Exhibit 10.40
LICENSE AGREEMENT
This License Agreement (“
Agreement ”) is entered into as of the 7
th
day of November, 2003
(the “ Effective Date ”), by and between
SearchFeed.com, a New Jersey corporation (“
Partner”) and LookSmart, Ltd., a Delaware corporation
(“ LookSmart ”).
RECITALS
The parties wish to provide for a
license to Partner to distribute LookSmart’s Search Results
on the Partner Network.
NOW, therefore, for good and
adequate consideration, the receipt of which is acknowledged, the
parties agree as follows:
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1 “ Click ”
occurs when a bona fide Internet user (which excludes a robot,
spider, software, scraper or other mechanical, artificial or
fraudulent means, or a person who is not seeking to use the Partner
Network for a legitimate web search, e.g., has been paid or
otherwise motivated to click) clicks on a Listing and accesses the
destination site.
1.2 “Listing”
means a profile of a website that includes the display URL, a
title, text that describes the site to which the listing links, and
a tracking URL (if applicable). Listings are displayed in Search
Results.
(a) “Paid
Listing” means a listing for which a third party has paid
to include in Search Results.
(b) “Unpaid
Listing” means a listing that is included in Search
Results at no direct cost to any third-party.
1.3 “LookSmart
Directory” means a collection of Listings that are stored
in a LookSmart proprietary database after human identification and
input.
1.4 “LookSmart Web
Index” means a collection of Listings that are stored in
a LookSmart proprietary database after machine based identification
and input.
1.5 “Partner
Network” means Searchfeed.com and all web properties that
are owned, operated by, or affiliated with Partner.
1.6 “Reviewed Web
Sites” means a LookSmart product that contains both Paid
and Unpaid Listings retrieved from the LookSmart Directory. The
amount that an advertiser pays to LookSmart has no influence on the
ordering of results of Reviewed Web Sites.
1.7 “Search
Results” means Listings provided by LookSmart to Partner
hereunder during the Term hereof. The Search Results will include
Sponsored Search, Reviewed Web Sites, and/or WebSearch as indicated
in Section 5.
Confidential
*** Material in the exhibit marked
with a “***” has been omitted pursuant to a request for
confidential treatment filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Omitted portions have been filed separately with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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1.8 “Sponsored
Search” means a LookSmart product that returns results
containing only Paid Listings. The amount that an advertiser pays
to LookSmart influences (among other factors) the position in which
the advertiser’s listing appears in Sponsored
Search.
1.9 “WebSearch”
means that LookSmart returns results that may contain both Paid and
Unpaid listings retrieved from the LookSmart Web Index and the
amount that an advertiser pays to LookSmart has no influence on the
ordering of results.
2. LICENSE
2.1 License . Subject to the
terms, limitations and conditions herein, LookSmart hereby grants
to Partner a non-exclusive license during the Term hereof to
publicly display the Search Results in electronic form on search
results pages on the Partner Network.
2.2 Limitations on License .
The license granted above is limited by the following restrictions:
(i) except as expressly permitted herein, Partner will not
display, use, reproduce, modify, sell, resell, rent, license,
sublicense, transfer, assign or redistribute in any way the Search
Results, except as expressly permitted herein; (ii) Partner
will not modify, add to, edit or delete the URLs, titles or reviews
contained within any Search Results without LookSmart’s prior
written approval; (iii) Partner will not attempt to alter,
reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to
derive the Search Results or any of LookSmart’s customer
lists, databases, computer programs, patents, copyrights, other
proprietary rights (including the methodology related to the
creation and compilation of the Search Results) or any other
information furnished to Partner by LookSmart; (iv) except as
expressly permitted herein, Partner will not display, sublicense or
syndicate the Search Results on or to any third party or web site
outside of the Partner Network unless it first obtains
LookSmart’s written consent; (v) Partner will use the
tracking URLs associated with each individual Paid Listing provided
by LookSmart, if any, for all Search Results included on its search
results pages (though Partner may use the display URLs for purposes
of displaying the listing); (vi) Partner will not syndicate or
display any Search Results on any adult-oriented, obscene or
illegal web sites; and (vii) Partner will not encourage, aid,
abet, authorize or permit any employee, affiliate, contractor,
agent, representative or third party to do or attempt to do any of
the foregoing.
3. PAYMENT TERMS.
3.1 Cost Per Click (CPC) .
Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, for any given calendar
month, LookSmart will pay Partner a Cost Per Click for all valid
Clicks generated by Partner based on LookSmart’s proprietary
click tracking system. LookSmart agrees to pay Partner *** per
valid Click for the term of this Agreement.
3.2 Payment and Reporting .
Within 30 days after the end of each calendar month during the
Term, LookSmart will deliver (a) payment pursuant to
Section 3.1, (b) a report describing Clicks generated and
amounts payable to Partner for such calendar month and
(c) LookSmart agrees to provide a designated account manager
to Partner and to use commercially reasonable efforts to provide
additional reporting as requested by Partner on no less than a
weekly basis. Such reporting will be provided to Partner in a
timely fashion, subject to LookSmart’s technical and business
limitations.
3.3 Audit . Each party will
maintain accurate records with respect to the calculation of all
payments due under this Agreement. The other party (the “
Examining Party ”) may, upon no less than 15 days
prior written notice to the first party (the “ Audited
Party ”) and no more than once in any twelve month
period, cause an independent auditor of nationally recognized
standing to inspect the appropriate
Confidential
*** Material in the exhibit marked
with a “***” has been omitted pursuant to a request for
confidential treatment filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Omitted portions have been filed separately with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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records of the audited party reasonably related
to the calculation of such payments during the Audited
Party’s normal business hours. Such examination will be
undertaken in a manner reasonably calculated not to interfere with
the Audited Party’s normal business operations. The fees
charged by such auditor in connection with the inspection will be
paid by the Examining Party, unless the auditor discovers an
underpayment of greater than 10%, in which case the Audited Party
will pay the reasonable fees of the auditor.
3.4 Invalid Clicks. LookSmart
shall have no obligation to pay for clicks which are invalid as
determined by its proprietary click tracking system. Invalid clicks
may come as a result of but are not limited to clicks
(i) generated via automated crawlers, robots or click
generating scripts, (ii) that an advertiser receives and
rejects, (iii) that come as a result of auto-spawning of
browsers, automated re-redirects, and clicks that are required for
Users to navigate on the Partner Network, or (iv) that come as
a result of any incentive such as cash, credits or loyalty points.
LookSmart reserves the right to require Partner to provide data
files for daily Clicks that include, but are not limited to, date,
time, keyword, IP address and referring URL stored within
Partner’s database. In the event that LookSmart determines
that Partner has delivered an unacceptable level of invalid clicks
during the term of this Agreement, LookSmart may terminate this
Agreement upon five business days prior written notice to
Partner.
4. PARTNER
OBLIGATIONS.
4.1 Implementation of Search
Results. Partner will query LookSmart’s servers for
search queries on the Partner Network and will implement and
display Search Results provided by LookSmart as set forth on
Exhibit A .
4.2 Attribution; Look and
Feel. Partner may provide attribution on pages displaying
Search Results. The size and location of such attribution shall be
at the parties’ mutual agreement. Other than as set forth
herein, Partner shall control the look and feel of its search
service.
5. LOOKSMART
OBLIGATIONS.
5.1 Tracking and Serving .
LookSmart will provide Sponsored Search results to
Partner.
5.2 Service Levels/Technical
Support . LookSmart will use commercially reasonable efforts to
provide the Service Levels and Technical Support in Exhibit
B .
6. PUBLICITY.
Neither party will make any public
statement, press release or other announcement relating to the
terms or existence of this Agreement without the prior written
approval of the other, such approval not to be unreasonably
withheld, conditioned or delayed, provided that either party
may make such disclosures as may be, in its reasonable opinion of
counsel, advisable in order to comply with a subpoena or other
legal process or with applicable laws, regulations or securities
exchange rules.
7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
OWNERSHIP.
7.1 Proprietary Rights of
LookSmart . LookSmart will retain all right, title and interest
in and to the Search Results, the related databases and all
associated intellectual property and proprietary rights worldwide
(including, but not limited to, ownership of all copyrights,
trademarks, patents, derivative works, modifications, customer
lists and information, algorithms, taxonomies, trade secrets and
other intellectual property rights therein).
Confidential
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7.2 Proprietary Rights of
Partner . Other than the Search Results, Partner will retain
all right, title, and interest in and to the Partner Network
(including, but not limited to, ownership of all copyrights,
trademarks, patents, derivative works, modifications, customer
lists and information, algorithms, taxonomies, trade secrets and
other intellectual property rights therein).
8. TERM AND
TERMINATION.
8.1 Term . The term of this
Agreement (the “ Term ”) will begin on the
Effective Date and will end *** . The Agreement will then
automatically renew for successive *** periods, unless either party
gives written notice to the other party of its intention not to
renew at least 60 days prior to the end of the then-current term or
renewal term.
8.2 Termination . Either
party may terminate this Agreement if the other party
(i) materially breaches its obligations hereunder and such
breach remains uncured for thirty (30) days following delivery
of written notice to the breaching party of the breach, or
(ii) is subject to voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy
proceedings, insolvency, liquidation or otherwise substantially
discontinues its business operations.
8.3 Effect of Termination.
Termination of this Agreement by either party will not act as a
waiver of any breach of this Agreement and will not act as a
release of either party hereto from any accrued liability
(including payments as set forth in the following section) or
liability for breach of such party’s obligations under this
Agreement. Within thirty (30) days following the expiration or
termination of this Agreement, each party will pay to the other
party all sums, if any, due and owing as of the date of expiration
or termination, net of any amounts due from the other party as of
such date. Upon the expiration or termination of this Agreement for
whatever reason, each party shall immediately cease to use the
other party’s trademarks, proprietary information, Search
Results, intellectual property (including derivative works or
modifications thereof) and Confidential Information in any manner
whatsoever, and shall destroy or return (at the option of the other
party), any such property, or materials representing the same to
the other party, and provide the other party with an
officer’s certificate attesting to such return/destruction.
For the avoidance of doubt, upon termination or expiration of this
Agreement, the license granted hereunder shall terminate and
Partner and its agents shall immediately cease all use of the
Search Results.
8.4 Survival
. The provisions of sections 1 and
6-12 (inclusive) will survive any termination or expiration of this
Agreement for a period of three years.
9.
CONFIDENTIALITY.
9.1 “ Confidential
Information ” means information about the disclosing
party’s (or its suppliers’) business, products,
technologies, strategies, customers, financial information,
operations or activities that is proprietary and confidential,
including without limitation all business, financial, technical and
other information disclosed by the disclosing party. Confidential
Information will not include information that the receiving party
can establish (i) is in or enters the public domain without
breach of this Agreement, (ii) the receiving party lawfully
receives from a third party without restriction on disclosure and
without breach of a nondisclosure obligation or (iii) the
receiving party knew prior to receiving such information from the
disclosing party.
Confidential
*** Material in the exhibit marked
with a “***” has been omitted pursuant to a request for
confidential treatment filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Omitted portions have been filed separately with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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9.2 Use of Confidential
Information . Each party agrees (i) that it will not use
or disclose to any third party or use any Confidential Information
disclosed to it by the other except as expressly permitted in this
Agreement or as required by a court of law or otherwise compelled
to be disclosed pursuant to the legal process or existing laws or
regulations, and (ii) that it will take all reasonable
measures to maintain the confidentiality of all Confidential
Information of the other party in its possession or control, which
will in no event be less than the measures it uses to maintain the
confidentiality of its own information of similar
importance.
10. WARRANTY AND
INDEMNITY.
10.1 LookSmart Warranty .
LookSmart warrants that it owns, or has obtained the right to
distribute and make available as specified in this Agreement, the
Search Results provided to Partner in connection with this
Agreement. Except as specifically provided herein, LookSmart does
not guarantee or make any representations or warranties whatsoever
(i) with respect to the completeness of any listings or links
or information accessed through such links or (ii) with
respect to the content of the web sites accessed through the
listings or links provided hereunder. LOOKSMART DOES NOT WARRANT,
REPRESENT OR GUARANTEE THAT THE USE OF ITS LISTINGS OR LINKS, OR
ANY OTHER SERVICES PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH OR IN ADDITION TO
THE FOREGOING WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, UNDISRUPTED OR
ERROR-FREE.
10.2 Indemnification . Each
party will indemnify, defend and hold harmless Partner, its
officers, directors and employees from any and all third party
claims, liability, damages and/or costs (including, but not limited
to, attorneys fees) arising from the other party’s breach of
any warranty, representation or covenant in this Agreement. Each
party’s obligation to indemnify is conditioned upon the other
party providing prompt notification of any and all such claims,
unless the failure to notify does not materially and adversely
affect the defense. The indemnified party will reasonably cooperate
with the indemnifying party in the defense and/or settlement
thereof; provided that if any settlement requires an
affirmative obligation of, results in any ongoing liability to or
prejudices or detrimentally impacts the indemnified party in a
material manner, then such settlement shall require the indemnified
party’s written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or
delayed) and the indemnified party may have its own counsel in
attendance at all proceedings and substantive negotiations relating
to such claim at the indemnified party’s sole cost and
expense.
10.3 Disclaimer . EXCEPT AS
SPECIFIED IN THIS AGREEMENT, NEITHER PARTY MAKES ANY WARRANTY IN
CONNECTION WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT AND EACH PARTY
HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ALL
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE REGARDING SUCH SUBJECT MATTER.
11. LIMITATION OF
LIABILITY.
11.1 Exclusion of Damages .
IN NO EVENT WILL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER FOR ANY
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER BASED ON
BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE,
WHETHER OR NOT THAT PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGE.
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11.2 Total Liability . OTHER
THAN AS A RESULT OF BREACH OF SECTION 2 OR PURSUANT TO THE
INDEMNIFICATION PROVISIONS HEREOF, IN NO EVENT WILL EITHER PARTY BE
LIABLE TO THE OTHER FOR AN AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT
PAID TO PARTNER HEREUNDER.
12. GENERAL.
12.1 Assignment . Neither
party may assign this Agreement,