TERMS OF USE

Terms of Use

Welcome to Aqua Vida. We’re so glad you’re here. Come change the world with us, but please follow our house rules.

1. Accepting These Terms

This document and the other documents that we reference below make up our house rules, or what we officially call our Terms of Use (the “Terms” for short).

The Terms are a legally binding contract between you and Aqua Vida LLC, and all of its subsidiaries collectively, hereafter referred to as “Aqua Vida”.

Please note that Section 11. Disputes with Aqua Vida, contains an arbitration clause and class action waiver. By agreeing to the Terms, you agree to resolve all disputes through binding individual arbitration, which means that you waive any right to have those disputes decided by a judge or jury, and that you waive your right to participate in class actions, class arbitrations, or representative actions.

This contract sets out your rights and responsibilities when you use aquavida.com, our mobile apps, and the other services provided by Aqua Vida, hereafter referred to as “Services”, so please read it carefully. By using any of our Services (even just browsing our website), you’re agreeing to the Terms. If you don’t agree with the Terms, you may not use our Services.

2. Those Other Documents We Mentioned

Aqua Vida’s Services connect people around the world, both online and offline, to make, sell, and buy responsible, sustainable, fair trade and eco-friendly goods. Here’s a handy guide to help you understand the specific rules that are relevant for you, depending on how you use the Services:

Our House Rules are for Everyone. If you use any of our Services as a Seller or a Buyer, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy .

 

3. Your Privacy

We know your personal information is important to you, so it’s important to us. Our Privacy Policy details how your information is used when you use our Services. By using our Services, you're also agreeing that we can process your information in the ways set out in the Privacy Policy, so please read it here .

Both Aqua Vida and sellers process members’ personal information (for example, buyer name, email address, and shipping address) and are therefore considered separate and independent data controllers of buyers’ personal information under law. That means that each party is responsible for the personal information it processes in providing the Services. For example, if a seller accidentally discloses a buyer’s name and email address when fulfilling another buyer’s order, the seller, not Aqua Vida, will be responsible for that unauthorized disclosure.  

If, however, Aqua Vida and sellers are found to be joint data controllers of buyers’ personal information, and if Aqua Vida is sued, fined, or otherwise incurs expenses because of something that you did as a joint data controller of buyer personal information, you agree to indemnify Aqua Vida for the expenses it incurs in connection with your processing of buyer personal information. See Section 9. Indemnification (or What Happens If You Get Us Sued) below for more information about your indemnification obligations to Aqua Vida.

4. Your Account with Aqua Vida

You’ll need to create an account with Aqua Vida to use some of our Services. Here are a few rules about accounts with Aqua Vida:

  1. You must be 18 or older to use our Services. Otherwise, if you are 13 or older, you may only use our Services under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who manages your account. Children under 13 are not permitted to use Aqua Vida or the Services.
  2. Be honest with us. Provide accurate information about yourself. It’s not OK to use false information or impersonate another person or company through your account.
  3. You are responsible for your account. You’re solely responsible for any activity on your account. If you’re sharing an account with other people, then the person whose billing information is on the account will ultimately be responsible for all activity. If you’re registering as a business entity, you personally guarantee that you have the authority to agree to the Terms on behalf of the business. Also, your accounts are not transferable.
  4. Protect your password. As we mentioned above, you’re solely responsible for any activity on your account, so it’s important to keep your account password secure.
  5. Let's be clear about our relationship. These Terms don't create any agency, partnership, joint venture, employment, or franchisee relationship between you and Aqua Vida.

5. Your Content

Content that you submit for use on Aqua Vida is your content (so let’s refer to it as “Your Content”). We don’t make any claim to it. That includes anything you submit for us on Aqua Vida (like shop names, profile pictures, listing photos, listing descriptions, reviews, comments, videos, etc.).

  1. Responsibility for Your Content. You understand that you are solely responsible for Your Content. You represent that you have all necessary rights to Your Content and that you’re not infringing or violating any third party’s rights by submitting it.
  2. Permission to Use Your Content. By submitting Your Content to use on Aqua Vida, you grant Aqua Vida a license to use it. We don’t claim any ownership to Your Content, but we have your permission to use it to help Aqua Vida function and grow. That way, we won’t infringe any rights you have in Your Content and we can help promote your stuff.
  3. Rights You Grant Aqua Vida. (Here’s the legalese version of the last section). By submitting Your Content, you grant Aqua Vida a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use, display, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, store, and prepare derivative works of Your Content to provide the Services and to promote Aqua Vida, your Aqua Vida shop, or the Services in general, in any formats and through any channels, including across any Aqua Vida Services or third-party website or advertising medium. When you remove your content from our site, and notify us in writing that you no longer want us to use your content, we would accept that as a valid revocation of our license to use your content and we will not further use your content.

That sounds like a lot, but it’s necessary for us to keep Aqua Vida going. Consider these examples: if you submit a photo of a listing on your Aqua Vida shop, first, we have permission to display it to buyers, and second, we can resize it so it looks good to a buyer using our mobile app; if you submit a description in English, we can translate it into French so a buyer in Paris can learn the story behind your item; and if you submit a beautiful photo of your latest world-changing product, we can feature it on our homepage, in one of our blogs or even on a billboard to help promote your business and Aqua Vida's.

  1. Reporting Unauthorized Content. Aqua Vida has great respect for intellectual property rights, and is committed to following appropriate legal procedures to remove infringing content from the Services. If content that you own or have rights to has been submitted without your permission and you want it removed, Aqua Vida must be immediately notified and  we will remove it. We’ll notify you if that happens.
  2. Inappropriate, False, or Misleading Content. This should be common sense, but there are certain types of content we don’t want on Aqua Vida's Services (for legal reasons or otherwise). You agree that you will not submit any content that is abusive, threatening, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, or otherwise offensive . You also agree not to submit any content that is false and misleading or uses the Services in a manner that is fraudulent or deceptive.

6. Your Use of Our Services

License to Use Our Services. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use our Services—subject to the Terms and the following restrictions in particular:

  • A. Don’t Use Our Services to Break the Law. You agree that you will not violate any laws in connection with your use of the Services. This includes any local, state, federal, and international laws that may apply to you. For example, it’s your responsibility to obtain any permits or licenses that your shop requires; you may not sell anything that violates any laws; and don’t engage in fraud, theft, anti-competitive conduct, threatening conduct, or any other unlawful acts or crimes against Aqua Vida, another Aqua Vida user, or a third party.
  • B. Don’t Steal Our Stuff. You agree not to “crawl,” “scrape,” or “spider” any page of the Services or to reverse engineer or attempt to obtain the source code of the Services.
  • C. Don’t Try to Harm Our Systems. You agree not to interfere with or try to disrupt our Services, for example by distributing a virus or other harmful computer code.
  • D. Follow Our Trademark Policy. The names “ Aqua Vida” and the other Aqua Vida marks, phrases, logos, and designs that we use in connection with our Services, are trademarks, service marks, or trade dress of Aqua Vida in the US and other countries.
  • E. Share Your Ideas. We love your suggestions and ideas! They can help us improve your experience and our Services. Any unsolicited ideas or other materials you submit to Aqua Vida (not including Your Content or items you sell through our Services) are considered non-confidential and non-proprietary to you. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use and publish those ideas and materials for any purpose, without compensation to you.
  • F. Talk to Us Online. Aqua Vida will provide you with certain legal information in writing. By using our Services, you’re agreeing that we can send you information electronically (by email, etc.) instead of mailing you paper copies (it’s better for the environment), and that your electronic agreement is the same as your signature on paper.
  • G. You agree to defend and indemnify Aqua Vida against any claims for trademark or copyright infringement that arise as a result of content you submit for use on our site.

7. Termination

Termination By You. We'd hate to see you go, but you may terminate your account with Aqua Vida at any time by notifying accounts@aquavida.com.  Terminating your account will not affect the availability of some of Your Content that you submitted prior to termination. Oh, and you’ll still have to pay any outstanding bills.

Termination By Aqua Vida. We may terminate or suspend your account (and any related accounts) and your access to the Services at any time, for any reason, and without advance notice. If we do so, it’s important to understand that you don’t have a contractual or legal right to continue to use our Services, for example, to sell or buy on our websites or mobile apps. Aqua Vida may refuse service to anyone, at any time, for any reason.

If you or Aqua Vida terminate your account, you may lose any information associated with your account, including Your Content.

We May Discontinue the Services. Aqua Vida reserves the right to change, suspend, or discontinue any of the Services at any time, for any reason. We will not be liable to you for the effect that any changes to the Services may have on you, including your income or your ability to generate revenue through the Services.

Survival. The Terms will remain in effect even after your access to the Service is terminated, or your use of the Service ends.

8. Warranties and Limitation of Liability (or the Things You Can’t Sue Us For)

Items You Purchase. You understand that Aqua Vida does not manufacture, store, or inspect any of the items sold through our Services, unless they are specifically Aqua Vida branded. We provide the venue; the items in our marketplaces are produced, listed, and sold directly by independent sellers, so Aqua Vida cannot and does not make any warranties about their quality, safety, or even their legality. Any legal claim related to an item you purchase must be brought directly against the seller of the item. You release Aqua Vida from any claims related to items sold through our Services, including for defective items, misrepresentations by sellers, or items that caused physical injury (like product liability claims).

Third-Party Services. Our Services may contain links to third-party websites or services that we don’t own or control (for example, links to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest). You may also need to use a third party’s product or service in order to use some of our Services (like a compatible mobile device to use our mobile apps). When you access these third-party services, you do so at your own risk. The third parties may require you to accept their own terms of use. Aqua Vida is not a party to those agreements; they are solely between you and the third party.

Gift Cards and Promotions. You acknowledge that Aqua Vida does not make any warranties with respect to your Gift Card balance and is not responsible for any unauthorized access to, or alteration, theft, or destruction of a Gift Card or Gift Card code that results from any action by you or a third party. You also acknowledge that we may suspend or prohibit use of your Gift Card if your Gift Card or Gift Card code has been reported lost or stolen, or if we believe your Gift Card balance is being used suspiciously, fraudulently, or in an otherwise unauthorized manner. If your Gift Card code stops working, your only remedy is for us to issue you a replacement Gift Card code. By participating in a special offer or promotion, you agree that you may not later claim that the rules of that special offer or promotion were ambiguous.

Warranties. Aqua Vida is dedicated to making our Services the best they can be, but we’re not perfect and sometimes things can go wrong. You understand that our Services are provided “as is” and without any kind of warranty (express or implied). We are expressly disclaiming any warranties of title, non-infringement, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose, as well as any warranties implied by a course of performance, course of dealing, or usage of trade.

We do not guarantee that: (i) the Services will be secure or available at any particular time or location; (ii) any defects or errors will be corrected; (iii) the Services will be free of viruses or other harmful materials; or (iv) the results of using the Services will meet your expectations. You use the Services solely at your own risk. Some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, so the above limitations may not apply to you.

Liability Limits. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither Aqua Vida, nor our employees or directors shall be liable to you for any lost profits or revenues, or for any consequential, incidental, indirect, special, or punitive damages arising out of or in connection with the Services or these Terms. In no event shall Aqua Vida's aggregate liability for any damages exceed the greater of one hundred ($100) US Dollars or the amount you made through  Aqua Vida in the past twelve months. Some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations may not apply to you.

9. Indemnification (or What Happens If You Get Us Sued)

We hope this never happens, but if Aqua Vida gets sued because of something that you did, you agree to defend and indemnify us. That means you’ll defend Aqua Vida (including any of our employees) and hold us harmless from any legal claim or demand (including reasonable attorney’s fees) that arises from your actions, your use (or misuse) of our Services, your breach of the Terms, or your account’s infringement of someone else’s rights.

We reserve the right to handle our legal defense however we see fit, even if you are indemnifying us, in which case you agree to cooperate with us so we can execute our strategy.

Buyer shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless Aqua Vida [and its [officers,] [directors,] employees, agents, affiliates, successors and permitted assigns] (collectively, " Indemnified Party") against any and all losses, damages, liabilities, deficiencies, claims, actions, judgments, settlements, interest, awards, penalties, fines, costs, or expenses of whatever kind, including [reasonable] attorneys' fees, fees and the costs of enforcing any right to indemnification under this Agreement and the cost of pursuing any insurance providers, incurred by Indemnified Party, relating to/arising out of or resulting from any claim of a third party or Seller arising out of or occurring in connection with the use of this website, willful misconduct or breach of this Agreement. Buyer shall not enter into any settlement without Aqua Vida's or Indemnified Party's prior written consent.

10. Disputes with Other Users

If you find yourself in a dispute with another user of Aqua Vida's Services or a third party, we encourage you to contact the other party and try to resolve the dispute amicably.

Case System. Buyers and sellers who are unable to resolve a dispute related to a transaction on our websites or mobile apps may participate in our case system. Aqua Vida will attempt to help you resolve disputes in good faith and based solely on our interpretation of our policies, in our sole discretion; we will not make judgments regarding legal issues or claims. Aqua Vida has no obligation to resolve any disputes.

Release of Aqua Vida. You release Aqua Vida from any claims, demands, and damages arising out of disputes with other users or parties.

11. Disputes with Aqua Vida

If you’re upset with us, let us know, and hopefully we can resolve your issue. But if we can’t, then these rules will govern any legal dispute involving our Services:

  1. Governing Law. The Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, without regard to its conflict of laws rules, and the laws of the United States of America. These laws will apply no matter where in the world you live, but if you live outside of the United States, you may be entitled to the protection of the mandatory consumer protection provisions of your local consumer protection law.
  2. Arbitration. You and Aqua Vida agree that any dispute or claim arising from or relating to the Terms shall be finally settled by final and binding arbitration, using the English language, administered by the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules then in effect (those rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference into this section, and as of the date of these Terms you can find them here or by calling the AAA at 1–800–778–7879). Arbitration will be handled by a sole arbitrator in accordance with those rules. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court that has jurisdiction. Any arbitration under the Terms will take place on an individual basis--class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. You understand that by agreeing to the Terms, you and Aqua Vida are each waiving the right to trial by jury or to participate in a class action or class arbitration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each party shall have the right to bring an action in a court of proper jurisdiction for injunctive or other equitable or conservatory relief, pending a final decision by the arbitrator. You may instead assert your claim in “small claims” court, but only if your claim qualifies, your claim remains in such court, and your claim remains on an individual, non-representative, and non-class basis.
  3. Forum. We’re based in North Brunswick, New Jersey, so any legal action against Aqua Vida related to our Services must be filed and take place in North Brunswick. That means the seat of any arbitration shall be North Brunswick. For any actions not subject to arbitration, you (where your contract is with Aqua Vida LLC) and Aqua Vida agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of a state court exclusively located in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
  4. Government Exception. If you are a government agent or entity in the United States using the Services in your official capacity, and you are legally unable to agree to the clauses in this section, then those clauses do not apply to you. In that case, the Terms and any action related to the Terms will be governed by the laws of the United States (without reference to conflict of laws) and, in the absence of federal law and to the extent permitted under federal law, the laws of the State of New Jersey.
  5. Modifications. If we make any changes to this “Disputes with Aqua Vida” section after the date you last accepted the Terms, those changes will not apply to any claims filed in a legal proceeding against Aqua Vida prior to the date the changes became effective. Aqua Vida will notify you of substantive changes to the “Disputes with Aqua Vida” section at least 30 days prior to the date the change will become effective. If you do not agree to the modified terms, you may send Aqua Vida a written notification (including email) or close your account within those 30 days. By rejecting a modified term or permanently closing your account, you agree to arbitrate any disputes between you and Aqua Vida in accordance with the provisions of this “Disputes with Aqua Vida” section as of the date you last accepted the Terms, including any changes made prior to your rejection. If you reopen your closed account or create a new account, you agree to be bound by the current version of the Terms.

12. Changes to the Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we believe that the changes are material, we’ll definitely let you know by doing one (or more) of the following: (1) posting the changes through the Services or (2) sending you an email or message about the changes. That way you can decide whether you want to continue using the Services. Changes will be effective upon the posting of the changes. You are responsible for reviewing and becoming familiar with any changes. Your use of the Services following the changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

13. Some Finer Legal Points

The Terms, including all of the policies that make up the Terms, supersede any other agreement between you and Aqua Vida regarding the Services. If any part of the Terms is found to be unenforceable, that part will be limited to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms will otherwise remain in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce any part of the Terms is not a waiver of our right to later enforce that or any other part of the Terms. We may assign any of our rights and obligations under the Terms.

14. Contact Information

If you have any questions about the Terms, please email us at: accounts @aquavida.com .

15. Notices

All notices must be sent by certified mail to Aqua Vida, 686 Village Drive South, North Brunswick New Jersey US 08902.

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