TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE OF THE CONTRACTS4BIZ/CONTRACTS4ME PLATFORM (“T&Cs”) AND PRIVACY POLICY
The Contracts4biz™ (“C4B”) platform is an innovative, cost-effective, and professional online solution (the “Platform”).
By answering a few simple questions, the User can create custom-made legal documents or agreements at any time, from any location. Once completed, the agreement or document is instantly downloadable (the “Product(s)” or “Online Products”) and ready to implement by following the step-by-step implementation instructions. When accessing and/or making use of the Platform you agree to the T&C’s as set out below.
In terms of Section 11 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, as amended (“ECTA”) these Terms and Conditions (“T&C’s”) are binding and enforceable against all persons that access the Platform or any part thereof or make use of any of C4B’s Online Products.
If you do not agree with the T&C’s, do not accept and do not click the accept box. Leave immediately and terminate use of the Platform. Any delay in leaving and terminating use of the Platform shall be regarded as the User’s full and unconditional understanding and acceptance of these T&C’s.
DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS
In these T&C’s, unless the context indicates that some other meaning is intended:
“Online Products” or “Products” means legal documents or agreements created through the Platform or Platform in general and any other similar Product offered by through electronic means and not limited to online portals, and shall include the content and information provided or exchanged as part of such Product or Online Platform;
“Platform” means the Contracts4biz/Contracts4Me commonly referred to as Contracts4Biz, its business and which platform is located at www.contracts4biz.co.za and contracts4me.co.za and any associated material or content or pages located at schoemanlaw.co.za or any other affiliated domain;
“Registered User” is any person whether a natural or juristic person who has completed the electronic registration for the Platform whether as a Subscriber or Transactional User;
“Subscription” in relation to Registered Users means the period in time for which a User shall register to use the Platform and for which he/she/it shall pay a monthly subscription fee for a fixed period of time and shall include any Retainer add-on from SchoemanLaw Inc;
“Subscription Fee” means the monthly Subscription with or without a Retainer add-on;
“Retainer” or “Retainer add-on” means an agreement for Legal Services from SchoemanLaw Inc;
“SchoemanLaw Inc” means the law firm registered and practicing law under such style and banner with registration number 2013/021/044/21 and website address schoemanlaw.co.za;
“User” means any person who enters or uses the Platform whether as Subscribers, Registered Users or Transactional Users:
“Subscribers” or “Subscribed Users” pay a fixed monthly fee for a specific period in time;
“Transactional Users” use the Platform on a pay-as-you-require basis as, and when, required;
“Website” means the Platform.
Any words indicated with inverted commas and starting with a capital letter shall bear the definition of the phrase or concept immediately preceding same as if it were included as a definition in terms of this clause;
References herein to the singular include the plural and vice versa; and
Hyperlinks have been used in these T&C’s. The fact that some or all of the hyperlinks may be non-operational, shall not play a role in the determination of the validity and interpretation of these T&C’s.
TERMS OF USE
Access to the Platform and the use thereof is available primarily to Registered Users.
In order to register as a User of the Platform the User must acknowledge all these T&C’s by clicking the acceptance box when registering as a User and shall further adhere to the stated registration rules, perform the registration procedure, provide accurate, complete and true data and choose a password. No User may use the login details, name of another person or entity that is not lawfully available for use, a name or trademark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity other than you without appropriate authorisation, or a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene. Such Usernames shall be deleted without prior notice. By completing the registration process every User receives his/her own User account.
By registering, the User agrees to receive notices related to administration or their use of the Platform and/or any legal or natural persons appointed, engaged or authorised by the Platform.
The Registered User is responsible for safeguarding its authentication information, including their password, that the Registered User makes use of to access the Platform, and for any activities or actions under the Registered Users authentication information, whether your authentication information is with the Platform or a third-party service.
The Registered User agrees not to disclose their authentication information to any third party. The Registered User must reset their password immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorised use of their account.
In the case of Transactional Users, following the purchase of any Product, the download link expires within 24 hours from rendition.
Products are offered and/or sold for a specific purpose(s) or specific transaction(s) and Registered Users are therefore only authorised to use the Products for such specific purpose or transaction which is exclusively for the needs of the Registered User or its business. As such the Products, once generated, are not intended, nor suited, for repetitive use.
The Registered User is NOT in any way granted rights, to copy the Products, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, temporary or permanently, by any means and in any form, as well as to translate it into other languages, to adapt, edit or in any other way modify the Products. All rights, interest and title in intellectual property in these Products or this Platform is, and remains, the exclusive property of the Product Owner, and any unlawful or unauthorised use, modification, alteration, on-sell or distribution, is punishable by law.
It is expressly prohibited to use the Product commercially for any purpose or for any need not directly related to the Registered User’s internal business. It is particularly prohibited to lease or distribute the original or copies of the Product by selling or otherwise, or offering them with the intention of selling, as well as to print, publish, and make available to the public, through wired or wireless systems, by enabling unauthorised third persons to access the Products from places and at times of their own choosing (e.g. internet publishing), without obtaining prior written consent from.
The Registered User is not authorised to transfer their rights to associated or non-associated legal or natural third persons, including their affiliate Companies, or to grant any such third persons any right to use the Product without prior written consent.
All Products are stored for a maximum period of 36 (thirty six) months from date of registration unless no new Products have been created by the Registered User for a period of 12 (twelve) months or more continuously, then all previously created Products will be destroyed without prior notice to the Registered User. Registered Users are therefore responsible for their own backups.
There is a strict no refunds policy. Regrettably, also no refunds in case of inaccurate completion. Accurate completion is the sole responsibility of the User.
Upon termination, the Registered User’s right to use the Platform will immediately cease.
Termination of registration does not remove the Registered User’s liability for possible violations and/or damage inflicted during the validity period of the User’s registration.
BILLING
Product Pricing is published on https://contracts4biz.co.za/index.html.
The Product Owner may from time to time review the prices that it charges on the Platform and shall in its sole discretion update it from time to time without any prior notification to any of the Users.
If you wish to purchase any Product made available through the Platform, the Registered User may be asked to supply certain information relevant to their Purchase including, without limitation, their credit or debit card number, the expiration date of the credit card, and Registered User’s billing address, and in the case of a Subscriber, the Subscriber’s banking details in addition to the above.
All subscriptions are subject to an Initial Subscription period for a fixed period of 12 (twelve) months. It may then continue on a month -to -month basis upon expiration of the Initial Subscription period, the Subscriber may opt to cancel it at any time by providing the Platform with 30 (thirty) days’ written notice.
The User represents and warrants that:
they have the legal right to use any credit card(s) or other payment method(s) in connection with any Purchase of a Product; and that
the information you supply to us is true, correct and complete.
submitting the information outlined in these T&C’s, the User grants the Platform the right to provide the information to third parties for purposes of facilitating the completion of Purchase of Products. The Product Owner reserves the right to unliterally prohibit access to the Platform upon non-payment, partial payment or delayed payment of subscription fees. This includes:
Prohibiting access to the Platform; and
Prohibiting access to records.
The Platform reserves its rights to refuse or cancel the Registered User’s order if fraud or an unauthorised or illegal transaction is suspected.
AUTOMATED ACCESSOther than bona fide public search engines, the User may not access any pages on this Platform using any automated process or technology, including, without limitation, any web spiders, crawlers, or similar technologies.
ALTERATION TO THESE CONDITIONS OF USEThe Platform reserves the right to alter these T&C’s at any time, and will in the case of a material change, post a notification that the T&C’s have changed on the Platform. The Registered Users will be responsible for reviewing any such changes each time the User accesses the Platform and their continued use of the Platform after the changes have been posted to the Platform shall constitute an unconditional acceptance of the T&C’s as amended.
UNAVAILABILITY OF THE PLATFORMThe Registered User acknowledges and accepts that the Platform may become unavailable from time to time due to various circumstances, including: technical failure or problems with the Platform; technical failure or problems with third party information technology systems; unavailability of telecommunication or electricity services; or other circumstances beyond the control of the Platform, in which case there shall be no claim whatsoever arising against.
PROHIBITED CONTENT AND PRACTICES
It is prohibited to publish, transmit, upload or exchange any content violating the current laws of the Republic of South Africa, particularly content that is untrue, deceptive, offensive, vulgar, threatening, racist or chauvinist, content violating intellectual property rights, content considered as unauthorised disclosure of personal data or as violation of the right of privacy of Users/Clients or third parties, as well as any other content which may cause damage to other Users/Clients or third parties (“Prohibited Content”).
It is not allowed (hereinafter “Prohibited Practices”) to:
Use the Platform in a manner which may cause damage to the Platform, other Users or any third party;
publish, upload, exchange or transmit Prohibited Content;
publish, upload, exchange or transmit any content that the User knows to be false or untrue, or has justifiable reasons to believe it to be false or untrue, and whose use may cause damage to , other Users or third parties;
for any User/Client misrepresenting him/herself for the purpose of deceiving the Platform, other Users or third parties;
publish, upload, exchange or transmit to the Platform , other Users or third parties any unwanted notices or other content of commercial or malicious nature, without prior request or consent, particularly including notices and other content of the same or similar nature;
purposeful publishing, uploading, exchange or transmission of any content containing computer viruses, worms, and programs that may obstruct or hinder regular operation of the Platform, cause damage or destruction of any computer program, or any computer and other equipment owned by the Platform , other Users or third parties;
collect, process or use personal data of Users or third parties in an unauthorised manner;
engage in overt or covert advertising (verbal or graphic representation of Products, services, personal names, names of companies, names, trademarks (registered or unregistered trademarks and service marks), businesses etc.) in an unauthorised manner.
Users or third parties shall be legally liable for failure to comply with the provisions of these T&C’s related to Prohibited Practices or Prohibited Content, particularly for possible damage caused by such actions to the Platform, other Users and/or third parties.
The Platform reserves the right, but does not assume the obligation, to cancel the account of a User as a result of the User’s Prohibited Practices or other unlawful behaviour, or any violation of these T&C’s that the Platform assess as grave, without prior notice and without explanation, according to our own assessment or information provided by any User or third party.
In consequence of the above, the Platform cannot be held responsible for possible damage incurred to the Registered User, other Users or third parties, caused by Prohibited Practices or cancellation of the Registered User account.
AVAILABILITY, ERRORS AND INACCURACIESProduct images, specifications, availability, and right to change or update information and to correct errors, inaccuracies, or omissions at any time without prior notice is fully and strictly reserved.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONSAny communication or material the Registered User transmits by electronic mail or otherwise, including, but not limited to any data, questions or answers, comments, suggestions, or the like, will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing. Electronic communications shall only be deemed to have been received if and when responded to in a manner, other than by way of an automated response. Information contained in electronic communications must be regarded as confidential and intended solely for the use of the intended recipient. Any unauthorised disclosure, copying, distribution or action in reliance upon the contents of this electronic communication is strictly prohibited and unlawful. Whilst employs virus filtering, we provide no guarantees or warranties that electronic communication will be virus-free. The User is accordingly advised to employ their own virus scanning tools. The views expressed in any electronic communications transmitted are those of the individual sender unless the context clearly provides otherwise.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
All these Products are copyright-protected.
All intellectual property on the Platform, Website and Online Products, including but not limited to content, trademarks, domain names, patents, design elements, software, source code, meta tags, databases, text, graphics, icons and hyperlinks are licensed and as such, are protected from infringement by domestic and international legislation and treaties. Subject to the rights provided to you in these T&C’s, all of the rights to intellectual property on the Platform, Website and Online Products are expressly and strictly reserved.
All rights, interest and title in intellectual property in these Products or this Platform are, and remain, the exclusive property of the Online Product owner, and any unlawful or unauthorized use, modification, alteration, on-sell or distribution, is punishable by law.
INDEMNITY AND WARRANTIES
As a condition of the User’s use of the Platform, the User hereby indemnifies the Platform from any consequences resulting from the purchasing or usage any of these Products. Any purchases are thus made solely at the User’s own risk including any loss, claims, demands, proceedings, damages and expenses of whatsoever nature arising from the use of this Platform and any of the Products therein contained, that may incur as a result of the User’s actions or omissions with regards to the use of the Platform or use of information contained on the Platform.
The maximum liability of SchoemanLaw Inc, its employees and agents for all claims arising out of any services in terms of any Retainer shall be limited to an amount equal to the Retainer fee charged, and the maximum liability will apply to all claims from whatever source and how ever arising whether in contract, delict or otherwise, and will include claims for consequential loss and claims of pure economic loss (if any).
Use of the Platform or Website or the information contained thereon is entirely at the User’s own risk and the User accepts full responsibility for all risks that may result from the use of the Platform.
The Registered Users make use of the Platform at their own sole risk. The Platform is provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. The Platform is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance.
No warranty is given that any material downloaded from the Platform is free of viruses, bugs, or the like that may have the ability to corrupt the operation of your computer system.
LINKS TO THIRD PARTY PLATFORM
The Platform shall not control or supervise content available through the Links and therefore cannot guarantee the accuracy, truthfulness, origin, contents, or availability thereof.
In consequence of the above, the Platform cannot be held responsible for possible damage caused regarding publishing, removing, or using any Link, or relying on any content available via the Link.
DISCLOSURES REQUIRED BY SECTION 43 OF THE ECTA
Access to the services, content, software and downloads available from the Online Products may be classified as “electronic transactions” as defined in terms of ECTA and you therefore may have the rights detailed in ECTA. Accordingly, the following information is provided:
The full name and legal status of the Online Product owner: Schoeman Louw Family Investments (Pty) Ltd with registration number: 2017/140884/07;
Postal address: P.O. Box 507 Cape Town 8000;
Main business: Online Legal Products / Document Automation;
The Website address of the Website is: https://contracts4biz.co.za/login.html
Access to and use of the Website is provided free of charge and paid for;
Users may lodge complaints concerning the Online Products [email protected]
GOVERNING LAWThe validity of this Agreement, its interpretation, the respective rights and obligations of the Parties and all other matters arising in any way out of it or its expiration or earlier termination for any reason shall be determined in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
PRIVACY POLICY
The Platform will respect the privacy of the Users/Clients and will take reasonable measures to protect it, as more fully detailed below.
When registering on the Platform or signing- up as a Client by completing the relevant Client form, the Platform will require that Registered Users/Clients provide personal information.
Should the Registered User’s/Client’s personal information change, the Registered User/Client shall inform the Platform and provide it with updates to his/her/its personal information as soon as reasonably possible to enable the Platform to update such personal information.
The Registered User/Client may choose to provide additional personal information, in which event the Registered User/Client agrees to provide accurate and current information, and not to impersonate or misrepresent any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with anyone or anything.
PURPOSE AND MANNER OF PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION AND USEThe Platform collects and processes personal data in accordance with the provisions of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and Protection of Personal Information Act, No 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”), as amended and other regulations in force in the Republic of South Africa.
PRIVACY STATEMENT IN TERMS OF THE GDPR AND POPIA
Data will be collected for specified purposes of the provision of Online Legal Products, record keeping, billing and for the purpose of generating various legal agreements and document for use and implementation by the Registered User. The following data that will be collected:
The Registered User’s full name, Surname, Email address, Mobile Number, Telephone Number, IP address, non-personal browsing habits and click patterns.
Information collected from Registered Users is required only to compile, sell and deliver the Products to the Registered Users and, save for User satisfaction, contact or full resolution of any issue raised by the Platform, such information shall not be used for any other purpose without the Registered User’s prior consent.
All information collected is kept strictly confidential and all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that information is secured in storage and ultimate destruction. It will not be shared with any third party without the prior written consent of the Registered User.
The Platform shall take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information of Registered Users and is committed to respecting the privacy of the Registered User’s personal information. For the purpose of these T&C’s, “personal information” shall be defined as detailed in the POPIA. As and when necessary, the Platform may electronically collect, store, disclose and/or use the following of the Registered User’s personal information.
The Platform will ensure that all third-party service providers, (including their employees and third-party service providers) having access to the Registered User’s personal information are bound by appropriate and legally binding confidentiality obligations in relation to the Registered User’s personal information and meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request.
The Registered User’s personal data will be hosted and stored in countries which might not have the adequacy decision of the European Union; other third-party contractors may have access to your data only for the purpose specified herein and the access of such third parties is strictly controlled.
Whenever the Platform is sending data to countries that are not providing the same level of protection as the EU’s GDPR, the Platform will use appropriate safeguards to protect the Registered User’s personal data, including but not limited to Standard Contractual Clauses for Processors.
The Platform collects stores and uses the abovementioned information in order to:
Communicate requested information to Registered Users;
Respond to queries, responses or complaints submitted by Registered Users;
Process orders or applications for Products;
Create Products that may meet the future requirements of Registered Users;
Provide Registered Users with access to restricted pages on the Platform; and
Report to Incubators, Accelerators or Enterprise Development Initiatives who have referred or have an interest in the Registered User’s usage of the Platform or who are subsidising the Registered User access in whole or in part to the Platform in regards to the Registered User’s last login and Product download patterns; and
Compile non-personal statistical information about browsing habits, click-patterns and access to the online products;
Personal information detailed above is collected and/or stored either electronically using “cookies” or is provided voluntarily with the Registered User’s knowledge and consent. The Registered User can determine any use of cookies through your browser settings but note that turning off cookies may cause certain features of the online services or Platform to be unavailable to the Registered User.
The Platform may further collect non-personal information, for example, the Registered User’s IP address, the date and time of their visits to the Platform, and browser history, to recognise the Registered User during any subsequent visits to the Platform and/or use of the online products. The Platform may further use this non-personal information to develop future Products and to meet the Registered User’s requirements and needs.
The Platform owns and retains all rights to non-personal statistical information collected and compiled by the Platform.
The Platform will not share the Registered User’s personal information except in the following cases:
With prior consent;
With its employees and/or third-party service providers who assist with the Platform;
When processing of information is necessary for the performance of a contract with the Registered User;
When the Platform has a legal obligation share the information;
When the information is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the Registered User or of another person;
When the information is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested;
When the information is requested and shared in terms of its Promotion of Access to Information Act (“PAIA”) Manual;
When the information is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Platform or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the Registered User which require protection of personal data.
COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA BY OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIESThe Platform contains content and may contain Links to third-party Platforms, through which other Registered Users or third parties may gain authorised or unauthorised access to the Registered User’s personal data. These T&C’s do not apply to the collection, processing or use of personal data that the Registered User has communicated to other Registered Users and/or third parties. It is in the Registered User’s best interest to acquaint themselves with the rules of personal data protection, and the protection of privacy applied by other Registered Users and/or third parties.
MODIFICATION AND DELETION OF PERSONAL DATAThe Registered User is legally entitled to request modification or deletion of their personal data, or deletion from the Registered User database at any time. Modification or deletion of data shall be effected on the basis of an appropriate notice addressed to the Online Product owner as outlined in 13 above.
COOKIES
The Platform reserves the right to use cookies.
A cookie is a group of data serving as the Registered User’s anonymous individual identifier that is sent to your browser by Platform. Cookies are sent when the Registered User accesses the Platform. They are stored on the Registered User’s computer and serve to record information about the Registered User’s subsequent online visits. Therefore, after a cookie has been stored on the Registered User’s computer every time the Registered User returns to the Platform, it shall look for the cookie in order to read the stored data.
A cookie is an anonymous individual identifier, it does not contain or send any personal information to the Platform that is stored on your computer, but only enables faster and more efficient activation of information, data and settings previously communicated during access and use of the Platform.
The Registered User can modify or disable cookies through the Options or Settings of their browser that allows the Registered User to select an appropriate option for receiving cookies, or even to disable them completely. However, disabling cookies completely will reduce the efficiency of some content available on some Platform.
