Prickly TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington is given to griping about PR people and their capricious rules. But he's not above setting his own rules when it comes to his TechCrunch40 conference. Specifically, presenting companies have been required to observe a press embargo until their turn on stage, and violators may be yanked from the lineup. With only 10 companies left to go, it seems like most of the startups have been sheepishly obedient to this rule. Anyone get yanked? Let us know. The full rules and regulations after the jump.

Subject: TechCrunch40 Conference: Final Details and Embargoed Information Release Schedule

Dear Members of the Press,

Michael, Jason and I look forward to hosting you at the TechCrunch40 Conference this coming Monday-Tuesday, September 17-18 at the Palace Hotel. We're incredibly proud of our line-up of start-up companies to be unveiled over our two day agenda and look forward to your critical eyes.

As you can imagine, our 40 presenting companies and 100 DemoPit participants are incredibly anxious to reach out to you during the conference. Since the format of our agenda is a bit different from other conferences, we wanted to share additional details about logistics and embargos to help make sure we communicate expectations to all clearly.

IMPORTANT Embargoed Information

9 am PST Monday, September 17

Press may release the names of the 39 companies selected for TechCrunch40 starting at 9 am pst, Monday September 17. We have elected one wildcard presentation slot that will be based on "audience choice voting" from the 100 DemoPit companies pitching in the Gold Ballroom. The 40th company will present during the last demo slot on the agenda, Tuesday afternoon. All 40 companies are eligible to win the TechCrunch40 $50,000 grand prize to be selected by our expert advisors and TechCrunch40 team.

Individual Company Embargoes, Rolling Based on On-Stage Presentations

Press may release coverage about the 39 companies individually starting with their respective on-stage presentations at the conference. Companies will not be launching their sites to the public until they go on stage to present. We reserve the right to pull any presenting company that does not comply with these policies. We will have classroom seating in rows reserved at the front of the Grand Ballroom exclusively for Press, and we will be providing dedicated Internet access to Press vs the general audience to facilitate live blogging at the event, etc.

Press Registration and Press Room

Press will be invited to check-in at the Ralston Room of the Palace Hotel (to the right of the Garden Court) starting at 7 am. The program guide and techcrunch40.com will have complete information about the TechCrunch40 companies.

We have a dedicated Press Room in the Sacramento Room on Mezzanine Level of the Palace Hotel open 7 am - 7 pm each Monday and Tuesday exclusively for your use.

We're really anxious to start the show. See you soon,

—Jason, Michael and Heather