The competition is open to companies, initiatives and projects that have developed innovative and market-ready products or processes based on the Internet, or who use the Internet as an intelligent extension. Only one application is possible for each solution – but you are welcome to apply with additional products, services or projects.

This is how your application and all necessary documents should be submitted:

• Read the conditions of participation for the 2021 Awards.
• Complete the application form in full.
• As part of your application, prepare presentation slides presenting your solution, to be saved as a PDF and to comprise of a maximum of ten pages.
• The participation fee is 99 Euro (before tax). Applications are free of charge for eco members.
• Please send the completed form (including your consent to the conditions of participation and the granting of usage rights), and the presentation with the subject line “Awards 2021 – submission”, to awards@eco.de. After a short check for completeness, we will send you a confirmation of its receipt.
• The final deadline for your application is 30 August at 12 a.m. (CET).

The Awards team reserves the right to check the application in advance: Does the application meet the formal criteria; is it complete, legible, and was it submitted in time? In the case of a justified objection, a written rejection will be sent out, accompanied by the possibility to rectify the application within a given period of time. The opportunity to rectify the application only applies to applications submitted at least two weeks before the application deadline.

A jury of experts decides on the nominations and the granting of the Awards. For each category, eco nominates specialists from areas of business, academia, research or politics who possess relevant professional competence and experience. Individuals who have direct ties to the applicants are excluded from the respective categories.

For non-members of the eco Association, a participation fee of 99 Euro (before tax) is due upon application. For members of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, the application is free of charge. The invoice will be created and issued by eco after the complete set of application documents have been submitted. The application for the Awards will only be considered after receipt of the participation fee.

The participation fee will be refunded if the company joins eco – Association of the Internet Industry by 30.06.2022.

Contributions that contain inappropriate content or violate the rights of third parties – natural or legal persons – can be excluded from the Awards at the organizer’s discretion.

The organizer reserves the right to publish extracts of the submitted information as part of the press and publicity work for the Awards and Congress (e.g., website, press releases, etc.).

The rights of use for the submissions are hereby transferred, without spatial or temporal limitations, to the organizer for the following purposes:

• Publication on the organizer’s websites
• Publication of press releases in connection with the competition
• Publication on the social media channels and on the organizer’s own media channels (e.g., newsletter, audio magazine, etc.)
• Publication in materials related to the Congress and Awards, such as brochures, videos, programmes, and presentations (e.g., audio and slides)
• Publication of submitted contributions, author names and other PR measures of the organizer after the end of the competition, in connection with the competition (e.g., marketing for subsequent awards)

In addition, the copyrights remain with the author. By participating in the Awards, the applicant confirms that all rights which are necessary for the competition exist, and that no rights of third parties are infringed.

The applicant expressly exempts the organizer from all claims of third parties with regard to the competition and related measures.

There is no right of appeal.