Makerchip ASIC Design Showdown 2025 Terms and Conditions

1. Overview

The Makerchip ASIC Design Showdown ("Competition") is a skill-based contest organized by Redwood EDA, LLC ("Organizer"). The purpose of the Competition is to encourage innovation and learning in semiconductor design using free and open-source electronic design automation (EDA) tools.

Participation in the Competition is voluntary and subject to these Terms and Conditions. By registering or submitting an entry, you agree to abide by these rules.

2. Eligibility

The Competition is open to individuals or teams worldwide.
Participants must be at least 13 years of age or the age of majority in their country of residence, whichever is higher.
Participation is void where prohibited by law.
Team entries are allowed; a single team lead must be designated for prize payouts.

3. Registration and Fees

Competitions may require payment of a non-refundable entry fee according to the published fee schedule.
Fees are used to support administration and fund prizes.
Accurate registration and payment must be completed before the submission deadline to be eligible to compete.

4. Competition Structure

Participants will receive a design challenge at the date and time announced.
Entries must be submitted by the stated submission deadline.
Submissions must comply with the competition rules and format requirements, which will be provided along with the challenge.
The Organizer reserves the right to disqualify entries that are incomplete, do not follow the challenge guidelines, or violate community standards.
Participants must monitor the provided Slack channel for any updates to times, dates, and competition details.

5. Judging and Prizes

Winners will be determined based on objective performance in head-to-head competition, as simulated and visualized using the Makerchip IDE.
Judging criteria will be detailed in the challenge announcement.
The decision of the Organizer regarding winners is final.
At least 50% of the fees collected by Redwood EDA will be distributed as cash prizes to winning team lead(s).
Prizes will be paid in USD via Wise (formerly TransferWise) or PayPal.
Any transfer or currency conversion fees may be deducted from the prize amount.
Winners are responsible for any and all applicable taxes and reporting obligations in their jurisdiction.
U.S. winners receiving $600 or more in prizes may be required to submit a W-9 form.
Non-U.S. winners may be requested to complete a W-8BEN form.

6. Intellectual Property

Participants retain ownership of their submitted designs.
All submissions must be released under a recognized permissive open-source license, such as the MIT, BSD, or Apache 2.0 license, or a similar approved license.
Participants must include a clear license declaration in their repository or submission materials.
By submitting, participants grant the Organizer a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and distribute their submissions for purposes related to promoting the Competition, future events, and educational purposes.

7. Code of Conduct

Participants are expected to behave respectfully toward others.
Unsportsmanlike conduct, harassment, or any behavior deemed detrimental to the spirit of the Competition may result in disqualification.

8. Limitation of Liability

The Organizer is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, or misdirected registrations, submissions, or communications.
The Organizer is not liable for technical malfunctions, network failures, or other issues outside its control.
Participation is at the participant's own risk.

9. Changes to the Terms

The Organizer reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time. Any changes will be communicated via the Competition webpage at redwoodeda.com.

10. Contact

For any questions related to the Competition or these Terms and Conditions, please contact the Organizer at showdown@redwoodeda.com.

By participating in the Makerchip ASIC Design Showdown, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Terms and Conditions.