LAUNCHPAD

LAUNCHPAD TERMS OF SERVICE ("TERMS")

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SUMMARY

This agreement is between you and the ELITES Organization developer and communications team, who operate LaunchPad as an open showcase platform intended for BSIT and BSDS students in the ITDS Department at BulSU Sarmiento Campus. Below is a plain-language summary of core guarantees to help guide you:

  • 100% Student IP Ownership: You retain complete, exclusive ownership of your code, models, and capstone assets. LaunchPad claims zero rights.
  • BulSU Community Standards: Only submit authentic, non-plagiarized academic or personal student work complying with BulSU academic integrity guidelines.
  • Zero Commercialization: LaunchPad is 100% free and educational. We do not sell student data, run ads, or charge fees.
  • DMCA & IP Protection: If any uploaded project infringes your copyright or trademark, we provide a rapid notice-and-takedown mechanism under RA 8293 and DMCA guidelines.
  • Fair Play: Favorites and bookmarks must be generated by active student accounts. Bots, scripts, and duplicate accounts are strictly disqualified.

01. INTRODUCTION & SCOPE

Welcome to LaunchPad, the official student project directory and submission showcase for BSIT and BSDS builders at Bulacan State University, Sarmiento Campus (BulSU SC). These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the platform, submission pipeline, member dashboard, and community leaderboard.

By signing in, submitting projects, or browsing student listings, you agree to comply with these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and the official Bulacan State University Student Handbook.

02. 100% STUDENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & OWNERSHIP

We believe student innovation belongs solely to the students who created it.

  • Your Code is Yours: You and your designated team contributors retain full, absolute intellectual property rights, copyright, and patent ownership to every line of code, design asset, screenshot, and documentation you upload.
  • Limited Showcase License: By submitting a build to LaunchPad, you grant the ELITES student technical showcase a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license strictly to index, display, format, and share your project metadata, screenshots, and live demo links on the platform and student showcase materials.
  • No Exclusivity: You are completely free to commercialize, open-source under licenses like MIT or GPL, patent, or license your builds to third parties at any time without our consent.

03. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY TAKEDOWN POLICY (RA 8293 & DMCA SAFE HARBOR)

LaunchPad respects the intellectual property rights of creators, software engineers, and companies worldwide. We operate in full accordance with the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293) and maintain a notice-and-takedown protocol consistent with international safe harbor frameworks (including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512).

How to File a Copyright or IP Infringement Notice

If you believe that any code, repository link, screenshot, or content indexed on LaunchPad infringes upon your copyright or trademark, please email our designated review officers with the following information:

  1. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
  2. The exact URL of the project on LaunchPad (/project/[category]/[slug]).
  3. Proof of ownership or legal authorization to act on the copyright holder's behalf.
  4. Your contact information (name, institutional affiliation or address, telephone number, and email address).
  5. A statement of good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

Send takedown notices to: elites.bulsu@gmail.com with the subject line IP Takedown Request. Valid requests are reviewed and acted upon within 48 hours.

04. ACCOUNT TERMS & PRIVACY PROTECTION

  • Sign-In Methods: Authentication is handled through Google OAuth or university Microsoft 365 magic links (@ms.bulsu.edu.ph). We never see or store your raw passwords.
  • Privacy by Design: Your university student number and personal email are never rendered on public URLs or directory cards. Public profiles display only your chosen builder handle and display name.
  • One Account per Student: Do not create sock-puppet accounts to inflate favorite counts. Impersonation of professors, other makers, or staff results in immediate profile suspension.

05. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & EDITORIAL REVIEW

Every project submitted to LaunchPad undergoes review by designated ELITES student reviewers before publication:

  • Accepted Formats: Capstone projects, hackathon prototypes, solo utility scripts, IoT hardware builds, and open source tools built by BSIT and BSDS students.
  • Strictly Prohibited: Malicious binaries, hacking exploits, cheating tools, deceptive phishing replicas, or uncredited code taken from other students.
  • Review Timelines: Reviews typically conclude within 1 to 2 business days. Submissions can be marked Approved, Rejected, or Changes Requested with private reviewer notes.

06. TERM MERCH AWARDS & FAIR PLAY

To celebrate builder culture, LaunchPad awards term merch to top student builders based on authentic community favorites:

  • Single Reaction per Account: Each authenticated student account may favorite a project exactly once.
  • Strict Separation of Save vs. Favorite: Bookmarking a build is private to your member dashboard; Favoriting is a public community vote.
  • Anti-Gaming Policy: Automated scripts, bot traffic, or coordinated fake accounts attempting to manipulate favorite rankings will result in the immediate forfeiture of merch eligibility.

07. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

LAUNCHPAD IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS FOR ACADEMIC AND SHOWCASE PURPOSES. THE ELITES ORGANIZATION AND PLATFORM DEVELOPERS MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE UPTIME, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR COMMERCIAL PURPOSE, OR ERROR-FREE EXECUTION OF THIRD-PARTY STUDENT SOURCE CODE LINKED FROM THE DIRECTORY.

08. GOVERNING LAW & JURISDICTION

These Terms shall be interpreted and governed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, including Republic Act No. 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012) and Republic Act No. 8293 (Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines), under the academic jurisdiction of Bulacan State University.

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