Anti-spam policy

PLEASE READ THIS ANTI- SPAM POLICY (THE “ANTI-SPAM POLICY”) CAREFULLY BEFORE USING ANY SERVICES AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://VUTU.RE/ (THE “SITE”). IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THIS ANTI-SPAM POLICY, DO NOT USE THE SERVICES.

 

At Vuture, we take anti-spam compliance very seriously. While anti-spam laws like the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act are a step in the right direction for reducing the spam problem, we go further. Our definition of spam goes beyond the laws in most countries and encompasses what we believe to be true, permission-based email marketing. Our Software is directly integrated into the spam reporting systems of major ISPs. Your compliance with this Anti-Spam Policy will help ensure that we maintain our reputation and white-list status with major ISPs and whitelisting programs, which in turn will ensure that you, our customer, retain high deliverability rate and get the most out of our Services.

 

Throughout this Anti-Spam Policy references to “Customer” are to you, a user of the Services.

 

SECTION 1.          DEFINITIONS.  In addition to terms defined elsewhere in this Anti-Spam Policy, the definitions below will apply to capitalized words in this Anti-Spam Policy. Capitalized words in this Anti-Spam Policy that are not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed in the Agreement or Acceptable Use Policy (as applicable).

 

A.     “Acceptable Use Policy” means Company’s Acceptable Use Policy located at https://vutu.re/terms-and-conditions/acceptable-use-policy.aspx, as updated from time to time.

 

B.     “Agreement” means, as applicable, either the: 1) Terms of Service Agreement located at https://vutu.re/terms-and-conditions/terms-of-service.aspx, as updated from time to time; or 2) a superseding written agreement for use of the Services executed by and between Company and Customer.

 

C.     “Anti-Spam Laws” means any and all Laws regulating the transmission of electronic messages.

 

D.     “Company” or “Vuture” means either Vuture US, Inc. or Vuture Limited based on the Vuture contracting entity on the applicable Ordering Document.

 

E.     “Contact(s)” means, other than Users, any identified or identifiable natural person: 1) whose information is stored, transmitted, or otherwise ‘processed’ (as defined by the GDPR) via the Services by Customer; and/or 2) to whom Customer sends, transmits, or otherwise engages with via the Services.

 

F.     “Customer List” is a list of Contacts uploaded to the Services or created on or via the Services.

 

G.     “Distribution Email Address” means an email address associated with a distribution list that enables a User to send an email to multiple recipients by sending that email to the single email address associated with the distribution list.

 

H.     “Permission” means permission obtained from an individual to receive communications from Customer, in compliance with Section 3 below, that was either: 1) obtained within the preceding 6 months; or 2) obtained at any time and ongoing communications have been sent to the individual over the course of the preceding 6 months.

 

I.       “Privacy Notice” means the Company’s Privacy Notice located at https://vutu.re/terms-and-conditions/privacy.aspx, as updated from time to time.

 

J.      “Spam”, as used herein, is any email or other communication sent by a User: 1) to an individual who has not given the User their Permission to do so; and/or 2) is marked as “spam” or “junk” mail by the  recipient.

 

K.     “Transactional Messages” will have the meaning ascribed by Anti-Spam Laws.

 

L.      “Transactional Email Feature” means the feature of the Services that allows a User to automatically send communications upon the occurrence of a trigger action.

 

SECTION 2.          REQUIRED CONTENT

 

A.     Customer understands and agrees that Customer is the “sender” (as that term is defined by Anti-Spam Laws) of any emails sent by Customer via the Services.

 

B.     Unsubscribe Link. Unless expressly agreed by Company in advance in writing, Customer must ensure that all emails sent through Customer’s Account contain a Company (or other Company-approved) “unsubscribe” link, in form and substance satisfactory to Company, that: 1) allows Contacts to instantly and permanently remove themselves from the applicable Customer List, 2) presents unsubscribe instructions in a clear and conspicuous way, and 3) remains operational for a period of 30 days after sending the email. Customer must monitor, correct, and process unsubscribe requests immediately and ensure that Users do not remove, disable or attempt to remove or disable such link. Customer understands that instead of using the unsubscribe link provided, some Contacts may use other means to submit a request to Customer to opt them out of receiving such messages. In such cases, Customer agrees to unsubscribe any such Contact manually, by changing the Contact’s mailing status to “opt-out” within 10 business days of the opt-out request using the tools provided inside Customer’s Account.

 

C.     Contact Information. Each email must clearly and accurately identify the individual or organization that authorized the sending of the email (“Authorizing Party”). This means that if Customer is sending messages on behalf of an Authorizing Party, the Authorizing Party must be identified. For example, if a marketing agency is sending an email on behalf of its client, the client must be identified. To the extent required by law, identification must include the correct legal name of the Authorizing Party, a registered business number, legitimate physical address, and contact details. All identification information should remain valid for at least 30 days after the email is sent.

 

D.     Other Required Information. Customer shall ensure that communications sent through Customer’s Account are truthful and include subject lines that are in no way false or misleading as to the nature of the content contained in the email. All emails must state the reason the Contact is receiving the message. For example, “You are receiving this message from ABC Company because you signed up for our email list at abc.com.”

 

SECTION 3.          PERMISSION

 

A.     Customer Representations. Customer represents and warrants that Customer has provided all disclosures required by Law in conjunction with obtaining Contact’s Permission. Customer further represents and warrants that Customer has not used any false or misleading information, names, email addresses, subject lines, or other information for the purpose of or in connection with obtaining Contact’s Permission.

 

B.     Obtaining Permission. Customer must retain records of any Permissions received and shall provide such records to Company immediately upon request. Permissions must be obtained in one of the ways described below. A Contact:

i.        fills out or opts in via a web form subscribing to receive marketing communications from Customer; provided that the form does not contain any pre-selected fields;

ii.      completes an offline form that expressly indicates their willingness to receive marketing communications from Customer;

iii.     gives Customer their business card; provided that Contact was informed that by providing the business card to Customer, Contact was indicating their willingness to receive marketing communications from Customer;

iv.     has a clear relationship with Customer, as an individual that (a) pays dues or a subscription fee to belong to Customer’s organization, or (b) has purchased a good or service from Customer within the preceding 6 months, in the course of which Customer obtained that Contact’s email address and there is a reasonable expectation that the Contact would consent to receiving emails; or

v.      otherwise provides Customer with their express written permission to receive marketing communications from Customer.

 

C.     Scope of Permission. Customer shall not send emails to Contacts on any topic that exceeds the scope of the topic that Contact has given Customer Permission to email them about. Where a Contact has provided Permission for specific individual or organization to contact them, that Permission may not be transferred to another individual or organization. Any Permission obtained from a Contact will be exclusive to Customer and will not extend to Customer’s Affiliates, unless such Permission was also granted to such Customer Affiliate.

 

SECTION 4.          APPROVALS, RESTRICTIONS, & COMPLIANCE

 

A.     Account Approval.At Company’s discretion, Company may request specific information about Customer’s Permission practices and email marketing activities prior to allowing access to Company’s sending infrastructure. Unless otherwise expressly agreed by Company, Customer may not send any emails using the Services until Customer’s Account has been approved by a member of Company’s trained compliance team. Such approval may be withheld in Company’s sole discretion.

 

B.     Bulk Uploads. Prior to any bulk and/or large Contact list uploads to the Services, Customer must obtain Company’s prior written approval, which may be withheld in Company’s sole discretion.

 

C.     Company API. The Services provide API Calls (“Calls”) to facilitate certain account activities without relying on the Services’ main application interface. These Calls are governed by the same policies set forth herein. The Customer and its Users shall not use the API to circumvent Company’s efforts to facilitate Permission-based sending via the Services. Company may dictate, in its sole discretion, permissible use of the API and Calls. Any improper use of the API, as solely determined by Company, will be grounds for immediate termination of Customer’s account.

 

D.     Prohibited Uses. There are some list collection methods, sending practices, and models of business which are irreconcilably at odds with Company’s Permission policy or which represent untenable risk to the reputation of Company’s sending infrastructure. Customer shall not:

 

i.        mail to Distribution Email Addresses, emails addresses copied or scraped from the internet (or to Contact email addresses otherwise programmatically obtained from any physical or electronic source); newsgroups, or purchased, loaned, or rented lists;

ii.      mail to any Contacts obtained from a third party (unless such third party specifically obtained Permission from the Contact for Customer to mail them);

iii.     mail to co-promotion lists, where more than one potential sender is given access to email addresses collected without the recipient’s willful, sender-specific consent;

iv.     use the Services to administer illegal contests, pyramid schemes, chain letters, multi-level marketing campaigns, or otherwise conduct any illegal activities; or

v.      take known demographic information and append it to information Customer obtains from a third party for the purpose of emailing an individual who has not otherwise provided Permission as required by this Anti-Spam Policy.

 

E.     Compliance. Customer acknowledges that the Services allow Customer to upload data related to Contacts and also to track Contacts engagement with emails sent using the Services. Customer represents and warrants that Customer has complied with all notice, disclosure, consent, and other requirements imposed by applicable Laws prior to uploading information about a Contact to Customer’s Account. Customer further represent and warrants that Customer shall comply with the Acceptable Use Policy, Agreement, and all applicable Laws in connection with Customer’s use of the Services.

 

SECTION 5.          COMPANY’S RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

 

A.     Contacts. Company will not use Contacts’ information for any purpose other than those related to the Services and as otherwise described in Company’s Privacy Notice.

 

B.     Monitoring. Company reserves the right to inspect and monitor Customer’s Account and Customer Content at any time, without notice, to ensure compliance with the terms of this Anti-Spam Policy.  In connection with the foregoing, Customer agrees to promptly provide records and/or other information requested by Company. In addition, Company reserves the right, but has no obligation, to:

i.        scan every campaign for the existence of an unsubscribe link. If an unsubscribe link is not detected, Customer will be informed and required to include Company’s unsubscribe link before sending additional email messages or Customer Content via the Services.

ii.      monitor and meter the number of kilobytes of data transferred when sending email messages.

iii.     monitor any and all Customer Content and Customer’s use of the Services to ensure compliance with this Anti-Spam Policy.

 

C.     Abuse Complaints & Remediation. Emails sent through the Services may generate abuse complaints from Contacts. Customer is responsible for ensuring that email campaigns sent from Customer’s Accounts do not generate a number of abuse complaints in excess of industry norms. If Customer’s complaint rate exceeds industry norms, Company may immediately suspend Customer’s Account. In the event that Company sends Customer a notification requesting an explanation and tips for remediation, Customer must respond to Company’s requests promptly and provide its remediation plan. If Customer is unresponsive, does not implement remediation measures in accordance with Company’s recommendations within thirty (30) days of Company’s notification to Customer, and/or Customer continues to experience high complaint rates (as determined by Company in its sole discretion), then Company may lock Customer’s Account until the issue is resolved or until the end of the period specified by the contract.

 

D.     Right to Terminate. Company may, in its sole discretion, remove any Customer Content, suspend, or terminate (without refund) Customer’s use of the Services for any actual breach of this Anti-Spam Policy at any time. For clarity, removal, suspension, or termination pursuant to this clause will not terminate Customer’s obligation to pay fees owed to Company.