Maine State Flag Redesign Submission Contest Rules

June 2024

THE STATE FLAG REDESIGN SUBMISSION (the “SUBMISSION”) Contest is administered by the Department of the Secretary of State (“the Secretary”).

BACKGROUND:

On January 7, 2024, L.D. 86, An Act to Restore the Former State of Maine Flag became law. This law establishes the design concept for the new flag:

“Must be buff, charged with the emblem of the State, a pine tree proper, in the center, and the North Star, a mullet of 5 points, in blue in the upper corner; the star to be equidistant from the hoist and the upper border of the flag, the distance from the 2 borders to the center of the star being equal to about 1/4 of the hoist, this distance and the size of the star being proportionate to the size of the flag . . .”

Additionally, the law gives authority to the Secretary of State for final approval of the model flag. The law directs the Secretary of State to send the following referendum question to the voters in November of 2024 in order to adopt the new design:

"Do you favor making the former state flag, replaced as the official flag of the State in 1909 and commonly known as the Pine Tree Flag, the official flag of the State?"

A public, non-partisan process in selecting the design for the model flag before voters cast their ballots is critical to the Secretary of State. Therefore, the Secretary is holding a public contest to request designs from the public in accordance with the proposed design language passed by the Legislature. An advisory panel will review all designs that are submitted to the Secretary of State and recommend five designs for the Secretary to choose from before the November 2024 General Election. A press conference with the finalist will be held in following the final selection to unveil the flag voters will approve or not via referendum in November 2024 General Election.

TERMS:

The Submission is an opportunity to present a visual design for consideration by the Secretary for use as the new State Flag of Maine.

Five submissions will be selected for final consideration by the Secretary. If the Secretary determines that at least one of the five selected designs is suitable, the Secretary, in her sole discretion, will select a final design from those submissions. The selected design, which may be modified by the Secretary of State, will be submitted to the voters in the November 2024 General Election as the proposed State Flag of Maine.

Eligible participants will not be compensated for entries, whether or not their design is selected. 

WHO MAY SUBMIT ENTRIES:

Each participant must be 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Submissions by those under 18 years of age will be accepted when submitted by a parent/legal guardian. Individuals who meet the requirements are referred to herein as “Eligible Participants.”

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND DEADLINE:

REQUIREMENTS:

  • Submissions must include:
    • Eligible Participant’s name, mailing address, email, and phone number.
    • File of new state flag design in pdf, gif, jpg, jpeg, png, or svg format (no larger than 5MB).
    • Hexidecimal format codes (hex codes) of each color used in the design.
    • File of new state flag design in SVG format (or any scalable vector format).
  • Additionally, the submission must:
    • Meet design criteria from the Secretary’s Design Brief.
    • Include a signature by the Eligible Participant or, if the Eligible Participant is under 18, the Eligible Participant’s parent or guardian – to be completed on the webpage upon submission.
  • Submissions may not
    • Contain any wording. Such entries will be disqualified and discarded.
    • Contain any plagiarized or copyrighted images. Such entries will be disqualified and discarded.
  • In exchange for the opportunity to participate in this contest, Eligible Participants’ names may be publicized, but they shall not receive any compensation. Eligible Participants must acknowledge the grant of rights and release of potential liability (described in detail, below), and execute any forms required by the Secretary regarding same.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

Because of the uncertainty surrounding copyright of designs generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Commission will not be accepting AI-generated submissions.

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF FINALISTS:

Eligible entries will be reviewed by the Secretary of State. Submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:

The finalist will be notified by the Secretary of State by either phone or email. There may be additional paperwork the finalist will need to review and sign.

GRANT OF RIGHTS AND RELEASE OF POTENTIAL LIABILITY

Upon submission of Eligible Participant’s entry form, in consideration for the opportunity to participate in the Maine State Flag Redesign competition, each Eligible Participant understands and agrees that upon submission to the Commission all entries and submissions shall become the sole property of the State of Maine and will not be returned to the participant. The Eligible Participant will not be compensated or rewarded for any entry or submission, whether or not it is selected. The Eligible Participant grants the State of Maine the right in perpetuity to use, reproduce, or publish any entry or submission, and waives any right to seek compensation based on future use of the entry or submission by the State of Maine. The Eligible Participant understands that their complete submission will become a public record subject to public inspection and copying under the Freedom of Access Act, 1 M.R.S.A. § 400 et seq. The Eligible Participant further understands and agrees that the winning submission may be modified by the Secretary of State in her discretion.

By entering the Submission, each Eligible Participant affirms that the design is an original work designed by the Eligible Participant (or their child/children/ward); has not been copied from others or from previous designs, including their own; was not created via Artificial Intelligence; and does not violate the intellectual property rights of any other person or entity.

Each Eligible Participant understands that any plagiarized works will be disqualified. Each Eligible Participant agrees that the name of the winning participant will be announced to the public.

Each Eligible Participant understands and agrees that selection of finalists and the determination of the final design is in the sole discretion of the Secretary of State and any persons to whom she may delegate such authority. By participating in the contest, each Eligible Participant waives any right to administrative or judicial review of any determinations made by the Secretary of State or her designees relating to the contest. Each Eligible Participant further fully and forever releases, discharges, acquits and exonerates the State of Maine, the Department of Secretary of State, and all of their officers, directors, employees, agents, volunteers, affiliates and all others acting on their behalves (collectively, “the State”) as the context permits, from any and all claims, actions, causes of action, remedies and complaints of any kind which the Eligible Participant has or may in the future have, whether known or unknown, arising out of or relating to any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the Eligible Participant’s participation in the contest or the State’s use of the Eligible Participant’s (or the child/children’s or ward’s) entry or submission by the State.

The Eligible Participant whose submission is selected will be required to execute documents to ensure transfer of ownership and any copyright in the submission to the State of Maine, and to release the State from any potential liability. The Eligible Participant will retain a non-exclusive right to use and publish the submission for purposes consistent with state law. Failure to execute such documents as the State of Maine may deem necessary for the purposes set forth in this paragraph will result in disqualification of the submission.

GENERAL:

By participating in this Submission, each Eligible Participant agrees to be bound by these contest rules and to the decisions of the Secretary of State which are binding on all matters relating to the Submission. There is no funding specifically available for designers or a design team.

NO FEE IS REQUIRED; NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER.