INTERNET SITE NOTICE/TERMS OF USE FORM

Central Garden & Pet Company, along with its subsidiaries, divisions, affiliated and/or related companies (“Central”) maintains this site (the “Site”). While we encourage you to submit information regarding your possible business plans and ideas, we do not expect you to share proprietary information, nor can we accept responsibility for the protection of any such information or materials submitted by you on this Site. Any information or materials you submit on this Site may be used or evaluated by Central for any purpose and in any matter, in Central’s sole discretion. Submission of materials on this Site does not constitute any type of express or implied agreement between you and Central regarding the use of such materials or any other matter.

The Site and its contents are designed to comply with U.S. laws and regulations. Although accessible by others, it and its content are intended for access and use by U.S. residents only.

This Site contains information concerning Central and Central’s products that may be useful to Central’s customers as well as the general public. In particular, Central makes no representation or warranties as to the accuracy of any information contained herein and expressly disclaims any obligation to update said information. Central further assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content of this Site.

Through your access to and use of the Site, you accept, without limitation or qualification, the terms and conditions (“Terms and Conditions”) set forth below.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. You may freely browse the Site. You may freely download material therefrom. Any and all downloaded materials may be used by you for personal, noncommercial use. You may not, however, distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, repost or use any of such materials for public or commercial purposes, without the express written permission of Central. All copyright and other proprietary notices contained in downloaded materials must be retained.
2. You should assume that all contents of the Site are copyrighted unless otherwise noted and may not be used except as provided herein and without the express written permission of Central.
3. Images of people or places displayed on the Site are the property of Central. The use of these images by you is prohibited unless specifically permitted by these Terms and Conditions or by specific permission provided elsewhere on the Site. Unauthorized use of the images may violate copyright, trademark, privacy and/or publicity laws as well as communications regulations and statutes.
4. Your use of the Site is at your own risk. Neither Central nor any other party involved in creating, producing or delivering the Site is liable for any direct, incidental, consequential, indirect or punitive damages arising out of your access to, or use of, the Site or any of the services referenced therein. This includes damages to your computer equipment, including any viruses. Without limiting the foregoing, everything on the Site is provided to you “AS IS” without warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Please note that some jurisdictions may not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you. Check your local laws for any restrictions or limitations regarding the exclusion of implied warranties.
5. Any communication or material that you transmit to, or post on, the Site by electronic mail or otherwise, including any data, questions, comments, suggestions or the like, is, and will be treated as, nonconfidential and nonproprietary information. Central may use such communication or material for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, reproduction, disclosure, transmission, publication, broadcast and further posting. Further, Central is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in any communication or material you send to the Site for any purpose whatsoever, including, but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products.
6. All contents of this Site are: © Copyright Central Garden & Pet Company. All Rights Reserved. This Site is for the User’s personal, noncommercial use. User may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information, software, products or services obtained from this Site. Nothing herein is to be taken as permission, inducement, or recommendation to practice any patented invention without a license. Unless otherwise specified, all materials appearing on this Site, including the text, site design, logos, trademarks, trade dress, graphics, icons, and images, as well as the selection, assembly and arrange thereof are the sole property of Central. All audio and video clips are the sole property of Central or its respective content providers. All software used on the site is the sole property of Central or those supplying the software. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. Any unauthorized use of the materials appearing on this site may violate copyright, trademark and other applicable laws and could result in criminal or civil penalties. The information, software, products and services published on this Site may include inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. Central may make improvements and/or changes in this Site at any time.
7. Central has not reviewed all of the sites that may be linked to the Site and is not responsible for the content of any off-Site pages or any other sites linked to the Site. Your linking to any other off-Site pages or other sites is at your own risk.
8. Although Central may, from time to time, monitor or review the discussions, chats, postings, transmissions, bulletin boards and the like on the Site, Central is under no obligation to do so, and Central assumes no responsibility or liability arising from the content of the Site nor for any error, defamation, libel, slander, omission, falsehood, obscenity, pornography, profanity, danger or inaccuracy contained in any information within the Site.
9. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, inflammatory, pornographic or profane material or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or would otherwise violate the law. Central will fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing Central to disclose the identity of anyone posting any such information or materials.
10. Central reserves the right to alter or delete material from the Site at any time.
11. Central may, at any time, revise these Terms and Conditions by updating this posting. You are bound by any such revisions and should, therefore, periodically visit this page to review the then current Terms and Conditions.

Arbitration

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. YOU AGREE THAT WE ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW IF YOU WISH TO OPT OUT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS.

You and us agree to resolve any claim, dispute, action, cause of action, issue, or request for relief arising out of or relating to the Site or otherwise arising between you and Central and each of our and their directors, officers, employees, and contractors exclusively by binding arbitration. Further, you agree arbitration is final and binding, and subject to only very limited review by a court. You also waive your right to any form of appeal, review or recourse to any court or other judicial authority, to the fullest extent allowed by law.

PRESENT CLAIM PLUS FACTUAL CLAIM TO YOUR DISPUTE; AFTER ADEQUATELY PRESENT THE CLAIM – THEN 60 DAYS

You must first contact Central to present any factual claim or dispute, to allow Central an opportunity to resolve the dispute. You may request arbitration if your factual claim or dispute cannot be resolved within sixty (60) days after presenting the factual claim or dispute to Central. Central may request arbitration against you at any time after it has notified you of a claim or dispute. The arbitration of any dispute or claim shall be conducted in accordance with the then current and applicable rules of the American Arbitration Association as modified by these Conditions of Use. The place of any arbitration shall be exclusively Contra Costa County, California, and shall be conducted in the English language; provided, however, you may request that any or all proceedings within the arbitration be conducted by phone or written submission.

Claims will be heard by a single arbitrator. The arbitrator may not award relief in excess of or contrary to what this agreement provides, order consolidation or arbitration on a class wide or representative basis, award damages other than the prevailing party’s actual damages, or order injunctive or declaratory relief; except that the arbitrator may award on an individual basis damages required by statute and may order injunctive or declaratory relief pursuant to an applicable consumer protection statute. The arbitrator may allow reasonable discovery but such discovery shall bear a reasonable relationship to the amount in controversy.

Any arbitration shall be confidential, and neither you, nor Central nor the arbitrator may disclose the existence, content or results of any arbitration, except as may be required by law or for purposes of enforcement or appeal of the arbitration award. If any portion of this arbitration clause is determined by a court to be inapplicable or invalid, then the remainder shall still be given full force and effect.

Central shall pay all administrative filing fees for any arbitration that we initiate. All other administration filing fees will be divided between you and Central according to the then-current applicable rules of the American Arbitration Association. Each party will bear the expense of its own counsel, experts, witnesses and preparation and presentation of evidence at the arbitration hearing. Central shall not seek to recover attorneys’ fees from you for any claims filed in arbitration that are not frivolous.

If you do not wish to be bound by arbitration, you must notify Central in writing by certified United States mail within thirty (30) days of the date that you first access the Site and include: (i) your name, (ii) your account number or user name, if any, (iii) your mailing address, and (iv) a statement that you do not wish to resolve disputes with us through arbitration. You must send your notice in care of Central Garden & Pet Company, 1340 Treat Blvd, Suite 600, Walnut Creek, CA 94597-7578, Attn: General Counsel. If you do not notify us within the time and method provided, you agree to be bound by the arbitration provisions of these Terms of Use

The requirement of arbitration does not apply to actions for injunctive or other equitable relief to protect confidential information and intellectual property rights or to prevent loss of data or damage to the Site or to Central’s servers in any court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any ajudication for damages must be provided above.

Limitation on Time to File Claims

You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising between you and us including those that arise out of or are related to use of the Site must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

Waiver and Severability

No waiver by Central of any term or condition set out in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of Central to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect.