1. INTERPRETATION
1.1 “Agent” shall mean the person or entity nominated by Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd, to conduct a trademark application on behalf of a User, where ever such Agent may be located;
1.2 “Agreement” shall mean the agreement set out in this document namely the terms and conditions of the Virtual Trade Mark website.
1.3 “Virtual Trade Mark” shall mean www.virtualtrademark.co.za, www.virtualtrademark.org, www.virtualtrademark.info, www.virtualtrademark.co, www.virtualtrademark.com.au , www.virtualtrademark.in or any domain or sub-domain variation thereof , a website, owned and operated by Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd;
1.4 “Purchase Price” shall mean the purchase price agreed to by and between the Agent and the User, based on the price/s stipulated by Virtual Trade Mark on the website or otherwise, in respect of the registration, renewal, challenging of an objection, or otherwise, pertaining to a trademark .
1.5 “User” shall mean any person who enters or uses the Virtual Trade Mark website located at one or any of the above website URL’s;
2. DISCLAIMER
2.1 The use of any information contained on this site is at the User’s own risk, and Virtual Trade Mark, the providers, creators, owners, representatives, agents and / or their nominees accept no liability for the use of an / or reliance upon any information of this site, nor shall they be liable in any manner for any direct, incidental, special, consequential, indirect or punitive damages that result from the use of or reliance upon, or the inability to use, the information contained on this website, or the information in any sites or pages linked to this site.
2.2 This website is supplied on an “as is” basis and has not been compiled or supplied to meet the User’s individual requirements. It is the sole responsibility of the User to satisfy itself prior to entering into this Agreement with Virtual Trade Mark that the service available from and through this website will meet the User’s individual requirements and be compatible with the User’s hardware and/or software.
2.3 Information, ideas and opinions expressed on this site should not be regarded as professional advice or the official opinion of Virtual Trade Mark and Users are encouraged to consult professional advice before taking any course of action related to information, ideas or opinions expressed on this site.
2.4 Neither Virtual Trade Mark nor any of its providers, creators, owners, representatives, agents and / or their nominees shall be liable for any damage, loss or liability of whatsoever nature arising from the use or inability to use any items sold on this website.
3. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
When a User visits the Virtual Trade Mark website or sends e-mails to Virtual Trade Mark, that User consents to receiving communications from Virtual Trade Mark electronically, and agrees that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications sent by Virtual Trade Mark satisfies any legal requirements, including but not limited to the requirement that such communications should be “in writing”.
4. HYPERLINKS
Hyperlinks provided on this site to non- Virtual Trade Mark sites are provided as is and Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd does not necessarily agree with, edit or sponsor the content on such web pages.
5. SECURITY
5.1 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd, its providers, creators, owners, representatives, agents and / or their nominees shall not be responsible for security breaches occurring on the website which may result due to the lack of adequate virus protection software or spyware that the User may inadvertently have installed on his / her device.
5.2 Any person that delivers or attempts to deliver any damaging code to this website, or attempts to gain unauthorised access to any page on this website shall be prosecuted, and civil damages shall be claimed in the event that Virtual Trade Mark suffers any damage or loss.
5.3 The User acknowledges that registration on the Virtual Trade Mark website will be strictly for the purposes of accessing information supplied by Virtual Trade Mark with a view to purchasing Virtual Trade Mark products online.
5.4 The User understands that through use of the Virtual Trade Mark website, the User will have access to information relating to, inter alia, Virtual Trade Mark itself, Virtual Trade Mark products and pricing structures. The User acknowledges that such information is strictly confidential and may only be accessed and / or viewed by Users who have registered on the Virtual Trade Mark website. The User acknowledges Virtual Trade Mark’s right to protect such information.
5.5 The User agrees and warrants that, should a log-in be required, the log-in name and password shall:
5.5.1 be used for personal use only; and
5.5.2 not be disclosed to any third party.
5.6 In the event that the User breaches any of the provisions in clauses 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6 above and / or in the event that Virtual Trade Mark suffers any loss or damage as a result of disclosure of confidential information by a User to a third person:
5.6.1 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd reserves the right to claim damages from the User or his / her employer;
5.6.2 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd reserves the right to institute criminal proceedings against the User or his / her employer;
5.7 The provisions of clause 5.7 above shall be without limitation to any other rights which Virtual Trade Mark may have in law.
5.8 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd shall not be liable, in any manner whatsoever, for any damage, loss or liability that resulted from the use of such content by the User or any third party who obtained any content from the User.
6. USE OF INFORMATION
6.1 This website is operated and controlled by Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd and / or its affiliates. The information from this website is protected by copyright and other proprietary rights laws. No information from this site may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted or distributed in any way without the written consent of a duly authorised representative of Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd. Virtual Trade Mark, Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd and / or its affiliates retain all intellectual property rights in this product.
6.2 Any unauthorised copying, or attempt at copying, assignment or transfer of this Agreement, shall result in the immediate termination of this Agreement by Virtual Trade Mark, Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd and / or its affiliates reserves the right to take the action set forth in clause 5.7 above without limitation to any other rights which Virtual Trade Mark, Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd may have in law.
6.3 Except as specified in this Agreement, the User is not granted a license or any other right including without limitation under copyright, trademark, patent or other intellectual property rights in or to the content of this website.
6.4 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd expressly reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to remove, alter, modify, supplement and / or restrict access to the services, content, information, software, or file(s) appearing on or transmitted through this website.
6.5 The User hereby ratifies, guarantees and agrees to be personally liable for any and all obligations entered into or assumed by others who use the information, content or services through his / her User account.
6.6 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd, the providers, creators, owners, representatives and agents and / or their nominees of this website shall not be liable, and User hereby waives any claim, for the remission and / or refund of any payment due to the site not being operational for any period of time.
7. TERMS OF PAYMENT
7.1 The User agrees, upon accepting these terms and conditions, to payment of the non-refundable Purchase Price, which may be amended from time to time, and may change depending on, inter alia, the number of classes and/or form of trade mark, and/or location of User, and which quotation and/or invoice will be rendered in the name of the Agent.
7.2 The above mentioned Purchase Price is payable upon acceptance by the User of a quotation compiled by the Agent so appointed by Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd.
7.3 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd cannot warrant the successful registration of any trademark application. As such, the User agrees to hold neither Virtual Trade Mark, nor the Assigned Firm, liable for any unsuccessful applications. It being specifically agree that it is not the mandate of the Agent, Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd, to conduct any registrability searches beyond the local trademark register provided by the Registrar of Trade Marks, or similar designated person, in the desired country.
7.4 Should any objection in terms of the local Trade Marks Act, or similar international legislation, be received in respect of the User’s trademark application, the Agent will then, in its sole discretion, determine whether the Purchase Price will extend to encompass the attempted overcoming of any objections. In this regard, consideration of, inter alia, the complexity, duration, cost and time that the Agent will be required to render in challenging such objection.
7.5 Should the Agent exercise its discretion in favour of the Purchase Price not encompassing any attempts to overcome an objection, the User may then, in its sole discretion, continue to utilise the services of the Agent, according to the Terms and Conditions of the Agent, alternatively, elect not to utilise the continued services of the Agent, and handle the objection/s as the User deems fit.
7.6 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd and/or any of its appointed agents or sub-contractors Ltd expressly reserves the right to amend any of the terms of payment, or this Agreement, from time to time, in relation to the Purchase Price or otherwise for any reason deemed necessary, such as, but not limited to, exchange rate fluctuations.
7.7 Should Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd and/or any of its appointed agents or sub-contractors permit the User to pay the Purchase Price by way of installments, with interest of otherwise, such installments are required to be paid on the terms and conditions and at a rate provided for by Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd and/or any of its appointed agents or sub-contractors from time to time and by agreement with the User.
7.8 Should no installment terms be agreed upon by and between Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd and/or any of its appointed agents or sub-contractors and the User in respect of a trademark application by the User, the User shall be obliged to effect payment of the Purchase Price in no more than 6 (Six) equal monthly installments payable no later than the 5th day of each calendar month, commencing form the date on which the first installment is paid, until the Purchase Price, with interest, has been paid in full. If the first installment has not been paid prior to lodgment of the trademark application with the Registrar of Trademarks in the country of lodgment, the first installment shall be due and owing upon the lodgment of the application with the Registrar.
7.9 Unless otherwise otherwise agreed upon by and between Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd and/or any of its appointed agents or sub-contractors and the User, the outstanding amount owing on the Purchase Price shall bear interest at a rate of 2% (Two Percent) per month, from due date to date of actual payment of the Purchase Price, both days inclusive.
7.10 In the event that the User breaches any of the provisions in clause 7 above and / or in the event that Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd and/or any of its appointed agents or sub-contractors suffer any loss or damage as a result of the Users breach of any of the terms of this clause 7:
7.10.1 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd and/or any of its appointed agents or sub-contractors reserves the right to claim specific performance with or without a claim for damages, or cancel this Agreement and/or claim damages from the User or his/her employer;
7.10.2 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd and/or any of its appointed agents or sub-contractors reserves the right to institute criminal proceedings against the User or his / her employer;
7.10.3 The provisions of clause 5.7 above shall be without limitation to any other rights which Virtual Trade Mark may have in law.
7.10.4 Should a friend or colleague use the User’s Promotional Code when completing the Submission Form, the refund stipulated on the website and/or confirmation email sent to the User will only be effective upon the payment by the referee of the agreed Purchase Price.
7.10.5 The refund referred to in the clause above, shall only entitle the referrer to a maximum discount of half the Purchase Price payable by the referrer.
8. DISCLOSURES REQUIRED BY SECTION 43 OF THE ELECTRONIC COMMINICATIONS AND TRANSACTIONS ACT N0. 25 OF 2002
8.1 The full name and legal status of the website owner is:
Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd (Registration Number: 8610265037083[KT1] )
8.2 The full address of the website owner is detailed hereunder:
2nd Floor, 3 Melrose Boulevard, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South Africa.
8.3 The website address of this website is:
www.virtualtrademark.co.za, www.virtualtrademark.org, www.virtualtrademark.info, www.virtualtrademark.co, www.virtualtrademark.com.au , www.virtualtrademark.in
8.4 Main business: The main function of this website is to provide an electronic platform, through which, Users can submit a trademark application, which application is then assigned to one of our Agents, who will assess and process the application, without any need for the User to have to attend costly legal consultations, and be liable for payment at an hourly rate.
8.5 Costs will be invoiced by, and be made payable to, the Agent to which the application was assigned to render the service.
9. PRIVACY POLICY
9.1 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd respects the User’s privacy and is committed to privacy protection principles.
9.2 While using this website, information about the User may be either collected by Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd, the Agent, the providers, creators, owners, representatives, agents and / or their nominees or provided by the User. Such information will become the property of Virtual Trade Mark and Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd.
9.3 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd, the providers, creators, owners, representatives, Agents and / or their nominees of this website may use this personal information to provide the User with information regarding their products, services, or events from time to time.
9.4 The User may request that Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd, the providers, creators, owners, representatives, agents and / or their nominees cease sending the User such information or request that the User’s personal information be removed from the database or mailing list at any time by e-mailing info@virtualtrademark.org.
9.5 The User may request access to any personal information concerning himself / herself that Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd, the providers, creators, owners, representatives, Agents and / or their nominees hold, which request is governed and regulated by the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2 of 2000.
9.6 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd, the providers, creators, owners, representatives, agents and / or their nominees are not responsible for and give no warranties or make any representations in respect of the privacy policies or practices of any third party and / or linked websites.
10. UPDATING OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
10.1 Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP (Pty) Ltd reserves the right to change, modify, add or remove from portions or the whole of this Agreement from time to time. Changes to this Agreement will become effective upon such changes being posted to this website.
10.2 It is the User’s obligation to periodically check this Agreement on the website for changes or updates. The User’s continued use of this website following the posting of changes or updates will be considered notice of the User’s acceptance to abide by and be bound by this Agreement, including such changes or updates.
11. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
11.1 This site is controlled and operated by Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd, the providers, creators, owners, representatives, Agents and / or their nominees within the Republic of South Africa or elsewhere. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
11.2 If the User accesses this website from locations outside of the Republic of South Africa, that User is responsible for compliance with local laws within the Republic and the User’s country of origin.
11.3 For the purposes of any legal proceedings herein, the User consents to the jurisdiction of the Magistrates Court otherwise having jurisdiction, under section 28 of the Magistrates Court Act 32 of 1944 as amended, notwithstanding that such proceedings are otherwise beyond the jurisdiction. This clause shall be deemed to constitute the required consent conferring jurisdiction on the said court pursuant to section 45 of the Magistrates Court Act 32 of 1944.
11.4 Notwithstanding the provisions of clause 10.3 above, Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd shall have the right at its sole option and discretion to institute proceedings in any other competent court which may otherwise have jurisdiction.
12. DOMICILIUM
Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd chooses as its domicilium citandi et executandi for all purposes under this Agreement, whether in respect of court process, notice, or other documents or communication of whatsoever nature, 2nd Floor, 3 Melrose Boulevard, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, South Africa.
13. TERM AND TERMINATION
This Agreement shall commence when the User accepts such terms and conditions and continues indefinitely until terminated by Virtual Trade Mark and/or Schindlers IP(Pty) Ltd.
14. SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable for any reason, that provision is fully severable from the remaining provisions of this Agreement and the remaining provisions are nevertheless valid and enforceable as if those of the provisions held invalid or unenforceable were not part of this Agreement.
15. WHOLE AGREEMENT
This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between the providers, creators, owners and / or their nominees and the User with regard to the use of the content and this website. In the event that the User wishes to register on the Virtual Trade Mark website, the terms and conditions of registration and granting of credit, together with these terms and conditions will constitute the entire Agreement between the providers, creators, owners and / or their nominees and the User with regard to the use of the content and this website.