Website terms of use

Welcome to Optima’s website.

By accessing or using our website (“Site”), you agree to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use (“Terms of Use”). Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using our Site.

For the purposes of these Terms of Use, (i) “Optima”, “us, “we”, “our” mean the Epoch Trust (IT775/2006), the Epoch Two Trust (IT6450/2007), the Optima Trust (IT10441/2006), and their respective trustees for the time being, collectively, and (ii) “Personnel” means any of Optima’s employees, agents, consultants, contractors or other representatives.

These Terms of Use apply to your use of this Site, and do not alter in any way the terms or conditions of any other agreement you may have with Optima, or its affiliates, By using this Site, you represent and warrant that you are over the age of 18 (or the age of majority in your country) and are lawfully able to accept these Terms of Use, If you are using the Site on behalf of any entity, you further represent and warrant that you are authorised to accept these Terms of Use on such entity’s behalf, and that such entity agrees to indemnify Optima for violations of these Terms of Use.

1. Privacy policy

We are committed to protecting your privacy. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for information on how we collect, use and disclose personal information. The terms of our Privacy Policy (as amended from time to time) are incorporated herein by this reference.

2. Use of the website

2.1. You may use our Site only for your personal or non-commercial purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use.

2.2. You agree not to use our Site for any unlawful purpose or in any way that may impair the performance, availability, or accessibility of the Site.

2.3. You are specifically prohibited from: (i) printing, downloading, copying, adapting or re-transmitting any or all of the Site, including, but not limited to, text, graphics, data, photographic images, moving images, sound, illustrations, software, and the selection and arrangement thereof (“Site Content”) otherwise than through your bona fide, personal, non-commercial use of the Site without, or in violation of, a written licence or agreement with us; (ii) using any data-mining, robots or similar data-gathering or extraction methods; (iii) manipulating or otherwise displaying the Site or the Site Content by using framing or similar navigational technology; and (iv) using the Site or the Site Content other than for their intended purpose. Such unauthorised use may also violate applicable laws, including, without limitation, copyright and trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and applicable communications legislation and regulations.

2.4. You represent and warrant that you will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including, without limitation, those relating to the Internet, data, electronic communications, privacy, and the transmission of data exported from the Republic of South Africa, the country from which you export the data or the country in which you reside.

3. Intellectual property

3.1. You acknowledge that this Site, the Site Content and all intellectual property rights therein are the property of Optima or its licensors (as applicable) and are protected by South African and international copyright, trade dress, moral rights, trademark and other laws relating to the protection of intellectual property and that any unauthorised use thereof is expressly prohibited.

3.2. Our logos and any other product or service name or slogan contained in the Site are registered or unregistered trademarks of Optima and our suppliers or licensors, and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Optima or the applicable trademark holder. You may not use metatags or any other HTML tags, comments or hidden text utilising “Optima” or any other name, trademark or product or service name of Optima without our prior written permission. In addition, the look and feel of the Site (including, without limitation, all page headers, custom graphics, button icons and scripts) is the service mark, trademark and/or trade dress of Optima and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without our prior written permission. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, product names and company names or logos mentioned in the Site are the property of their respective owners. Reference to any products, services, processes or other information, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, supplier or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof by us.

3.3. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, display, or transmit any Site Content without the prior written consent of Optima.

4. Links

4.1. You may not use an Optima logo or other proprietary graphic of Optima to link to this Site (or any other site) without our express written permission. Further, you may not frame any of our trademarks, logos or other proprietary information, including the Site Content, without our express written consent.

4.2. We make no claim or representation regarding, and accept no responsibility for, directly or indirectly, the quality, content, nature or reliability of third-party websites accessible by hyperlink from the Site, or websites linking to the Site. Such sites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for the contents of any linked site, or any link contained in a linked site, or any review, changes or updates to such sites. We provide such links (if any) to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply affiliation, endorsement or adoption by us of any site or any information contained therein. When you leave the Site, you should be aware that these Terms of Use as well as Optima’s policies no longer apply. You should review the applicable terms, conditions and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any site to which you navigate from the Site.

4.3. Your participation, correspondence or business dealings with any third party found on or through the Site, regarding the payment and delivery of related goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such third party. You agree that we will not be responsible or liable for any loss, damage or other matters of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings.

5. Disclaimer of warranties

5.1. This Site and the Site Content are provided “as is” and we and our Personnel, content providers, agents and affiliates exclude, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any warranty, express or implied, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability, satisfactory quality or fitness for a particular purpose. We will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this Site or the Site Content, or the unavailability of the same, including, but not limited to, business interruption, loss of business information, loss of data, loss of profits and any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special or consequential damages. The functions embodied on or in the materials of this Site are not warranted to be uninterrupted or without error. You, not us, assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction due to your use of this Site or the Site Content. We make no warranty that the Site or the Site Content are free from infection by viruses or anything else that has contaminating or destructive properties.

5.2. While we use reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the Site, we make no warranties or representations about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability of the content, products, or services provided on the Site.

6. Indemnification

6.1. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless, as well as our Personnel, affiliates, licensors, sponsors, third party information providers and independent contractors, against any and all claims, damages, costs, liabilities and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to your use of the Site (including, without limitation, any information you disclose in any dealings you have with any other user of the Site), your conduct, your use of or inability to use the Site, your breach or alleged breach of the Terms of Use or of any representation or warranty contained herein, your unauthorised use of the Site Content, or your violation of any rights of another.

7. Limitation of liability

7.1. In no event shall Optima, or it’s Personnel be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages whether in an action in contract, delict (including, but not limited to, negligence) or otherwise arising out of or in connection with your use of the Site or any Site Content, products, or Services provided on or through the Site, including, without limitation, any damages caused by or resulting from your reliance on any information obtained from us, or that result from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion of files or e-mail, errors, defects, viruses, delays in operation or transmission or any failure of performance, whether or not resulting from acts of God, communications failure, theft, destruction or unauthorised access to Optima’s records, programmes or services. In no event shall our aggregate liability, whether in contract, warranty, delict (including negligence, whether active, passive or imputed), product liability, strict liability or other theory, arising out of or relating to the use of the Site exceed any compensation you pay, if any, to us for access to or use of the Site.

8. Governing law and jurisdiction

8.1. These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of South Africa.

8.2. Any disputes arising from these Terms of Use or your use of the Site shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa.

8.3. Any dispute relating in any way to your use of the Site or the Site Content will be submitted to confidential arbitration to be held in Johannesburg under the rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (or its successor in title), to which arbitration you hereby consent; except that, to the extent you have in any manner violated or threatened to violate our intellectual property rights, we may seek interdictory, injunctive or other appropriate relief in any applicable court in the Republic of South Africa. The arbitrator’s award will be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no arbitration under these Terms of Use may be joined to an arbitration involving any other party subject to the Terms of Use, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise.

9. Changes to these terms

9.1. We reserve the right to modify or update these Terms of Use at any time without prior notice. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting on the Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.

10. Miscellaneous provisions

10.1. These Terms of Use (as varied from time to time in accordance with the “Changes to these Terms” section above) constitute the sole record of the agreement between you and us in relation to your use of the Site. Neither you nor Optima will be bound by any express, tacit or implied representation, warranty, promise or the like not recorded herein. Unless otherwise specifically stated, these Terms of Use supersede and replace all prior commitments, undertakings or representations, whether written or oral, between you and us in respect of your use of the Site. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our licensors, advertisers or third-party content providers may be granted access to the Site by virtue of a separate written agreement with Optima. If this applies to you, these Terms of Use must be read in conjunction with such agreement, which takes precedence over these Terms of Use in the event of any conflict.

10.2. Failure or neglect by us to enforce at any time any of the provisions of the Terms of Use may not be construed as a waiver of our rights. Any waiver of any provision of the Terms of Use will be effective only if in writing and signed by us.

10.3. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be unenforceable, wherever possible this will not affect any other provision, and each will remain in full force and effect.

11. Contact us

10.1. If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, please contact us at info@optima.org.za.