I got accepted for the "Big Idea Group" today, but I'm afraid I couldn't bring myself to agree to their rather extraordinary terms and conditions:
BIG IDEA GROUP
CHESS INSIGHTS CLUB
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The following terms and conditions (these "Terms and Conditions") contain important information regarding the Big Idea Chess Insights Club (the "Club") and Prize Program (the "Program"). These Terms and Conditions are a binding agreement between you ("Club Participant") and Big Idea Group. They govern your use of and participation in the Club and Program.
Big Idea Group reserves the right to modify these Terms and Conditions, so it is important to check them periodically. Continued use of the Club and participation in the Program is considered acceptance of these Terms and Conditions posted to the Club and any modified terms included therein.
I. Confidentiality
Club Participant hereby agrees to maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed during focus groups, panels, discussions, surveys, or other activities ("Club Activities"), online or via other methods and media as follows:
a) For purposes hereof, "Confidential Information" shall mean information or material obtained or observed while participating in Club Activities conducted by or for the benefit of the recipient hereof. By example and without limitation, Confidential Information includes any and all information concerning techniques, ideas, processes, trade secrets, insights, discoveries, improvements, research or developments and test results, data, strategies, and forecasts. Information publicly known through no fault of the of the Club Participant, such as information that is generally employed by the trade at or after the time the undersigned first learns of such information, shall not be deemed part of the Confidentiality Agreement. Also included as Confidential Information is any club participant's "Personally Identifiable Information." "Personally Identifiable Information" shall mean a person's identity or information that might reasonably allow identification of the person.
b) All notes, reference materials, memoranda, documentation and records in any way incorporating or reflecting any of the Confidential Information shall belong exclusively to Big Idea Group ("Company") and Club Participant agrees to turn over all copies of such materials in the undersigned's possession to Company upon request.
c) Club Participant shall at all times hold in trust, keep confidential and not disclose to any third party or make any use of the Confidential Information.
d) Club Participant shall at all times hold in trust, keep confidential and not disclose to any third party or make any use of the identity or personally identifiable information of any person or persons involved in the Club Activities.
e) Any and all discoveries, developments, insights or other such creative output conceived during the Club Activities shall be the exclusive property of the Company; and Club Participant hereby assigns all right, title, and interest in the same to the Company. Any and all inventions, discoveries, developments and insights conceived by the Club Participant prior to the term of this Agreement and utilized by him/her in participation of Club Activities are hereby licensed to the Company for use in its operations and for an infinite duration. This license is non-exclusive, and may be assigned without the Club Participant's prior written approval by the Company to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.
f) Club Participant acknowledges that during the engagement he/she will be exposed too and become acquainted with various inventions, insights, processes, information, records and specifications owned or licensed by the Company, its client, or by a third party. The Club Participant agrees that he/she will not disclose any of the aforesaid, directly or indirectly, or use any of them in any manner, either during the term of this Agreement or at any time thereafter, except as required in the course of this engagement with the Company.
g) The Club Participant represents that he/she is free to enter into this Agreement and that this engagement does not violate the terms of any agreement between the Club Participant and any third party. Further, the Club Participant, in rendering his/her duties shall not utilize any invention, discovery, development, improvement, insight, or trade secret in which he/she does not have a proprietary interest. The Club Participant is expressly free to perform services for other parties while performing services for the Company.
h) The parties hereto acknowledge that the services to be rendered by the Club Participant under this Agreement and the rights and privileges granted to the Company under the Agreement are of a special, unique, unusual, and extraordinary character which gives them a peculiar value, the loss of which cannot be reasonably or adequately compensated by damages in any action at law, and the breach by the Club Participant of any of the provisions of this Agreement will cause the Company irreparable injury and damage. The Club Participant expressly agrees that the Company shall be entitled to injunctive and other equitable relief in the event of, or to prevent, a breach of any provision of this Agreement by the Club Participant. Resort to such equitable relief, however, shall not be construed to be a waiver of any other rights or remedies that the Company may have for damages or otherwise. The various rights and remedies of the Company under this Agreement or otherwise shall be construed to be cumulative, and no one of them shall be exclusive of any other or of any right or remedy allowed by law.
II. Terms and Conditions
Big Idea Group BIG Bucks ("BIG Bucks") are the currency used when a Club Participant (as defined below) completes certain BIG Bucks earning activities as described herein. Club Participant acknowledges that Big Idea Group is under no obligation to provide a particular number of opportunities for Club Participant to earn BIG Bucks and that membership in the Clubs is at the sole discretion of Big Idea Group. Club Participant acknowledges that he/she is solely responsible for the equipment and Internet access required to connect to the Club and the Program.
a) Registration Requirements
Before being able to participate in the Program, Club Participants must register as a member of the Big Idea Group website (the "Site") by providing Big Idea Group with accurate, complete and updated registration information as required by the Big Idea Group Membership Registration Form. A member may not (i) activate or use more than one Member account; (ii) use a name subject to rights of another person without authorization from that person; (iii) use a false or misleading name, address, or email address to activate or use a Member account; or (iv) present or supply false or misleading information to any entity involved in the Program.
The Program is open only to legal residents of the United States (including the District of Columbia) who are at least 18 years old as of date of entry and who have met defined criteria for Club membership. Employees of Big Idea Group, its parents, its clients, subsidiaries and affiliates and suppliers connected in any way to the Program or the operations of Big Idea Group's websites, and those domiciled with such employees and members of their immediate family are not eligible to participate. Void in Puerto Rico, and where otherwise prohibited or restricted by law.
Each Club Participant is limited to one account but may participate in multiple Clubs under the same account at the same time.
Club Participant must keep all registration information current at all times. Club Participant may update his/her registration information by visiting the Update Profile section of the Site and entering the information requested. An account cannot be used or accessed by multiple persons. Any duplicate accounts are subject to cancellation, and all BIG Bucks accumulated will be forfeited.
To enter without participating or to gain additional entries if you are a member, handprint your name, address, and email address on a postcard and send to: Big Idea Group, Inc., 360 Rt. 101, Bldg. 4A, Bedford, NH, 03110 USA. You must handprint the most current activity (found on the Site) on your postcard. No mechanically reproduced, facsimile or computer generated mail-in entries allowed. Do not place your postcard in an envelope. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by the last day of the Prize Week and received within fourteen (14) days from the last day of the Prize Week. Subject to the restrictions below, with each submitted postcard, a participant gains one (1) entry in the sweepstakes for a given Prize Week.
b) Member Termination
Club Participant understands and agrees that his/her membership in the Program is subject to and conditioned upon the following:
o Continued adherence to these Terms and Conditions and any future modifications thereto by Club Participant. Failure to follow these Terms and Conditions constitute grounds for immediate termination of Club Participant membership in the Club, without further notice, at Big Idea Group's sole discretion. Termination of Club Participant membership will result in cancellation of all rights of access and use granted to Club Members. In addition, Club Participants whose accounts have been terminated may not access the Program or the Member section of Site, in any manner or for any reason.
o Big Idea Group may, in its sole discretion, change, suspend or discontinue any or all aspects of the Program and/or the Site at any time, including the availability of any service feature, links, sponsor, database, or site content without notice, including, without limitation, should events beyond Big Idea Group's control occur, such as: computer equipment or electronic data transmission failure, strikes, civil disturbances, acts of nature, terrorism or war. Big Idea Group may cancel the Program at any time at Big Idea Group's discretionary choosing. Big Idea Group may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict any Club Participant's access to parts or all of the Club, Program and Site without notice or liability.
o The Program, Club, and the Site may be interrupted from time to time, and may not always be virus or error-free.
o Big Idea Group reserves the right to arbitrarily monitor Club Participant's use of the Club, Program, and the Site and may request at any time that a Club Participant provide proof in order to verify the accuracy of the account information provided by the Club Participant at the time of registration or anytime thereafter.
o The right of Big Idea Group, in its sole discretion, to suspend or cancel, at any time and for any or no reason, a Club Participant's membership in and access to the Club, Program, or the Site.
o Club Participants may terminate their membership at any time by sending an email with the subject line "remove me" to
[email protected].
o Big Idea Group may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend any Club Participant's access to all or part of the Club, Program, and the Site including, without limitation, breach of these Terms and Conditions or the Club Terms and Conditions, or taking actions that are inconsistent with the intent of these Terms and Conditions. Big Idea Group shall be the sole determiner in cases of suspected abuse, fraud, or breach of these Terms and Conditions or intent of these Terms and Conditions. Any decision Big Idea Group makes relating to termination or suspension of any Club Participant's account shall be final and binding.
o Big Idea Group may also terminate any Club Participant's account in its sole discretion if a Club Participant has been inactive for a period of six (6) months. A Club Participant will be defined as inactive based upon Club Participant's lack of BIG Bucks accrual.
o When a Club Participant's account has been terminated, suspended, or cancelled, all BIG Bucks earned shall be forfeited.
c) Activities
Once granted access, Club Participant can begin earning BIG Bucks by undertaking various online and/or offline surveys or assignments (collectively, "Activities").
The activities that will allow Club Participant to earn BIG Bucks may change from time to time, in Big Idea Group's sole discretion, and will be set forth either in these Terms and Conditions or on the Site.
o Big Idea Group reserves the right to suspend, terminate, revalue or modify, without liability, or notice to Club Participants, all or part of the BIG Bucks value structure and offers. Big Idea Group reserves the right to adjudicate all BIG Bucks discrepancies in its sole discretion and the Club Participants agree to abide with any such adjudication. Big Idea Group reserves the right to change point awards or other incentives at any time.
BIG Bucks will be posted to a Club Participant's account balance upon activity completion. Big Idea Group takes reasonable care to ensure BIG Bucks are accurately deposited in Club Participants' accounts; however, Club Participants are responsible for ensuring that their BIG Bucks are properly deposited, and Big Idea Group shall not be held liable for any transmittal failures or any errors regarding BIG Bucks.
Rules governing the method for earning BIG Bucks when a Club Participant participates in special promotions are subject to the specific terms and conditions of the particular promotion, as specified in the terms and conditions for any such promotion.
d) BIG Bucks Usage
BIG Bucks cannot be transferred, carried over or combined with BIG Bucks earned from an earlier Rewards Period in this Club or from participation in additional Clubs. At the conclusion of a Rewards Period, all BIG Bucks earned within that Club expire and are forfeited.
e) BIG Bucks Values
BIG Bucks represent a point system that qualifies members for consideration for the Final Club Prize. All members who have accumulated BIG Buck totals equal to 2/3 of all possible BIG Bucks will be eligible for consideration to receive a Final Club Prize in accordance with the Compensation Details (defined below).
Club Participants can view their total number of BIG Bucks online by visiting the Club Profile page. The Club Profile page is restricted to Club Participants, and Club Participants must enter their email address and password in order to view the Members page.
Big Idea Group may change or remove any of the BIG Bucks earning activities currently recognized, at any time, with or without notice to Club Participants. The BIG Bucks that Club Participants earn are non-transferable.
f) Compensation Details
o Prizes and Rewards
A total of three cash lottery prizes of $25 each will be awarded each activity week to three different participants, assuming at least three members complete Club activities that week. Weekly cash lottery prizes will be awarded based on a random drawing. Entrance into the drawing will be based on the completion of available activities during Rewards Period or written submission as described in the Official Prize Rules. A total of three cash merit prizes of $75 each will be awarded for each activity week to three different participants, assuming at least three different members complete the activities and are eligible. Only those Club Participants who complete all activities for the week will be considered for weekly prizes. In addition, all Club Participants who complete 2/3 of all activities over the course of the club will be entered into a lottery drawing for the Final Club Prize. We will give away eight lottery prizes of $50 cash, assuming eight participants complete 2/3 of activities. For each activity or forum you complete, you will be given one entry into the drawing. A participant will only be allowed to win one $50 Final Club Prize.
o Merit Evaluation
Merit prizes will be awarded on the basis of overall contributions, creativity, thoughtfulness, and usefulness. The determination of awards based on the merit of submissions is at the sole discretion of Big Idea Group and its client. Decisions are final and are not subject to review or appeal.
o Weekly Prize Reward Period
Each Weekly Reward Period will include seven (7) consecutive days. The first Period will begin on the first day of the Club and conclude on day seven. Each successive Weekly Reward Period will begin either immediately following the conclusion of the previous Period or as otherwise announced. Weekly Reward Periods will continue until the conclusion of the Club.
o Club Participants who are awarded cash prizes will receive a check from Big Idea Group.
o Awards for a given activity week are generally announced approximately two weeks following that activity week. Checks and any merchandise rewards will be mailed within four weeks of the awards announcement. Items may arrive sooner or later due to service delivery. Club Participants are responsible for making sure their first and last name and mailing address are accurate before the merchandise is awarded. BIG is not responsible for and is not obligated to replace any misdirected or lost packages/mailings. Mail/merchandise can only be shipped to valid shipping locations.
o Club Participants who receive awards in excess of $600 during the fiscal year and who are subject to U.S. tax laws will be required to provide a social security number in order to complete IRS Form 1099.
g) General
Club Participants are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their password. Big Idea Group has no control over the Internet and cannot prevent the interception of messages by unauthorized parties or guarantee that such unauthorized parties may not be able to decrypt encrypted messages. Accordingly, under no circumstances will Big Idea Group be responsible for any loss or damage incurred by any Club Participant as the result of unauthorized interception or decryption of information transmitted to or by Big Idea Group. Club Participants must immediately notify Big Idea Group of any known or suspected unauthorized use(s) of a Club Participant's account, or any known or suspected breach of security, including loss, theft, or unauthorized disclosure of Club Participant's password.
Each Club Participant is responsible for all usage or activity on their account, including use of the account by any third party (which is prohibited), whether or not such use is authorized by Club Participant or the result of Club Participant authorizing a third party to use Club Participant's username and password.
Each Club Participant agrees not to abuse the Program by conduct which is detrimental to the interests of Big Idea Group, including without limitation attempting to accumulate BIG Bucks in a manner that is in breach of or inconsistent with these Terms and Conditions. Without limiting the foregoing, Club Participants shall not: (a) activate or use more than one account; (b) use an automated system, device or program or other similar method to accumulate BIG Bucks; (c) manipulate or interfere with the Program or any affiliated program in any way to wrongly accumulate or redeem BIG Bucks; (d) present false or misleading information to Big Idea Group; (e) use or redeem BIG Bucks which are obtained in violation of these Terms and Condition or which are erroneously credited to a Club Participant's account; or (f) assist another individual or entity in conducting fraudulent, abusive, manipulative or illegal activity. Any Club Participant suspected of engaging in any fraudulent, abusive, manipulative or illegal activity may have their account terminated and all BIG Bucks cancelled in Big Idea Group's sole discretion, and the Club Participant may be referred to appropriate law enforcement agencies if such action is deemed warranted by Big Idea Group.
Club Participants must not do any of the following: (a) restrict or inhibit any other Club Participant from enjoying the Club, Program, or the Site; (b) send messages that contain viruses, worms or any other destructive element; (c) send messages that are libelous, defamatory, obscene, threatening, abusive or hateful; or (d) interfere with or infringe the copyrights, trademarks, service marks, logos or confidential information of others.
Club Participants may only access those portions of the Site and Club specifically made available to Club Participants and under no circumstances are Club Participants permitted to use or attempt to use the Site or any portion thereof to violate its security or the security of systems accessible through it.
The Program, merchandise, services, rewards, offers and activities are void where prohibited by law.
Information about products, services and/or activities on the Club is accurate to the very best of Big Idea Group's knowledge. Big Idea Group is not responsible for errors and/or omissions with respect to such information.
Each Club Participant acknowledges and agrees that Big Idea Group shall not be responsible nor liable for any agreements between a Club Participant and any of the Program's affiliated companies with regard to items or services received by such Club Participant as a result of a redemption of BIG Bucks, or such Club Participant's participation in third-party promotions and/or other activities.
Determination of any tax liability related to accumulation and redemption of BIG Bucks is solely the responsibility of the Club Participant. Personal nonpublic information that Big Idea Group gathers from Club Participants in connection with the Rewards Program or otherwise will be governed by our Privacy Policy (
http://www.bigideaclubs.net/privacy).
Big Idea Group is not responsible for unavailable network connections; failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions; online failures; hardware, software or other technical malfunctions or disturbances; or any other communications failures or circumstances affecting, disrupting or corrupting the Rewards Program in any manner including without limitation, receipt of redemption requests, Club Participant’s ability to participate in the Rewards Program, or posting of BIG Bucks to Club Participant's accounts. Big Idea Group is also not responsible for any damage to any Club Participant's computer occasioned by participation in the Rewards Program or downloading or uploading of any information necessary to participate in Activities or the Rewards Program.
All Club Participants agree to release Big Idea Group, its clients, and their respective advertising, promotional or judging agencies from any and all liability, claims or action of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection to the BIG Bucks, their cash value, or merchandise redeemed with BIG Bucks, including but not limited to receipt, ownership, use, misuse or malfunction of the prize. Club Participant agrees to indemnify Big Idea Group and its licensees from any actions for infringement, misappropriation, or other related suits from third parties regarding wrongful use of proprietary information in so far as such suit is based on information provided by Club Participant, which Club Participant knew or should have known to be proprietary, but which Club Participant did not disclose to Big Idea Group was proprietary, or similar misconduct by Club Participant.
This Agreement shall not render the Club Participant an employee, partner, agent of, or joint venturer with the Company for any purpose. The Club Participant is and will remain an independent contractor in his/her relationship to the Company. The Company shall not be responsible for withholding taxes with respect to the Contractor's compensation hereunder. The Club Participant shall have no claim against the Company hereunder or otherwise for vacation pay, sick leave, retirement benefits, social security, worker's compensation, health or disability benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, or employee benefits of any kind.
No amendment, change or modification of this Agreement shall be valid unless in writing signed by the parties hereto.
Section headings are not to be considered a part of this Agreement and are not intended to be a full and accurate description of the contents hereof.
This Agreement shall not be terminated by the merger or consolidation of the Company into or with any other entity.
If any provision of this Agreement, or any portion thereof, is held to be invalid and unenforceable, then the remainder of this Agreement shall nevertheless remain in full force and effect.
The laws of the state of New Hampshire shall govern the validity of this Agreement, the construction of its terms and the interpretation of the rights and duties of the parties hereto.
Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the Program shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association then in force and effect. The arbitration, including the rendering of an award, shall take place in New Hampshire. The arbitrator or arbitrators shall apply the substantive law of the State of New Hampshire applicable to contracts made and performed entirely therein, without reference to its choice of laws provision. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator or arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
This document and any exhibit attached constitute the entire understanding and agreement of the parties, and any and all prior agreements, understandings, and representations are hereby terminated and canceled in their entirety and are of no further force and effect.
Big Idea Group, Inc.
360 Rt. 101, Bldg. 4A
Bedford, NH 03110
