Participants must clearly acknowledge that, as the designer or rights holder of the submitted work (i.e., the owner of the relevant intellectual property rights), the entry must not be subject to any intellectual property disputes or conflicts with any third party. If any dispute has occurred prior to submission, it must have been properly resolved. If the work is in the process of applying for or registering relevant intellectual property rights at the time of submission, supporting documentation must be provided during registration. For works that have not completed IP registration after winning, the Organizing Committee of the Golden Osmanthus Industrial Design Award (hereinafter referred to as “the Organizing Committee”) reserves the right to require a written declaration confirming the IP status of the work. Any work with existing or potential IP disputes may be disqualified.

During application, participants must log in to the official website of the Golden Osmanthus Industrial Design Award, download the standard template of the “Intellectual Property Rights Declaration for Entries”, complete it, ensure it is duly signed and stamped, and upload the scanned version to the online submission system. This step is mandatory and must be strictly followed to ensure successful application.

If any intellectual property dispute arising from an entry causes financial loss or reputational damage to the organizer or the Organizing Committee, they reserve the right to seek compensation from the relevant participant. Compensation shall include, but is not limited to, direct and indirect economic losses, reputational damage, litigation/arbitration fees, legal fees, preservation fees, and appraisal costs.

In principle, intellectual property rights of submitted works shall be wholly owned by the participant. If the participant owns only part of the rights, a consent letter signed by all other right holders must be submitted together with the “Intellectual Property Rights Declaration for Entries” before the work can be accepted.

The organizer or the Organizing Committee has the right, either independently or through authorized third parties, to use submitted materials for promotional and communication purposes related to the award, including but not limited to photography, exhibitions, media reporting, and publication. If special confidentiality is required, the participant must submit a written request within five (5) working days after registration. Otherwise, the entry shall be deemed open for public display, and the Organizing Committee shall bear no responsibility for any resulting losses.

All registration information must be truthful and accurate and cannot be modified after submission. If errors are found after submission, the Organizing Committee reserves the right not to make any changes. If false information is provided, the Committee may revoke the entry’s eligibility and awards and recover any prize money. To ensure orderly evaluation, the Organizing Committee and Jury Committee may adjust the entry category based on competition rules and actual conditions of the work.

Only the rights holder(s) of the intellectual property related to the work are eligible to participate, and duplicate submissions are not allowed. Participants must confirm with all relevant parties before submission to avoid duplication. If duplicate submissions are identified, disputes regarding awards and prize allocation shall be resolved by the participants themselves, and the Organizing Committee assumes no legal responsibility. If no agreement is reached within the specified timeframe, the Committee reserves the right to disqualify the entry and revoke awards and prizes. Each entry may only be submitted under one category and one division.

All evaluation results and important notices will be published via the official website and submission system. Participants must monitor these channels closely. Failure to receive or respond to notifications in a timely manner due to the participant’s own reasons shall result in all consequences being borne by the participant.

According to the evaluation rules, shortlisted participants must submit physical works or prototypes/models for judging. Works must be delivered strictly according to the annual submission guidelines. Late or non-compliant submissions will be deemed a withdrawal from evaluation.

Participants shall bear all transportation, insurance, and customs costs. The Organizing Committee assumes no responsibility for any damage or loss during transit.

Participants must accurately enter shipping and return information during the designated “Shipping Information Entry Period” in the submission system. The Organizing Committee will only assume storage responsibility based on the submitted information. The entry period shall follow the “Submission Instructions for Shortlisted Entries” released together with preliminary results.

All evaluation and exhibition activities will be conducted in professionally certified venues in accordance with industry standards. Insurance for transportation, storage, and evaluation shall be arranged by participants.

The Jury Committee will operate the entries during final evaluation. Participants must ensure works are fully functional and properly installed. If installation assistance is requested, detailed instructions or videos must be provided. The Organizing Committee bears no responsibility for any adverse consequences caused by unclear or incorrect instructions.

In principle, the Organizing Committee does not assume responsibility for proactive return shipments. If return service is required, participants must provide accurate return information within the designated period. Late requests will not be accepted.

2.The organizing committee will only arrange two times for the return of works: "First Return of Works" (after the Winners Exhibition, only some of the non-awarded works will be sent back), and "Second Return of Works" (after the Touring Exhibition, the award-winning works and the remaining non-awarded works will be sent back). Please pay attention to the official website of Golden Osmanthus Industrial Design Award and the declaration system for the specific start and end dates. In order to ensure the normal operation of the judging, exhibition and other activities of the Award, all participants may not request the return of their works during non-return time.

Participants are responsible for all transportation and tariff costs incurred by sending the entries back to China. If the entries are sent back to China, the organizing committee will send them by cash on delivery; if they are sent back to a country other than China, the entrant must also provide a debit account number for an international courier account. The organizing committee will not be responsible for the shipping time or the result of the shipment, as the shipping time is subject to the logistics of the courier company.

If the participant does not make a request for return shipment during the period of entry of "Sending Information", the Organizing Committee will charge an "Extension Management Fee", which is based on the current year's instructions for sending the works. The Organizing Committee will only arrange for a return shipment after confirming receipt of the payment. The return shipment time will be designated by the Organizing Committee and no rush shipments will be accepted.

If you do not log in the declaration system to enter the return information within the specified date and do not take the initiative to contact the organizing committee to provide the complete return information before September **, 2026, the organizing committee will regard the participant as automatically giving up the ownership of the physical object of the work, and the organizing committee will have all the rights to deal with the physical object of the work.

The organizing committee will decide whether or not to choose the insured price service when sending back the entries based on the return information filled in by the entrants. The Organizing Committee will not be responsible for any damage or loss of the entries and any liability arising from such damage or loss upon receipt of the entries by the entrant and the logistics company.

Winning works that meet collection criteria will be awarded a Golden Osmanthus Industrial Design Award Collection Certificate.

Prize-winning works shall be donated to the Organizing Committee. If a work is under ongoing R&D, too large for transportation, or exceeds the prize value, the winner may submit a written application with supporting documents. Upon approval, a scaled model or prototype may be submitted instead.

All finalists must designate a representative to attend the final evaluation; otherwise, they will be deemed to have waived eligibility for awards and prizes. All winners are invited to attend the annual award ceremony. Travel expenses shall be borne by participants. Winners must attend in person or via authorized representative; otherwise, awards and prizes will be forfeited.

Electronic certificates will be issued to winners after the final evaluation and generated automatically in the submission system, winners can download electronic certificates by themselves.

The organizing committee of this year's awards will present trophies to the winners who are present at the award ceremony, with each work limited to one trophy, and those who are not present will be deemed to have given up the trophies automatically.

Participants confirm that they have fully read and understood these guidelines prior to submission. If any terms are not accepted, participation should be withdrawn. Submission of an entry constitutes irrevocable acceptance of all terms herein. The Organizing Committee reserves the final right of interpretation of these guidelines.