Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully as this is a legally binding contract between you and SB FUND Social Power Management System Corporation. (“SBFUND”). These Terms and Conditions govern your relationship with SBFUND and its Clients (defined below). The use of the SBFUND’s website is governed by its Terms of Use. To the extent there is any conflict between these Terms and Conditions and the Terms of Use, these Terms and Conditions shall control.
SBFUND offers industry executives and professionals the opportunity to register as Forum Members and provide research consulting services to SBFUND and/or its clients (collectively, "Clients," which may include third-party professional services providers thereto, client compliance personnel, and/or clients of SBFUBD clients). These research consulting services may include one-on-one phone consultations, face-to-face meetings, group conference calls, research reports, surveys, web-based conferences, or other research services (“Research Services”).
You may participate in the Executive Forum only if you are not restricted from doing so by contractual, fiduciary or other obligations, and if you have obtained all necessary approvals. By joining the Executive Forum, you are representing that you are not restricted from doing so and that you have obtained all necessary approvals. Your participation in the Executive Forum is in your personal capacity and not on behalf of any other entity, unless there is a written agreement between such entity and SBFUND.
You are free to accept or decline any offer to provide Research Services in your sole discretion, provided, however, that you may accept only those Research Services (a) that do not present a conflict of interest; (b) that relate to matters that you are permitted to discuss under applicable law and subject to any obligations you may have (including contractual, employment, or otherwise) and (c) that relate to topics about which you are knowledgeable.
You are expected to accept or decline participating in proposed Research Services within three (3) business days and to adhere to the schedule you establish with us. Of course, you are never obligated to accept any offer to participate in Research Services.
Payment for Research Services. Each Forum Member is free to establish an hourly rate. To receive payment, you must log into SBFUND's secure website, create a payment profile and submit an invoice for the time spent consulting with SBFUND’s Client. Unless you have received prior written authorization from SBFUND, you will not be compensated for any time in preparation of, or in follow-up to, Research Services. Clients cannot authorize such additional work. In addition, SBFUND will compensate you only for Research Services that are either arranged by SBFUND, through its systems, or pre-approved in writing by SBFUND.
You can expect to receive payment within 15 days of receipt by SBFUND of a properly completed invoice, provided, however, that if SBFUND determines, in its sole discretion, that you violated these Terms and Conditions or other SBFUND compliance rules or procedures then you will not be eligible for payment. Invoices sent more than 90 days after the completion of Research Services will not be honored. SBFUND will not accept any faxed or mailed invoices.
SBFUND will provide Internal Revenue Form 1099 to Forum Members as required. As a condition to payment, you agree to properly complete and deliver to us all information that we may reasonably require to comply with applicable tax reporting and withholding obligations.
As a guiding principle, SBFUND expects that Forum Members will act with the utmost professionalism and courtesy in their dealings with SBFUND and its Clients. Therefore, as a Forum Member, you must not disclose any confidential information, including, for example, any material non-public and proprietary information, commercial secrets, and any information covered by any nondisclosure agreement(s) to which you are a party, regardless of its source (i.e., present or previous employment relationships, directorships, consulting engagements, nondisclosure agreement, etc.). Further, if you determine it is necessary to end your participation in any Research Services to avoid disclosing such information, SBFUND will pay you for the time you spent participating in such Research Services.
As a member of SBFUND’s Executive Forum, you also agree to the following:
SBFUND will not knowingly recommend you for any Research Services the subject of which is your current employer or any other entity or topic to which you have indicated to SBFUND that you are not permitted to discuss. Furthermore, if you determine at any time that your participation in any Research Services could result in a violation of any of these terms and conditions or may otherwise present a conflict of interest, you must immediately terminate your participation in such Research Services and notify SBFUND. If SBFUND learns that you have disclosed confidential information, we will immediately terminate our relationship with you and withhold payment for such consultation, and we may also take such other action as we deem appropriate.
As a Forum Member, you are responsible for compliance with (a) all applicable laws, rules and regulations, and (b) any contractual relationships or fiduciary duties that are binding on you. Without limiting the foregoing, you acknowledge that laws generally prohibit the misappropriation, use, dissemination, and disclosure of confidential information.
As a Forum Member, you agree that you will provide SBFUND with accurate current and historical Personal Information (as defined herein) regarding your education, experience, employment and any contractual or other obligations you may be subject to, and you agree to update this information in a timely manner with SBFUND in the event this information changes, and to ensure that such information is up to date prior to providing any Research Services.
You agree that you will not provide any false or misleading information of any kind to SBFUND, its Clients, or during the provision of Research Services.
For purposes hereof, "Proprietary Information" means all information pertaining to SBFUND, its business or its Clients, including, but not limited to, the names of such Clients and Client employees, the subject-matter of the Research Services or your participation in Research Services for such Clients.
Proprietary Information shall not include information which (a) is or becomes publicly known without violation of this Agreement; (b) you show, through written records, was rightfully known by you without violation of any restriction; or (c) you are legally obligated to disclose, provided, however, that prior to any such obligated disclosure, you shall give us reasonable advance notice of such disclosure and shall cooperate with us in protecting against any such disclosure and/or obtaining a protective order narrowing the scope of such disclosure and/or use of the Proprietary Information.
You shall hold all Proprietary Information in strict confidence and shall not disclose any Proprietary Information to any third party. You shall not use any Proprietary Information for your own benefit or that of any third party. The obligations of this Section with respect to Proprietary Information shall survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement.
You acknowledge and agree that you will participate in Research Services as an independent contractor of SBFUND and, as a result, you agree to comply with all applicable tax withholding and/or reporting obligations arising from any payments made by SBFUND to you. Except as expressly agreed in writing, you will not have any right or authority to negotiate any agreement or otherwise incur any obligation on behalf of SBFUND or to make any representation or warranty on behalf of SBFUND or any Client. Your status as a Forum Member does not create an employment, agency, partnership, joint venture or any other form of association, for tax purposes or otherwise, between you and SBFUND or any Client. Additionally, you agree that you will not make any unauthorized use of SBFUND's name.
You hereby acknowledge that any Client for whom you perform Research Services hereunder is an intended third party beneficiary of these Terms and Conditions and has the same rights and expectations as SBFUND with respect to any breach by you of your representations, warranties and covenants hereunder.
You also agree that while you are participating as a Forum Member SBFUND will have the right to utilize and publish, in whole or in part, information you provide during and after the registration process in its marketing materials, whether contained on its website or elsewhere.
You further agree that, at SBFUND’s request, you will cooperate fully with SBFUND and its affiliates in connection with any inquiry or investigation (whether formal or informal), and any defense or prosecution of any claims or actions.
SBFUND or its Clients may record and/or transcribe the Research Services, and any such recording or transcript is included in Works as defined herein. In addition, your participation in Research Services may be monitored by SBFUND and/or its Clients and such monitoring may be unannounced.
To register in our Executive Forum, you are required to provide us with certain personal information about yourself (“Personal Information”). We use the Personal Information that you provide us to match your expertise to the needs of our Clients, market our services to our Clients, and for other business purposes. We will not sell your information to a third-party marketer.
You agree that SBFUND can use your Personal Information to contact you (by phone, email or otherwise) about Research Services opportunities, and that SBFUND may disclose such Personal Information to Clients. Furthermore, you agree that SBFUND may retain, in a manner consistent with its Privacy Policy (which is incorporated herein by reference), your Personal Information if you have participated in Research Services and your participation as a Forum Member ends. Additionally, SBFUND reserves the right to use your Personal Information for the purposes of, among other things, confirming employment and academic information and performing background checks (including through the use of third parties).
Information provided by our Forum Members is stored in a database in the United States and will be accessed by our staff and third parties with whom we have contracted. The information may also be held, processed, and transferred inside or outside the European Economic Area.
You acknowledge that SBFUND's Clients are a valuable business asset to SBFUND. Written approval from SBFUND is required before you offer employment or an engagement for the services of, or otherwise hire, engage the services of, solicit from or propose any consulting relationship to any Client of SBFUND's to whom we have introduced you under this Agreement, and for a period of six months following the most recent Research Services with that Client.
All materials set forth on SBFUND's web sites, regardless of whether they are specifically marked, are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may not use such materials, in any way other than for your personal use in connection with your services to Clients, without the express written permission of SBFUND.
In addition to any other obligations you may have by law, contract or otherwise, in the event that you, as part of your participation in Research Services through SBFUND, generate, author or contribute to any copyrightable work (collectively, “Works”), you acknowledge that such Works are the exclusive property of SBFUND and that such Works constitute works made for hire by you. Further, you acknowledge and agree that the Works (and all rights therein, including, without limitation, copyright) belong to and shall be the sole and exclusive property of SBFUND.
If for any reason the Works would not be considered works made for hire under applicable law, you do hereby sell, assign, and transfer to SBFUND, its successors and assigns, the entire worldwide right, title and interest in and to the Works, including rights in the Works now existing, or which may hereafter come into existence, which shall include but not be limited to all copyrights in the Works and all derivative Works and any registrations and copyright applications relating thereto and any renewals and extensions thereof, including rights of ownership, use, display, to prepare derivative materials, publication, republication, distribution, performance and reproduction in any medium now existing or which may exist in the future (including but not limited to print; electronic display, distribution and storage; compact disks; tapes; digital distribution and on the Internet) and in any manner whatsoever, solely within the discretion of SBFUND, together with all exclusive rights granted to an independent contractor under the copyright laws of the United States, foreign countries, and international copyright conventions and the right to request and receive documents SBFUND deems necessary to record any of these grants with the United States Copyright Office or elsewhere, and in and to all works based upon, derived from, or incorporating the Works or any part thereof. You further assign to SBFUND all of your worldwide rights to all income, royalties, damages, claims and payments now or hereafter due or payable with respect thereto, and in and to all causes of action, either in law or in equity for past, present, or future infringement based on the Works, and in and to all rights corresponding to the foregoing throughout the world. The assignment also includes the right to defend and enforce the Works in any and all appropriate forums. The aforesaid shall collectively be deemed the “Assigned Interests.”
You agree to execute all papers and to perform such other proper acts as SBFUND may deem necessary to secure for SBFUND or its designee the rights herein assigned. You hereby appoint SBFUND as attorney in fact, with full authority to enforce the Assigned Interests, as CRG would do if this assignment were not being made.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless, and at SBFUND's request defend, SBFUND and its affiliates, successors and assigns (and its and their officers, directors, employees, sublicensees, customers and agents) from and against any and all claims, losses, liabilities, damages, settlements, expenses and costs (including, without limitation, attorneys' fees and court costs) which arise out of or relate to (a) your willful misconduct or gross negligence in your performance of consulting services hereunder or (b) your breach of these Terms and Conditions.
We may modify these terms and conditions from time to time by posting the modification(s) on our website, www.colemanrg.com. Unless otherwise specified by us when posted, all modifications will be effective upon posting. If you do not agree to any modification(s), your only recourse will be to terminate your participation as an Executive Forum Member. If you continue to participate as a Forum Member after any modification becomes effective, then your participation will constitute acceptance of such modification. SBFUND reserves the right to terminate in its sole discretion any person's participation as a Forum Member.
Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the interpretation and performance of this Agreement shall be solely and finally settled by binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association, and judgment on the award rendered in the arbitration may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Any such arbitration shall be in New York, New York, and shall be submitted to a single arbitrator appointed by the mutual consent of the parties or, in the absence of such consent, by application of any party to the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator shall be authorized to apportion fees and expenses (including counsel fees and expenses), as the arbitrator shall deem appropriate. The parties agree that any post-arbitration action seeking to enforce an arbitration award or action seeking equitable or injunctive relief shall be brought exclusively in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement constitutes consent by both parties to sue and be sued in such courts and to accept service of process outside of the State of New York with the same force and effect as if such service had been made within the State of New York.
You represent that you have never been (a) convicted of a felony; or (b) the subject of an investigation by a securities regulator or other regulatory authority (state, federal or foreign) or a defendant in any proceeding where fraud or violation of laws or regulations including the taking of a false oath, the making of a false report, perjury or bribery or conspiracy to commit any such offense, is alleged by the government.
Furthermore, if you hold a professional license, you represent that you have not been subject to any disciplinary actions with respect to that license by any state, federal, foreign, or professional body in the past 5 years.
This constitutes the entire Agreement between SBFUND and Forum Members.