INTERNET REFERRAL PROGRAM AGREEMENT
This Internet Referral
Program Agreement ("Agreement") contains the complete terms and conditions
that apply to your participation in the ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE Affiliate Program
and the establishment of links from your web site to Essential Wholesale's web
site, "www.essentialwholesale.com". You may also be referred to herein as
"PARTICIPANT", "you" or "Party".
1.The Affiliate Program:
(a) As a PARTICIPANT, we
will make available to you (via www.essentialwholesale.com) a variety of
graphic and textual links (each of these links sometimes being referred to
herein as "Links" or, individually, as a "Link"), which, subject to the terms
and conditions of this Agreement, you may display as often and in as many
areas of your web site as you desire. The Links will serve to identify your
site as a PARTICIPANT of our Affiliate Program and will establish a link from
your site to www.essentialwholesale.com. You agree that you will display on
your Web Site only those graphic or textual images (indicating a Link) that
are provided to you by ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE.
(b) To commence the process
of enrolling as a PARTICIPANT in the Affiliate Program, you will submit an
Enrollment Application via our Web Site or as otherwise authorized by
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE. We will evaluate your application and notify you of your
acceptance or rejection; which determination shall be in our sole discretion.
2. Term:
(a) This Agreement is
conditioned upon and will become effective on our acceptance of your
Enrollment Application and your acceptance of the terms of this Agreement.
Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time, with or without cause
by giving the other party notice of termination. The first twelve months
following the date this Agreement becomes effective and every twelve months
thereafter that this Agreement remains in full force and effect are each a
"Term Year".
(b) PARTICIPANT is only
eligible to earn commissions on sales which are completed during the term of
this Agreement, and commissions earned through the date of termination will be
payable only if the related purchases are not canceled or returned. ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE may withhold PARTICIPANT'S final payment for a reasonable time to
ensure that the correct amount is paid.
3. Commissions:
(a) For Products that are
purchased by consumers linking to ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S Web Site from your web
site and for which ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE has received full payment (each a
"Qualifying Purchase(s)"), PARTICIPANT will receive the following commission
which will be based on "Net Sales" of Qualifying Purchase(s): A) a 10%
commission for monthly Net. "Net Sales" is defined as the gross sales price
less taxes, service charge, shipping and relay handling charges, discounts,
gift certificates, credits, credit card processing fees, refunds, and charge
backs. PARTICIPANTS are responsible for inserting a tracking code in the
manner designated by ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE to ensure accurate tracking of
Qualifying Purchases.
(b) ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE will
pay you or cause you to be paid, within thirty (60) days after the end of each
calendar month in accordance with the above mentioned commission structure
provided total commissions due you for such month exceed Twenty-Five Dollars
($25). The check will be for the applicable commission (less any taxes
required to be withheld pursuant to applicable law). For any calendar month in
which your commissions do not exceed $25, then ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE shall have
the option to pay same or to withhold such payment and add such commissions to
the next calendar month for which you are entitled to receive a commission
check. Furthermore, you will be given a password which will enable you to
receive your sales statistics on a reasonable basis.
4. Legal Compliance:
PARTICIPANT shall operate
your Web Site and render your services in compliance with all applicable laws
and regulations, and PARTICIPANT will be solely responsible for obtaining all
required governmental authorizations necessary for its Web Site and the full
performance of your services as provided for under this Agreement. PARTICIPANT
hereby further represents and warrants that:
(a) If a corporation, you
are a corporation duly organized and validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of the state of your incorporation;
(b) you have full power and
authority to enter into this Agreement and to perform your obligations
hereunder;
(c) you have obtained all
permits, licenses, and other governmental authorizations and approvals
required for your performance under this Agreement;
(d) the services to be
rendered by PARTICIPANT under this Agreement neither infringes nor violates
any patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark, or other proprietary right of
any third party;
(e) this Agreement has been
duly and validly executed and delivered by PARTICIPANT and constitutes your
legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against PARTICIPANT in
accordance with its terms;
(f) the execution, delivery
and performance by PARTICIPANT of this Agreement, and the consummation by you
of the transactions contemplated hereby will not, with or without the giving
of notice, the lapse of time, or both, conflict with or violate (i) any
provision of law, rule or regulation to which you are subject, (ii) any order,
judgment or decree applicable to PARTICIPANT or binding upon its assets or
properties; (iii) any provision of PARTICIPANT'S by-laws or certificate of
incorporation, or (iv) any agreement or other instrument applicable to
PARTICIPANT or binding upon your assets or properties;
(g) PARTICIPANT is the sole
and exclusive owner of PARTICIPANT'S Marks, as defined herein, and has the
right and power to grant ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE the license to use PARTICIPANT'S
Marks in the manner contemplated herein, and such grant does not and will not
(i) breach, conflict with, or constitute a default under any agreement or
other instrument applicable to you or binding upon your assets or properties,
or (ii) infringe upon any trademark, trade name, service mark, copyright, or
other proprietary right of any person or entity;
(h) no consent, approval,
authorization of, or exemption by, or filing with, any governmental authority
or any third parties is ruired to be obtained or made by you in connection
with the execution, delivery, and performance of this Agreement, or the taking
by you of any other action contemplated hereby; and
(i) there is not pending, or
to the best of PARTICIPANT'S knowledge, any threatened claim, action, or
proceeding against PARTICIPANT, or any affiliate of yours, with respect to the
execution, delivery or consummation of this Agreement, or with respect to your
Marks, and, to the best of your knowledge, there is no basis for any such
claim, action or proceeding.
5. Maintenance.
(a) PARTICIPANT shall
monitor and periodically test the general availability and operation of your
Web Site. PARTICIPANT represents and warrants that its Web Site will perform
adequately so that customers will be able to shop for ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S
Products.
(b) PARTICIPANT is solely
responsible for the development, operation and maintenance of its Web Site and
for all materials and content that appear on PARTICIPANT'S Web Site. Such
responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the technical operation of
PARTICIPANT'S Web Site and all related equipment; the accuracy and propriety
of all materials and content posted on PARTICIPANT'S site; and ensuring that
materials and content posted on your Web Site will not (i) violate any laws,
rules or regulations; (ii) violate or infringe upon the rights of any third
party including, without limitation, copyright, patent, trademark, trade
secret or other proprietary rights or right of publicity or privacy; (iii) be
lewd, pornographic, sexually explicit, or obscene; (iv) violate any laws
regarding unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising; (v)
promote violence or contain hate speech, (vi) contain viruses, trojan horses,
worms, time bombs, cancelbots or other similar harmful or deleterious program
routines; or (vii) be libelous, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing,
defamatory, derogatory or otherwise illegal or objectionable to ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE. (viii) Site will not be a homepage or a personal website created
through free webspace offered by 3rd parties.
(c) ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE
disclaims all liability for all matters set forth in Section 5(b). Further,
PARTICIPANT will indemnify and hold ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE its parent company,
subsidiaries, affiliates and their respective officers, directors,
shareholders and employees free and harmless against and from all claims,
damages, losses, liabilities and expenses (including, without limitation,
attorneys' fees) relating to the development, operation, maintenance, and
contents of PARTICIPANT'S Web Site.
(d) ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE
reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to monitor PARTICIPANT'S Web Site,
at any time and from time to time, to ascertain whether PARTICIPANT is in
compliance with the terms of this Agreement.
6. Fulfillment:
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE will
fulfill all fully paid orders for Products in accordance with ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE'S customary business practices. ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE shall be solely
responsible for fulfilling all orders placed by a customer as a direct result
of the links. ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S Products offered through the links will be
supported by the same favorable warranty and return policy for such Products
as offered through ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S channels. Customers who purchase
through the Affiliate Program are deemed to be customers of ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE. Accordingly, all of ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S rules, policies, and
operating procedures concerning customer orders, customer service, and use of
customer names and information, will apply to those customers.
7. Promotion:
Any promotional activities
you may wish to engage in that requires the prior written consent of ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE PARTICIPANT shall not create, publish, distribute, or permit any
written material that makes reference to ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE without first
submitting such material to ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE and receiving written consent
thereto.
8. Licenses:
(a) ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE
grants to PARTICIPANT a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free,
revocable license to (i) access the ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE Web Site through the
Links solely in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and (ii) solely in
connection with such links, to use ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S logos, trade name,
trademarks, service marks and similar identifying material relating to
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE (collectively the "Marks"), for the sole purpose of
selling Products on your Web Site for ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE (but only in the
form(s) as they appear on ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S Web Site). You may not alter,
modify, amend, or change the Marks in any way. You are only entitled to use
the Marks to the extent that this Agreement remains in full force and effect.
The use of any such Marks requires the prior written approval of ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE in all instances.
(b) PARTICIPANT shall not
make any specific use of any Marks of ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE for purposes other
than selling Products on PARTICIPANT'S Web Site for ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE,
without first submitting a sample of such proposed use to ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE,
and obtaining the prior written consent of ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE PARTICIPANT
agrees not to use the Marks in any manner that is disparaging or otherwise
portrays ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE in a negative light. ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE reserves
all of its rights in the Marks and all of their other proprietary rights. No
right, property, license or interest in any Marks is intended to be given to
or acquired by PARTICIPANT by the execution or the performance of this
Agreement. ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE may revoke this license at any time, by giving
you written notice. PARTICIPANT may not alter, modify, or change the Marks in
any way.
(c) All intellectual and
proprietary property and information, supplied or developed by ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE shall be and remain the sole and exclusive property of ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE. Upon termination of this Agreement, PARTICIPANT shall return to
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE any and all such property and information it received from
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE and immediately cease use of ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S' Marks.
Participant agrees not to contest or challenge ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S Marks or
to use any confusingly similar marks.
(d) PARTICIPANT grants to
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to
access the PARTICIPANT Web Site through the Links; and (ii) use PARTICIPANT'S
trade name, titles, logos, trademarks, service marks, products and similar
identifying material relating to PARTICIPANT (the "PARTICIPANT'S Marks"), to
advertise, market, promote and publicize in any manner this Agreement, the
transactions contemplated hereunder or ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S rights hereunder;
provided, however, that ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE shall not be required to
advertise, market, promote or publicize, in any manner, this Agreement, the
transactions contemplated hereunder, or PARTICIPANT'S Marks.
9. Confidentiality:
Pursuant to this Agreement,
the Parties may disclose to one another certain information ("Information")
which is considered by the disclosing party to be proprietary or confidential
information, including, without limitation, the term of this Agreement,
business, marketing and financial information, customer and vendor lists, and
pricing and sales information. All such Information shall remain the sole
property of the disclosing party, and its confidentiality shall be maintained
and protected by the receiving party with the same degree of care as the
receiving party uses for its own confidential and proprietary Information and
the receiving party shall not disclose such Information to any third party
without the consent of the disclosing party. The restrictions of the use or
disclosure of any Information shall not apply to any information: (i) after it
has become generally available to the public without breach of this agreement
by the receiving party; (ii) is independently developed by receiving party;
(iii) is rightfully in the receiving party's possession prior to disclosure to
it by the disclosing party; (iv) is rightfully received by receiving party
from a third party without duty of confidentiality; or (v) is disclosed under
operation of law or pursuant to legal or regulatory process.
10. LIABILITY:
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE SHALL
NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY HEREUNDER FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFIT OR
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, WHETHER OR NOT ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE
KNOWN THAT SUCH DAMAGE MIGHT BE INCURRED. FURTHERMORE, ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S
AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT AND THE
TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREUNDER WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER
THEORY OF RECOVERY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL COMMISSIONS PAID OR PAYABLE TO
PARTICIPANT UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.
11. Indemnification:
PARTICIPANT agrees to
indemnify, defend and hold harmless ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE, its parent company,
subsidiaries, affiliates, successors and assigns and their respective
officers, directors, shareholders and employees, from and against any and all
losses, liabilities, damages, actions, claims, expenses and costs including,
without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees, which result or arise from or
are based on (i) the negligence of PARTICIPANT, its agents, servants and/or
employees, (ii) PARTICIPANT'S breach of this Agreement or any of the terms
hereunder, (iii) any misrepresentation of a representation or warranty, or
breach of a covenant or agreement made by PARTICIPANT herein, or in the
Enrollment Application, (iv) any claim that ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S use of
PARTICIPANT'S Marks infringe on any trademark, trade name, service mark,
copyright, license, intellectual property, or other proprietary right of any
third party, or (v) any claim related to PARTICIPANT'S Web Site, including,
without limitation, content therein not contributed directly by ESSENTIAL
WHOLESALE.
12. Independent Parties:
Nothing contained herein
shall imply any partnership, joint venture or agency relationship between the
Parties and neither Party shall have the power to obligate or bind the other
in any manner whatsoever, except to the extent herein specifically provided.
13. Binding Effect; Benefit:
This Agreement shall inure
to the benefit of and be binding upon the Parties hereto and their respective
successors and assigns. Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, is
intended to confer on any person or entity other than the Parties hereto or
their respective successors and assigns, any rights, remedies, obligations or
liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement.
14. Severability:
If any provision of this
Agreement shall be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be
illegal, void or unenforceable, all other provisions of this Agreement shall
not be affected and shall remain in full force and effect.
15. Notices:
Any notices required or
permitted under this Agreement shall be sent electronically to you at your Web
Site, or to ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE at www.essentialwholesale.com and shall be
deemed duly made and received when sent.
16. Force Majeure:
Except as otherwise
expressly provided in this Agreement, ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE shall not be liable
for any breach of this Agreement or for any delay or failure of performance
resulting from any cause beyond such Party's reasonable control, including
without limitation, the weather, strikes or labor disputes, war, terrorist
acts, riots or civil disturbances, government regulations, acts of civil or
military authorities, or acts of God.
17. Entire Agreement:
This Agreement constitutes:
(a) the binding agreement
between the Parties;
(b) represents the entire
agreement between the Parties relating to the subject matter hereof and
supersedes all prior agreements; and
(c) may not be modified or
amended except in writing signed the Parties. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained herein, ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE may modify and change any of
the terms and conditions of this Agreement, at any time in its sole
discretion. PARTICIPANT will be notified by E-mail. Modifications and changes
may include, without limitation, changes in the scope of available commission
fees and payment procedures. If any modification or change is unacceptable to
PARTICIPANT, PARTICIPANT'S only recourse is to terminate this Agreement. Your
continued participation in the Program following the sending of the above
E-mail, or a new agreement, will constitute binding acceptance of the
modification or change.
18. Governing Law:
This Agreement shall be
governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Oregon
without regard to conflicts of law principles thereof.
19. Arbitration; Venue:
Each Party hereby agrees to
submit to binding arbitration in Portland, Oregon, all disputes or
controversies arising out of or in conjunction with this Agreement in
accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration
Association (AAA) then in effect and judgment upon the award shall be final
and unappealable and may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
If the AAA does not have an office in Portland, Oregon, then the arbitration
shall be held in an office of the AAA Multnomah County and, if none exists,
then at an AAA office in Oregon. Nothing contained herein shall, however, be
construed to limit or preclude ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE from bringing any action in
any court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive or other provisional relief
as ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE may deem to be necessary or appropriate against conduct
or threatened conduct by PARTICIPANT. Venue for purposes of any action brought
in connection with or arising out of this Agreement shall be conclusively
presumed to be in the State of Oregon, County of Multnomah and the Parties
hereby irrevocably consent to jurisdiction in the Oregon State courts and the
U.S. Federal courts in said state and county.
20. INDEPENDENT
INVESTIGATION:
PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES
THAT IT HAS READ THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREES TO ALL OF ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE MAY AT ANY TIME, DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY, SOLICIT CUSTOMER REFERRALS AND ENTER INTO SIMILAR AGREEMENTS ON
TERMS THAT MAY BE THE SAME, SIMILAR OR DIFFER FROM THOSE CONTAINED IN THIS
AGREEMENT OR ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH COMPETITORS OF PARTICIPANT, OR MAY
OPERATE WEB SITES THAT ARE SIMILAR TO OR COMPETE WITH PARTICIPANT'S WEB SITE.
PARTICIPANT HAS INDEPENDENTLY EVALUATED THE DESIRABILITY OF PARTICIPATING IN
THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREUNDER AND IT IS NOT RELYING ON ANY
REPRESENTATION, GUARANTEE, OR STATEMENT OTHER THAN AS SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH
IN THIS AGREEMENT.
21. NO GUARANTEE:
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE MAKES NO
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO THE
TRANSACTIONS AND SERVICES CONTEMPLATED HEREUNDER INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY,
NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF PERFORMANCE,
DEALING, OR TRADE USAGE. IN ADDITION, ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE MAKES NO
REPRESENTATION THAT THE OPERATION OF ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE'S WEB SITE WILL BE
UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR
ANY CONSEQUENCES WHATSOEVER OF ANY INTERRUPTIONS OR ERRORS. FURTHERMORE,
ESSENTIAL WHOLESALE MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE AS TO THE
AMOUNT OF COMMISSIONS TO BE PAID TO PARTICIPANT HEREUNDER, OR AS TO ANY ASSET
OR PROFITABILITY, IF ANY, OR OTHER BENEFIT PARTICIPANT MAY DERIVE HEREUNDER,
IF ANY. 22. Survival: Sections 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of this
Agreement shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.