Opus $10,000 Paradise Contest (“Contest”)

Official Rules

No Purchase Necessary to Enter or Win

The Contest is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, 18 years or older at the time of entry. Contest is sponsored by Berkeley Breathed and the Humane Society of the United States, 2100 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20037 (collectively, “Sponsors”). Employees, officers, directors and representatives of Sponsors, WP Company LLC d/b/a the Washington Post, and all distributors, media companies, printers, paginators and other vendors involved in the development, production, and distribution of the Opus comic strip (collectively, “Promotional Parties”) and each of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, partners and affiliates, and immediate family members (spouse and parents, siblings and children and their spouses) and those with whom such persons are domiciled (whether related or not), are not eligible to enter or win. Void outside the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, and where prohibited by law. All federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations apply.

HOW TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE OR DONATION NECESSARY: A purchase will not improve your chance of winning. To enter, contestants must send an e-mail with the following information in the body of the e-mail: contestant’s guess of where Opus will end up at the end of the comic strip series (“Solution”) (limit one sentence), contestant’s full name, complete mailing address, e-mail address, and day and evening telephone numbers, and the name and city and state location of the animal shelter that contestant chooses to receive the prize award. All e-mail entries must be submitted to http://www.humanesociety.org/opus and must contain “Opus Contest” in the subject line. The entry period of the Contest begins on Sunday, October 12, 2008 at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on Friday, October 17, 2008 at 11:59 PM ET. Limit one entry per person. Limit one person per e-mail address. Entries that are late, incomplete, illegible, unreadable, damaged, destroyed, delayed, lost, tampered with, incomprehensible, forged, mutilated, misdirected, inaccurate, unintelligible or otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules will be disqualified. All requested information must be provided in English.

PRIZES: One (1) First Prize Winner. One First Prize Winner will receive the opportunity to select an animal shelter (subject to these Official Rules and the approval of the Humane Society of the United States) and such shelter will be given a $10,000 award. The First Prize Winner will also receive a copy of the Opus 25^th anniversary cartoon book collection, "Opus: 25 Years of His Sunday Best," signed by Berkeley Breathed. Ten (10) Second Prizes Winners. Ten (10) Second Prize Winners will each receive a copy of "Opus: 25 Years of His Sunday Best," signed by Berkeley Breathed. Approximate retail value (“ARV”) of each cartoon book collection: $20.00. Total ARV of all prizes: $200.00. Prizes are subject to availability. No transfer, substitution or cash equivalent of prizes permitted by winners. Any costs and expenses associated with a prize are not included. Sponsor may substitute a prize with one of equal or greater retail value if prize is unavailable or cannot be awarded for any reason. Each winner (and/or the selected animal shelter) is responsible for the reporting and payment of any applicable Federal, state and/or local taxes.

Berkeley Breathed and the Humane Society of the United States reserve the right to disqualify the chosen shelter organization if said shelter does not meet criteria based on mission, professionalism, certification and management. The winning animal shelter must be one whose primary mission is to serve the needs of cats and dogs. If a chosen shelter is disqualified, Sponsors may permit First Prize Winner to designate an alternate shelter and/or Sponsors may select an alternate First Prize Winner from among the remaining eligible entries in accordance with these Official Rules.

SELECTION OF WINNERS: All random drawings and winner selections will be conducted by Berkeley Breathed and the Humane Society of the United States and will take place on or about October 24, 2008. If eleven or more eligible entries contain the correct Solution, then all winners will be selected by random drawings from among all eligible entries received that include the correct Solution, as verified by Sponsors in their sole discretion. Odds of winning a prize will depend upon the total number of eligible entries received that include the correct Solution. If no eligible entries contain the correct Solution, then all winners will be selected by random drawing from among all eligible entries which do not have the correct Solution. In this case, odds of winning will depend upon the total number of eligible entries received that do not include the correct Solution. If only one eligible entry contains the correct Solution, then the contestant who submitted that entry will be the First Prize Winner, and all of the Second Prize Winners will be selected by random drawing from among all eligible entries which do not have the correct Solution. In this case, the odds of winning a Second Prize will depend upon the total number of entries received that do not include the correct Solution. If between two and ten eligible entries contain the correct Solution, then the one First Prize Winner will be selected by random drawing from among all eligible entries that contain the correct solution and all of the other entries with the correct Solution will be awarded a Second Prize; the remaining Second Prize(s) will be awarded to winner(s) who will be selected from among all eligible entries received that do not include the correct Solution and the odds of winning the remaining prize(s) will then depend on the total number of eligible entries received that do not include the correct Solution.

All winners will be notified by email after November 1, 2008. At the time of notification, the selected First Prize Winner will be sent an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity releases for selected winner and his/her chosen animal shelter (collectively, “Affidavits/Releases”). Selected First Prize Winner and his/her chosen animal shelter must complete, notarize and return the Affidavits/Releases as directed by Sponsors. In Sponsors’ sole discretion, a selected winner may be required to forfeit a prize and an alternate winner may be selected in accordance with these Official Rules from among the remaining eligible entries if such selected winner (i) is unreachable, (ii) declines or cannot accept, receive or use the prize for any reason, or (iii) fails to comply with these Official Rules.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND GENERAL CONDITIONS: By participating in this Contest, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the judges, which are final and binding in all respects. By entering, each entrant agrees to release, discharge, indemnify, and hold harmless the Sponsors, WP Company LLC and the Promotional Parties and each of their respective parent companies, partners, affiliates, and subsidiaries and each of their respective employees, officers, shareholders, directors, representatives and agents (collectively, “Releasees”) from and against any claims, damages or liability involving or arising out of: (i) late, lost, delayed, misdirected, mutilated, incomplete, unreadable, inaccurate, garbled or unintelligible entries; (ii) telephone system, technical or computer malfunctions, lost connections, disconnections, transmission or other errors of any kind whether mechanical, human, electronic or otherwise; (iii) data corruption, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alteration of entry or other materials; (iv) any injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by the prize or resulting from acceptance, possession or use or misuse of any prize or from participating in the Contest or any Contest related activity; or (v) any printing, distribution, typographical, administrative, human or technological errors involving or associated with the Contest. Sponsors disclaim any liability for damage to any computer system resulting from participating in, or accessing or downloading information in connection with the Contest.

Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to modify, cancel or suspend this Contest (or any portion of the Contest) should any virus, bug, computer problem or other cause or problem corrupt or inhibit the administration, security or proper operation of the Contest and, in such situation (or in the event of any type of error), to select the winners from eligible entries received prior to and/or after the action taken or in such manner as deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsors. In no event will Sponsors be liable for more than the stated number of prizes in these Official Rules. Sponsors may prohibit entrant (and/or animal shelter) from participating in the Contest or winning/receiving a prize if, in their sole discretion, they determine entrant (and/or an animal shelter) is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair practices or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrant or Sponsors’ representatives. Releasees have not made and/or are not responsible for any misrepresentation or guaranty, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to the prizes. By accepting a prize, each winner agrees and acknowledges that Sponsors may use his/her name, voice, biographical data, likeness and city name in any and all media throughout the universe and in perpetuity for promotional purposes without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.

Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any Web site or undermine the legitimate operations of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should an attempt be made, the Sponsors reserve the right to seek damages from any such entrant to the fullest extent permitted by law and to disqualify such entrant from the Contest. In the event the Contest is compromised by virus, bug, non-authorized human intervention, or other causes beyond the control of the Sponsors, which corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness or proper play of the Contest, Sponsors reserve the right in their sole discretion to suspend or terminate the Contest.

By entering the Contest, entrants agree that: (1) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Contest, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Contest, but in no event will attorneys’ fees be awarded or recoverable; and (3) under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and entrant hereby knowingly and expressly waives all rights to seek, punitive, incidental or consequential damages and/or any other damages, other than actual out-of-pocket expenses, and/or any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased.

WINNERS LIST/OFFICIAL RULES. The Contest Official Rules and, after November 2, 2008, the winners’ names and the winning animal shelter’s name will be listed on the BerkeleyBreathed.com website and that of the Humane Society of the United States.