Exclusive Sales Agency Agreement
This Exclusive Sales Agency Agreement, hereinafter called the Agreement, is made on
the ________ day of ________ , 20 ________ , between _____________________
(Name of Representative) of _________________________________________ (street
address, city, county, state, zip code) , referred to herein as the Representative, and
_____________________ (Name of Company) , a corporation organized and existing
under the laws of the state of _____________________ (name of state) , with its
principal office located at _________________________________________ (street
address, city, county, state, zip code) , referred to herein as the Company.
I. Definitions.
A. Products initially shall mean those products listed in Exhibit A attached
hereto and any such additional products that Company may manufacture or sell.
Products may be changed, discontinued, or added by mutual agreement of the
Parties. Representative shall have the right of first refusal to represent any
additional product, including Product upgrades and modifications, represented,
sold, or marketed by Company.
B. Territory means the geographic areas listed on Exhibit B attached
hereto.
II. Appointment and Authority of Representative.
A. Exclusive Sales Representative. Subject to the terms and conditions
herein, Company appoints Representative as Company’s exclusive sales
representative for the Products in the Territory, and Representative accepts such
appointment.
B. Independent Contractors. The relationship of Company and
Representative established by this Agreement is that of independent contractor,
and nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to (i) give either
party the power to direct and control the day-today activities of the other, or (ii)
constitute the parties as partners, joint venturers, co-owners or otherwise as
participants in a joint undertaking, or (iii) allow Representative to create or
assume any obligation on behalf of Company for any purpose whatsoever. All
financial and other obligations associated with Representative’s business are the
sole responsibility of Representative, Representative shall be responsible for,
and shall indemnify and hold Company free and harmless from, any and all
claims, damages or lawsuits (including Company’s attorneys’ fees) arising solely
out of the acts or Representative, its employees or its agents.
III. Commission.
A. Sole Compensation. Representative’s sole compensation under the
terms of this Agreement shall be a commission (Commission) as provided in
Exhibit C hereof on the net sales of all Products ordered, delivered or sold in the
Territory.
B. Basis of Commission. The Commission shall apply to all orders to
the Territory, whether or not such orders were solicited by Representative.
Commissions shall be computed on the net sales amount invoiced by Company
to the customer, provided no commission shall be paid with respect to charges
for handling, freight, taxes, C.O.D. charges, insurance, tariffs and duties, cash
and trade discounts, rebates, amounts allowed or credited for returns,
uncollected or uncollectible amounts, services, and the like.
C. Payment. Commissions shall be paid in United States dollars and shall be
subject to all applicable governmental laws, regulations and rulings, including the
withholding of taxes.
D. Time of Payment. The Commission for a given order shall be earned by
Representative when that order is placed. The Commission on a given order
shall be due and payable thirty (30) days after the end of the calendar month in
which Company invoices and ships that order.
E. Commission Charge-Back. Company shall have the right, while this
Agreement is in effect, to write off as bad debts such overdue customer accounts
as it deems advisable after notifying Representative and providing
Representative the opportunity to attempt to induce payment. In each such case,
Company may charge back to Representative’s account only any amounts
previously paid to Representative. If such accounts are paid at any time,
Representative shall be entitled to the applicable commissions.
F. Monthly Statements. Company shall submit to Representative monthly
statements of the commissions due and payable to Representative under the
terms of this Agreement, with reference to the specific orders on invoices on
which the commissions are being paid.
G. Inspection of Records . Representative shall have the right, at its own
expense and not more than once in any twelve (12) month period, to authorize
Representative’s independent auditors to inspect, at reasonable times during
Company’s ordinary business hours, Company’s relevant accounting records to
verify the accuracy of Commissions paid by Company hereunder.
IV. Sale of the Products.
A. Prices and Terms of Sale. Company shall provide Representative with
copies of its current price lists, its delivery schedules, and its standard terms and
conditions of sale, as established from time to time. Representative shall quote to
customers only those authorized prices, delivery schedules, and terms and
conditions, and shall have no authority to quote or offer any discount to such
prices or change any such terms and conditions, without the consent of
Company. Company may change the prices, delivery schedules, and terms and
conditions, provided that it gives Representative at least thirty (30) days prior
written notice of any changes; however, such changes shall not affect any
existing contacts or pricing agreements. Each order for a Product shall be
governed by the prices, delivery schedules, and terms and conditions in effect at
the time the order is accepted, and all quotations by Representative shall contain
a statement to that effect.
B. Quotations. The parties shall furnish to each other copies of all
quotations submitted to customers.
C. Orders. All orders for the Products shall be in writing, and the original
shall be submitted to Company. Company shall promptly furnish to
Representative informational copies of all commissionable orders sent by
customers in the Territory.
D. Acceptance. All orders obtained by Representative shall be subject to
acceptance by Company at its principal office currently located at the address
listed for Company at the beginning of this Agreement, and all quotations by
Representative shall contain a statement to that effect. Representative shall have
no authority to make any acceptance or delivery commitments to customers.
Company specifically reserves the right to reject any order or any part thereof for
any reasonable reason. Company shall send copies to Representative of any
written acceptances on commissionable orders.
E. Credit Approval. Company shall have the sole right of credit approval or
credit refusal for its customers in all cases.
F. Collection. It is expressly understood by Representative that full
responsibility for all collection rests with Company, provided, at Company’s
request, Representative will provide reasonable assistance in collection of any
accounts receivable. In the event that Representative, with the approval of
Company, purchases Products from Company and resells said Products to its
own customers, Representative shall have the sole right of credit approval or
credit refusal for its own customers and full responsibility for all collection for
such customers rests with Representative.
G. Inquiries from Outside the Territory. Representative shall promptly
submit to Company, for Company’s attention and handling, the originals of all
inquiries received by Representative from customers outside the Territory. 4.8
Product Availability. Company shall not be responsible to Representative or any
other party for its failure to fill accepted orders, or for its delay in filling accepted
orders, when such failure or delay is due to a cause beyond Company’s
reasonable control.
V. Additional Obligations of Representative.
A. Annual Quota Commitment. Within 30 days of the Effective Date and
within thirty days before the start of each subsequent calendar year, Company
may assign to Representative an annual quota. Any annual quota must be fair
and reasonable, taking into account factors including but not limited to sales in
prior years, the competitive and economic situation in the Territory and
marketplace, and Company’s market share nationally and in the Territory.
B. Promotion of the Products. Representative shall, at its own expense,
promote the sale of the Products in the Territory. Representative may hire or
contract with sales representatives or service personnel to promote the Products
and perform the duties hereunder.
C. Facilities. Representative shall provide itself with, and be solely
responsible for, (i) such facilities, employees, and business organization, and (ii)
such permits, licenses, and other forms of clearance from governmental or
regulatory agencies, if any, as it deems necessary for the conduct of its business
operations in accordance with this Agreement.
D. Customer and Sales Reporting. Representative shall, at its own
expense, and in a manner consistent with the sales policies of Company: (a)
attend a reasonable number of trade shows as Company requests; (b) provide
adequate contact with existing and potential customers within the Territory on a
regular basis; and (c) assist Company in assessing customer requirements for
the Products.
E. Customer Service. Representative shall diligently assist its customers’
personnel in using the Products and shall perform such additional customer
services as good salesmanship requires and as Company may reasonably
request.
F. Product Complaints. Representative shall promptly investigate and
monitor all customer and/or regulatory complaints and/or correspondence
concerning the use of the Product in the Territory. Representative shall
immediately notify Company of all such complaints and/or correspondence in
accordance with the following: (a) Representative shall advise Company of all
complaints relating to incidents of serious and unexpected reactions to the
Product as promptly as possible but not more than two (2) calendar days
following the date Representative receives such complaint; (b) All complaints
other than those related to incidents of serious and unexpected reactions to the
Product shall be reported to Company within five (5) calendar days following the
date Representative receives such complaint. (c) For purposes of this Section F,
a reaction shall be deemed to be unexpected if it is one that is not listed in the
current package insert for the Product approved by Company and a reaction
shall be deemed to be serious if it is fatal or life threatening, requires inpatient
hospitalization, prolongs hospitalization, is permanently disabling, or requires
intervention to prevent impairment or damage.
G. Expense of Doing Business. Representative shall bear the entire cost
and expense of conducting its business in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement.
H. Representations. Representative shall not make any false or misleading
representations to customers or others regarding Company or the Products.
Representative shall not make any representations, warranties or guarantees
with respect to the specifications, features or capabilities of the Products that are
not consistent with Company’s documentation accompanying the Products or
Company’s literature describing the Products.
VI. Additional Obligations of Company.
A. Training by Company. Company shall provide sales training to
Representative’s personnel at periodic intervals, with the frequency and content
of the training to be determined by Company. When possible, such training shall
be given at Representative’s facilities, but it may be necessary to provide training
at a geographically central location near but not in the Territory.
B. Regulatory Approvals. Company shall be responsible for obtaining FDA
and any other approvals necessary to distribute the Products in the United
States.
C. Materials. Company shall provide Representative with marketing and
technical information concerning the Products as well as reasonable quantities of
brochures, instructional material, advertising literature, demonstration product
samples, and other Product data at no charge.
D. Telephone Marketing and Technical and Sales Support. Company
shall provide a reasonable level of telephone marketing and technical support to
Representative and its representatives. Company shall use its best efforts to
support Representative’s sales and marketing activities.
E. Delivery Time. Company shall use its best efforts to fulfill delivery
obligations as committed in acceptances.
F. New Developments. Company shall promptly inform Representative of
new product developments relating to the Products.
VII. Trademarks. During the term of this Agreement, Representative shall have the
right to indicate to the public that it is an authorized representative of the Products and
to advertise (within the Territory) such Products under the trademarks, marks, and trade
names that Company may adopt from time to time (Trademarks). Representative shall
not alter or remove any Trademark applied to the Products. Except as set forth in this
Article VII, nothing contained in this Agreement shall grant to Representative any right,
title or interest in the Trademarks.
VIII. Confidential Information. Representative acknowledges that by reason of its
relationship to Company hereunder it will have access to certain information and
materials concerning Company’s technology, and products that are confidential and of
substantial value to Company, which value would be impaired if such information were
disclosed to third parties. Representative agrees that it will not use in any way for its
own account or the account of any third party, nor disclose to any third party, any such
confidential information revealed to it in written or other tangible form or orally, identified
as confidential, by Company without the prior written consent of Company.
Representative shall take every reasonable precaution to protect the confidentiality of
such information. Upon request by Representative, Company shall advise whether or
not it considers any particular information or materials to be confidential. In the event of
termination of this Agreement, there shall be no use or disclosure by Representative of
any confidential information of Company, and Representative shall not manufacture or
have manufactured any devices, components or assemblies utilizing any of Company’s
confidential information. This section shall not apply to any confidential information
which is or becomes generally known and available in the public domain through no
fault of Representative.
IX. Indemnification. The Company shall be solely responsible for the design,
development, supply, production and performance of its products and the protection of
its trade names and patents. The Company agrees to indemnify, hold the
Representative harmless against and pay all losses, costs, damages or expenses,
whatsoever, including counsel fees, which the Representative may sustain or incur on
account of infringement or alleged infringements of patents, trademarks or trade names
resulting from the sale of the Company's products, or arising on account of warranty
claims, negligence claims, product liability claims or similar claims by third parties. The
Representative shall promptly deliver to the Company any notices or papers served
upon it in any proceeding covered by this Indemnification Agreement, and the Company
shall defend such litigation at its expense. The Representative shall, however, have the
right to participate in the defense at its own expense unless there is a conflict of interest,
in which case, the Representative shall indemnify the Company for the expenses of
such defense including counsel fees. The Company shall provide the Representative
with a certificate of insurance evidencing the Representative as an additional insured on
the Company’s product liability insurance policy. This provision shall survive and remain
in full force and effect after the termination or nonrenewal of this Agreement.
X. Term and Termination.
A. Term. This Agreement shall continue in full force and effect for a period of
three years from the date above, unless terminated earlier under the provisions
of this Agreement. Thereafter, this Agreement shall be renewed automatically for
successive additional three year terms under the same terms and conditions
unless either party chooses not to continue the relationship and provides written
notice 180 days prior to the natural expiration of the existing three-year term.
B. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by as follows:
1. By Company if Representative fails to achieve its annual quota
requirement.
2. By either party if the other party becomes insolvent or bankrupt, or
files a voluntary petition in bankruptcy, or has had filed for an involuntary
petition in bankruptcy (unless such involuntary petition is withdrawn or
dismissed within ten days after filing) in which event termination may be
immediate upon notice; or
3. By either party if the other party fails to cure any breach of a
material covenant, commitment or obligation under this Agreement, within
45 days after receipt of written notice specifically setting forth the breach
from the other party; or
4. By either party if the other party is convicted or pleads to a crime or
an act of fraud that materially impacts on its performance or its fiduciary
duties hereunder, in which event termination may be immediate upon
notice.
C. Return of Materials. All Confidential Information and other property
belonging to Company shall remain the property of Company and will be
immediately returned by Representative upon termination. Representative shall
not make or retain any copies of any Confidential Information that may have
been entrusted to it.
D. Return of the Products. Upon the termination of this Agreement, Company
shall repurchase any inventory and instrumentation of the Representative at
Representative’s cost.
XI. Severability. The invalidity of any portion of this Agreement will not and shall not
be deemed to affect the validity of any other provision. If any provision of this
Agreement is held to be invalid, the parties agree that the remaining provisions shall be
deemed to be in full force and effect as if they had been executed by both parties
subsequent to the expungement of the invalid provision.
XII. No Waiver. The failure of either party to this Agreement to insist upon the
performance of any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, or the waiver of any
breach of any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, shall not be construed as
subsequently waiving any such terms and conditions, but the same shall continue and
remain in full force and effect as if no such forbearance or waiver had occurred.
XIII. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, construed, and enforced
in accordance with the laws of the State of _____________________ (name of state).
XIV. Notices. Unless provided herein to the contrary, any notice provided for or
concerning this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed sufficiently given
when sent by certified or registered mail if sent to the respective address of each party
as set forth at the beginning of this Agreement.
XV. Mandatory Arbitration . Any dispute under this Agreement shall be required to
be resolved by binding arbitration of the parties hereto. If the parties cannot agree on
an arbitrator, each party shall select one arbitrator and both arbitrators shall then select
a third. The third arbitrator so selected shall arbitrate said dispute. The arbitration shall
be governed by the rules of the American Arbitration Association then in force and
effect.
XVI. Entire Agreement . This Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement
between the parties and any prior understanding or representation of any kind
preceding the date of this Agreement shall not be binding upon either party except to
the extent incorporated in this Agreement.
XVII. Modification of Agreement. Any modification of this Agreement or additional
obligation assumed by either party in connection with this Agreement shall be binding
only if placed in writing and signed by each party or an authorized representative of
each party.
XVIII. Assignment of Rights. The rights of each party under this Agreement are
personal to that party and may not be assigned or transferred to any other person, firm,
corporation, or other entity without the prior, express, and written consent of the other
party.
XIX. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts,
each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall
constitute but one and the same instrument.
XX. Compliance with Laws. In performing under this Agreement, all applicable
governmental laws, regulations, orders, and other rules of duly-constituted authority will
be followed and complied with in all respects by both parties.
XXI. Property Rights. Representative agrees that Company owns all right, title, and
interest in the product lines that include the Products and in all of Company’s patents,
trademarks, trade names, inventions, copyrights, know-how, and trade secrets relating
to the design, manufacture, operation or service of the Products. The use by
Representative of any of these property rights is authorized only for the purposes herein
set forth, and upon termination of this Agreement for any reason such authorization
shall cease.
WITNESS our signatures as of the day and date first above stated.
_____________________
(Name of Company)
_____________________ By _____________________
(Name of Representative) (Signature)
_____________________
(Printed Name and Office in Corporation)
(Attach Exhibits)