Preamble

This agreement describes the terms on which a user may access and use ECOIA services. 'ECOIA' refers to the service provided subject to these General Terms and Conditions and/or ECOIA Sarl. 

By logging on to ECOIA, The User must read and accept the following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter the “GTC”) and the Privacy Policy. The User enters into this agreement on the use of ECOIA with ECOIA. The User can call up, print out, download and or save these General Terms and Conditions at any time, even after the agreement has been closed, under the “Terms & Conditions” link that appears on all ECOIA Web sites. If the user does not agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement, the User may not use nor access ECOIA services. 

ECOIA operates ECOIA services under various top-level domains (ecoia.com, ecoia.ch etc.), as well as various sub-domains and aliases of these domains. All Web sites on which ECOIA provides ECOIA services are hereinafter referred to as “ECOIA Web sites.” These GTC shall govern the contract relationship between the User and ECOIA, irrespective of which ECOIA web site the User is registered with or logged on to.

Description of service

ECOIA is an online service offered to exchange opportunities, qualify projects and enable professionals to connect with each other more effectively (the “ECOIA Service”). Whether looking for an opportunity, qualifying a project for emission reductions or a decision-maker, the ECOIA user submit, identify opportunities and make contact with professionals who are users of the ECOIA Service. 

The ECOIA Web sites offer registered users two options: a) a free Membership and b) a paid Membership, (paid membership is hereinafter referred to as “ECOTRUST”). Signing up for a basic ECOIA membership is free. Certain other services are provided for free only to beta users. 

ECOIA reserves the right to charge for the ECOIA Service or any portion thereof, modify the pricing of, add to, or discontinue the ECOIA Service or any portion thereof without prior notice. ECOIA reserves the right to modify the services offered on the ECOIA Web sites and/or to offer services different from those offered at the time of the User's registration at any time, unless this is unreasonable for the User. Any use of the services and contents offered on the ECOIA Web sites beyond the scope of options provided by ECOIA requires the prior written consent of ECOIA. 

Details about the applicable fees for the ECOTRUST are set forth on the ECOIA Web sites under 'ECOTRUST'. The fees listed under 'ECOTRUST' are binding. Payments for the ECOTRUST shall be due immediately upon invoicing. Payment can be made using the various debiting procedures available, especially with the accepted credit cards, or the available online payment systems. If ECOIA is unable to collect any fees from an account designated by the User due to lack of funds, the User shall bear all costs arising there from, including bank charges related to any debit entries or similar charges, insofar as the User is responsible for the event that triggers these costs. ECOIA may deliver invoices to the User for ECOTRUST by email. In addition, ECOIA shall make said invoices available for download by the User in the ECOTRUST area of the ECOIA Web sites for a period of one (1) year from the date of invoicing.

Membership registration, cancellation and termination

Users must register prior to using any of the services on the ECOIA Web sites. The User warrants and represents that all of the data provided by the User for registration is accurate and complete. The User shall report any changes in the registration data to ECOIA without undue delay. 

The services provided by ECOIA are intended exclusively for persons of legal age. The User warrants and represents that the user is of legal age at the time of registration. The ECOIA Service is not available to any user suspended or removed from the system by ECOIA for any reason. Each User is entitled to register with ECOIA only once, and the User may only establish one (1) user profile. Additionally, a user is prohibited from selling, trading, or otherwise transferring the ECOIA account to another party. If the user does not qualify, the user may not use the ECOIA Service and ECOIA may refuse service without prior notice to any user for any or no reason. 

The User shall choose a password upon registration. The User is obliged to keep this password secret. ECOIA shall not disclose the password to any third party and ECOIA shall not ask for the User's password at any time. The User is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of his or her password and account, and is fully responsible for all activities that occur under his or her password or account with or without his or her knowledge. If a user knowingly provides login and password information to another person, the account privileges may be suspended temporarily or terminated. A user agrees to immediately notify ECOIA of any unauthorized use of his or her password or account or any other breach of security. ECOIA cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from a failure to comply with this section.

By completing the registration process, the User consents to enter the agreement to use the services of the ECOIA Web sites. ECOIA accepts this offer by activating the membership for the use of services on ECOIA Web sites. The agreement takes effect with the aforementioned acceptance by ECOIA.

The User may cancel registration for the Free Membership or ECOTRUST in writing (e.g. by letter, fax or email) within two (2) weeks without stating a reason. The two-week period begins when membership is activated by ECOIA, but not before the receipt of these instructions. For meeting the cancellation deadline, the date of dispatch of the cancellation notice is decisive. The User may deliver notice of termination using the contact form available at all ECOIA Web sites, or by sending a fax or letter to ECOIA. The fax number and email address of ECOIA are sent to the User upon registration and can be found at http://www.ecoia.com/about.

The User’s right of cancellation may lapse before the end of the right of cancellation period cited previously, in the following cases. 

• If ECOIA has begun performing the ECOIA services for which the User is registered with the express consent of the User
• If the User has initiated the ECOIA services for which the User is registered (e.g. in which the User has accessed the ECOIA services that ECOIA has made available to the User in accordance with the type of Membership chosen by the User at registration).

• breaches or violations of these GTC or other incorporated agreements or guidelines
• requests by law enforcement or other government agencies
• unexpected technical issues or problems
• extended periods of inactivity

 

User conduct

The User is obliged to :

• Provide only true and non-misleading statements in the User profile and in communications with other users.
• Post on the ECOIA Web sites only photographs of the User which are not more than five (5) years old and in which the User can be clearly and plainly recognized.
• Upload any photographs or images of any other person than of the User, or of non-existent persons or other beings (such as animals, imaginary creatures, etc.). The photographs delivered by the User shall not contain any company logos.
• Warrant and represent that the public display of the images, videos, sounds or documents delivered by the User to the ECOIA Web sites is not prohibited.
• Comply with all applicable legislation, and respect all third-party rights.

•  Use the ECOIA Service for any illegal purpose, including but not limited to conspiring to violate laws.
• Falsely state, impersonate, or otherwise misrepresent, opportunities, personal identity, including but not limited to the use of a pseudonym, pen names or misrepresenting current or previous positions and qualifications, or affiliations with a person or entity, past or present.
• Post content or initiate communications which are unlawful, insulting, defamatory, libelous, abusive, obscene, discriminatory, or otherwise objectionable, regardless of whether said contents or communications are directed at another user, ECOIA personnel or other companies.
• Use any pornographic materials or any contents that violate any applicable legislation for the protection of minors; or advertise or promote, offer or distribute any pornographic product or products which do not comply with any applicable legislation for the protection of minors.
• Communicating in any insinuating or sexual way (suggestive or explicit).
• Unreasonably stalk, harass or annoy (particularly with spam) any other user.
• Use or promote any commercial practices considered unfair competition, including progressive customer acquisition practices (such as chain distribution systems, multi-level marketing, multi-level network marketing or pyramid sales).
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation.
• Use ECOIA invitations to send messages to individuals who the User does not know or who are unlikely to recognize the User as a known contact.
• Connect to individuals who do not know the user and then sending unsolicited promotional messages to those direct connections without their permission.
• Send messages to distribution lists or chain letters Send identical private messages to more than one (1) user at the same time.
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available without authorization any content protected by law (e.g. by copyright, trademark, patent, utility patent, or design patent laws) or initiate communication that infringes upon patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights or other proprietary rights or advertise, promote, offer or distribute any goods or services protected by law.
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any content or initiate communications which include information that users do not have the right to disclose or make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as insider information, or proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements).
• Distributing or publicly disclosing the contents of any of the ECOIA Web sites or any other user.
• Display or use ECOIA, the ECOIA logo, and other ECOIA logos and names which are trademarks of ECOIA in any manner without ECOIA’s prior, written permission.
• Forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any communication transmitted through the ECOIA Service.
• Post content in fields that aren’t intended for that content. Example: Putting an address in a name or title field.
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.
• Interfere with or disrupt the ECOIA Service or servers or networks connected to the ECOIA Service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the ECOIA Service.
• Employing any mechanisms, software or scripts when using ECOIA Web sites. However, the User may use the interfaces or software provided by ECOIA within the scope of the services available on the ECOIA Web sites.
• Using manual or automated software, devices, robots, or other processes to “crawl” or “spider” any web pages contained.
• Blocking, monitoring, overwriting, modifying and copying of any contents of the ECOIA Web sites or allowing other users to do so, unless said actions are necessary for the proper use of the services on the ECOIA Web sites.
• “Framing” or otherwise simulate the appearance or function of the ECOIA website.
• Taking any action that interferes with the proper working of or places an unreasonable load on ECOIA infrastructure, including but not limited to unsolicited communications, attempts to gain unauthorized access, or transmission or activation of computer viruses.

 

Liability

ECOIA merely provides the User with a platform on which to establish contact with other users, and only provides those technical applications that allow users to contact one another. As regards content, ECOIA does not take part in any communication between users. If users enter into agreements with one another over ECOIA Web sites, ECOIA shall not be a contracting party to these agreements. The users alone are responsible for the execution and/or fulfillment of agreements in which they enter with one another. ECOIA shall not be held liable if users are unable to contact one another over ECOIA Web sites regarding such agreements. Furthermore, ECOIA shall not be liable for breaches of duty in relation to agreements entered into between users. ECOIA shall merely acts as intermediary in the case of agreements entered into with partners.

THE USER EXPRESSLY UNDERSTANDS AND AGREES THAT ECOIA SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF ECOIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO THE USER. IN NO EVENT WILL ECOIA’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE DAMAGES EXCEED US$ 100.

Warranty

The User acknowledges and agrees that it is technically impossible to achieve 100% availability of the ECOIA Web sites. ECOIA shall nonetheless endeavor to keep ECOIA Web sites available without interruption. Events related to maintenance, security or capacity requirements, and/or events beyond ECOIA's control (e.g. disruptions in public communication networks, power failures etc.), may result in brief malfunctions or temporary interruptions of the services provided on ECOIA Web sites. 

THE USER UNDERSTANDS AND AGREES THAT THE ECOIA SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS AND THAT ECOIA DOES NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROMPT OR PROPER DELIVERY, OR RETENTION OF ANY USER INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN USERS. ECOIA ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR EXISTENCE OF ANY COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN USERS. ECOIA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. 

ECOIA MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (I) THE ECOIA SERVICE WILL MEET THE USER’S REQUIREMENTS, (II) THE ECOIA SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (III) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE ECOIA SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (IV) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY THE USER THROUGH THE ECOIA SERVICE WILL MEET THE USER’S EXPECTATIONS, AND (V) ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. 

ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE ECOIA SERVICE IS DONE AT THE USER’S DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT THE USER WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO THE USER’S COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.

NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY THE USER FROM ECOIA OR THROUGH OR FROM THE ECOIA SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS. 

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO THE USER.

Indemnity

By accepting these General Terms and Conditions, the user agrees to indemnify and otherwise hold harmless ECOIA, its officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries, affiliates and other partners from any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages resulting from i) the use of the ECOIA Service; ii) unauthorized access to or alteration of the user’s communications with or through the ECOIA Service, or iii) any other matter relating to the ECOIA Service. Any business transactions which may arise between users from their use of ECOIA are the sole responsibility of the users involved. 

The User shall indemnify and exempt ECOIA from all actions, including damage claims, asserted by other users or third parties against ECOIA resulting from an infringement of their rights by the contents posted by the User on ECOIA Web sites. Furthermore, the User shall indemnify and exempt ECOIA from all actions, including damage claims, asserted by other users or third parties against ECOIA resulting from an infringement of their rights regarding the use of the services on ECOIA Web sites by the User. The User assumes all reasonable costs ECOIA incurs due to an infringement of third party rights, including all reasonable legal-defense costs. All other rights, including damage claims by ECOIA, are hereby unaffected. The aforementioned obligations shall not apply to the extent the User is not responsible for the infringement. In the event the contents posted by the User infringes any rights of any third party, the User shall, at its own expense and at ECOIA's discretion, either obtain the right to use said contents or render said contents free of any infringement. In the event the User infringes third-party rights when using the services of ECOIA Web sites, the User shall discontinue such use that violates these General Terms and Conditions and the law, if so requested by ECOIA.

Data Protection

ECOIA recognizes that any data provided by the User to ECOIA is extremely important to the User, and ECOIA shall therefore be particularly sensitive in handling such data. ECOIA shall comply with all applicable legal provisions regarding data protection. In particular, ECOIA shall not provide or otherwise disclose any personal data of the User to any third party without authorization. Details on ECOIA's treatment of the User's data are set forth in the Privacy Policy of ECOIA accessible from each of the ECOIA Web sites. 

Without limitation of the terms and conditions set forth in the Privacy Policy, the user understands and agrees that ECOIA may disclose personally identifiable information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process, enforce these General Terms and Conditions, or protect the rights, property, or safety of ECOIA, its users, and the public. 

In the course of providing services, ECOIA may need to communicate with the user via email, fax or post to the addresses given in the User’s current contact data in the User account. The user agrees to receive emails which are specific to his or her account and necessary for the normal functioning of the ECOIA Service. The user also agrees to have his or her name and/or email address listed in the header of certain communications which the User initiates through the ECOIA Service.

Right to Contents

In the course of using the ECOIA Service, users may provide information about themselves or personal opportunities which may be visible to certain other users (Cf. Privacy Policy). The user understands that by posting opportunities or materials on the ECOIA website or otherwise providing materials to ECOIA, the user is granting to ECOIA a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license to use this information in the course of offering the ECOIA service. Furthermore, the user understands that ECOIA retains the right to reformat, excerpt, or translate any materials submitted by the user. The user understands that all information publicly posted or privately transmitted through the ECOIA Service is the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated and that ECOIA will not be liable for any errors or omissions in any content.

Duplication or the use of these materials or their contents in other electronic or printed publications is prohibited without the express written consent of ECOIA. Copying, downloading, dissemination, distribution and storing of the contents of ECOIA and/or third parties, with the exception of the cache memory when searching for forum pages, is prohibited without its express consent. 

ECOIA shall only make data and/or information provided by the User available for other uses provided that this data and/or information does not violate any laws or these GTC. ECOIA is entitled to remove any illegal or prohibited data and/or information from ECOIA Web sites without prior notice to the User.

Monitoring and Enforcement

While ECOIA has the right to monitor activity and content associated with the ECOIA Service, ECOIA is not obligated to do so. And since ECOIA does not, and may not have the ability to, control or actively monitor content ECOIA does not guarantee its accuracy, integrity or quality. Because community standards vary and individuals sometimes choose not to comply with policies and practices, in the process of using the ECOIA website, the user may be exposed to content that he or she finds offensive or objectionable. ECOIA does not make any warranties or representations regarding any data and/or information provided or made available by any user on any of the ECOIA Web sites or on any external websites linked to them. In particular, ECOIA does not warrant or represent that said data and/or information is true or accurate, or that it fulfils or serves any particular purpose. 

The User may report any activities or content of any other user which violate applicable laws and/or any of the terms and conditions of these GTC (including the use of pseudonyms or false identities) using the contact form and report abuse form available at all ECOIA Web sites.

ECOIA may investigate the complaints and violations of policies that come to attention and may take any action that ECOIA believes is appropriate, including, but not limited to issuing warnings, removing the content or terminating membership and/or subscriptions. However, because situations and interpretations vary, ECOIA also reserves the right not to take any action. Under no circumstances will ECOIA be liable in any way for any content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of, access to, or denial of access to any content on the website.

The user understands that ECOIA cannot guarantee the identity of any other users with whom the user may interact in the course of using the ECOIA Service. Additionally, ECOIA cannot guarantee the authenticity of any data which users may provide about themselves, opportunities or relationships they may describe.

Final Provisions

These GTC and any amendments thereto must be in writing to be valid. In the event of any inconsistency between the ECOIA Privacy Policy and these General Terms and Conditions, the General Terms and Conditions shall control. These General Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement between the user and ECOIA and governs the use of the ECOIA Service, superseding any prior agreements between the user and ECOIA. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to confer any third-party rights or benefits.

The section titles of these General Terms and Conditions are displayed for convenience only and have no legal effect.

ECOIA reserves the right to modify this Agreement at any time, and without prior notice, by posting amended terms on this website. Continued use of the ECOIA service indicates acceptance of the amended General Terms and Conditions. 

ECOIA shall give due notice of any amendments of these GTC to the User. If the User does not object to the applicability of the revised GTC within two (2) weeks after receipt of said notice, the amended GTC shall be deemed to be accepted by the User. ECOIA shall inform the User about the User's right to object and of the relevance of the objection deadline in said notice. 

If any provision of these GTC is, for any reason, invalid and/or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law. The parties agree to replace an invalid and/or unenforceable provision with a valid and/or enforceable provision which most closely approximates the intent and economic effect of the invalid and/or unenforceable provision. This also applies to contractual loopholes. 

The place of performance under these GTC shall be ECOIA's main place of business and the place of jurisdiction, insofar as legally admissible, shall be the main place of business of ECOIA. These General Terms and Conditions between the user and ECOIA will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Geneva State (Switzerland) without regard to conflict of laws principles.

Contact

Please send any queries, notices or information requests regarding these Privacy Policy by sending a letter of fax to ECOIA.