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2008 Official Rules
Eligibility
Entry Materials and Fees
Judging
Rules Applicable to Award Winners
The MDEA Supplier Program
Entries that do not meet the following requirements will be disqualified. Canon Communications reserves the right to withhold or withdraw awards given for any product later found not to be in the form described in the entry, or found not to qualify under these rules. For details about how to complete the MDEA Entry Questionnaire, submitters should refer to the How to Enter section of the MDEA Web site.
Eligibility
The MDEA competition is open to companies and individuals involved in the design, engineering, manufacture, or distribution of finished medical devices or medical packaging. Although entries are most often submitted by manufacturers, firms that provide materials, components, or other services may submit an entry on behalf of a product manufacturer with that manufacturer’s written consent. Complete information for the manufacturer’s authorized contact must be provided in the Entry Questionnaire.
The competition is open to finished medical devices and packaging, including instruments, machines, implants, in vitro reagents, or related products that are intended for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or other conditions in humans or animals.
All entered products must be commercially available—able to be ordered or purchased—by December 31, 2007. Such availability is not limited to products approved for marketing in the United States. Because the competition is open to the medical device industry worldwide, products commercially available in any country are eligible.
Products that have previously been selected as award winners may not be entered again unless significant design or engineering changes have been made to the product. Products previously entered but not selected as winners may be entered again.
Entries are not accepted from sponsoring companies or from jurors, their companies, or those companies’ subsidiaries, in the year they act as sponsors or jurors. Any product thus disqualified may be entered in a subsequent year.
Entry materials and fees
Entrants must provide their responses to the Entry Questionnaire in both electronic (e-mailed, diskette, or CD-ROM) and hard-copy (signed) forms. An electronic version of the questionnaire can be downloaded here.
The electronic version of the completed questionnaire, together with other electronic materials pertaining to the entry, may be e-mailed to mdea@cancom.com. Alternatively, entrants may save the electronic form of their entry materials to a standard PC-compatible diskette or CD-ROM and mail them with the hard copy of their entry.
The hard copy of the completed 2008 Entry Questionnaire must be printed on plain white paper (not letterhead), with page numbers in the center of the bottom margin. The submitter of the entry must sign and date this copy of the form, attesting to the eligibility of the product and the accuracy of the entry materials. If the entry fee will be paid with a credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or American Express), the cardholder must authorize payment by signing and dating this copy of the form in the spaces provided. This signed hard copy of the questionnaire, together with other required entry materials, should be mailed to:
Medical Design Excellence Awards
c/o Steve Halasey, Group Editor
Canon Communications LLC
11444 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064-1549
Phone: 310/445-4274
For an entry to be considered on time for the 2008 competition, all required materials and entry fees must be received by Canon Communications no later than 5:00 p.m. (PST) on January 18, 2008.
Entries found to be incomplete after the final entry deadline are subject to disqualification regardless of when the original materials arrived or what entry fee has been paid. Entry fees are not refundable under any circumstances.
All entry materials (including photos, graphics, and exhibits) must accurately represent the commercially available product. Canon reserves the right to withhold or withdraw awards given for any product later found not to be in the form described in the entry.
All entry materials (exclusive of sample products) become the property of Canon Communications and will not be returned.
No materials submitted in conjunction with an entry will be considered confidential. By submitting your entry, you agree that any or all of the material may be published by Canon Communications or any other party authorized by Canon in connection with the awards.
All check and money order payments must be made in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. Make checks payable to Canon Communications LLC. Entry fees may also be paid via VISA, MasterCard, or American Express credit accounts, when authorized by the cardholder’s signature on the hard copy of the Entry Questionnaire.
Judging
Canon Communications and members of the MDEA jury panel reserve the right to investigate and confirm any information presented in an MDEA entry. Canon reserves the right to withhold or withdraw awards given for any product whose entry is found to be inaccurate.
The MDEA jury may elect to present as many or as few awards as it deems merited by the quality and number of entries, irrespective of category.
The decision of the jury shall be final.
Canon Communications reserves the right to clarify or amend the rules and procedures pertaining to the MDEA competition at any time.
Rules applicable to award winners
By entering the awards competition, you agree that if you receive an award you will comply with the following terms.
Medical Design Excellence Awards honor achievements in the design and development of medical technologies in the form of commercialized products. MDEA honors therefore pertain only to the specific product judged by the MDEA jury panel. When citing the award in advertising, promotional material, or publicity, companies must avoid implying that it is an endorsement of the entire company, aspects of the company’s business not in evidence, or other company products not judged as part of the competition.
The designation “MDEA Winner” and related graphics, including the MDEA Winner logo, may be used only by the manufacturer of a winning product and the company that submitted the entry (if other than the manufacturer).
Companies must not cite the award in any way that states or implies that: (a) Canon Communications LLC, Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry magazine, or any sponsor of or participant in the competition endorses the product; (b) the device was actually tested or that its scientific principles were validated as part of the competition; or (c) the award is a confirmation of the safety and efficacy of the device or of any of the claims made concerning the device.
When citing the award in advertising, promotional material, or publicity concerning an MDEA-winning company or business, the following language is recommended to ensure there is no misunderstanding about the award: “Award is based upon descriptive materials submitted to the jurors; the jurors and the competition operators did not verify the accuracy of any submission or of any claims made and did not test the item to which the award was given.”
The competition operators may publicize the competition and its outcome, including the names of the winning products, the proprietors of the winning products, and the names and likenesses of the individuals who contributed to the winning products.
The MDEA Supplier program
The MDEA Supplier program is an adjunct activity that recognizes the contributions of firms that have provided goods and services to the manufacturers of MDEA-winning products. The honor is restricted to companies named in entry materials for MDEA-winning products. To be eligible, suppliers and their contact information must be included in the entry materials prior to the commencement of judging.
The designation “Year MDEA Supplier” and the exclusive MDEA Supplier logo may be used only by companies that are honored as suppliers to an MDEA-winning product.
Honored suppliers may not use the designation “MDEA Winner” or related graphics, including the MDEA Winner logo, unless the company has earned that designation by submitting the entry on behalf of the manufacturer. In that case, both winner and supplier honors will apply to the company.