challenge website  and will take part in the process of transforming these ideas into usable solutions and perform the given  tasks within the scope of the Challenge. Persons who take part in the Challenge among the Industry  Coaches’ own employees are obliged to fulfil the responsibilities defined within the scope of the  Challenge. In addition, the Industry Coach as a legal entity is responsible for fulfilling the obligations  specified in the agreements to which it is a party under the EU Project. 

The Participants develop their ideas in line with the task description and try to reach a usable solution  in the following Rounds. A Jury selects the ideas that proceed from one Round to the next. The following  scenarios apply to the Participants, who have passed the first Round. 

• The Team has no interest in the Proposal, is not interested in commercialisation and  intellectual property rights, but the Industry Coach is interested in bringing the results to  life. 
• The Team and the Industry Coach are not interested in the Proposal, they are not interested  in commercialisation and intellectual property rights. 
• The Team is not interested in the Proposal, but wants to sell the Intellectual Property Rights  to the Industry Coach and the Industry Coach is interested in bringing the results to life. • The Team has no interest in the Proposal, but wants to sell the intellectual property rights  

to the Industry Coach and the Industry Coach is not interested in bringing the results to life. • The Team wants to further develop the Proposal and commercialise the results, but the  Industry Coach is not interested in bringing the results to life. 

• The Team wants to further develop the Proposal and commercialise the results, and the  Industry Coach is interested in bringing the results to life. 

In the above-mentioned scenarios, Teams may develop and commercialise ideas, turn them into a  product and submit it to the market or apply for a patent in cases, where the Industry Coach is not  interested in Intellectual Property Rights and commercialisation. The Industry Coach waives all rights for  these situations.

The Industry Coach begins negotiations with Teams to determine the conditions in the above mentioned scenarios, where the Industry Coach has an interest in the Intellectual Property Rights and/or  the commercialisation. If a Team needs legal support during the negotiations, independent support from  an Intellectual Property Rights lawyer can be provided by FRANCIS free of charge for the Team. The  Industry Coach may offer to pay the Team based on the value of their idea/concept or future earnings  during the negotiations. 

10. COMMUNICATION  

The Participant acknowledges and consents that FRANCIS may use the Challenge for publicity, including  for advertising or other marketing purposes, by any means and through any format (website, advertising  banners, social networks, newsletter, press release) now known or unknown to date, free of charge or  for a consideration. This applies throughout the European Union as well as the countries represented by  FRANCIS’ consortium partners. 

In particular, you consent to the using, by FRANCIS, of your name and surname, your city and region of  residence, your image, the information regarding the Grant (if you are the member of a selected Team),  your category of participation and any other personal data that you submit with your Proposals as well  as the content of your Proposals relating to the Challenge.  

As an example, each Participant authorises FRANCIS to use the photographs taken during the final event for dissemination via any communication medium. Such use does not entitle the selected Teams to any  other payment than the reward they received.  

11. CONFIDENTIALITY 

FRANCIS has no obligation to keep the information contained in the Proposals confidential. In general  terms, when submitting any Proposals, the Participants understand, agree and accept that any  information contained therein may be disclosed by FRANCIS (see IPR section). 

If you are awarded a Grant, FRANCIS may request that you execute a confidentiality/non-disclosure  agreement for the purpose of entering negotiations regarding the further development of your  idea/concept, as described in your Proposal. Such confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement will be  directed to your Proposal and all intellectual property that it may contain.

Furthermore, Participants acknowledge that FRANCIS may currently or in the future be developing  information internally, or receiving information from other parties, that is similar to the information  contained in any of the Proposals. Accordingly, nothing herein shall prohibit FRANCIS from  independently acquiring, developing, or having developed for it, products, concepts, systems, services,  or techniques that are similar to or compete with the products, concepts, systems or techniques  contemplated by or embodied in any Proposal.  

The Participants recognize that other Participants, individuals or entities may have provided FRANCIS  or others, or made public, or may in the future submit, or make public, content that is the same or similar  to any piece of information contained in any of the Proposals. Hence, the Participants acknowledge,  agree and accept that FRANCIS shall have the right to use such same or similar materials, and that the  Participants will not be entitled to any compensation arising from FRANCIS’ use of such materials.  

12. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

Definitions. For the purposes of this section,  

• "Intellectual Property Rights" refers to any copyright or other rights over a brand, a design or a  model, a patent and, more generally, any element (including trade secrets and know-how) that  may be protected by national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property  (henceforth called “Intellectual Property Rights”). 
• “Previous Rights” refer to any Intellectual Property Rights and/or any associated know-how held  by the Participants before the start date of the Challenge (henceforth called “Previous Rights”). • “Creations” refer to any software (including source and object code software), database,  technical specifications, text, design, model, information, knowledge, method, process or  product, as well as any resulting elements and/or processes likely or otherwise to be protected  according to national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property  developed by any Participant as a part of any submitted Proposal throughout the Challenge (henceforth called “Creations”).

Every Participant will maintain the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) related to their idea throughout the  course of the Challenge. If a Participant stays involved in a Challenge and is selected in the voting at the  end of a Challenge Round, they will receive a fixed Grant at the end of the next Round as appreciation  for their efforts. Participants may leave the challenge at any point to pursue the further development  and exploitation of their idea by themselves. This freedom of choice will not be impacted if they receive  one of the Challenge Grants. Please be aware that you should not participate in this Challenge if you  want to patent your idea, as any information contained in the Proposals may be disclosed by FRANCIS  (see below). 

The Industry Coach of the Challenge plans to turn the most interesting ideas at the end of the Challenge  into solutions that enter the market. Finalists, whose ideas are eligible for this commercialisation, will  have the additional option to sell their idea to the Industry Coach or to get support from the Industry Coach for the further development of their idea. In this case, an independent legal advisor will assist  the Participants in their choice. 

Warranty of non-infringement. When submitting any Proposal, at any stage of the Challenge, each  Participant guarantees to FRANCIS that they are the co/owner and/or co/holder of the Intellectual  Property Rights regarding all or part of the Creations contained in the Proposals submitted at any stage  of the Challenge, and that they have obtained all rights and permissions regarding all pre-existing  Creations and any elements of the Proposals for which they do not hold the relevant rights. 

Each Participant guarantees (i) that their contribution is original and unprecedented; (ii) that it does not  infringe upon the copyright or any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party; (iii) that all the  elements of which their Proposals are formed, as well as all pieces of contributions and information  communicated in the Proposal presentation documents are accurate, reliable and complete; and (iv)  that the submission of the relevant Proposals does not constitute an act of unfair competition of any  kind. 

It is compulsory for Participants to indicate the source of any pre-existing Creations of whichever nature  and on whichever support that are included in any submitted Proposal. Any Proposal involving several  Participants constitutes a collaborative work and it should be treated as such in accordance with the  applicable regulation in force.

Liability. Every Participant will maintain the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) related to their idea  throughout the course of the challenge. FRANCIS however cannot be held liable for any infringement  of the above provisions by Participants. Each Participant shall indemnify FRANCIS against any  disturbance, action, claim, opposition and demand or eviction attempt from any third party in  connection with any Creation in the Proposals (Intellectual Property Rights included). 

13. MODIFICATION OF RULES, SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF THE CHALLENGE 

Update of the Rules. FRANCIS reserves the right to amend these Rules at any time, including the  Challenge duration, in case of operational imperatives regarding the enforcement or the validity of  these amendments. Participants are encouraged to consult these Rules regularly. Participants expressly  waive all claims or disputes related to any amendment to these Rules by FRANCIS.  

Should any paragraph of these Rules be declared or judged illegal, unenforceable, or void by a court  decision, the paragraph in question will be considered null and void, but all other unaffected paragraphs will be enforced within the limits of the law. 

Challenge Cancellation or Suspension. FRANCIS reserves the right, in its discretion, to (i) cancel,  terminate, modify, or suspend the Challenge and these Rules for important reasons (force majeure) at  any time and without any liability, and (ii) to limit or restrict participation in the Challenge. FRANCIS will  not be held liable for the modification, cancellation or suspension of the Challenge and no  compensation or remuneration will be due to the Participants. 

14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY 

FRANCIS will in no way be held liable in the event of breakdown or failure, regardless of the cause, of  any telecommunications network used that causes Participants difficulty in or prevents Participants  from identifying themselves on or gaining access to the Challenge website.

Participants agree that project partners, their affiliates and all of their respective officers, directors,  employees, contractors, representatives and agents (henceforth called “Released Parties”) will have no  liability whatsoever for, and will be released and held harmless by Participants for any claims, liabilities,  or causes of action of any kind or nature for any injury, loss or damages of any kind including direct,  indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages to persons, including without limitation  disability or death. Without limiting the foregoing, everything on the Challenge website and in  connection with the challenge 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,  and non-infringement. Some jurisdictions may not allow the limitations or exclusion of liability for  incidental or consequential damages or exclusion of implied warranties, in which case such limitation  or exclusion shall apply only to the extent permitted by the law in the relevant jurisdiction.  

Participation in the Challenge implies acknowledgment and acceptance of the characteristics, limits,  and risks of the internet and related technologies, particularly with regards to performance, response  time, security of software and computer equipment against various potential attacks, such as viruses,  logic bombs or Trojans, and loss or misuse of data. As a result, FRANCIS will not be held liable in any way  for any damage incurred by Participants arising from these characteristics, limits, and risks, which  Participants accept by registering and taking part in the Challenge. 

FRANCIS will not, in any case, be held liable for damages resulting from faults with or delays in the  submission of Proposals by Participants, including refusal to accept these Proposals because of their  submission outside the deadlines set out in the Rules, from faults with or delays to the sending of any  emails by the Participant sent as part of the Challenge, or from any alterations made to the Proposals  independently of FRANCIS. 

FRANCIS will not, in any case, be held liable for damages resulting from services provided by a third  party relating to the Grants. 

FRANCIS will not be held liable for the consequences of a Participant’s disqualification from the  Challenge as a result of their violation of these Rules. 

The European Commission cannot be held liable for any damage caused to or by the Participants or  third parties as a consequence of implementing the Open Innovation challenge, including for gross  negligence.

15. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION  

Participation in the Challenge requires the communication of the Participant's personal data (henceforth  called "Personal Data"). FRANCIS’ Quality & Data Manager (QDM) Fraunhofer is responsible for the  project’s data processing (please feel free to contact FRANCIS’ QDM in your personal Challenge space  or via the FRANCIS website). 

The Personal Data of a Participant is subject to processing within the meaning of the regulations on the  protection of personal data (EU 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation and the Council of 27 April  2016, known as GDPR) for which FRANCIS defines the purposes and means and is, as such, “Data  controller” within the meaning of the GDPR as detailed above. 

The purposes of the processing are:  

• To meet the organisation of the challenge needs 
• To organise the intermediation between the Participant and FRANCIS, to ensure identification,  communication and preservation of the exchanges with the Participant 

In accordance with the provisions of the GDPR, FRANCIS undertakes to implement organisational and  technical security measures in order to protect the Personal Data of all Participants. FRANCIS undertakes  to allow the exercise of their rights from GDPR. 

16. CLAIMS  

Any Participant’s claims arising from the Challenge should be addressed no later than thirty (30) days  following the Challenge end date. All claims must include: (i) the Participant’s complete contact details  (name, address, email address and phone); (ii) the name of the Challenge; and (iii) a clear and detailed  explanation for the claim. 

17. APPLICABLE LAW AND DISPUTES RESOLUTION 

The Challenge and any action related thereto shall be governed by the law applicable in France.

In case of persistent litigation beyond a period of fifteen (15) days after the Participant has filed a claim,  FRANCIS and the Participant undertake to submit their dispute to an amicable conciliation prior to any  legal proceedings. The party wishing to initiate conciliation shall inform the other party by means of a  registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt in which it will inform of its intentions and will explain  the cause. If no agreement is reached between the parties within thirty (30) days after receipt of the  registered letter, the parties regain their freedom of action. 

In case of persistent disagreement on the application or interpretation of the Rules, and in the absence  of an amicable settlement, any dispute that may arise between the parties, will be subject to the  exclusive jurisdiction of the French courts to which the parties expressly Grant jurisdiction, even in the  case of multiple defendants, in summary proceedings, appeal by guarantee or by motion.