Tournament Manager is provided under a license agreement between Event Partners and VEX Robotics. This article answers frequently asked questions about the Tournament Manager End User License Agreement (EULA), covering compliance verification, data handling, and revision of the agreement. All answers reflect EULA version 1.1.
It is written for Event Partners using Tournament Manager.
Definitions of the terms used here are maintained in the central glossary.
Does Tournament Manager collect data about how it is used?
No. Tournament Manager does not track usage, scan files, monitor activity, or transmit information about an Event Partner's system.
The Software uses the network in three ways:
VEX Robotics Events data exchange – When connected, the Software downloads event and team data and uploads results and standings. This is the event data the Event Partner is actively working with.
Update check – The Software retrieves a version number and compares it locally. Nothing about the Event Partner, their system, or their events is transmitted. If a newer version exists, the Software displays a notice; it does not download or install anything automatically. This request is directed to api.vextm.dwabtech.com.
Local network communication – The Software communicates with displays, tablets, and other devices used to operate an event, using multicast on 239.192.111.111. This carries the event information those devices require: team numbers and names, match schedules, queuing information, and results. This is the same information displayed on venue scoreboards and posted in the pits. No personally identifying information is transmitted. Student names and coach contact information are not downloaded by the Software and therefore cannot appear in this traffic.
This list is complete. Section 22(g) of the agreement states it as a binding commitment.
Is there a backdoor in Tournament Manager?
No. The Software contains no capability permitting VEX Robotics to access an Event Partner's computer, files, or Tournament Manager installation.
Network activity can be independently verified using standard packet inspection tools. The traffic observable is limited to the three categories described above: event data exchange with VEX Robotics Events, the update check to api.vextm.dwabtech.com, and multicast on 239.192.111.111. Multicast device communication is high-volume by nature, and team and match data is visible within those packets. That traffic does not leave the local network.
Why does Tournament Manager contact a domain that is not operated by VEX?
Tournament Manager was developed with DWAB Technology, an outside development firm contracted by VEX Robotics. The update check is directed to a server operated by that firm.
VEX Robotics owns Tournament Manager and the intellectual property in it. The license is granted by VEX Robotics, and the Event Partner relationship is with VEX Robotics. DWAB Technology is a contractor and is not a party to the agreement. The update check transmits no information about the Event Partner, their system, or their events.
How often does compliance verification occur?
Section 22(b) permits VEX Robotics to make a records request of an Event Partner no more than once in any twelve-month period, absent a good-faith belief that the agreement has been breached.
A records request is a written request for information: the identity of Authorized Users who operated the Software, the Sanctioned Events at which it was used, and the number and general location of installations. Event Partners have thirty days to respond. Such requests are not anticipated as a routine practice.
What permits an inspection without notice?
No provision does. Version 1.0 permitted VEX Robotics to shorten or waive the notice period where willful breach was suspected. That provision has been removed in version 1.1. Ten business days' advance written notice is now unconditional.
Section 22(c) additionally requires that the notice state the specific basis for VEX Robotics' concern, and that an inspection be supported by a good-faith, articulable belief of material breach of Section 3, which covers reverse engineering, use at events that are not sanctioned, and development of competing products.
What is subject to inspection?
Inspection under Section 22(c) is limited in scope to the suspected breach. It extends to installations and copies of Tournament Manager, and, where the concern involves a competing product, to that product.
It does not extend to unrelated files, unrelated software, communications, or other systems. Inspections occur during normal business hours at a mutually agreeable time and place. Section 22(c) states that VEX Robotics may not access an Event Partner's systems remotely or without the Event Partner's knowledge and participation.
When does the agreement take effect?
The agreement takes effect upon acceptance. Acceptance occurs at two points: on events.vex.com prior to download, and at first launch of the Software. Both require an affirmative action and both permit declining. Declining prevents download or use respectively. No acceptance occurs without the Event Partner's involvement.
Can VEX Robotics revise the terms?
Yes. Section 20 permits VEX Robotics to publish revised versions of the agreement. Version 1.1 adds three requirements governing that process.
Where a revision materially modifies an Event Partner's obligations or VEX Robotics' rights, VEX Robotics must provide notice at least thirty days before the revised version takes effect, and must identify which sections have changed. Each version carries a version number and publication date, and prior versions are archived and available on request.
Section 20 also states expressly that an Event Partner may terminate the agreement at any time by ceasing use of Tournament Manager and deleting all copies in their possession or control.
What is the purpose of the agreement?
Tournament Manager is provided for the operation of events sanctioned within VEX Robotics competition programs. The agreement limits use of the Software to credentialed Event Partners operating those events.
The compliance provisions in version 1.0 were drafted more broadly than this purpose required. Version 1.1 narrows them.
Where is the agreement available?
The current version is published on events.vex.com and carries a version number and publication date. A version is also available to read on the Global Robotics and Science Foundation Library here. Prior versions are available on request.
How can additional questions be submitted?
Questions regarding the agreement may be submitted to legal@innovationfirst.com, the legal office of Innovation First International, the parent company of VEX Robotics, or to legal@globalrobotics.org.