Activity time

All event times are based on Taiwan Time (GMT+8).

Supplementary Provisions

1. The "2026 International Marine Debris Image AI Recognition Challenge" (hereinafter referred to as "the Event") is organized by the National Academy of Marine Research (hereinafter referred to as "the Organizer"). Upon completion of registration, participating teams and their members are deemed to have accepted the competition regulations, rules, announcements, and judging results published by the Organizer. In the event of any violation, the Organizer reserves the right to disqualify the team and revoke its prize eligibility. Those unwilling to accept these terms may freely withdraw from the selection process before the evaluation begins, provided that they notify the Organizer in writing.
2. Participating teams guarantee that all information provided, filled in, and competition content submitted are:
• True and free from any infringement of others' rights (including but not limited to portrait rights, copyrights, and/or other intellectual property rights).
• Original and do not involve plagiarism or ghostwriting. If any falsehood or infringement is discovered or reported and confirmed, the Organizer may disqualify the entry during the event. For winning entries, the award status will be revoked, and the winners must return the prize money and certificates. If a third party claims rights against the Organizer, the participating team shall be responsible for resolving the dispute and bearing all losses and expenses incurred by the Organizer (including but not limited to attorney fees, litigation costs, settlement fees, etc.), which have no relation to the Organizer. In case of disputes over rights and the chronology of creation, the participating team bears the burden of proof and shall raise no objection to the Organizer’s final decision.
3. Competition entries must not be repetitive works that have previously won awards in domestic or international competitions, and the same work must not participate in other domestic or international competitions during this competition period.
4. The intellectual property rights of the entries in this competition belong to the participating teams. Participants enjoy the right of first refusal to negotiate cooperation with the proposition enterprise regarding the proposal itself and derived intellectual property rights transfer or licensing matters.
5. If the maximum number of participating teams is exceeded, admission will be determined based on the registration timestamp.
6. This competition designates AWS as the development environment, providing an exclusive workspace for the marine debris competition, which will be open during the competition period. After the competition concludes, the organizer/ host will terminate the AWS cloud service environment provided for the competition. The organizer/host is not responsible for backing up or preserving your data on the platform; please back up your files on your own before the event ends.
7. If a participating team's entry involves violence, pornography, defamation, insults, or other content detrimental to social morality or social justice, the organizer/host reserves the right to terminate the entry's participation.
8. All teams entering the finals and the allocation of awards will be decided by the judging panel based on the quality of the entries. If necessary, slots may be "added" or "left unawarded", and the panel may also decide to alter award names.
9. Participating teams agree to license materials provided for the competition (including but not limited to solution presentations, videos, and other outputs) to the Organizer free of charge for various promotional purposes related to this event. If a third party's intellectual property or other rights (including but not limited to portrait rights) are used in the competition content, the participating team must confirm and warrant that there is no unlawful infringement, and that they have obtained the third party's permission to sub-license the materials to the Organizer for an indefinite period within the Taiwan region, utilizing methods including but not limited to public transmission, distribution, public display, and public publication.
10. Participating teams and their members should act in a manner that maintains the Organizer's reputation. If any issues arise, please contact the project staff proactively to seek a resolution. No defamation should occur before facts are clarified.
11. The organizer/host will fulfill its duty of confidentiality regarding the personal data filled out by participants and will never leak it. Please fill it out with peace of mind.
12. Registering for this competition through this event website indicates that you have agreed to the Personal Data Authorization Terms of this event.
13. Winners must provide complete award-receiving documents required by the Organizer and complete the award process within the designated time. Those who fail to complete the procedures within the specified time will be deemed to have waived their winning qualifications.
14. According to the tax laws of the Republic of China, if a participating team is subject to a mandatory withholding tax of 10% to 20% on the prize received (the prize money provided by the Organizer is tax-inclusive), and the winner fails to pay the tax in accordance with regulations, the Organizer may cancel their prize eligibility. Furthermore, the Organizer will not interfere with the internal distribution of prizes within the team.
15. AI Model and Source Code Licensing: The top three winning teams must grant a non-exclusive license for the intellectual property rights of their AI model files and source code to the Academy for academic, public welfare, and official purposes. Under no circumstances will it be used for commercial purposes.
16. The Organizer reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel the content of this event. For matters not covered herein, they shall be handled in accordance with the Organizer's relevant regulations or interpretations, and supplementary announcements may be made at any time.Personal Data Use Policy: Participants agree that DIGITIMES and partner units (including organizers, co-organizers, technical support partners, and partners) will jointly retain your personal information. In accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act,  for the purposes of executing, advertising, and marketing of the "2026 International AI Challenge for Marine Debris Image Recognition", personal data provided by participants will be collected, processed, and utilized within the Taiwan region until the participant proactively requests the organizer to delete or stop processing and utilizing their personal data. Participants have the right to request the organizer to access, provide copies of, or correct their personal data at any time, and may also contact the organizer at any time to object to the continued collection, processing, utilization, or deletion of their personal data. If a participant disagrees to provide or provides incorrect personal data, the organizer will cancel the participant's eligibility to participate or win. For any questions, please contact the "International AI Challenge for Marine Debris Image Recognition" Working Group at mdivrc@digitimes.com.