These Guidelines apply to all Affiliates, brand ambassadors, agencies, independent contractors, speakers, writers, bloggers, talent, and any other individual or entity engaged in promotional communications on behalf of SpotGamma on social media or other non-traditional media. These Guidelines also apply to agencies who manage these individuals and entities.
PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT.
YOU MAY PRINT THIS PAGE FOR YOUR RECORDS.
THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND SPOTGAMMA.
Please read the terms and conditions of this affiliate program agreement carefully before you join our program or begin marketing our program. These terms and conditions are written in plain language intentionally avoiding legalese to ensure that they may be clearly understood and followed by affiliates. Each Affiliate is responsible for assuring that its employees, agents and contractors comply with this agreement.
BY SUBMITTING THE ONLINE APPLICATION TO JOIN OUR AFFILIATE PROGRAM, YOU ARE AGREEING THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT AND THAT YOU AGREE TO BE LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR EACH AND EVERY TERM AND CONDITION.
DEFINITIONS
As used in these terms and conditions: (i) “We”, “us”, or “our” refers to SpotGamma and our website; (ii) “you” or “your” refers to the Affiliate; (iii) “our website” refers to the SpotGamma website located at www.spotgamma.com, (iv) “your website” refers to any websites that you will link to our website; (v) “Program” refers to SpotGamma’s Affiliate Program; (vi) "Licensed Materials" refers to our logos, trade names, trademarks, and similar identifying material.
AFFILIATE OBLIGATIONS
ENROLLMENT
To begin the enrollment process, you will complete and submit the online application with us. After receiving your application, we will review your website and notify you of your acceptance or rejection into our Program. Please allow up 48 hours for your application to be reviewed. The fact that we auto-approve applications does not imply that we may not re-evaluate your application at a later time.
We reserve the right to reject any application for any reason, however we encourage you to contact us if you feel we have made an incorrect decision. Including all of the websites that you use in your profile will help us make a better decision.
WEBSITE RESTRICTIONS
Your participating website(s) may not:
Infringe on our or any anyone else's intellectual property, publicity, privacy or other rights.
Violate any law, rule or regulation.
Contain any content that is threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, harmful to minors, or contains nudity, pornography or sexually explicit materials.
Contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data, or personal information.
Contain software or use technology that attempts to intercept, divert or redirect Internet traffic to or from any other website, or that potentially enables the diversion of affiliate commissions from another website. This includes toolbars, browser plug-ins, extensions and add-ons.
LINKING TO OUR WEBSITE
Upon acceptance into the Program, links will be made available to you through the interface. You will be able to review the Program's details, download HTML code that provides for links to web pages within our website and banner creatives, browse and get tracking codes.
Your acceptance in our program means you agree to and abide by the following.
You will only use linking code we provide you for each banner, text link, or other affiliate link obtained from the affiliate interface without manipulation.
We reserve the right, at any time, to review your placement and approve the use of Your Links and require that you change the placement or use to comply with the guidelines provided to you.
Your Website will not in any way copy, resemble, or mirror the look and feel of our Website. You will also not use any means to create the impression that your Website is our Website or any part of our Website including, without limitation, framing of our Website in any manner.
You may not engage in cookie stuffing or include pop-ups, false or misleading links on your website. In addition, wherever possible, you will not attempt to mask the referring url information (i.e. the page from where the click is originating).
Using redirects to bounce a click off of a domain from which the click did not originate in order to give the appearance that it came from that domain (also known as cloaking) is prohibited.
If you are found redirecting links to hide or manipulate their original source, your current and past commissions will be voided or your commission level will be set to 0%. This does not include using "out" redirects from the same domain where the affiliate link is placed.The maintenance and the updating of your site will be your responsibility. We may monitor your site as we feel necessary to make sure that it is up-to-date and to notify you of any changes that we feel should enhance your performance.
It is entirely your responsibility to follow all applicable intellectual property and other laws that pertain to your site. You must have express permission to use any person's copyrighted material, whether it be a writing, an image, or any other copyrightable work. We will not be responsible (and you will be solely responsible) if you use another person's copyrighted material or other intellectual property in violation of the law or any third-party rights.
You will not, in connection with this Agreement, display or reference on your site, any trademark or logo of any third party seller appearing on our website unless you have an independent license for the display of such trademark or logo; use any data, images, text, or other information obtained by you from us or our website in connection with this Agreement only in a lawful manner and only in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
Only for the duration of this Agreement we grant you a limited, nonexclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to use the graphic image and text solely for the purpose of you participating in the Program. You may not modify the graphic image or text in any way. All of our rights in the graphic image and text, any other images, our trade names and trademarks, and all other intellectual property rights are reserved. Should we decide to revoke your license, we will give you notice.
You acknowledge our ownership of our Licensed Materials and all other intellectual property and agree that you will not do anything inconsistent with our ownership and that all of your use of the Licensed Materials will inure to the benefit of, and on behalf of, the Program and our ownership of our intellectual property. You agree that nothing in this Agreement or any use after the signing of this Agreement gives you any right, title or interest in the licensed materials or any other of our other intellectual property other than the right to use the Licensed Materials in accordance with and for the duration of this Agreement.
You agree not to take any action contrary to our proprietary interests in the Licensed Materials or to make any claim against or assist any third party in making any such claim. This explicitly includes, but not limited to, not to attack our title to the Licensed Materials or the validity of the Licensed Materials or this Agreement or to register a trademark including the Licensed Materials or a trademark that is likely to deceive or to cause confusion to the Licensed Materials and all other intellectual property.
PPC GUIDELINES
You may not bid on any of our trademarked terms (which are identified below), including any variations or misspellings thereof for search or content-
based campaigns on Google, Bing, MSN, Yahoo, Facebook or any other network unless given written permission first from us.You may not use our trademarked terms, including any variations or misspellings as per #1 above, in sequence with any other keyword (including, but not limited to 'SpotGamma Coupons', 'SpotGamma Discount Codes', 'SpotGamma Promo', etc).
You may not use our trademarked terms in your ad title, ad copy, display name or as the display url.
You may not direct link to our website from any Pay Per Click ad or use redirects that yield the same result. Customers must be directed to an actual page on your website.
You may not bid in any manner appearing higher than us for any search term in position 1-5 in any auction style pay-per-click advertising program.
If you automate your PPC campaigns, it is your responsibility to exclude our trademarked terms from your program and we strongly suggest you add our trademarked terms as negative keywords. We have a strict no tolerance policy on PPC trademark bidding. If discovered brand bidding on PPC campaigns, you will be sent an email asking to remove the ads in question within 24 hours. If the ads are not removed within 24 hours you will be removed from the program permanently and all commissions associated with the violations will be reversed.
TRADEMARKED TERMS
The following list of trademarked terms should not be treated as an exhaustive list (but as a list of some of the prohibited terms): spotgamma.com, www.spotgamma.com, spotgamma coupon, spotgamma coupon code, spotgamma discount, spotgamma code, spotgamma promo, spotgamma promo code, spotgamma sale, spotgamma sales, spotgamma deal, spotgamma deals
COUPON GUIDELINES
If you are enrolled in our Program and your Website promotes coupon codes, you must adhere to our Coupon Guidelines as follows:
You may ONLY advertise coupon codes that are provided to you through the affiliate program.
Posting any information about how to work around the requirements of a coupon/promotion (i.e. first-time customers only) will result in removal from the program.
Coupons must be displayed in their entirety with the full offer, valid expiration date and code.
You may NOT use any technology that covers up the coupon code and generates the affiliate click by revealing the code(s).
You may NOT advertise coupon codes obtained from our non-affiliate advertising, customer e-mails, paid search, or any other campaign.
You may NOT give the appearance that any ongoing offer requires clicking from your website in order to redeem. For example, if all items on the site have free shipping over $100, you may not turn this into an offer that infers that the customer must click from your site to get this deal.
Additionally, if your website ranks on the first page of any search engine for terms related to our website or company name(s) combined with the words coupon, coupons, coupon code, promo code, etc. and/or your conversion rate exceeds 25%, you may be offered a lower commission than our standard rate to offset the reduced profitability of orders.
COUPON ATTRIBUTION & AUTHENTICATION
Affiliates whose primary business is posting coupons, who are viewed by the program as being a coupon site, and/or who are tagged as a coupon affiliate in our system, may not be paid commissions for sales generated without a corresponding valid coupon code. Valid codes are defined as codes that are made available to the affiliate channel in general or privately to affiliates. Coupon codes that are not real, expired, not specific (i.e. 'up to 40% off') or are long-term, sitewide offers that do not require a code (i.e. '25% off our annual plans') may not be considered valid codes and the affiliate will not be given commission on these orders.
SUB-AFFILIATE NETWORKS
Promoting us through a sub-affiliate network is permitted, however you must be completely transparent with regards to where traffic from your sub-affiliates originated. Sub-affiliate networks must ensure that all sub-affiliates promoting the Program adhere to our terms and conditions. This includes restrictions on advertising through toolbars, browser extensions, and through any paid placements such as a pay-per-click campaigns. Sub-affiliate networks must also receive approval prior to allowing any type of coupon sub-affiliate to promote the Program.
Failure to comply with our sub-affiliate network terms may result in a loss and/or reduction of commission from sales made through any sub-affiliate that does not comply with our terms.
DOMAIN NAMES
Use of any of our trademarked terms as part of the domain or sub-domain for your website is strictly prohibited.
OK:
www.website.com/spotgamma
Not OK:
spotgamma.website.com
www.spotgamma-coupons.com
ADVERTISING & PUBLICITY
You shall not create, publish, distribute, or print any written material that makes reference to our Program without first submitting that material to us and receiving our prior written consent. If you intend to promote our Program via e-mail campaigns, you must adhere to the following:
Abide by the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Public Law No. 108-187) with respect to our Program.
E-mail must be sent on your behalf and must not imply that the e-mail is being sent on behalf of us.
E-mails must first be submitted to us for approval prior to being sent or we must be sent a copy of the e-mail.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Promotion on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms is permitted following these general guidelines:
You ARE allowed to promote offers to your own lists; more specifically, you're welcome to use your affiliate links on your own Facebook, Twitter, etc. pages. For example, You may post, '25% off sale on SpotGamma subscriptions through Wednesday with code SG25'.
You ARE PROHIBITED from posting your affiliate links on our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. accounts or company pages in an attempt to turn those links into affiliate sales.
You ARE PROHIBITED from running Facebook ads with our trademarked company name.
You ARE PROHIBITED from creating a social media account that includes our trademark/s in the page name and/or username.
OPERATIONS OUTSIDE UNITED STATES
If you are conducting business in other countries, you will follow the laws of those countries. For example, you will comply with the European Union's Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive, as well as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), if you are conducting business in one or more of the European Union countries.
AFFILIATES MUST COMPLY WITH OUR STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
With respect to promotional statements or other claims made on social media platforms and on other non-traditional media about SpotGamma and our products/services/brands (including but not limited to the Products), affiliates must adhere to the following principles:
Affiliates may only make statements that:
reflect their honest beliefs, opinions, or experiences; and
are transparent about their connection to SpotGamma.
Affiliates may not:
make deceptive or misleading claims to consumers about our products/services/brands, or our competitors’ products/services/brands;
make any claims about our products/services/brands, or our competitors’ products/services/brands, that are not backed up by evidence;
disclose any of our confidential information;
engage in any communication that is defamatory or infringes upon the intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights of others;offer for sale or solicit products on behalf of SpotGamma
make offensive comments that have the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating or hostile environment;
use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, or other offensive language; and
make any comments or post any content that in any way promotes unsafe activities that could lead to an unsafe situation involving SpotGamma’s consumers or other individuals.
Affiliates must also refrain from creating fake followers or engagement on social media platforms, such as:
Buying followers.
Using bots to grow audience size by automating account creation, following, commenting, and liking.
DISCLOSING A MATERIAL CONNECTION CLOSELY AND CONSPICUOUSLY
When posting about our products/services/brands, affiliates must disclose their material connection to SpotGamma clearly and conspicuously.
These Guidelines do not require specific language to disclose a material connection, but affiliates must communicate the material connection effectively so that consumers:
Can easily find it.
Can easily understand it.
Obtain sufficient information to make a judgment about the value of the endorsement.
To ensure a disclosure is clear and conspicuous, appropriate consideration should be given to the limitations and nature of the platform being used. Brand Ambassadors must:
Ensure the disclosure is:
well-placed so it can be easily noticed; and
prominent so it can be easily read.
Avoid burying the disclosure:
in a bio;
below the fold;
in a hyperlink, like a “Legal” or “Disclosure” button; or
among a series of hashtags, other disclosures, or general copy.
Superimpose a material connection disclosure on images, including on Snapchat and Instagram Stories. The disclosure should be:
easy to notice and read in the time that followers have to look at the image; and
well-contrasted against the image.
In video posts, including podcasts:
place the disclosure both within the video itself, and in the description of the video; and
display the disclosure long enough for a consumer to be able to read and understand it.
In Instagram posts, disclose a material connection before the “More” button.
For a live stream, repeat the disclosure as needed to ensure that consumers see it or keep it posted throughout the live stream.
If the posts are part of an online chat or tweets, or a similar thread, make the disclosure clearly in the first entry into the conversation thread, and then add to subsequent entries at regular intervals depending on the media and the length of the thread.
Disclose the material connection even when just tagging a Product in a photo.
For a television or radio talk show appearance, disclose the material connection verbally when promoting our Products.
FTC DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
Affiliates agree to comply with the FTC guidance on endorsements (which can be found on the FTC’s website), specifically:
Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (Endorsement Guides)
The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People are Asking.
The Do’s and Don’ts for Social Media Influencers.
Affiliates should be aware that:
followers may know about an Affiliate’s connection to SpotGamma;
an Affiliates’ opinions should be based on honest beliefs and experiences;
an Affiliate should refrain from making statements about our products/services/brands that are measurable; and
any comparisons must be based on actual, personal experiences with all products being compared – they should not extrapolate beyond personal experiences.
WHEN AN AFFILIATE FAILS TO COMPLY WITH THESE GUIDELINES
Affiliate agrees to immediately correct any failure to disclose a material connection or communication of any unsubstantiated claims by an Affiliate. Affiliate also agrees take the following steps:
If an agency or other third party manages or is otherwise involved with the Brand
Ambassador relationship, alert the third party to the issue.Determine whether a correction is needed, and how best to make it. If SpotGamma determines that a correction is required, Affiliate agrees to follow SpotGamma’s instructions concerning how to make the correction.
Affiliate agrees to promptly take these steps without any additional compensation.
SPOTGAMMA RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
We have the right to monitor your site at any time to determine if you are following the terms and conditions of this Agreement. We may notify you of any changes to your site that we feel should be made, or to make sure that your links to our web site are appropriate and to notify further you of any changes that we feel should be made. If you do not make the changes to your site that we feel are necessary, we reserve the right to terminate your participation in the Program.
We reserve the right to terminate this Agreement and your participation in the Program immediately and without notice to you should you commit fraud in your use of the Program or should you abuse this program in any way. If such fraud or abuse is detected, we shall not be liable to you for any commissions for such fraudulent sales.
This Agreement will begin upon our acceptance of your Affiliate application, and will continue unless terminated hereunder.
TERMINATION
Either you or we may end this Agreement AT ANY TIME, with or without cause, by utilizing the respective functionality of the affiliate platform. In addition, this Agreement will terminate immediately upon any breach of this Agreement by you.
Upon the termination of this Agreement for any reason, you will immediately cease use of, and remove from your site, all links to our website, and all of our trademarks, trade dress, and logos, and all other materials provided by or on behalf of us to you pursuant hereto or in connection with the Program.
You are eligible to earn commissions only on sales of qualifying products that occur during the term, and commissions earned through the date of termination will remain payable only if the related orders are not canceled or returned. We may withhold your final payment for a reasonable time to ensure that the correct amount is paid.
MODIFICATION
We may modify any of the terms and conditions in this Agreement at any time at our sole discretion. In such event, you will be notified by email. Modifications may include, but are not limited to, changes in the payment procedures and the Program rules. If any modification is unacceptable to you, your only option is to end this Agreement. Your continued participation in the Program following the posting of the change notice or new Agreement on our site will indicate your agreement to the changes.
OUR CUSTOMERS
Customers who subscribe to SpotGamma through this Program are our customers. All of our standard policies and operating procedures will apply to these customers. We may change our policies and operating procedures at any time. Subscription prices and availability may vary from time to time.
ORDER PROCESSING
Only subscriptions purchased by customers who use the Program Affiliate Link from your site to our website are considered 'direct sales'. Direct sales placed through the Program Affiliate Link on your site are reduced if they are cancelled by customers, returned, charged back or refunded at a later date.
We will be responsible for processing orders and will handle all customer service issues. We will track sales by customers who purchase products by using the Program Affiliate Link from your site to our website. A statement of activity is available to you on SpotGamma’s Affiliate interface.
ACCESS TO AFFILIATE ACCOUNT INTERFACE
You will create a password so that you may enter SpotGamma’s secure affiliate account interface. From this site you will be able to receive your reports that will describe our calculation of the commissions due to you.
TRANSACTION LOCK DATES
All sales will remain in a 'sales pending period' and will not lock until the terms set forth within the locking period parameters of our Program. All locked payments will be processed by SpotGamma after the (ir) lock date.
GRANT OF LICENSES
For the duration of this Agreement we grant to you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to (i) access our site through HTML links solely in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and (ii) solely in connection with such links, to use our logos, trade names, trademarks, and similar identifying material (collectively, the "Licensed Materials") that we provide to you or prior authorize for such purpose.
You are only entitled to use the Licensed Materials to the extent that you are a member in good standing of the Program. You agree that all uses of the Licensed Materials will be on behalf of the Program and the good will associated therewith will inure to the sole benefit of us.
Each party agrees not to use the other's proprietary materials in any manner that is disparaging, misleading, obscene or that otherwise portrays the party in a negative light. Each party reserves all of its respective rights in the proprietary materials covered by this license. Other than the license granted in this Agreement, each party retains all right, title, and interest to its respective rights and no right, title, or interest is transferred to the other.
Except for the limited license granted under this section, you do not obtain any rights under this Agreement in any intellectual property, including, without limitation, any intellectual property with respect to our Affiliate Link, link formats, technical specifications, guidelines or graphical artwork referenced above, or with respect to our domain names.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
You represent and warrant that:
This Agreement has been duly and validly executed and delivered by you and constitutes your legal, valid, and binding obligation, enforceable against you in accordance with its terms;
You have the full right, power, and authority to enter into and be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement and to perform your obligations under this Agreement, without the approval or consent of any other party;
You have sufficient right, title, and interest in and to the rights granted to us in this Agreement.
DISCLAIMER
SPOTGAMMA MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDING OUR PROGRAM, SERVICE AND WEB SITE OR THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PROVIDED THEREIN, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF OUR ABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED AND EXCLUDED. IN ADDITION, WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION THAT THE OPERATION OF OUR SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, AND WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY INTERRUPTIONS OR ERRORS.
LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU WITH RESPECT TO ANY SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF REVENUE OR GOODWILL OR ANTICIPATED PROFITS OR LOST BUSINESS), EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. FURTHER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT, IN NO EVENT SHALL SPOTGAMMA CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, TORT OR OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY, EXCEED THE TOTAL COMMISSION FEES PAID TO YOU UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.
INDEMNIFICATION
You hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless SpotGamma, and its subsidiaries and affiliates, and their directors, officers, employees, agents, shareholders, partners, members, and other owners, against any and all claims, actions, demands, liabilities, losses, damages, judgments, settlements, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) (any or all of the foregoing hereinafter referred to as "Losses") insofar as such Losses (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based on (i) any claim that our use of the affiliate trademarks infringes on any trademark, trade name, service mark, copyright, license, intellectual property, or other proprietary right of any third party, (ii) any misrepresentation of a representation or warranty or breach of a covenant and agreement made by you herein, or (iii) any claim related to your site, including, without limitation, content therein not attributable to us.
CONFIDENTIALITY
All confidential information, including, but not limited to, any business, technical, financial, and customer information, disclosed by one party to the other during negotiation or the effective term of this Agreement which is marked "Confidential," will remain the sole property of the disclosing party, and each party will keep in confidence and not use or disclose such proprietary information of the other party without express written permission of the disclosing party.
MISCELLANEOUS
You agree that you are an independent contractor, and nothing in this Agreement will create any partnership, joint venture, agency, franchise, sales representative, or employment relationship between you and us. You will have no authority to make or accept any offers or representations on our behalf. You will not make any statement, whether on Your Site or any other of Your Site or otherwise, that reasonably would contradict anything in this Section.
Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement to any party, except to a party who obtains all or substantially all of the business or assets of a third party.
This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of Connecticut without regard to the conflicts of laws and principles thereof.
You may not amend or waive any provision of this Agreement unless in writing and signed by both parties.
This Agreement represents the entire agreement between us and you, and shall supersede all prior agreements and communications of the parties, oral or written.
The headings and titles contained in this Agreement are included for convenience only, and shall not limit or otherwise affect the terms of this Agreement.
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent necessary such that the intent of the parties is effectuated, and the remainder of this agreement shall have full force and effect.
Our failure to enforce your strict performance of any provision of this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of our right to subsequently enforce such provision or any other provision of this Agreement.
INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREE TO ALL ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WE MAY AT ANY TIME ADMIT OTHERS INTO THE PROGRAM ON TERMS THAT MAY DIFFER FROM THOSE CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT. YOU HAVE INDEPENDENTLY EVALUATED THE DESIRABILITY OF PARTICIPATING IN THE PROGRAM AND ARE NOT RELYING ON ANY REPRESENTATION, GUARANTEE, OR STATEMENT OTHER THAN AS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT.
