Affiliate Agreement
This Agreement contains the complete terms
and conditions which you (the "Affiliate") agree to be bound by as a
participant in Net Guides Publishing Inc. ("Net Guides Publishing Inc.")
affiliate program (the "Program") and which shall apply once your
application to participate in the Program has been accepted by Net Guides
Publishing Inc.
ARTICLE 1. INTRODUCTION
1.01 Net Guides Publishing Inc. is the sole
and exclusive owner of all right, title and interest including all
intellectual property rights in and to the contents, logos, style, design,
look and feel, trade names, trademarks to all literary works, computer
software programs, products, goods and services (including and all future
versions thereof) currently entitled the ("Product"). Product refers to the
singular as well as the plural.
1.02 Net Guides Publishing Inc. intends to
sell and distribute the Product electronically and or physically using, in
part, third party affiliates who will establish links to Net Guides
Publishing Inc.'s Web site where the Product will be offered for sale.
1.03 If, in the future, Net Guides
Publishing Inc. sells and distributes any other goods or services through
the Internet, it shall offer to its Affiliates at that time the opportunity
to become Vendor-Affiliates of such goods or services. Such goods or
services shall be included in the defined term "Product" and this Agreement
shall then also apply to such goods or services.
ARTICLE 2. PARTICIPATION & REPRESENTATION
2.01 Net Guides Publishing Inc. hereby
grants to the Affiliate the non-exclusive and revocable right to market and
advertise the Product and to establish links to Net Guides Publishing Inc.'s
Web site, in accordance with this Agreement.
2.02 The Affiliate shall diligently and
continuously market and advertise the Product through the Internet and shall
develop, operate and maintain links from its site to Net Guides Publishing
Inc.'s site at its sole cost and expense.
2.03 The Affiliate represents and warrants
to Net Guides Publishing Inc. that this Agreement has been duly and validly
executed and constitutes and shall continue to constitute a legal
obligation, enforceable in accordance with its terms.
ARTICLE 3. AFFILIATE SALES COMMISSIONS
3.01 If, as a result of a direct
advertising effort of the Affiliate, a referred customer of the Affiliate or
of a member of the Affiliate's team (as defined) orders and pays for the
Product or other goods or services sold by Net Guides Publishing Inc. in the
future, Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall pay the Affiliate a sales
commission determined in accordance with the Affiliate Compensation Schedule
which follows this Agreement and which forms an integral part of it. The
commission is based upon the paid selling price of the purchased goods or
services before tax and excluding returns ("Sales Commission").
3.02 AN AFFILIATE SHALL NOT RECEIVE A SALES
COMMISSION FOR A PRODUCT PURCHASE MADE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, BY
HIMSELF/HERSELF. Net Guides Publishing Inc., in its sole and complete
discretion may create multiple level compensation plans. In the case of a
multiple level compensation plan, an Affiliate's Team means all Affiliates
introduced to the Program by the Affiliate in question. In the event that
more than one Affiliate claims the same commission for a sale, Net Guides
Publishing Inc. shall select the Affiliate which shall receive the
compensation.
3.03 The Affiliate shall be responsible for
all taxes and other similar levies applicable to the Sales Commission
pursuant to any law or regulation. The Affiliate shall report the Sales
Commission to its taxation authorities as required by law.
3.04 Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall post
and maintain, on a current basis, a designated password-protected Web page
for each Affiliate showing the Affiliate's participation in the Program
including number of potential customers referred by it and an estimate of
the Sales Commission owing to it. Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall, on or
about the 15th. of each month, mail or otherwise transmit the Sales
Commission representing the amount payable for the sales completed in the
previous month. Sales statistics of the referred transactions, supporting
the amount paid, shall be made available on the Affiliate's private site.
Affiliates will receive the Sales Commission in US funds. For administrative
convenience, if the Sales Commission is less than $15dollars in a month, it
shall be mailed during a future month. The Affiliate may receive the Sales
Commission where the amount in question is less than $15dollars by advising
Net Guides Publishing Inc. and assuming Net Guides Publishing Inc.'s cost of
making the payment. If an Affiliate maintains a balance of less than 0
dollars of Sales Commission in a period of 12 consecutive months without
asking for payment during that time, the Sales Commission shall be
forfeited. Sales Commission overpayments may be deducted from future
payments or shall be reimbursed by the Affiliate.
3.05 Upon written request and at the
Affiliate's expense, the Affiliate may cause Net Guides Publishing Inc.'s
books and records to be examined by an independent firm of accountants to
ensure compliance with this Agreement. In the event that the examination
reveals an underpayment error of more than 5%, the underpayment and the
reasonable cost of the examination to a maximum of 1000dollars shall be paid
by Net Guides Publishing Inc.. If the examination does not reveal an
underpayment as aforesaid, the Affiliate shall compensate Net Guides
Publishing Inc. for its reasonable cost to a maximum of 1000 dollars. The
firm of accountants utilized shall limit the scope of their examination to
the relevant information regarding the Sales Commission and shall keep
private and confidential all information obtained in the course of the said
examination.
ARTICLE 4. AFFILIATE SITES AND PROMOTION
METHODS
4.01 The Affiliate shall be solely
responsible for all materials that appear on its site. It shall strictly
adhere to all applicable laws and regulations in conducting its business and
more specifically in marketing and advertising the Product. Without
restricting the generality of the foregoing, the Affiliate shall not send
unsolicited e-mail and shall not send e-mail or any other communication to a
recipient if the recipient has requested that it discontinue such
communication, nor shall it send or display on its Web site any material
that may be considered to be harassing, libellous, defamatory, legally
obscene or pornographic, threatening, abusive or hateful.
4.02 Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall have
the right, but not the obligation, to pre-approve the graphics and logos
used on any Web site which is linked to its site. Furthermore, the Affiliate
shall annotate its site with appropriate copyright, trademark and other
similar notices, which shall be approved by Net Guides Publishing Inc.. If
the Affiliate specifies a price point for the Product in its marketing and
advertising, it shall ensure that it is updated regularly to reflect all
price changes.
4.03 Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall have
the right to monitor the Affiliate's Web site at any time and from time to
time to determine if it is in compliance with the terms and conditions on
this Agreement.
4.04 The Affiliate agrees not to use any
predatory advertising methods designed to generate traffic from sites that
they have not contracted with in the online promotion of Net Guides
Publishing Inc.'s products, services or affiliate program. Predatory
advertising is defined as any method that creates or overlays links or
banners on web sites, spawns browser windows, or any method invented to
generate traffic from a web site without that web site owner's, knowledge,
permission, and participation. Examples include, but are not limited to,
keyword parsing, browser plugins such as TopText and Surf+, banner
replacement technology such as Gator, browser spawning technology that is
not web site dependent. Participation in predatory advertising programs will
be cause for the affiliate's immediate termination.
ARTICLE 5. ORDER PROCESSING
5.01 Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall
establish the procedures of selling the Product including, without
limitation, the placement of orders, pricing, payment terms, processing,
delivery, returns etc. Without restricting the generality of the foregoing,
Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall have the right to cancel, suspend or delay
any order for the Product, including the right to discontinue selling the
Product at any time.
ARTICLE 6. LICENSES AND GOODWILL
PRESERVATION
6.01 Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall have
the right, but not the obligation, to approve, in its sole and absolute
discretion and with due regard to the protection and preservation of the
goodwill of the Product any promotional, advertising or marketing item used
by the Affiliate. The Affiliate shall make all deletions and modifications
suggested by Net Guides Publishing Inc. on any site where the Product is
mentioned.
6.02 The Affiliate shall acknowledge and
clearly identify and respect that all proprietary information, trademarks,
copyrights and all other similar rights in and arising out of the Product
are, and shall continue to be, the exclusive property of Net Guides
Publishing Inc.. In the event the Affiliate learns of any claim or
allegation that the Product infringes upon or violates any intellectual
property or proprietary rights of a third party, or contains any unlawful,
libelous, or untrue statement, it shall immediately notify Net Guides
Publishing Inc. so as to enable Net Guides Publishing Inc. to defend, settle
or otherwise resolve the claim or allegation in a manner that Net Guides
Publishing Inc. deems appropriate in its sole discretion.
6.03 Customers who purchase the Product
through the Program shall be deemed to be customers of Net Guides Publishing
Inc., and the Affiliate shall refer all Product-related questions, requests
or queries to Net Guides Publishing Inc.. Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall
have the right to utilize the Affiliate's name and logo to advertise,
market, promote and publicize in any manner the Product.
6.04 The Affiliate shall not make or give
to a customer or a potential customer any warranty, representation or other
statement concerning the Product without first obtaining the written consent
of Net Guides Publishing Inc.
ARTICLE 7. RELATIONSHIP OF PARTIES
7.01 While the parties shall work
hand-in-hand for the benefit of both, the parties acknowledge and agree that
the Affiliate shall, from a legal perspective, act as and shall be an
independent contractor and not an employee or agent of Net Guides Publishing
Inc.. Nothing in this Agreement shall create a partnership, joint venture,
agency, or franchise between the parties in the legal sense of these terms.
The Affiliate shall not sign any document in the name of or on behalf of Net
Guides Publishing Inc. nor shall it hold itself out as being an agent of Net
Guides Publishing Inc. or as having apparent authority to contract for or
bind Net Guides Publishing Inc.
ARTICLE 8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
8.01 In no event shall Net Guides
Publishing Inc. be liable for special, incidental, consequential or punitive
damages, including, without limitation, any damages resulting from loss of
profits, loss of business or loss of goodwill arising out of or in
connection with this Agreement or the Product, whether or not such party has
been advised of the possibility of such damages. Net Guides Publishing Inc.
shall not be liable for any damages if, for any reason whatsoever, its Web
site fails or is non-operational for any reason whatsoever.
ARTICLE 9. TERM OF THE AGREEMENT
9.01 In the event that the Affiliate
breaches any of the undertakings or obligations set forth in this Agreement
and does not remedy same within 7 days notice from Net Guides Publishing
Inc., it shall automatically forfeit the Sales Commission then receivable or
receivable at any time in the future. Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall, in
addition, have the right to terminate this Agreement and shall retain all
other rights and remedies available to it at law or in equity.
9.02 This Agreement shall automatically
terminate if the Affiliate ceases to actively market the Product for a
period of 90 days. Net Guides Publishing Inc. shall have the right but not
the obligation to terminate this Agreement with an Affiliate whose Sales
Commission in a calendar year was in the bottom 20 percent of Sales
Commission of all Affiliates in the calendar year in question, by giving the
Affiliate 90 days notice of termination. In such cases the Sales Commission
owing, representing the sums earned shall be paid even after termination of
this Agreement. The Affiliate shall have the right to terminate this
Agreement at any time upon written notice to Net Guides Publishing Inc.
9.03 As soon as notice of termination of
this Agreement is given or upon termination as herein provided, the
Affiliate shall immediately cease its marketing and advertising of the
Product and shall forthwith eliminate all mention and references to the
Product and all links to Net Guides Publishing Inc.. Pending the completion
of the foregoing, Net Guides Publishing Inc. may hold in abeyance the Sales
Commission.
ARTICLE 10. MODIFICATION AND APPLICATION OF
AGREEMENT
10.01 Net Guides Publishing Inc. may, in
good faith, modify any of the terms and conditions contained in this
Agreement (including the Affiliate Compensation Schedule), at any time and
in its sole discretion, by posting a change notice or a new agreement on its
Web site. If any modification to this Agreement is not acceptable to the
Affiliate, its only recourse is to terminate this Agreement. The Affiliates
continued participation in the Program following the said posting of a
change notice or new agreement shall constitute binding acceptance by the
Affiliate of the change.
10.02 If any of the provisions of this
Agreement are determined by a court to be unenforceable, they shall be
severed from this Agreement, and the remaining provisions shall remain in
full force and effect.
10.03 The Affiliate shall not assign,
transfer or convey this Agreement or any part thereof to any other party
without Net Guides Publishing Inc.'s consent which shall not be unreasonably
refused.
10.04 This Agreement shall endure to the
benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective
heirs, legatees, executors, legal representatives, successors and assigns.
10.05 This Agreement represents the entire
agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior negotiations,
agreements and understandings, if any. For greater certainty but without
restricting the aforementioned, information contained in any of the
following shall not form part of this Agreement, namely:
Descriptions of the Program (including
the descriptions of Sales Commission payable to the Affiliates) on Net
Guides Publishing Inc.'s Web site(s);
E-mail communications from Net Guides
Publishing Inc. or from any of its employees, officers or directors;
Information in the Product, or in
marketing/informational documents.
ARTICLE 11. INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
11.01 The Affiliate acknowledges that it
has reviewed this Agreement and agrees to all its terms and conditions. The
Affiliate understands that Net Guides Publishing Inc. may at any time
solicit customer referrals on terms that may differ from those contained in
this Agreement or operate Web sites that are similar to or compete with the
Affiliate's Web site. The Affiliate has independently evaluated the
desirability of participating in the Program and is not relying on any
representation, guarantee or statement other than as set forth in this
Agreement.
ARTICLE 12. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
12.01 Any reference in this Agreement to
gender includes all genders and words importing the singular number only
shall include the plural and vice versa.
12.02 The insertion of headings and the
division of this Agreement into Articles and Sections are for convenience
reference only and are not to affect its interpretation.
12.03 Each of the parties hereto covenants
and agrees that it shall execute and deliver such additional agreements and
documents and do such acts and things as may be reasonably necessary fully
and effectually to carry out the intent and purpose of this Agreement.
12.04 Time shall be of essence of this
Agreement.
12.05 All notices, requests and other
communications shall be deemed to have been received when posted by Net
Guides Publishing Inc. on its Web site. It shall also be deemed to have been
received on the next business day if transmitted by Telecopier, e-mail or
any other form of electronic mail to the last known electronic address of
the intended recipient.
12.06 If a dispute arises under this
agreement, we agree to first try to resolve it with the help of a mutually
agreed-upon mediator in the following location: Nevada. Any costs and fees
other than attorney fees associated with the mediation will be shared
equally by each of us.
If it proves impossible to arrive at a
mutually satisfactory solution through mediation, we agree to submit the
dispute to binding arbitration at the following location: Nevada, under the
rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon the award
rendered by the arbitration may be entered in any court with jurisdiction to
do so.
The parties have required that this
Agreement and related documents be drafted in English.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AFFILIATE COMPENSATION SCHEDULE
For a sale, which we make as a result of a
direct referral by an affiliate, that affiliate will receive a commission
fee of $35 US from the selling price of the product sold. This is known as a
first-tier referral commission. For such a sale as described in the previous
paragraph, if the affiliate who made the direct referral is a sub-affiliate
of another affiliate, the second affiliate will receive a commission fee of
$15 US from the selling price of the product sold. This is known as a
second-tier referral commission.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
REJECTION CRITERIA
We will reject anyone who uses marketing
techniques that...
Exploit sex to sell
Promote violence
Are hateful in any way
Are harassing or use spam in any way,
shape, or form
Are libellous or defamatory
Are threatening or abusive
Are illegal or on the borderline
Violate the copyrights or trademarks of
others
Are in such poor taste that we do not want
the association.
|