ECHINACHEM TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF USE
Version updated on April 6, 2001.
The following Terms and Conditions govern the relationship between
eChinaChem Limited ("eChinaChem") and all Members and the use of the web site
provided by eChinaChem located on the internet at www.eChinaChem.com (the
"Site"). eChinaChem reserves the right to amend and/or supplement these Terms
and Conditions from time to time as it may deem appropriate. Any such change
shall be deemed effective [10] days after posting on the Site, and Members
shall be deemed to have consented thereto by continuing use of the Site after
such effective date.
1.Membership
Member may access all content, materials, functions, features and
information provided or accessed through the Site (the "Content"), including
the ability to request bids for Products for sale or purchase and to engage in
negotiations and close purchase and sale transactions with other Corporate
Members on the Site.
2. Site Access; Use of Passwords; Authorized Persons
Access to the Site is through a combination of a unique user
identity, company identity and user individual password (collectively,
"Passwords"). Each Member shall keep its Passwords strictly confidential and
shall not allow and/or permit any of them to be used by third parties. Each
Member shall promptly notify eChinaChem of any unauthorized use or loss of its
Password or any other breach of security. Each Member shall provide eChinaChem
with a list of persons ("Authorized Persons") who are authorized to represent
it in taking part in the sale and purchase of Products. The Member may update
the list of Authorized Persons and so inform eChinaChem from time to time. No
transaction will be validated unless the Passwords of the relevant Authorized
Person are used.
3. Information Posted on the Site
All Members are allowed to post information on the Site provided
that they shall bear all responsibility and liability for all information so
posted. eChinaChem shall have no obligation to monitor and/or scan through the
contents and/or the information as the Members may post on the Site.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, eChinaChem reserves the right to remove and/or
take such other action as it may deem appropriate with respect to such
information in its sole discretion. All information posted on the Site must
comply with the Member Conduct Rules posted on the Site, as amended by
eChinaChem from time to time.
4.Trading on the Site - Limited Role of eChinaChem
ECHINACHEM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND
EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED AS TO
-
THE IDENTITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY BUYER OR SELLER OF PRODUCTS
-
THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCTS OR
-
THE ABILITY OF EITHER THE SELLER OR THE BUYER TO SELL, BUY OR TO COMPLETE THE
SALE AND PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS THROUGH THE SITE.
Members are advised to set up their own guidelines and criteria to determine
the companies with which they wish to do business, and eChinaChem assumes no
responsibility whatsoever in relation to the sale and purchase of Products
between the Members on the Site.
It is understood that eChinaChem is not involved in the actual sale and
purchase of Products between Members and has no knowledge or control as to the
truth or accuracy of postings or the ability of Sellers to sell or Buyers to
buy Products on the Site unless eChinaChem specifically states that it is
involved or has such knowledge and control.
Each Member agrees that eChinaChem, its agents and employees shall be released
from all Damages (as defined below) arising out of or in any way connected with
any dispute between Members as to the purchase or sale of Products.
eChinaChem shall have the right, and is hereby expressly authorized, to release
to any Member any records, information or evidence relating to any transaction
involving such Member made on the Site, without any liability on eChinaChem's
part to any party to such transaction or any other person. Addendum to the User
Agreement for eChinaChem Proprietary Trading IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLOSURE OF
TRADING PROCEDURE. eChinaChem employees and staff have the capacity to trade as
a broker using normal telephonic and facsimile communication methods, as well
as to act on behalf of either Buyer or Seller in an online Internet trading
environment. eChinaChem employees and staff shall be duly authorized to act as
agents for Buyer and/or Seller in this online environment. In this Internet
trading environment, eChinaChem employees and staff shall have full access to
all transaction data, bids, customer profiles, and other information, and shall
hold this information as proprietary and secure as provided in the eChinaChem
Privacy Policy. eChinaChem staff and employees shall also have access to above
information as posted freely and individually by all registered members of
eChinaChem.com, without the initial involvement of eChinaChem. Such information
shall also be maintained proprietary and secure as stated above, and may be
used in the subsequent constructive sourcing and connection of trading partners
via traditional communication methods or by use of an Internet trading
environment.
5. Transaction Rules
Any Member offering Products for sale or responding to an inquiry
for purchase of Products (a "Seller") and any Member responding to an offer to
sell Products or posting an inquiry for purchase of Products (a "Buyer") and
every transaction between Buyers and Sellers on the Site are subject to the
ECHINACHEM TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE which may be changed by eChinaChem from
time to time.
6. Value Added Services
eChinaChem may from time to time nominate and make available to
Members certain banks, insurance companies, surveyors, shippers and other
service providers (collectively, "Value Added Providers") to provide value
added services to Members in connection with buying and selling Products and
related transactions on the Site ("Value Added Services"). Each Member
acknowledges and confirms that: (i) eChinaChem is not the provider of Value
Added Services; (ii) the Value Added Providers are independent contractors
which have their own rules, policies and practices in providing the Value Added
Services; and (iii) no warranty is or will be given by eChinaChem as to, and
eChinaChem shall have no liability in respect of: a) the quality of Value Added
Services; b) the ability of Value Added Providers to provide the Value Added
Services; c) the creditworthiness of Value Added Providers; d) the accuracy,
truth, reliability or reasonableness of any information that Value Added
Providers may post on the Site or otherwise provide concerning the Value Added
Services; e) the terms and conditions of the Value Added Services; or f)
whether the Value Added Providers are able to or will complete the Value Added
Services for Members as agreed between them. eChinaChem may itself from time to
time offer to provide Members ("Value Added Services"). In this case eChinaChem
and Member will sign a separate contract defining the rights, obligations, and
liabilities of each party.
7. Intellectual Property
Each Member acknowledges and agrees that all data developed or
collected by eChinaChem in connection with the operation of the Site and the
transactions conducted thereon shall be the exclusive property of eChinaChem.
All third party content published or posted by eChinaChem on the Site is the
property of the respective copyright owners and no Member is permitted to copy
and/or distribute such contents for commercial purposes. Any Member copying or
distributing third party content shall be liable for all legal consequences and
eChinaChem shall have no responsibility therefore. To enable eChinaChem to use
such information as the Members may provide and data developed or collected by
eChinaChem in connection with the operation of the Site and the transactions
conducted thereon, each Member grants to eChinaChem a non-exclusive,worldwide,
perpetual, irrevocable, sub-licensable (through multiple tiers) royalty-free
right to exercise the Member's copyright and publicity right in any information
so provided as the Member shall have in any media now known or later developed.
8. Use of Data
Each Member confirms that it has reviewed and accepted the terms
contained in eChinaChem Members Privacy Policy. For the purposes of any
applicable privacy law, each Member hereby consents to eChinaChem's use of any
data supplied by it for eChinaChem's own internal use, administration, audit,
security, debt recovery and direct marketing purposes, to eChinaChem's
supplying such data to other group members of eChinaChem, the Value Added
Providers or selected third parties to use for such purposes, and to
eChinaChem's supplying such data to such third parties as may be necessary for
its business. Each Member consents to any such data being transferred to
another jurisdiction that may not have laws and legislation protecting such
data. For the avoidance of doubt and without limitation to the foregoing, data
held by eChinaChem relating to each Member will be kept confidential but
eChinaChem may provide such data (including the details and particulars of
Members, contract terms, Product specifications, pricing information and
related items pertaining to the sale and purchase of Products on the Site) to
(i) any agent or Value Added Provider who provides services to eChinaChem in
connection with the operation of its business; (ii) any person under a duty of
confidentiality to eChinaChem who has undertaken to keep such data
confidential; and (iii) any actual or proposed assignee or transferee of
eChinaChem's rights in respect of such Member. Each Member hereby expressly
authorizes, directs and instructs eChinaChem to release, disclose and make
available such data as and in the manner described above.
9. Termination of Membership
Either eChinaChem or a Member may terminate the Member's Membership
at any time, effective immediately upon notice to the other party. Neither
party shall have any liability of any kind for any consequences of such
termination. Upon termination of its Membership, a Member and its Authorized
Persons will lose the right to sell and purchase Products on the Site, except
for any outstanding binding transactions to which such Member is a party as of
the termination of its Membership, which shall be completed through the Site.
Upon termination of its Membership, the Member shall pay and settle all
outstanding Commissions and any other amounts due to eChinaChem in full within
30 days after the date of termination.
10. Indemnification
Member agrees that it will indemnify, defend and hold eChinaChem,
its officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively "Indemnified
Parties") harmless from and against any and all Damages (as defined below)
incurred by any of the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claims
arising out of, based upon or resulting from any breach by such Member of these
Terms and Conditions or any applicable law, any use by the Member of the Site
or any dispute with another Member and/or any Value Added Provider or any other
party. eChinaChem reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the
exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to
indemnification by such Member, and such Member shall not in any event settle
or otherwise dispose of any matter without the prior written consent of
eChinaChem.
11. Disclaimer of Warranties
ECHINACHEM PROVIDES THE SITE AND THE CONTENT ON AN "AS IS", "AS
AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
AND ECHINACHEM HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. ECHINACHEM DOES NOT
WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR THE CONTENT WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, UNINTERRUPTED OR
ERROR FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. ECHINACHEM MAKES NO WARRANTY
THAT THE SITE OR THE SERVICE WILL MEET MEMBERS' REQUIREMENTS, AND EXPRESSLY
DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES THAT ANY POSTED PRODUCTS WILL BE
PURCHASED OR SOLD. IF A MEMBER IS DISSATISFIED WITH THE SITE, THE CONTENT OR
ANY SERVICES ON THE SITE, ITS SOLE REMEDY SHALL BE TO DISCONTINUE USING THE
SITE. ECHINACHEM MAKES NO WARRANTY REGARDING ANY PRODUCTS PURCHASED OR OBTAINED
THROUGH THE SITE OR ANY TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH THE SITE. NO ADVICE
OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY ANY MEMBER FROM ECHINACHEM
OR THROUGH THE SITE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN. EACH
MEMBER AGREES AND ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE USE OF THE SITE IS AT MEMBER'S SOLE
RISK.
For the avoidance of doubt and without limitation to the foregoing,
eChinaChem makes no warranty that economic reporting, information, material or
data contained on the Site, or on any hyperlinks from the Site, is accurate,
reliable or up to date, and shall have no responsibility for any Damages (as
defined below) arising directly or indirectly from reliance thereon.
12. Limitation of Liability
ECHINACHEM SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHETHER SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATED TO THE USE OF, OR
THE INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR THE CONTENT, INCLUDING THE LOSS OF REVENUE OR
ANTICIPATED PROFITS OR LOST BUSINESS OR LOST SALES EVEN IF ECHINACHEM HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, AND ANY COSTS ARISING THEREFROM
(COLLECTIVELY, "DAMAGES"). IN THE EVENT OF ECHINACHEM BEING HELD LIABLE UNDER
THE PROVISIONS HEREOF, SUCH LIABILITY FOR ANY AND ALL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR
RELATED TO ANY POSTED ITEM SHALL BE LIMITED TO AND IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES EXCEED
US$100.
For the avoidance of doubt and without limitation to the foregoing,
each Member agrees that neither eChinaChem nor any officer, affiliate,
director, shareholder, agent or employee of eChinaChem shall be liable to such
Member or any third party for Damages resulting directly or indirectly from or
otherwise arising from or in connection with any of the following: a) the
termination of such Member's membership by eChinaChem whether with or without
cause under the terms hereof; b) the interruption, suspension or termination of
the Site for whatever reason; c) the use of the Site and the Content by such
Member, including Damages resulting from or arising from such Member's reliance
on the Site or any mistakes, omissions, errors, defects or delays in operation,
non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, or any failure of performance on the Site; d)
any unauthorized party's obtaining and/or using a Member's Passwords, and any
reliance by eChinaChem on the list of Authorized Persons provided to eChinaChem
and on the actions taken and the representations made (or purporting to be
taken and made) by such Authorized Persons using the appropriate Passwords; e)
any allegation, suit, claim or other proceeding based upon a contention that
the use of the Site and the Content by such Member or a third party infringes
the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, privacy, confidentiality or
other intellectual property rights or contractual rights of any third party; f)
any information posted on the Site or on any hyperlink from the Site being
incorrect, untrue, misleading or forged; g) the failure or alleged failure of
any Product purchased to conform to any specifications or terms; h) the breach
or alleged breach of any warranty, express or implied, or any other breach of
covenant or failure of performance by any party other than eChinaChem relating
to any Product purchased or sold; or i) government restrictions, strikes, war,
any natural disaster or force majeure, default or failure to perform by
eChinaChem's contractors or suppliers, or any other condition beyond
eChinaChem's control.
13. Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the laws of the
state of California, United States of America. Each Member agrees that any
controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions
and the relationship between eChinaChem and the Members shall be submitted to
the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the state of
California, United States of America. For the purpose of this clause, each of
the Members waives any objection to proceedings in any such courts on the
ground that the proceedings have been brought in an inconvenient forum. The
submission by each Member to the jurisdiction of the courts of the state of
California, United States of America herein shall not affect the right of
eChinaChem to take proceedings in any other jurisdiction nor shall the taking
of proceedings in one jurisdiction preclude eChinaChem from taking proceedings
in any other jurisdiction.
14. Miscellaneous Provisions Submissions.
Any comments, feedback, ideas, suggestions, information, know-how, material, or
any other submissions disclosed or offered by Members to eChinaChem using the
Site or otherwise (collectively, "Submissions") are not confidential and shall
become and remain the property of eChinaChem. Any such Submissions shall be
deemed to include a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable,
nonexclusive, sub-licensable (through multiple tiers) right and license for
eChinaChem to publish, reproduce, distribute, copy, use, create derivative
works, display (in whole or part) or otherwise act on such Submissions without
additional approval or consideration, in any media now known or later developed
for the full term of any rights that may exist in such Submissions. Taxes.
eChinaChem assumes no responsibility to calculate, report or remit sales or use
taxes which may be assessed, due or owing to the taxing authorities of any
jurisdiction for transactions that arise in connection with the Member's use of
the Site. Default Interest. Any amount that is not paid within 15 days of its
due date will bear interest at the rate of 15% per annum (from the original due
date until the date of payment), or the maximum rate allowed by applicable law,
which ever is less. Notices. Except as explicitly stated otherwise, notices
shall be given in the case of eChinaChem,by e-mail to info@eChinaChem.com, by
fax to +1 650 618 2533, or by mail or delivery to 1091 Industrial Road, Suite
240 San Carlos, CA 94070, USA for the attention of Customer Services Support,
eChinaChem, or in the case of a Member, by e-mail, fax, mail or delivery to the
Member's e-mail address, fax number or mailing address (as provided by the
Member to eChinaChem during the registration process or as later notified by
the Member). Notice shall be deemed effective 24 hours after an e-mail or fax
is sent, or in the case of mailing or delivery, one day after the date of
receipt. No Waiver. The failure by eChinaChem to exercise or enforce any rights
or provisions of these Terms and Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of
such right or provision. Limitation of Actions. Each Member agrees that any
cause of action arising out of or related to the Site or these Terms and
Conditions must commence within one year after the cause of action arose;
otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred. Entire Agreement. These
Terms and Conditions, as amended or supplemented by eChinaChem from time to
time, comprise the entire agreement between Member and eChinaChem and supersede
all prior agreements between the parties regarding the subject matter contained
herein. Survival. All provisions in these Terms and Conditions regarding
representations and warranties, indemnification, disclaimers and limitations on
liability shall survive any termination of a Member's Membership. Relationship.
The relationship between the Members and eChinaChem is that of independent
contractors. Nothing herein contained shall constitute or create any
relationship of agency, partnership, joint venture,employer-employee or
franchiser-franchisee between eChinaChem and any Member(whether it is a Buyer
or Seller).