Master Product and Services Agreement

Master Services and Product Agreement

These Terms and Conditions constitute a binding contract between Customer and My Virtual Bench, LLC (Seller) and are referred to herein as either "Terms and Conditions" or this "Agreement". Customer accepts these Terms and Conditions by making a purchase from or placing an order with Seller or otherwise requesting products (the "Products") or engaging Seller to perform or procure any Services. These Terms and Conditions are subject to change without prior notice.

This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the parties with respect to the matters contained herein and supersedes and replaces in its entirety any and all prior communications and contemporaneous agreements and understandings, whether oral, written, electronic or implied, if any, between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. Customer may issue a purchase order for administrative purposes only. Additional or different terms and conditions contained in any such purchase order will be null and void unless expressly agreed to by Seller in writing. 

GOVERNING LAW

THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, ANY STATEMENTS OF WORK, THE SERVICES HEREUNDER AND ANY SALE OF PRODUCTS HEREUNDER WILL BE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, WITHOUT REGARD TO CONFLICTS OF LAWS RULES. Except in the case of nonpayment, neither party may institute any action in any form arising out of these Terms and Conditions more than one (1) year after the cause of action has arisen. The rights and remedies provided Seller under these Terms and Conditions are cumulative, are in addition to, and do not limit or prejudice any other right or remedy available at law or in equity.

SERVICES

Customers may order services (collectively, "Services") from or through Seller from time to time. These may be categorized as (1) Seller Delivered Services utilizing Seller resources, subcontracted firms or independent contractors under Seller direction or (2) Third Party Service providers offering services including, but not limited to, managed services, subscription service contracts, “XaaS” contracts of various sorts, or extended warranty service by manufacturers, and are sold by Seller as distributor or sales agent.

In the case of Seller Delivered Services, details of the services to be delivered and associated fees will be presented in the form of a simple quote or a Statement of Work. Where Services are ordered in a Statement of Work, each Statement of Work hereby incorporates these Terms and Conditions and constitutes a separate agreement with respect to the Services performed. In the event of an addition to or a conflict between any term or condition of the Statement of Work and these Terms and Conditions, these Terms and Conditions will control, except as expressly amended in the applicable Statement of Work by specific reference to this Agreement. Each such amendment will be applicable only with respect to such Statement of Work and not to future Statements of Work. Changes to the scope of the Services described in a Statement of Work will be made only in a writing executed by authorized representatives of both parties. Seller will have no obligation to commence work in connection with any such change, unless and until the change is agreed upon in that writing executed by both parties. All such changes to the scope of the Services will be governed by these Terms and Conditions and the applicable Statement of Work. Each Statement of Work may be signed in separate counterparts each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which together will be deemed to be one original.

In the case of Third Party Services, Customer shall consider the third party to be the contracting party and the third party shall be the party responsible for providing the services to the Customer and Customer will look solely to the third party for any loss, claims or damages arising from or related to the provision of such Third Party Services. Customer and Customer’s Affiliates hereby release Seller from any and all claims arising from or relating to the purchase or provision of any such Third Parties Services. Any amounts, including, but not limited to, taxes, associated with Third Party Services which may be collected by Seller will be collected solely in the capacity as an independent sales agent. 

Cooperation

In addition to any specific Customer duties set forth in any applicable Statement of Work, Customer agrees to cooperate with Seller in connection with performance of the Services by providing: (i) timely responses to Seller's inquiries and requests for approvals and authorizations, (ii) access to any information or materials reasonably requested by Seller which are necessary or useful as determined by Seller in connection with providing the Services, including, but not limited to, physical and computer access to Customer's computer systems, and (iii) all Required Consents necessary for Seller to provide the Services. "Required Consents" means consents or approvals required to give Seller and their subcontractors the right or license to access, use and modify all data and third party products. Customer acknowledges and agrees that the Services are dependent upon the completeness and accuracy of information provided by Customer and the knowledge and cooperation of the agents, employees or subcontractors ("Personnel") engaged or appointed by Customer who are selected by Customer to work with Seller.

Seller will follow all reasonable Customer security rules and procedures, as communicated in writing by Customer to Seller. In general, Customer will provide access to Customer systems via a Customer provided laptop, or Virtual Desktop instance, either of which is protected by Customer’s IT Security policies, personnel and capabilities.

Upon the execution of an SOW by Customer and Seller, a start date will be mutually agreed to by both parties. Services are expected to commence on, and continue from, that date. If Customer wishes to reschedule Services from any date(s) set forth in the executed SOW, Customer must provide Seller with written notice thereof no less than five (5) business days before the originally scheduled date(s). If Customer reschedules Services with less than five (5) business days of notice, Seller reserves the right to invoice for service hours equal to half the amount of time cancelled. Likewise, if there are any project delays due to factors out of Seller’s control, Seller reserves the right to request a change order to add funding to cover such delays.

Location and Access

Seller may perform the Services at Customer's place of business, at Seller's own facilities or such other locations as Seller and Customer deem appropriate. When the Services are performed at Customer's premises, Seller will attempt to perform such Services within Customer's normal business hours unless otherwise jointly agreed to by the parties. Customer will also provide Seller access to Customer's staff and any other Customer resources (and when the Services are provided at another location designated by Customer, the staff and resources at such location) that Seller determines are useful or necessary for Seller to provide the Services. When the Services are provided on Customer's premises or at another location designated by Customer, Customer agrees to maintain adequate insurance coverage to protect Seller and Customer's premises and to indemnify and hold Seller and their agents and employees harmless from any loss, cost, damage or expense (including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees and expenses) arising out of any product liability, death, personal injury or property damage or destruction occurring at such location in connection with the performance of the Services, other than solely as a result of Seller's gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Limited License

Customer's sole rights to the work product, materials and other deliverables to be provided or created (individually or jointly) in connection with the Services, including but not limited to, all inventions, discoveries, methods, processes, formulae, ideas, concepts, techniques, know-how, data, designs, models, prototypes, works of authorship, computer programs, proprietary tools, methods of analysis and other information (whether or not capable of protection by patent, copyright, trade secret, confidentiality, or other proprietary rights) or discovered in the course of performance of this Agreement that are embodied in such work or materials ("Work Product") will be, upon payment in full, a non-transferable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use such Work Products solely for Customer's internal use. Customer will have no ownership or other property rights thereto and Customer shall have no right to use any such Work Product for any other purpose whatsoever. Customer acknowledges that Sellers may incorporate intellectual property created by third parties into the Work Product ("Third Party Intellectual Property"). Customer agrees that its right to use the Work Product containing Third Party Intellectual Property may be subject to the rights of third parties and limited by agreements with such third parties.

Completion Criteria

Each Quote or SOW will detail the completion criteria for each billable event. In the case of hourly T&M contracts, completion will default to the number of hours and any associated expenses expended in the course of delivering the SOW. In the case of fixed fee or milestone based contracts, the billing table will define completion criteria. Unless otherwise specified in the SOW, Customer shall have 5 business days to review and accept the completion criteria after Seller provides notice that the criteria have been met. If Customer wished to dispute the completion, a notice must be sent in writing to the Seller project manager within 5 days. If no notice is sent within 5 days, the completion criteria are considered met and Seller is authorized to invoice for the pertinent services.

Services Warranty

Seller warrants that the Services will be performed in a good and workmanlike manner. Customer's sole and exclusive remedy and Seller's entire liability with respect to this warranty will be, at the sole option of Seller, to either (a) use its reasonable commercial efforts to reperform or cause to be reperformed any Services not in substantial compliance with this warranty or (b) refund amounts paid by Customer related to the portion of the Services not in substantial compliance; provided, in each case, Customer notifies Seller in writing within five (5) business days after performance of the applicable Services. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH HEREIN OR IN ANY STATEMENT OF WORK THAT EXPRESSLY AMENDS SELLER'S WARRANTY, AND SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAW, SELLER MAKES NO OTHER, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER, REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR COVENANTS, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, DURABILITY, TITLE, ACCURACY OR NON-INFRINGEMENT) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE PERFORMANCE OR NON-PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY RELATING TO THIRD PARTY SERVICES, ANY WARRANTY WITH RESPECT TO THE PERFORMANCE OF ANY HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE USED IN PERFORMING SERVICES AND ANY WARRANTY CONCERNING THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICES. THIS DISCLAIMER AND EXCLUSION SHALL APPLY EVEN IF THE EXPRESS WARRANTY AND LIMITED REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. CUSTOMER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE OF SELLERIS AUTHORIZED TO MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY ON BEHALF OF SELLER THAT IS NOT IN THIS AGREEMENT OR IN A STATEMENT OF WORK EXPRESSLY AMENDING SELLER'S WARRANTY.

PRODUCT SALES

Customer from time to time may elect to acquire Products from Seller.  Products may include physical goods, software, subscription based software or services, and other items provided by third party vendors. Such sales will be made contingent to agreements provided by the suppliers of those products which Seller passes on to Customer. Any return privileges are expressly limited to the policies of the Product manufacturer. If any Products are damaged during shipment, Customer must notify Seller in writing within 5 business days. Shipping and handling charges will be added to Product invoices based on actual freight charges plus any handling costs. If Customer provides Seller with Customer’s carrier account number or selects a carrier other than a carrier that regularly ships for Seller, title to Products and risk of loss or damage during shipment pass from Seller to Customer upon delivery to the carrier (F.O.B. Origin, freight collect). For all other shipments, title to Products and risk of loss or damage during shipment pass from Seller to Customer upon delivery to the specified destination (F.O.B. Destination, freight prepaid and added). Notwithstanding the foregoing, title to software will remain with the applicable licensor(s), and Customer's rights therein are contained in the license agreement between such licensor(s) and Customer. 

If any transaction involves an export of items (including, but not limited to, commodities, software or technology) subject to the Export Administration Regulations, such items were exported from the United States by Seller in accordance with the Export Administration Regulations. Customer agrees that it will not divert, use, export or re-export such items contrary to United States law. Customer expressly acknowledges and agrees that it will not export, re-export, or provide such items to any entity or person within any country that is subject to United States economic sanctions imposing comprehensive embargoes without obtaining prior authorization from the United States Government. Customer also expressly acknowledges and agrees that it will not export, re-export, or provide such items to entities and persons that are ineligible under United States law to receive such items, including but not limited to, any person or entity on the United States Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or on the United States Commerce Department’s Denied Persons List, Entity List, or Unverified List. In addition, manufacturers' warranties for exported Products may vary or may be null and void for Products exported outside the United States. 

Product Warranty

Customer understands that Seller is not the manufacturer of the Products purchased by Customer hereunder and the only warranties offered are those of the manufacturer, not Seller. In purchasing the Products, Customer is relying on the manufacturer’s specifications only and is not relying on any statements, specifications, photographs or other illustrations representing the Products that may be provided by Seller. SELLER HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, RELATED TO PRODUCTS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTY OF TITLE, ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WARRANTY OF NONINFRINGEMENT, OR ANY WARRANTY RELATING TO THIRD PARTY SERVICES. THE DISCLAIMER CONTAINED IN THIS PARAGRAPH DOES NOT AFFECT THE TERMS OF ANY MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY. Customer expressly waives any claim that it may have against Seller based on any product liability or infringement or alleged infringement of any patent, copyright, trade secret or other intellectual property rights (each a "Claim") with respect to any Product and also waives any right to indemnification from Seller against any such Claim made against Customer by a third party. Customer acknowledges that no employee of Seller is authorized to make any representation or warranty on behalf of Seller that is not in this Agreement.

Seller makes no warranties to the Customer and the Customer hereby acknowledges that Seller makes no warranties in regard to the applicability of all laws and regulations affecting, without limitation the manufacture, performance, sale, packaging and labeling of the Products which are in force within the Customer’s territory.

Seller will not be responsible for and no liability shall result to Seller for any delays in delivery or in performance which result from any circumstances beyond Seller’s reasonable control, including, but not limited to, Product unavailability, carrier delays, delays due to fire, severe weather conditions, failure of power, labor problems, acts of war, terrorism, embargo, acts of God or acts or laws of any government or agency. Any shipping dates or completion dates provided by Seller or any purported deadlines contained in a Statement of Work or any other document are estimates only.

PAYMENT TERMS

When Seller believes they have fulfilled the conditions for invoicing Services or Products, an Invoice will be generated and sent to the Customer. Invoices are due and payable within 15 days (Net15), measured from the date of invoice, subject to continuing credit approval by Seller. Seller may invoice Customer separately for partial Product shipments. Customer agrees to pay interest on all past-due sums at the lower of one percent (1.0%) per month or the highest rate allowed by law. Customer will pay for, and will indemnify and hold Seller harmless from, any applicable sales, use, transaction, excise or similar taxes and any federal, state or local fees or charges (including, but not limited to, environmental or similar fees), imposed on, in respect of or otherwise associated with any Statement of Work, the Products or the Services. Customer must claim any exemption from such taxes, fees or charges at the time of purchase and provide Seller with the necessary supporting documentation. In the event of a payment default, Customer will be responsible for all of Seller’s costs of collection, including, but not limited to, court costs, filing fees and attorneys’ fees. In addition, if payments are not received as described above, Seller reserves the right to suspend Services until payment is received. Customer hereby grants to Seller a security interest in the Products to secure payment in full. Customer authorizes Seller to file a financing statement reflecting such security interest. 

NON-SOLICITATION

Customer will not solicit and/or offer employment to, nor accept for employment any Seller personnel, including sub-contractors, who are directly associated with the work under this Agreement for a period beginning with the Effective Date and continuing for twenty-four (24) months subsequent to the termination of the Agreement inclusive of any extension thereof; provided, however, that the foregoing restriction shall not apply to solicitations directed at the public in general or persons retained as a result of such solicitation. 

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN, WILL SELLER OR THEIR SUPPLIERS, SUBCONTRACTORS OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR: (A) ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS, REVENUES OR SAVINGS, EVEN IF SELLER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF SUCH DAMAGES OR IF SUCH DAMAGES ARE OTHERWISE FORESEEABLE, IN EACH CASE, WHETHER A CLAIM FOR ANY SUCH LIABILITY IS PREMISED UPON BREACH OF CONTRACT, WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY OF LIABILITY; (B) ANY CLAIMS, DEMANDS OR ACTIONS AGAINST CUSTOMER BY ANY THIRD PARTY; (C) ANY LOSS OR CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH CUSTOMER'S IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY CONCLUSIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS BY SELLER BASED ON, RESULTING FROM, ARISING OUT OF OR OTHERWISE RELATED TO THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES; OR (D) ANY UNAVAILABILITY OF THE PRODUCT FOR USE OR ANY LOST, DAMAGED OR CORRUPTED DATA OR SOFTWARE. IN THE EVENT OF ANY LIABILITY INCURRED BY SELLER, THE ENTIRE LIABILITY OF SELLERFOR DAMAGES FROM ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER WILL NOT EXCEED THE DOLLAR AMOUNT PAID BY CUSTOMER FOR THE PRODUCT(S) GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM OR THE SPECIFIC SERVICES GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Each party anticipates that it may be necessary to provide access to information of a confidential nature of such party, the Affiliates or a third party (hereinafter referred to as "Confidential Information") to the other party in the performance of this Agreement and any Statement of Work. "Confidential Information" means any information or data in oral, electronic or written form which the receiving party knows or has reason to know is proprietary or confidential and which is disclosed by a party in connection with this Agreement or which the receiving party may have access to in connection with this Agreement, including but not limited to the terms and conditions of each Statement of Work. Confidential Information will not include information which: (a) becomes known to the public through no act of the receiving party; (b) was known to the receiving party, or becomes known to the receiving party from a third party having the right to disclose it and having no obligation of confidentiality to the disclosing party with respect to the applicable information; or (c) is independently developed by agents, employees or subcontractors of the receiving party who have not had access to such information. To the extent practicable, Confidential Information should be clearly identified or labeled as such by the disclosing party at the time of disclosure or as promptly thereafter as possible, however, failure to so identify or label such Confidential Information will not be evidence that such information is not confidential or protectable.

Each party agrees to hold the other party's Confidential Information confidential for a period of three (3) years following the date of disclosure and to do so in a manner at least as protective as it holds its own Confidential Information of like kind but to use no less than a reasonable degree of care. Disclosures of the other party's Confidential Information will be restricted (i) to those individuals who are participating in the performance of this Agreement or the applicable Statement of Work and need to know such Confidential Information for purposes of providing or receiving the Products or Services or otherwise in connection with this Agreement or the applicable Statement of Work, or (ii) to its business, legal and financial advisors, each on a confidential basis. Each party agrees not to use any Confidential Information of the other party for any purpose other than the business purposes contemplated by this Agreement and the applicable Statement of Work. Upon the written request of a party, the other party will either return or certify the destruction of the Confidential Information of the other party.

If a receiving party is required by law, rule or regulation, or requested in any judicial or administrative proceeding or by any governmental or regulatory authority, to disclose Confidential Information of the other party, the receiving party will give the disclosing party prompt notice of such request so that the disclosing party may seek an appropriate protective order or similar protective measure and will use reasonable efforts to obtain confidential treatment of the Confidential Information so disclosed.

TERMINATION

This Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date and, unless terminated, continue for a period of twelve (12) months (the “Term”). The Agreement shall automatically renew for additional twelve month terms, unless either party gives written notice to the other at least thirty (30) days prior to the end of term. Either party may terminate this Agreement for convenience with a 30 day written notice to the other party.

Either party may terminate performance of a Service or a Statement of Work for cause if the other party fails to cure a material default in the time period specified herein. Any material default must be specifically identified in a written notice of termination. After written notice, the notified party will, subject to the provision of warranties herein, have thirty (30) days to remedy its performance except that it will only have ten (10) days to remedy any monetary default. Failure to remedy any material default within the applicable time period provided for herein will give cause for immediate termination, unless such default is incapable of being cured within the time period in which case the defaulting party will not be in breach (except for Customer’s payment obligations) if it used its reasonable efforts to cure the default. In the event of any termination of the Services or a Statement of Work, Customer will pay Seller for all Services performed and expenses incurred up to and including the date of termination plus any termination fee if one is set forth in the applicable Statement of Work. In such event Customer will also pay Seller for any out-of-pocket demobilization or other direct costs resulting from termination. Upon termination, all rights and obligations of the parties under this Agreement will automatically terminate except for any right of action occurring prior to termination, payment obligations and obligations that expressly or by implication are intended to survive termination (including, but not limited to, limitation of liability, indemnity, confidentiality, or licensing of Work Product and this survival provision).

MISCELLANEOUS

Seller may assign or subcontract all or any portion of its rights or obligations with respect to the sale of Products or the performance of Services or assign the right to receive payments, without Customer's consent. Customer may not assign these Terms and Conditions, or any of its rights or obligations herein without the prior written consent of Seller. Subject to the restrictions in assignment contained herein, these Terms and Conditions will be binding on and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their successors and assigns. No provision of this Agreement or any Statement of Work will be deemed waived, amended or modified by either party unless such waiver, amendment or modification is in writing and signed by both parties. The relationship between Seller and Customer is that of independent contractors and not that of employer/employee, partnership or joint venture. If any term or condition of this Agreement or a Statement of Work is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or otherwise unenforceable, the same shall not affect the other terms or conditions hereof or thereof or the whole of this Agreement or the applicable Statement of Work. Notices provided under this Agreement will be given in writing and deemed received upon the earlier of actual receipt or three (3) days after mailing if mailed postage prepaid by regular mail or airmail or one (1) day after such notice is sent by courier or facsimile transmission. Any delay or failure by either party to exercise any right or remedy will not constitute a waiver of that party to thereafter enforce such rights.