Rules

Overview of the Tournament

No purchase necessary to enter or win. The tournament is void where prohibited.

The 2004 TopCoder Open (“TCO”) Component Design and Development Competition (“CDDC”) will take placebetween August 10th and November 12th, 2004. It will consist of two competitions - the design competitionand the development competition. Each competition will consist of three (3) online rounds taking place overthe course of six (6) weeks and one (1) final online round, being the Championship Round. The prize pursefor this tournament is $100,000 in cash, with $64,200 being awarded in the design competition and $35,800in the development competition. The four (4) competitors in each competition with the highest cumulativeplacement scores after the three (3) online rounds will advance to the online Championship Round, theresults of which will be announced at the Santa Clara Marriott in Santa Clara, California, USA on November12th, 2004.

Eligibility

TopCoder members meeting the following criteria are eligible to compete in the CDDC:

• Must be at least 18 years of age (as of August 10, 2004).
• Must not have been permanently suspended from participating in TopCoder Component Development projects.
• Must be either (i) a U.S. citizen, (ii) a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., (iii) a temporary resident,asylee, refugee of the U.S., or have a lawfully issued work authorization card permitting unrestricted employmentin the U.S., or (iv) a non-U.S. resident authorized to perform services as an independent contractor.

The Contest is void in the Quebec province of Canada, and elsewhere where prohibited by applicable law. Cash prizes will not be paid to residents of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria.

Those members who are eligible to compete in both the Algorithm Competition of the TCO and in the CDDCwill be permitted to participate in both. In addition, members will be allowed to compete in both thedesign and development competitions of the CDDC. However, if one member participates in both the designand development competitions AND qualifies as one of the finalists in each, then the member will only bepermitted to advance to the Championship Round in one of the competitions. The following criteria willbe used to determine which competition the member will advance to:

1. The member will advance to the competition in which he/she achieved a higher cumulative placement score.(Details of how the placement scoring is calculated are provided below.)
2. If the member’s cumulative placement score is the same for both competitions, then the memberwill choose the competition in which he/she will compete.

Employees of TopCoder, Inc. and Microsoft, Inc. and those involved in the production (including prize suppliers), implementationand distribution of this contest and their advertising or promotion agencies, parent companies, service providers,agents, officers, subsidiaries or affiliates, or any other persons or entities directly associated with the contestand members of the immediate families and/or persons living in the same household as such persons, are ineligible toenter the tournament.

Placement Scoring

Scoring in the CDDC is determined based on the placement for each submission. Placement is determined based on thescore awarded for a particular component. For example, if 3 submissions were received for one Level 1 component and thescores were 93, 89, and 71, the member receiving the score of 93 would be in 1st place and would receive 10 points. Inorder to receive placement points the submission must pass the minimum component score of 70. Placement scoring is as follows:

Registration

Registration for the 2004 TopCoder Open Component Competition will open at 9:00AM ET on Monday, August 9, 2004,and will close at 9:00AM ET on Tuesday, September 7, 2004. In order to be eligible to compete in the ComponentCompetition, competitors must be a registered TopCoder member and have registered separately for the ComponentCompetition. Registration for the competition is unlimited, however each individual may only register once.

Schedule

Both the design and development competitions will have three (3) online rounds and one (1) onlineChampionship Round. Each contestant participating in an online round must submit his/her design and/ordevelopment submissions for components as scheduled. TopCoder members from around the world maybe participating in the online rounds, but all start times will be communicated as Eastern Time, socontestants in different time zones must adjust accordingly.

Scoring and Advancing

During each week of competition, eligible competitors can submit design and development solutions for at least oneeligible component by the submission due date. Submissions will be scored by the TopCoder Review Boards and willbe subject to final review and appeal in the same manner as standard component design and development submissions.Scoring of each submission by the TopCoder Review Boards is based on the criteria outlined in theDevelopment Review Scorecardfor the Development Contest or the criteria outlined in theDesign Review Scorecard for theDesign Contest. SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED DURING EACH ROUND’S SUBMISSION TIMELINE TO BE CONSIDERED AVIABLE ENTRY. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS.

There will be no elimination of contestants during the three (3) online rounds. Round winners will be those participantswith the highest cumulative placement score for each round. Prizes will be awarded to the 1st and 2nd place finishersin each round. In the case of a tie for any prize-winning position in any online round other than the Championship Round,the prize money will be distributed equally among the tied participants.

Up to the three (3) highest individual placement scores that each contestant receives for his/her submissions throughoutthe six (6) weeks of competition will be added together for a cumulative placement score. The four (4) competitors in eachcompetition with the highest cumulative placement score will advance to the online ChampionshipRound. There will be no onsite portion of the Championship Round. A review of the CDDC by TopCoder Review Board members andthe announcement of the winners in each competition will be made onsite on November 12th.

In the event of a tie of cumulative placement score among the advancers to the Championship Round, the tie will be resolved in the following manner:

1. Highest cumulative component score of the lesser number of components used to develop the cumulative placementscore for the tied competitors.
2. If a tie still remains, then the highest individual component score of the lesser number of components used todevelop the cumulative placement score for the tied competitors.
3. If a tie still remains, then all tied contestants will advance to the online Championship Round.

Example:
Contestant #1 submits three components in the design competition, earning the following component and placement scores:

Component #1 - score 88.45; placement 2; placement score 7
Component #2 - score 76.33; placement 3; placement score 5
Component #3 - score 82.89; placement 3; placement score 5

Cumulative placement score: 7 + 5 + 5 = 17

Contestant #2 submits two components in the design competition, earning the following component and placement scores:

Component #1 - score 92.56; placement 1; placement score 10
Component #2 - score 75.83; placement 2; placement score 7

Cumulative placement score: 10 + 7 = 17

To determine who advances to Championship Round, look at the highest cumulative component score of the
lesser number of components used to develop the cumulative placement score for the tied competitors.

Contestant #1: 88.45 + 82.89 = 171.34
Contestant #2: 92.56 + 75.83 = 168.39

Contestant #1 would advance to the Championship Round.

The Championship Round will be a single online round of four (4) competitors in each competition. Two winnerswill be crowned onsite, one Design Champion and one Development Champion. Each champion will be the member who receives the highest score on his/her final component submission in each competition.

Championship Tiebreaker:
In the event of a tie in the Championship Round, the tie will be resolved in the following manner (in order):

1. By cumulative placement score as of the end of the three (3) online rounds (highest cumulative placement score wins).
2. If a tie still remains, then by highest cumulative component score of the lesser number of components used to develop the cumulative placement score for the tied competitors.
3. If a tie still remains, then the prize money will be distributed equally among the tied members.

Onsite Participation
The four (4) participants in the Championship Round in each competition will travel to the Santa ClaraMarriott on Wednesday, November 10th. Announcement of the CDDC winners will be made on November 12th.All contestants must arrive at the Santa Clara Marriott no later than 4:00 PM PT on Wednesday, November 10th.If a contestant is unable to attend the onsite event, he/she will forfeit his/her eligibility to receive a prize.

TopCoder will provide travel arrangements for each competitor up to a cost of $1,000 per person.(That is, if a contestant’s airfare is greater than $1,000, the contestant will be responsible for the differencebetween the cost of the airfare and $1,000.) TopCoder will provide ground transportation to and from the airport, as wellas accommodations and certain meals for each contestant. All other expenses are the responsibility of the contestant.TopCoder will not provide travel or lodging accommodations for competitor guests at the 2004 TopCoder Open.

Prizes

All contestants who submit components that pass screening during at least one online round will receive a prize.The tournament will award $100,000 in cash prizes, with $64,200 being awarded in the design competition and $35,800in the development competition. If the minimum criteria for 1st or 2nd place are not met during any weekly competition,then the associated prizes will be forfeited. Any and all applicable taxes on prizes are the sole responsibility ofthe prizewinner. Prizes will be distributed as follows:

Conditions of Participation

By participating in the tournament, you agree to be bound by these rules and to all decisions of TopCoder, which are final,binding and conclusive in all matters. Also, by participating in this tournament, you consent to providing certain informationto Microsoft for recruiting purposes. Such information shall include the information contained in your TopCoder member profileand your competition statistics.

Contestants must not cheat. All ideas for any solution submitted, including but not limited to design ideas and source code, must be the contestant’s alone.

All decisions relating to the viability of submissions, the ranking of submissions and all other matters pertaining to the tournament shall be within the sole discretion of TopCoder or its designee and shall be final and binding in all respects.

As a condition of participation in the tournament, all information provided by you in your TopCoder member profile must becomprehensive, accurate and up-to-date. TopCoder may require you to complete an additional registration form to register forthe tournament. In order to be eligible to participate in the tournament, you must have completed any and all registration formsrequired by TopCoder.

As a condition of winning and redeeming a cash prize, finalists will be required to return by Monday, October 18, 2004 acompleted (i) notarized Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release, (ii) competitor questionnaire (thequestions and responses will be published in the 2004 TopCoder Open Program), (iii) travel form, and (iv) IRS Form W-9,W-8BEN or W-8ECI, as appropriate, if one is not already on file with TopCoder. In completing the Affidavit of Eligibility andLiability and Publicity Release, a winner (a) confirms his/her eligibility, (b) represents and warrants that he/she has notcheated; that the idea for the code submitted is his/hers alone, © verifies the accuracy of the demographic informationsubmitted to, and contained in, the TopCoder member database, (d) authorizes TopCoder to publicize the tournament’s results,(e) agrees to sign any applicable forms required by tax authorities, (f) assigns to TopCoder all rights to all informationsubmitted during the tournament (including rights to source code and other executables), and (g) releases TopCoder fromliability arising out of any prize won. TopCoder requires contestants to complete the Form W-9, W-8BEN or W-8ECI for taxreporting purposes. If prize notification is returned as undeliverable, or if the winner fails to return the Affidavit, orthe appropriate tax form, the winner will be disqualified and the prize money won by the disqualified winner will be forfeited.Providing false information in the registration process or in the required forms described in this paragraph will disqualify a winner.

By participating in a tournament and redeeming a prize, a winner releases and agrees to hold harmless TopCoder, its affiliates,subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, sponsors, and prize suppliers, and all of their respective directors, officers,employees, representatives and agents, from and against any and all liability for any loss, property damage or damage to person,including without limitation, death and injury, due in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from or arising out of participationin this tournament, or participation in any tournament-related activity, or the receipt, use or misuse of a prize. TopCoderspecifically disclaims all liability associated with, and makes no warranties with regard to, any prize given.

In addition, all prizewinners agree to cooperate with TopCoder’s publicity efforts, without further compensation. Thisincludes the agreement to use their name, handle, address (city and state) and likeness for publicity purposes, where legal,for this or similar future tournaments, and to use the statements made by, or attributed to, the winners relating to TopCoderand any and all rights to said use, without further compensation. Furthermore, all prizewinners agree to promptly notifyTopCoder if a non-sponsor third-party contacts the prizewinner regarding employment opportunities and/or media interest as a result ofthe prizewinner’s participation in the tournament.

TopCoder reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to revoke any and all privileges associated with competing in thistournament, and to take any other action it deems appropriate, for no reason or any reason whatsoever, including if TopCodersuspects competitors of cheating, tampering with the entry process, the operation of the Web site, or the tournament process,or otherwise being in violation of the rules. TopCoder reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the tournament if itis not capable of completion as planned for any reason, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorizedintervention or technical failures of any sort.

Other
The tournament is void in whole or in part where prohibited by law.

A list of tournament winners by coder handles will be available on the web site athttp://www.topcoder.com/, and willbe displayed for at least 3 months after the end of the tournament.

This tournament is brought to you by TopCoder, Inc. (http://www.topcoder.com/) 703 Hebron Avenue (now 95 Glastonbury Blvd), Glastonbury, CT 06033.