TERMS & CONDITIONS and PRIVACY POLICY

SECTION ONE: DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION

Definition

Unless the context requires otherwise, the following terms have the following meaning in these Terms and Conditions:

Applicant means a company that has submitted an application to be selected to participate in the Program.

Participant means a company that has been selected by the Program Managers to participate in the Program.

Program means the Open Innovation Program 2.0 by Vodafone Business.

Program Managers are the entities responsible for managing the Program, and include:

• Beta-i

• Vodafone Portugal 

Program Managers may be described as us, we, or our throughout these Terms and Conditions.

Program Partners are companies participating in the Program via a partnership established with Vodafone Portugal. Program Partners take part in the Selection, Pilot Development, and final event and have the purpose of engaging with Participants in pilot projects. Program Partners are disclosed on the Program website (https://openinnovationprogram-vodafone.com/).

You or your means an Applicant or, after selection, a Participant.

SECTION TWO: CONDITIONS OF APPLICATION

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible to apply for the Program the Applicant must:

1. Be a company incorporated in Portugal, Europe or from a participating country in the Digital European Programme – check the participating countries here with a registered tax number as well as PME certification (not applicable to Startups); and provide proof of that registration if requested by the Program Managers;
2. Be represented by the team whose members are at least 18 years of age;
3. Apply with a solution that is between Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 (tech solution validated in a lab) to TRL 8 (tech solution developed, tested, and ready to implement);
4. Offer a product or service solution that incorporates or/and can be improved by 5G and related technologies;
5. Not be an employee of any of the Program Managers or any of the Program Partners or have any relationship with those entities that might represent a conflict of interest;
6. Not be involved in the Program selection process; or otherwise involved in the design, delivery or promotion of the Program (or be related to a member of any such person’s immediate family or household).

Note that companies with business models that are based solely on consulting are ineligible to participate.

Selection in the Program and Indicative Schedule

Applications meeting the minimum criteria outlined in these terms and conditions will be reviewed by Program Managers for potential participation in the Program. Program Managers will contact the Applicants if more information or clarifications are needed about their application materials at any stage during the selection process. Based on application materials, Applicant companies will be selected by the Program Managers for participation in the Program.

The decision of the Program Managers on the successful Applicants is final and at the sole discretion of the Program Managers.

The proposed timeline for the application and selection process is listed on the Program website (https://openinnovationprogram-vodafone.com/).

Application Submission and Closing Time

Your application must be submitted electronically via the application form at https://www.f6s.com/open-innovation-program-2.0/apply before the closing time. The Program Managers may at their discretion consider an application submitted after the closing time but are not obliged to do so.

Selection Criteria and Evaluation

The selection and evaluation of the Participants will be based on an internal framework that will assess the following:

• Solution – Evaluates the clarity and maturity of the technology. Also, how well it integrates with Vodafone’s ecosystem. 
• Innovation – Assesses the novelty of the solution, its ability to meet market needs, and its potential to create new business models or revenue streams for Vodafone.
• Test Bed Fit – Measures how well the solution aligns with Vodafone Boost Lab’s infrastructure, its readiness for testing, and whether Vodafone’s tools are essential for its success.
• Pilot Development – Evaluates the ease and feasibility of implementing a pilot, focusing on the solution’s ability to be efficiently executed within the program’s timeframe.

The above-mentioned framework may be made available upon demand. Ultimately, the Program Managers reserve the right to evaluate the applications and issue the final decision at their discretion.

Notification

You will be promptly informed in writing of any decision made concerning your application. We reserve the right to not provide reasons for the acceptance or rejection of your application.

Costs of Application

You participate in this application process at your sole risk and expense. You will bear all costs related to the preparation of your application and participation in the application process.

Conflict of Interest

You must identify and notify us of any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest that you have in relation to this application or your participation in the Program. If you fail to notify us, or you are unable or unwilling to resolve the conflict as required by us, your application may be excluded from further consideration.

An existing commercial or legal relationship with a Program Manager or a Program Partner may not represent a conflict of interest, but we request you to disclose the details of such relationship in your application.

Confidentiality

You agree to provide us with information about your assets, business or other affairs for the purpose of or in connection with:

• applying to participate in the Program;
• allowing us to consider your application;
• your participation in the Program; and
• allowing one or more Program Managers or Program Partners to identify and commence separate discussions about potential commercial or legal relationships between your company and the Program Manager or Program Partner  (Agreed Purpose).

Each of the Program Managers and Program Partners agree to keep all information you provide to us for the agreed purpose (confidential information) secret and confidential and will not disclose the confidential information to any person without your prior consent or as otherwise expressly permitted in these Terms and Conditions. Each of the Program Managers and Program Partners agree to use the confidential information only for the agreed purpose.

This undertaking of confidentiality does not apply to confidential information:

• which was known by the receiving party prior to the other providing the confidential information;
• which is or becomes available to the public (other than by unlawful means);
• which becomes available (other than by unlawful means) from a source other than the disclosing party and that source is under no obligation to the disclosing party to maintain the confidential information in confidence; or
• which is required to be disclosed by the receiving party by rule or law or by regulation of a Stock Exchange which has authority over Program Managers and Program Partners.

You acknowledge that the Program Managers and Program Partners may disclose the confidential information to their respective directors, employees and advisors for the agreed purpose, provided that such persons have first been made aware of the confidential nature of the confidential information and have agreed to comply with this confidentiality undertaking.

The obligations of confidentiality will continue for a period of 3 years from the closing time of the respective application with respect to those Applicants that have not become Participants. With respect to the Participants, the confidentiality obligations will continue for the whole period of the participation of the Program and for an additional two-year period after the ending of that participation.

Intellectual Property Rights and information contained on applications 

The information provided in the application form will become available for the Program Managers upon submission and the applicant authorizes its use, copy, modification or anything else necessary of all materials contained in the application for the purposes of:

• evaluating and clarifying your application;
• proceeding with your participation in the Program (if selected); and 
• considering potential commercial or legal relationships between your company and the Program Managers/ Program Partners outside the scope of the Program.

You acknowledge that the management and protection of your intellectual property is your sole responsibility, both during the application phase and, if selected as a Participant, during your participation in the Program.

Notwithstanding, all participants in this Program shall retain copyright and industrial / intellectual property rights over projects submitted and further developed by them with Program Manager’s assistance or that of Program Partners.

The participants, while retaining the right to commercially exploit the products or services that are further developed under this program, grant Program Managers and the Program Partners the right to use said project, on a non-exclusive, but free of charge basis for the Program Manager and Program Partner’s promotional purposes. 

Misleading Claims, Improper Assistance and Anti-Competitive Conduct

In preparing your application and participating in the selection process you must not:

• make any false or misleading claims, statements or other representations;
• engage in any collusion, anti-competitive conduct or any other similar conduct with any other person;
• use the improper assistance of any Program Managers employee, or any improperly obtained information; and
• violate any applicable laws regarding the offering of inducements.

Program Manager Rights

The Program Managers reserve the right at any time and for any reason to do any of the following:

• suspend, vary, amend or cease to proceed with the Program selection process or Program;
• vary or amend the application form or evaluation criteria;
• consider and accept or reject any application that is non-conforming or received after the closing time;
• vary or extend any time or date relevant to the selection process or Program;
• call for new applications;
• terminate participation in the selection process by any Applicant;
• allow any Applicant to change its application;
• publish or disclose your company name whether successful or unsuccessful.

Any time or date in these Terms and Conditions is for our sole convenience and does not create an obligation on us to take any action by such time or date.

SECTION THREE: CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM

Benefits for successful applicants

Participants will be able to partake in the Program: the Q&A Session (if pre-selection criteria are met); the Pilot Development (if specific selection criteria are met), focused on deploying pilots within the infrastructure available in the Vodafone Boost Lab and Program Partners, workshops and networking sessions; The final event of the Program will be an in, which exact date will be communicated in advance.

Additionally, during or at the end of the Program, you may have the opportunity to engage in collaboration or receive strategic investment by one or more of the Program Managers or Program Partners, however, this opportunity is not guaranteed. Any commercial relationships or opportunities you are offered are subject to separate negotiations and agreements with the relevant Program Manager or Program Partner and do not form part of the Program.

Participation in the Program

If you are selected to participate in the Program you, representing your company must:

• give consent for your company name to be associated with this Program and/or used by Program Managers to promote the Program or their respective companies;
• share requested information about your company and products with Program Managers and Program Partners. Confidential Information will be protected by the confidentiality undertaking in section one and data protection processes explained in section three;
• commit to scheduling and attending periodic inter-Program calls with company peer Participants in the Program and with the Program Managers;
• provide to Program Managers sufficient and reasonable details of relationships entered into with an individual Program Manager or Program Partner as a result of the Program, and output and results of such relationships. This information is to be provided during and after the Program.

Pilot Development

Regarding the development of pilots, Participants acknowledge that these are integrated in Boost Lab’s publicly subsidized test bed, as part of the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan (“PRR”). Thus, in order to comply with obligations stemming from the PRR and the terms of the partially publicly funded program, Participants may be subject to obligations, such as the signature of specific documents or declarations, that arise from legal obligations in case of a pilot execution.

The execution of a pilot requires prior signature of a Service Agreement that regulates the provision of the necessary services in order to complete such exercise. Participants also acknowledge that the provision of the services may require the payment of service fees (as agreed by the Participant upon signature of the Service Agreement).

If Participants do not agree to advance with the execution of a pilot or refuse to sign the Service Agreement, they may be excluded from the Program.

Termination and variations

The Program Managers reserve the right to terminate a Participant’s involvement in the Program at their sole discretion if:

• the Participant breaches these Terms and Conditions; or
• if the Participants employee(s) engage in inappropriate (as determined by Program Managers), unethical or illegal behavior or are disruptive to overall group cohesion or may cause reputational damages to the Program Managers or the Program Partners.

Participants will be given prior notice before they are terminated from the Program.

Program Managers may also terminate or make changes to the Program at any time. Participants will be given notice of such termination or changes. Termination or changes decided by the Program Managers will not entitle Participants to receive any kind of compensation from Program Managers as a result of the termination or the changes.

Acknowledgment and waiver

Participants acknowledge that their participation in the Program is at their sole risk. Participants may withdraw from the Program at any time or make alternative arrangements for travel, accommodation or meals (at their cost). Program Managers will have no liability to Participants for any loss or damage arising in connection with the Program, including property damage or economic loss (except in relation to a breach of the confidentiality undertaking in section 1).  By applying to the Program, Applicants and Participants expressly waive the right to make a claim against any Program Managers or Program Partners for any loss or damage.

SECTION FOUR: DATA PROTECTION 

Privacy Policy

This is the privacy policy for the “Open Innovation Program 2.0” (The Program). Open Innovation Program 2.0 powered by Vodafone Business is a Program launched by Vodafone Business, in conjunction with Beta-i, who jointly constitute Program Managers. Any reference to we, us or our in these terms is a reference to Program Managers unless otherwise stated.

We are committed to respecting the privacy of Applicants and Participants in the Program. The following statement explains how we may use the personal data we collect from you in relation to your application for, and if selected, participation in, the Program. Personal data will be collected and processed for such purpose in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016, hereinafter “GDPR”) and Law 58/2019, of 8 August 2019, as follows:

Data subjects are advised to read this information on their personal data processing carefully before using the application process. Data subjects shall represent and warrant that they are of age and that the data provided are true, accurate, complete and updated, and will be held accountable for any misrepresentations. When providing third-party data, data subjects shall represent and warrant that they notified the relevant third party of the terms and conditions and that they secured the third party’s authorization to provide the third party’s data for the specified purposes.

Data Controllers

The data controllers are the Program Managers, which include the following companies:

• Vodafone Portugal Comunicações Pessoais, S.A., registered with the Commercial Registry Office under the sole company and tax number 502 544 180, with registered office at Parque das Nações, Avenida D. João II, 36, 8º Piso, 1998-017 Lisboa, Portugal.
• Beta-i Collaborative Innovation, Lda registered with the Commercial Registry Office under the sole company and tax number 514075228, with registered office at Edifício Atrium Saldanha Praça Duque de Saldanha, nº 1, 2º andar, 1050-094 Lisboa, Portugal

The Program Managers are separate entities that are working together to deliver the Program and nothing in these terms is intended to suggest any other association between the Program Managers.     

Scope

This privacy policy applies to any company submitting an application to the Program and if selected, participating in the Program.

The Program Managers are joint controllers, and all are jointly responsible for how to process your personal data. In that case, the Program Managers are joint controllers according to the GDPR.

Where you submit an application, this privacy policy applies in addition to our terms and conditions (https://www.f6s.com/terms). The submission of an application is conditional upon you agreeing with this privacy policy.

Applications are made through the F6S website. The F6S website has its own privacy policy (https://www.f6s.com/privacy-policy) which describes how F6S may use your personal information. If you decide to use the F6S website, you should review F6S’s privacy policy in addition to our own privacy policy. Please note that we are not responsible for the user account that you have registered with F6S. Further, we have no control over cookies placed on your device by F6S and we have no control over log files created by F6S.

Personal Data 

In the course of completing and submitting an application form and participating in the selection process, you may provide us with personal data such as your name, address, date of birth, telephone numbers (including mobile number), and email address (personal data).

This is information that we consider necessary so that we can properly consider your application. If you do not agree to us holding this information about you, please do not complete an application.

In completing the application form or participating in the application process you may choose to provide further personal data about yourself, team members, or other associated people. It is entirely your decision as to whether you provide this type of information to us and you should only provide this information if you are comfortable with us storing it and using it to process your application as described in this privacy policy.

Personal information relating to other people  

It is possible that during the application process, for example, whilst completing the application form or participating in the Program live, you may provide us with personal data about other data subjects, such as team members or other people involved in your business or business idea.

Where you do provide us with personal data relating to other data subjects, it is your responsibility to: 

1. inform them that you will be providing their personal data to us; 
2. provide them with a copy of this privacy policy so that they are aware of how their personal data may be used and their rights in respect of it; and 
3. obtain their written consent (for example by way of email) to disclose the personal data to us.

By submitting personal data about other data subjects, you agree to indemnify us for any claim, fine or penalty that we may suffer (including any associated costs or expenses that we incur) as a result of your failure to comply with the paragraph above.

Purposes and legal basis for the processing of personal data 

1. We may use your personal data as follows:

• • to perform our obligations in respect of the handling of your application, including:
  • registering you on the Program Managers’ databases;
  • considering your application to participate in the Program; and
  • making arrangements with you to attend and participate in the following phases of the Program: the Q&A Session, Pilot Development and the final event,  (for more information on the Program phases please refer to the Program website (https://openinnovationprogram-vodafone.com/).

2. Where it is necessary for compliance with legal obligations, including for record keeping and regulatory compliance purposes; and
3. Where we otherwise have a legitimate interest in doing so, including:

• • promoting the Program, to increase awareness of the Program, our products, services and brands and your business;
  • updating you on relevant programs in addition to the one applied for, to promote awareness of those programs and encourage applications;
  • responding to any enquiry that you submit to us (in whatever form).

4. We may also contact you regarding investment or commercial opportunities that we consider may be of interest to you. We work with a wide range of companies and investors and, where it is considered that a company or investor might be interested in learning more about you and/or your business or business idea we may pass non-personal information (such as information about your business) onto that company or investor.

If that company or investor is interested in learning more about you then we may request your permission to pass your personal information onto that company or investor but will not pass your personal information on unless and until you have agreed to this.

If you do not want us to contact you for the purposes described in number 3. and 4., you can “opt out” by contacting us by sending an email to the email address as per Data Controllers Contacts section below.

Non-personal information that you submit may also be used for analytical or reporting purposes and anonymized reports may be published or otherwise provided to third parties.

Please be aware that any part of the Q&A Session including the pitches and the interviews, as well as other online sessions or events may be recorded and a copy of any recordings we make may be published and circulated in all of the parties social media channels, internal communication, etc. If you take part in any relevant events and would prefer not to be recorded, please let us know and we’ll ensure you are not included in any content.

Where our processing of your personal data is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw this consent at any time, which you may do by sending an email to the email address as per Data Controllers section below.

Please note however that the withdrawal of your consent will not affect any use of the data made before you withdraw your consent.

Recipients

We may disclose your personal data to third parties:

• for completing due diligence on you and your business or business idea (and, where appropriate, on your team or company);

• in publicity material, as described in the application terms;
• to suppliers involved in the operation of the Program, for example the operator of the venue where an event is held to make arrangements regarding your attendance or a creative agency involved in publicizing the Program;
• if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation;
• in order to protect the rights, property, or safety of ourselves and our customers

Responsibility for F6S

Your application must be submitted via the F6S website. Please note that we are not associated with F6S (other than using its website to process applications) and we are not responsible for its website in any way. If you do choose to submit an application via the F6S website, you should ensure that you are agreeable to its terms of use and privacy notice and that you are comfortable with the security features that it has in place.

Data subjects’ rights 

Data subjects may at any time, under the applicable laws, request access to their personal data, as well as their rectification, erasure and restriction of processing, withdraw consent, request the portability of their data, or object to processing, provided that the relevant legal requirements are met.

Users have the following personal data protection-related rights under the applicable laws:

The data subject is further entitled to lodge a complaint with the Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (Portuguese Data Protection Commission) if he or she considers that his or her personal data has been breached.

Data Controllers Contacts

With regards to their rights and in accordance to GDPR, the Applicant may contact any of the Program Managers as per contact details herein:

Vodafone Portugal Comunicações Pessoais, S.A.
E-mail: privacidade@vodafone.com
Address: Parque das Nações, Avenida D. João II, 36, 8.o Piso, 1998-017 Lisboa,

Beta-I Collaborative Innovation, Lda.
E-mail: data.protection@beta-i.com
Address:  Edifício Atrium Saldanha Praça Duque de Saldanha, nº 1, 2º andar, 1050-094 Lisboa, Portugal

Changes to the privacy policy

The Program Managers reserve the right to change these personal data processing terms and conditions at any time. The changes shall be duly disclosed on the Program website and notified using the contact details provided by the data subjects.