The Appscale Academy program (the “Program”) is run by Google LLC (“Google”) in partnership with the Meity Startup Hub.

To be considered for selection to the Program, all interested developers (i.e., a business) ("Business") which may be represented by the authorised representative of the Business (e.g. an employee or director) ("Representatives"), (“Developers” or “you”) must read and agree to these terms and conditions of the selection process ("Terms"). By submitting an application, you agree that these Terms will apply. Developers will not be considered for participation in the Program unless they agree to these Terms. Businesses agree that if Representatives click the checkbox in the registration form, this will constitute agreement to these Terms. The Representative accepting the Terms on behalf of Business warrants that he or she has full power and authority to do so. Participation in the Program and in this selection process is purely voluntary. Please do not apply to participate in the Program if you do not agree with these Terms and/or if you do not want your data processed in accordance with these Terms. 

 

1. Eligibility

1.1 To be eligible for selection to the Program, the following conditions must be satisfied throughout the duration of the Program:

  • Businesses should be duly registered, and have its headquarters, in India. Representatives must be at least 18 years of age.
  • You must have a published app on the Play Store.
  • You must have an app driven business.
  • Your business, preferably, should not be more than 7 years old.
  • You should have completed all the mandatory fields in the application form.
  • Your business should not have received any funding from Google or its affiliates in the past.
  • Your app complies with all Google Play Developer Policies.

1.2 Representative acknowledge that any Program benefits will inure to their Business and not to them individually.

1.3 All determinations of eligibility will be made at Google’s sole and absolute discretion, acting reasonably. Google reserves the right to verify eligibility and to adjudicate on any related dispute at any time. No correspondence will be entered into.

 

2. How to Participate

Submission:

2.1 To join the selection process for the program, you must:

  • Be registered as a developer with Google Play
  • Visit the program website and follow the instructions to apply for participation in the program
  • Submit a game/ app (which should be a released title)

2.2 All data provided through the registration process must be complete and correct.

Key Dates:

2.3 Submission of entries for the Program selection process begins at 10:00 am Indian Standard Time (IST) of 27 October 2021 and ends at 11:59 pm IST of 15 December 2021 (the “Submission Period”). All entries must be submitted during the Submission Period. Any entries received after the Submission Period will automatically be disqualified.

2.4 The selected Program participants will be announced in or around January 2022.

 

2.5 Key dates for the Program event (“Program Events”) are as follows:

  • Developer support and training programs for the selected 100: January to April 2022
  • Benefits applicable to select companies (not more than 30): May to July 2022

The Program Events will be held virtually. Google reserves the right to change the dates and venue of the Program Events, at its sole discretion.

 

Game/App Requirements 

2.6 The Game/ App must meet the following criteria ("Game/ App Requirements"):

  • It must not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, material or element that is unlawful, or otherwise be in violation of or contrary to all applicable laws and regulations.

  • It must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libelous or contain any content that is inappropriate, sexual, profane, indecent, tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise breach the spirit of the Program, as determined by Google, in its sole discretion.

  • It must not contain any content, material or element that violates any third party rights. 

 

3. Program Benefits

3.1 After the Submission Period, the submissions will be evaluated by a panel of Google and MeitY Startup Hub evaluators, which will evaluate the entries in accordance with the criteria set out in these Terms and select up to hundred (100) Program participants from all the Developers (“Participants”).

3.2 The submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Innovation Design
  • Technological and Production Quality
  • Scalability
  • Ability to receive coaching

3.3 All decisions by the panel regarding Participants will be final and binding. No correspondence will be entered into.

 

4. Notification of Participants and Participants’ Obligations

4.1 Google will notify Participants by sending an email to the address provided in the submission.

4.2 Google reserves the right in its reasonable discretion to change the dates and venue of the Program Events. No cash equivalent of the Program benefits can be claimed. Program benefits are non-replaceable non-transferable.

4.3 You may also be required to confirm your acceptance of the Program terms and conditions through an agreement with Google and/or its affiliates (“Program Agreement”), in order to participate in the Program. You may also be required to submit a declaration of eligibility and/or publicity release in order to participate in the Program.

4.4 Google is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, mutilated, incomplete and illegible submissions, or for electronic transmission errors, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry, technical malfunctions of any kind. Submissions are void if they are in whole or in part incomprehensible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, forged, mechanically reproduced or obtained through fraud or theft.

4.5 Google will not be liable for unsuccessful efforts to notify a Participant. If a selected Developer declines to participate, or does not respond to the notification within 5 working days or fails to comply with all Program requirements, including fails to abide by these Terms or is ineligible, or is otherwise not able to participate in the Program for any reason, Google may, but is not required to, select an alternative Participant from all remaining Distributors.

4.6 If you are selected as a Participant, you will be solely responsible for ensuring that you comply with applicable tax laws, and filing requirements.

 

5. Program Benefits

5.1 Participants are entitled to the following Program benefits:

  • Participants selected for the Program will receive: Personalized mentorship from Google and industry experts
  • Access to Google self-paced learning programs, MeitY Startup Education, and invite-only seminar & events
  • Receive market consultation and app quality review.

In addition, select number of Participants may also receive:

  • Google products and services’ credits
  • Android hardware
  • Potential opportunity to be showcased on Google Play (subject to Play editorial review) 

5.2 Participants will ensure that two of its senior executives are able to attend the Initial support and training program, and one executive is able to attend the VC Pitches and Graduation (“Attendees”) to the extent the Developer is eligible and selected. Attendees must be over 18 years of age.

(Condition applicable to any hardware, device or other item)

5.3 If the benefits include the provision of any hardware, device or other item from Google (“Device”), Participants agree that:

  • The Device may be subject to restrictions and/or licenses and may require additional hardware, software, service, or maintenance to use.
  • Participants will bear all responsibility for compliance with any conditions imposed by the Device manufacturer, and any additional costs associated with the use, service, or maintenance of the Device.
  • Participants will be solely responsible for ensuring that they comply with any applicable trade and customs laws, tax laws, and filing requirements.
  • The Device is intended to be used for testing and other purposes in relation to game/app development.

6. Privacy

6.1 You acknowledge, hereby accept and recognise, under the laws and regulations governing data protection in your country that Google may collect, store, share and otherwise use personally identifiable information provided during registration for the Program. By entering into the Program and providing your personally identifiable information you consent that Google will use this information for the purpose of the Program only and will process any such personal information in accordance with its Privacy Policy (http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/). If you do not consent to the processing of your personally identifiable information as described here and detailed in the Privacy Policy, you will not be able to enter and participate in the Program.

 

7. Intellectual Property Rights

7.1 As between Google and you, you retain ownership of all intellectual property rights (including moral rights) in and to any content submitted by you as part of your entry into the Program. By submitting an entry to be considered for the Program, you grant Google, its affiliates, agents and partner companies, an irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive and, unless otherwise agreed, royalty free licence for the maximum amount of time permitted by the applicable law in the entry to use, copy, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, distribute, publicly perform, create a derivative work from, and publicly display your submission for any purpose connected with the Program, such as,: (1) for the purposes of allowing Google and the evaluators to evaluate your entry for purposes of the Program and identifying Participants to the public, and (2) for the purposes of advertising and promotion, and press and media communications.

7.2 You promise that you are entitled to any intellectual property rights in your submission and that you have not copied your submission, in whole or in part, from any other existing work to which you do not have exclusive intellectual property rights. You agree to indemnify and hold Google harmless against any third party legal proceeding arising from an allegation that the submission infringes or misappropriate any third party’s rights, including intellectual property rights.

7.3 By agreeing to participate in the Program, Participant grants to Google and its affiliates a worldwide, irrevocable, sub-licensable, and non-exclusive licence to use Participant’s name, business name, brand features and website address for advertising and promotional purposes (including, without limitation, the promotion of the Program) for the full period of protection of any applicable intellectual property laws.

7.4 Participants agree to participate in any media or promotional activity regarding the Program and, in that event, will grant to Google and its affiliates, to the extent permitted under applicable law, a worldwide, irrevocable, sub-licensable, and non-exclusive licence to use Participant’s name, image and likeness for advertising and promotional purposes. 

 

8. Right to cancel, modify or disqualify

8.1 If for any reason outside Google’s control, the Program is not capable of running as planned (which may include tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, printing errors, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Program), Google may, at its sole discretion, cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Program.

8.2 Google may, acting reasonably: (a) disqualify any Developer who tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Program process or whose conduct is contrary to the spirit of the Terms or the intention of the Program and declare void its submission based on such conduct; or (b) declare void submissions resulting from any errors materially affecting the selection process or the number of Developers.

 

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and keep indemnified Google and its affiliates at all times from and against all liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omissions by you and or a breach of any warranty by you detailed herein to the maximum extent permitted by law. You indemnify and agree to keep indemnified Google and its affiliates at all times from and against any liability, actions, claims, demands, losses, damages costs and expenses for or in respect of which Google or its affiliates will or may become liable by reason of or related or incidental to any act, default or omission by you under these rules including without limitation resulting from or in relation to any breach, non-observance, act or omission whether negligent or otherwise, pursuant to those rules by you. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree to hold Google, its affiliates, respective Directors, Officers, Employees and assigns harmless for any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in the Program and/or use or acceptance of any Program benefit.

 

10. Severability

If any provision(s) of these Terms are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.  

 

11. Google Play 

Distribution of the Game/App through Google Play is governed by the Developer Distribution Agreement found at https://play.google.com/about/developer-distribution-agreement.html (or such other URL as Google may specify), or any other similar agreement for distribution of the Game/App provided by Google or its affiliates, but not, for the avoidance of doubt, these Terms.

 

12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with California law, excluding California’s choice of law. Nothing in these Terms will limit a party’s ability to seek equitable relief. The parties will try in good faith to settle any dispute relating to these Terms (“Dispute”) within 30 days after such Dispute arises. If the Dispute is not resolved within 30 days, it must be resolved by arbitration by the International Centre for Dispute Resolution of the American Arbitration Association and conducted in accordance with its Expedited Commercial Rules in force as of the date of these Terms. There will be one arbitrator selected by mutual agreement of the parties. The arbitration will be conducted in English in Santa Clara County, California, USA. Any decision rendered by the arbitrator will be final and binding on the parties, and judgment thereon may be entered by any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator may order equitable or injunctive relief consistent with the remedies and limitations in these Terms. All information disclosed in connection with the arbitration, including the existence of the arbitration, will be considered confidential information and shall not be disclosed to third parties except as required by law. The parties may, however, disclose such information to an appropriate court under confidentiality restrictions, as necessary to seek enforcement of any arbitration award or judgment or to seek any relief permitted under these Terms. Nothing in these Terms will limit a party’s ability to seek equitable relief necessary to protect its rights pending resolution of the arbitration.  

 

13. Language

These Terms may be translated into any other language for reference purposes only, and if there is a discrepancy between the English text and the text of the other language, the English text shall prevail.