Innovation Incubation Initiative · 2026 - DIA

(1) Intellectual Property Rights

1. All participants must be the design entities or the owning entities of the entries (the right holder of the relevant intellectual property rights), and there shall be no intellectual property dispute between the owner or the designer and others (no intellectual property dispute has occurred or has been properly handled so far). For entries that are applying for (filing) relevant intellectual property certificates but have not yet obtained authorization, participants must submit relevant certificates at the time of registration. For entries that have not obtained relevant intellectual property certificates after winning the awards, the DIA Committee has the right to require the participants to make a written guarantee.

2. The DIA Committee has the right to invalidate the award qualification of the entries with intellectual property disputes, including recalling the certificate, trophy or recovering the bonus. If economic or reputation losses are caused by defective entries, the host and the organizers have the right to claim compensation from the participants, including but not limited to demanding economic and reputation compensations, litigation costs, legal fees, insurance fees, appraisal fees, etc.

3. If any third party deems that an entry has infringed upon its intellectual property rights (including but not limited to copyrights, patent rights, trademark rights and the like), the right holder shall have the right to file a complaint with the DIA Committee. The DIA Committee will initiate the processing procedure in accordance with laws and regulations upon receipt of valid complaint materials. For details, please refer to the Announcement on the Rules for the Resolution of Intellectual Property Infringement Complaints.

4. The intellectual property of all entries is owned by the participants.

(2) Publicity and Confidentiality

The DIA Committee reserves the right to use the materials and physical entries submitted by participants for award-related publicity and promotion activities, including but not limited to filming, exhibition, news coverage, compilation and publication and the like. For award-winning physical entries , participants shall agree to the exhibition of their entries as determined by the host within one year after the conclusion of the 2026 award event, and shall also provide the required materials for the use of future activities (including reports, publicity and promotion, and exhibitions). If participants have special confidentiality requirements for their entries, they shall submit a written application within 5 working days upon the completion of registration. Any application not submitted within the aforesaid period or not approved shall be deemed that the entries are open to the public, and the DIA Committee shall not be liable for any losses that may arise from the public display of such entries.

(3) Registration Information

The participants shall ensure the correctness and truthfulness of the registration information (Pseudonym is not allowed in registration). The registration information cannot be modified by participants themselves once submitted. If the participants find that the registration information is incorrect after submission, please submit formal written application documents for the change of registration information before the 2026 Award Ceremony. The DIA Committee shall have the right to revoke the award qualification and honor and recover the bonus on account of the participants’ exaggerated information. To ensure the orderly conduct of the evaluation, the DIA Committee and the judging committee have the right to adjust the category according to the rules and the actual situation of the entries.

(4) Registration Eligibility

Only the design entity or the owning entity of an entry (the right holder of the relevant intellectual property rights) shall be eligible for participation, and multiple entities shall not register the same entry repeatedly. If a participant is the creator of a solution but does not hold the relevant rights to it, the participant shall ensure that a relevant agreement or consensus on participation has been reached with the right owner, and provide relevant evidence. The participants should confirm and coordinate with the relevant parties to avoid duplicate registration. The DIA Committee shall bear no legal responsibility for the problems caused by the duplicate registration, for example, the ownership of honor or support funding, and have the right to invalidate the award-winning qualification and honor, and to recover support funding if the problems are not solved timely through negotiation. During the dispute, the DIA Committee reserves the right to suspend the disbursement of any support funding related to the solution. Upon resolution of the dispute, payment may be applied to the DIA Committee based on valid documents.

(5) Result Notification

All the important DIA notifications, including evaluation results, will be published on the DIA registration system and sent to the participants’ email addresses (the date of delivery to the designated email will be considered the official delivery date). Therefore, participants shall closely follow these information channels. If the participants miss important information or fail to respond timely as required, thereby affecting the evaluation, incubation, award collection, or other related matters, the participant shall be solely responsible for any resulting consequences.

(6) Solution Submission and Optimization

1. Participants must submit complete project materials and the innovation solutions by October 8, 2026, including but not limited to design descriptions, visual renderings, technical plans, and prototype demonstration videos. Detailed submission requirements will be provided in the official notification of that year.

2. Teams shortlisted after the Preliminary Evaluation must further develop and refine their solutions and submit the updated materials by mid-November 2026 as required. Failure to submit the revised materials on time will be considered a withdrawal from subsequent evaluations.

(7) Final Evaluation and Award Ceremony

All participants shortlisted for the Final Evaluation must personally attend the final roadshow and on-site defense; proxy participation is not permitted. Failure to do so will be deemed a waiver of eligibility for awards and funding support. All award winners will be invited to the annual Award Ceremony and achievement exhibition, with travel expenses borne by the participants themselves.

(8) Transformation Commitment

All teams shortlisted for the Final Evaluation must sign the DIA Ecosystem Co-construction Commitment, which specifies the feedback mechanism for post-transformation outcomes. Failure to sign the Commitment as required will result in automatic disqualification from the Final Evaluation and forfeiture of award eligibility, and the funding shall not be disbursed. If a participant breaches the obligations of the signed Commitment, the DIA Committee reserves the right to reclaim all or part of the disbursed funding and pursue relevant liabilities in accordance with the terms of the Commitment.

(9) Certificate, Trophy and Funding Distribution

1. Winners who are attend the Award Ceremony in person will be awarded a trophy on-site. After the Award Ceremony, an electronic certificate will be generated in the registration system, and participants can download it by themselves. Those who are not present will be deemed as giving up the trophy. In principle, the DIA Committee will not provide the trophy at other times or mail the trophy to the winner. Those who are unable to be present and get the trophy on-site for special reasons should provide a written statement, and the DIA Committee will discuss and decide whether delivery can be arranged.

2. All funding is denominated in pre-tax amounts. The actual amount disbursed will be subject to applicable tax laws and regulations of the People’s Republic of China, with relevant taxes deducted accordingly. The DIA Committee will transfer funds to the designated recipient via bank transfer. The recipient may be the submitting entity (including its branches) or a designated individual. If the funding recipient is a different entity or individual from the submitting entity, a written authorization letter signed and stamped by the submitting party must be provided.

(10) Final Interpretation

Participants shall be deemed to have agreed to the above terms upon submission of their solutions. The DIA Committee reserves the right of final interpretation.

(11) Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution

1. The formation, validity, interpretation, performance, and dispute resolution of these Terms and the related activities shall be governed by the laws of Chinese mainland.

2. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms and the related activities shall first be resolved through friendly negotiation between the parties. If no resolution can be reached, either party shall have the right to file a lawsuit with the competent people’s court at the place where the host is located.