Dates

Start: Saturday, March 14 @ 10:00 AM EDT

End: Sunday, March 22 @ 11:45 PM EDT

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1. SUBMISSION OF ANY ENTRY CONSTITUTES AGREEMENT TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES AS A CONTRACT BETWEEN ENTRANT (AND EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OF ENTRANT) AND HACK THE NET ORGANIZERS.

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1. The hackathon is open to all eligible participants who register before the deadline.

2. Void in Quebec: This contest is open to all residents of Canada, except the province of Quebec.

3. Participants must provide accurate registration information.

4. Organizers reserve the right to verify eligibility at any time.

5. Participation in Hack The Net does not create any employment, internship, contractor, or agency relationship between participants and the Organizers or sponsors.

6. Contest Nature

1. Hack The Net 2026 is a skill-based competition. Winners are determined solely based on merit using the stated judging criteria.

2. No purchase or payment is necessary to participate or win. Participation is free and voluntary.

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1. Teams must consist of 1–4 participants.

2. Participants may only be part of one team.

3. All team members must be clearly listed in the project submission.

4. Team changes after the official start time require organizer approval.

5. Participants may not impersonate another individual or team.

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1. All projects must be created during the official hackathon period.

2. Pre-existing code, templates, or frameworks may be used, provided they are disclosed and the majority of the work is completed during the event.

3. Projects must be original and not previously submitted to other competitions.

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1. Encouraged Use: Participants are encouraged to leverage Generative AI tools (e.g., LLMs, image generators, AI coding assistants) to accelerate their workflow, debug code, and enhance creativity.

2. Human-in-the-Loop: While AI can assist in the creation of code, assets, or copy, the core logic, integration, and unique value proposition of the project must be the result of the participants' own effort.

3. Disclosure: Any significant use of Generative AI must be disclosed in the project description on Devpost (e.g., "AI was used for UI mockups" or "LLMs assisted in backend script generation").

4. Prohibited Use: Submitting a project entirely generated by AI without modification, or using AI to plagiarize existing protected work, is grounds for immediate disqualification.

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1. Ownership: Participants retain 100% ownership of their submissions.

2. License to Display: By submitting a project, participants grant the Organizers a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to showcase, feature, or otherwise display the project name, description, screenshots, and demo recordings on the official event website and social media channels for promotional purposes.

1. Competition records may be retained for compliance and audit purposes.

3. Infringement: Participants warrant that their submission does not infringe third-party rights.

1. Participants represent that submissions are original and do not infringe third-party rights and agree to indemnify organizers from claims arising from violations.

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1. All submissions must be made before the official deadline; late submissions will not be accepted.

2. Required materials: Project description, demo video, source code repository link, and presentation slides.

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1. Innovation & Creativity

2. Technical Complexity

3. Impact & Usefulness

4. Design & User Experience

5. Presentation Quality

6. Judges’ decisions are final.

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1. Respectful use of official platforms (Discord, Zoom, etc.) is mandatory.

2. Spam, malicious links, or recording private sessions without consent is strictly prohibited.

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1. Participants may be disqualified for violating the Code of Conduct, plagiarism, cheating, harassment, or submitting fraudulent work.

2. Organizers reserve the right to remove participants at their discretion.

3. Organizers reserve the right to request verification of identity, eligibility, and project authorship prior to awarding prizes.

1. Failure to comply may result in disqualification.

4. All eligibility and judging decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

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1. Participants agree to first seek informal resolution by contacting the Organizers.

2. If a resolution cannot be reached, disputes shall be handled individually and exclusively through the courts of Ontario.

3. Participants waive any right to participate in class-action proceedings related to this event.

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1. This Contest is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. Except where provincial consumer protection laws apply.