EXHIBIT 10.16
(BUILDER HOMESITE LOGO)
CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED UNDER C.F.R. SECTIONS 200.80(b)(4), 200.83 AND
230.406
**** INDICATES OMITTED MATERIAL THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF A CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT
REQUEST FILED SEPARATELY WITH THE COMMISSION
EXHIBIT F
APPLICATIONS MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT (the "Agreement") made as of Dec 16th, 2003 (the "Effective
Date") by and between Network Communications, Inc. with offices at 0000 Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000, ("NCI") and Builder Homesite, Inc., with
offices at 0000 Xxxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000 ("BHI").
WHEREAS, NCI desires to establish a branded Web site on the World Wide Web
portion of the Internet to promote products and materials proprietary to NCI,
WHEREAS, NCI and BHI are parties to that certain Website Development
Agreement dated 9/25/2003 ("Website Development Agreement"), whereby BHI created
software and provided computer consulting services in connection with creating a
Website on the World Wide Web for NCI ("NCI site"); specifically, BHI is
designing, developing, implementing, and updating the NCI Site software for NCI
subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Website Development
Agreement; and
WHEREAS, NCI wishes to retain BHI to support, maintain & operate the NCI
Site for NCI subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants set forth herein,
NCI and BHI (each a "Party," and collectively, the "Parties") hereby agree as
follows:
1. SERVICES
1.1 SCOPE OF SERVICES
Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, BHI shall, at no
cost to NCI other than as expressly provided herein, timely perform the services
and deliver the materials set forth or described in this Agreement, the
Requirements Document (attached hereto as Exhibit 1) in such form as it may be
amended by the parties from time to time (the "Requirements Document") and in
the Operations Specifications (attached hereto as Exhibit 2) (the "Operations
Specifications") (collectively, the "Services"), in order to operate and
maintain the NCI Site and all implements necessary to operate the same,
developed by BHI for NCI pursuant to the Website Development Agreement. BHI
acknowledges that the NCI Site will be accessible by users of the Internet
solely and directly through URL(s) designated by NCI
2. ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION
2.1 ADVERTISING SALES
NCI shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to sell advertising,
directly and via its distributors and other promotional partners, to appear on
the NCI Site, without consulting with BHI. NCI shall have the right to retain
all revenues and fees arising from or in connection with such advertising sold
by NCI, its distributors and promotional partners.
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2.2 NON-DISCLOSURE
BHI agrees that, prior to the "public" release of such materials, BHI shall
treat
(a) the NCI Site, or any advertising, publicity or promotion materials
(including, without limitation, distribution through the Internet) related to
the NCI Site or which include the name of NCI or its affiliates or subsidiaries
or any trademark, trade name, or any abbreviation, contraction, or other
embodiment thereof; and
(b) any materials or properties owned, controlled, licensed or otherwise
proprietary to NCI, whether or not such materials are incorporated into the NCI
Site;
as Confidential Information as that term is defined under Section 9 to this
Agreement.
3. DELIVERY AND ACCEPTANCE
3.1 TIME OF THE ESSENCE
BHI shall perform the Services, and shall otherwise test, deliver,
implement, operate, maintain and update the NCI Site according to the Operations
Specifications. Time is of the essence with respect to all aspects of this
Agreement and the subject matter hereof.
4. CONTINUING SERVICES
4.1 OPERATIONS SPECIFICATIONS OF THE NCI SITE
BHI represents and warrants that all Services shall be performed so that
the NCI Site, when operated on the Host Server located at the Hosting Service,
will function and perform in accordance with the Requirements Document (Exhibit
1) agreed to between the parties on August 4, 2003, as updated and amended in
writing by NCI and approved by BHI, as well as the Operations Specifications as
set forth in Exhibit 2. BHI shall, at no cost to NCI other than as specifically
set forth herein, promptly provide any revisions, necessary patches, fixes,
workarounds, modifications and replacements necessary for the NCI Site,
including any third parties integrated with the NCI Site and documentation
therefore, to function and perform in accordance with the Requirements Document
and Operations Specifications when operated on the Host Server. NCI reserves the
right to designate an alternative Hosting Service to be approved by BHI, and
such designation shall not relieve BHI of its obligations under this Section
4.1. NCI acknowledges that if the new hosting service is not in Austin, Texas,
BHI will have the right to modify the monthly fees to accommodate for the
additional hours necessary for remote maintenance of the NCI Site. In the event
of transfer to a new hosting service as contemplated hereunder, NCI shall pay
for the associated transfer costs including BHI's reasonable out of pocket
expenses, to be specified, as well as setup and ongoing costs for providing a
communication line between the new hosting service and BHI offices.
NCI will contract with the Hosting Service to procure co-location space,
bandwidth to the Internet and backup services and pay all related fees to the
Hosting Service directly. NCI's agreement with the Hosting Service shall
specifically and expressly provide all necessary permissions for BHI to perform
its obligations as described in this Agreement on behalf of NCI.
4.2 USAGE INFORMATION
BHI shall manage the recordation of and provide to NCI (i) standard
Webtrends reporting information for the NCI site via access to a dedicated
Webtrends reporting server; (ii) the IIS
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website logs for the NCI site on a daily basis, and (iii) information directly
or indirectly obtained from users accessing the NCI Site consistent with the NCI
Site Guidelines (as hereinafter defined) (collectively "Usage Information") on a
monthly basis. BHI shall adhere to all privacy and data protection laws
applicable to the gathering, processing, storing and transmitting of Usage
Information. BHI shall maintain the strict confidentiality of all Usage
Information.
4.3 CONTACT PERSON
BHI and NCI shall each designate a principal contact person who shall act
as a liaison between BHI and NCI and who shall have sufficient authority to
grant or communicate the granting of all necessary approvals. BHI shall, upon a
good faith and reasonable request by NCI, remove any BHI employee or agent from
the BHI team rendering the Services, and, within a commercially reasonable time,
replace same with alternative qualified BHI personnel.
4.4 CURRENT TECHNOLOGY
BHI represents and warrants that during the Initial Term and any Renewal
Period (as those terms are hereinafter defined), BHI shall use and integrate
appropriate current technology in performing its obligations hereunder.
4.5 UPDATES TO THE NCI SITE
As part of the Services provided by BHI hereunder, BHI shall, at no
additional cost to NCI, conduct certain services (the "Updates") related to the
NCI Site promptly after receiving request(s) therefore from NCI, and in
conformity with the Operations Specifications, which the Parties may amend, upon
mutual agreement, from time to time by executing signed writings and annexing
them to the appropriate Exhibit(s) to this Agreement. All Updates shall be
documented by BHI so that documentation is current. If it is determined that a
service is required that involves development work (modification of software
code) then that service will be not be considered an Update and instead shall be
considered an Enhancement and treated according to section 4.6 below.
4.6 ENHANCEMENTS TO THE NCI SITE
BHI shall provide up to twenty (20) hours a month, free of charge to NCI,
of Enhancements (where "Enhancement" refers a service performed by BHI hereunder
that involves software development). Any additional Enhancements requested by
NCI shall be provided by BHI on a Time and Materials basis at an hourly rate of
$110 per hour.
5. COMPUTER SOFTWARE RECEIVABLES
5.1 SOFTWARE LICENSE
Any software developed by BHI and provided or developed by BHI hereunder
(with exception of "BHI Software" as that term is defined in the Web Development
Agreement or the BHI Materials) shall be considered Software Deliverables with
the same definition as that contained in the Web Development Agreement. The BHI
Software shall be licensed to NCI on the same basis as the license governing BHI
Software set forth in the Web Development Agreement.
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5.2 THIRD PARTY LICENSES
NCI must approve all use of third party licenses in the performance of the
Services hereunder. Where appropriate, NCI shall obtain, at NCI's sole expense,
such third party licenses for NCI's benefit following NCI's approval in writing
of any associated third party licenses.
5.3 SOFTWARE FOR COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS
In the event that NCI requests and authorizes BHI to develop and implement
the capability to effect commercial transactions directly over the NCI Site, BHI
shall promptly develop and implement such capability at a Time & Materials
charge of **** per hour to NCI. NCI will also be responsible for the payment of
prior approved reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred by BHI.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any third party software which is pre-approved in
writing by NCI as necessary for the development an implementation of such
capability shall be obtained by NCI at NCI's expense.
5.4 RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
Any rights not expressly granted by NCI to BHI hereunder are reserved for
NCI.
6. FEES AND PAYMENT; OTHER CONSIDERATION
6.1 FEES TO BE PAID BY NCI
In consideration of NCI entering into this Agreement, NCI shall pay to BHI
the following:
A monthly payment of **** payable at Launch (date of NCI's acceptance of the NCI
site and all of the Deliverables pursuant to Section 3 hereof, with the NCI site
operating in a live environment on the Host Server) and each month thereafter
until the end of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term. This monthly payment
shall cover the items set forth below:
a) Hardware and Third Party Operations fee - ****
b) Database Operations and Maintenance fee - ****
c) New Development/Site Changes Hours fee - ****
d) Applications Maintenance fee - ****
Total = ****
Notwithstanding any language in this Agreement to the contrary, if BHI is
correcting errors, flaws, or defects pursuant to the Warranty provisions
contained in Section 2.6 of the Website Development Agreement, NCI will not have
the obligation to pay the portion of the monthly fee related to Application
Maintenance (**** per month), during the Warranty Period specified in the
Website Development Agreement. Furthermore, if, by ninety (90) days after Launch
of the Site pursuant to the Website Development Agreement, the Site is not
operational according to the Deliverables, Performance Specifications or the
Requirements Document, NCI may, at its option, rescind this Agreement without
affecting any other available remedy at law or in equity.
6.2 ANCILLARY RIGHTS
(BUILDER HOMESITE LOGO)
BHI shall have no right to any royalties, revenues, fees or other payments
in connection with, or as a result of, the Services or the NCI Site, or with
respect to products or services promoted on or by the NCI Site, except as
expressly provided in this Article 6. Nor shall BHI have any rights of
attribution in connection with the NCI Site, which shall contain appropriate NCI
proprietary rights notices, as directed by NCI
7. NCI SITE GUIDELINES
7.1 GUIDELINES
In addition to any requirements set forth or described in the "Requirements
Document" (Exhibit 1) in the Operations Specifications" (Exhibit 2), BHI and the
NCI Site shall strictly adhere to the guidelines set forth in this Article 7
(collectively, the "NCI Site Guidelines").
7.2 ARTISTIC CONTROL
NCI shall have exclusive technical and platform control over the NCI Site,
including, without limitation, integration of all Content, and final approval of
all technical and platform architecture, and the Design and look and feel of the
NCI Site. BHI shall not publish, or otherwise display the NCI Site or any
portion thereof without the prior written approval of NCI. Nothing in this
Section 7.2 shall be interpreted as broadening (or allowing NCI to broaden) the
scope of the Requirements Documents or the Operation Specifications.
7.3 PURPOSE
Pursuant to the Requirements Documents and the Operation Specifications,
the NCI Site shall be designed to attract repeat user visits and promote the
most current Content, assets and properties identified by NCI. Nothing in this
Section 7.3 shall be interpreted as broadening (or allowing NCI to broaden) the
scope of the Requirements Documents or the Operation Specifications.
7.4 LIMITATIONS
The NCI Site shall not, without the prior written consent of NCI, contain:
(i) software that is downloadable by users (other than HTML and other software
used to format and display HTML documents or World Wide Web pages, and elements
embedded therein, such as sounds, images, and audiovisual clips, which elements
NCI acknowledges will be downloadable by users; (ii) HTTP links to unapproved
Web sites; or (iii) materials received and/or licensed from third parties.
8. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
8.1 OWNERSHIP OF CONTENT AND SITE
All rights, title and interest in and to the Content (as provided by NCI
and as digitized or otherwise reformatted by BHI for the NCI Site, in all media
now known or hereafter developed), the Operations Specifications, the Usage
Information, NCI's Confidential Information (as hereinafter defined), the NCI
Site (except for the BHI Software or the BHI Materials or any third party
software) and any trademarks, trade names, logos, characters and other materials
provided
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by NCI, and the look and feel of the NCI Site, including, without limitation,
all copyrights, trademarks, trade names and other proprietary rights inherent
therein or appurtenant thereto (collectively, the "NCI Materials") are owned and
retained exclusively by NCI.
8.2 USE OF NCI MATERIALS
BHI shall not use NCI Materials or any portion thereof for any purpose
other than that of fulfilling BHI's obligations under this Agreement. NCI
Materials and any portion thereof may not be used, disclosed, transmitted,
transferred, sold, assigned, leased or otherwise disposed of, or made available
for access by third parties, or be commercially exploited by or on behalf of
BHI, its employees or agents, except as expressly provided in this Agreement.
8.3 BHI MATERIALS
All software (including the BHI Software), techniques, algorithms and
methods not in the public domain or licensed by BHI from any third party and
rights thereto that are owned by BHI as of the Effective Date of this Agreement
are and shall remain the property of BHI (collectively, the "BHI Materials").
8.4 WORK MADE FOR HIRE
Except for BHI Materials, all materials, products, and modifications
developed or prepared for NCI by BHI under this Agreement, including, without
limitation, NCI Materials, are and shall remain the property of NCI, and all
rights, title and interest therein shall vest in NCI and shall be deemed to be a
"work made for hire" and made in the course of the Services rendered hereunder.
To the extent that title to NCI Materials does not, by operation of law, vest in
NCI or NCI Materials are not considered works made for hire, all right, title
and interest therein are hereby irrevocably assigned to NCI. All such materials
shall belong exclusively to NCI with NCI having the right to obtain and to hold
in its own name copyrights, registrations or such other protection as may be
appropriate to the subject matter, and any extensions and renewals thereof. BHI
agrees to give NCI and any person designated by NCI any reasonable assistance
required to perfect the rights defined in this Article 8.
8.5 DOMAIN NAME
The NCI Site shall retain its URL(s) under NCI's domain name,
xxx.xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx, which domain name is and shall remain the sole property
of NCI (the "Primary Domain Name"). In addition, NCI shall register any other
domain names which are necessary for the efficient and proper development and
operation of the NCI Site, which domain names will ultimately resolve to the
Primary Domain Name (the "Secondary Domain Names"). All Secondary Domain Names
shall remain the sole property of NCI. To the extent that title to the Primary
Domain Name and the Secondary Domain Names does not vest in NCI by operation of
law, BHI hereby assigns all rights, title and interests to NCI which BHI has,
may have, or may hereafter have, if any, in and to the Primary Domain Name and
Secondary Domain Names. BHI shall promptly, upon NCI's request, execute any
documents and submit any documents to Network Solutions, Inc. and/or other
agency which are necessary to give full force and effect to the foregoing
assignment. AS between NCI and BHI, NCI shall be solely responsible for any
claims that the domain names described in this Section 8.5 infringe the
intellectual property rights of a third party.
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8.6 CONTENT LICENSE
NCI hereby grants to BHI a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited
license, solely during the Initial Term of this Agreement and any Renewal
Period, to use the Content solely for the benefit of NCI in accordance with the
terms and conditions of this Agreement. BHI may make such copies of the Content
as may be necessary to perform its obligations under this Agreement, including
back-up copies of the Content.
9. CONFIDENTIALITY
9.1 CONFIDENTIALITY
Unless otherwise agreed to in writing the parties shall maintain the strict
confidentiality and shall not disclose to any third party the existence of, or
terms and conditions of, this Agreement. In addition, BHI, in performing the
Services for NCI hereunder, will have access to or be exposed to, directly and
indirectly, NCI Materials, user information, data, knowledge, information about
the marketing, product and/or business affairs of NCI, and proprietary and trade
secret information of NCI, in oral, graphic, written electronic or machine
readable form (collectively, the "NCI Confidential Information"). Similarly, NCI
will have access to or be exposed to, directly and indirectly, BHI Materials,
information about the technical and/or business affairs of BHI, and proprietary
and trade secret information of BHI, in oral, graphic, written electronic or
machine readable form (collectively, the "BHI Confidential Information"). The
BHI Confidential Information and the NCI Confidential Information (collective,
the "Confidential Information") shall not include information which can be
demonstrated: (i) to have been rightfully in the possession of the recipient of
Confidential Information from a source other than the discloser of such
Confidential Information prior to the time of disclosure of said information to
hereunder ("Time of Receipt"); (ii) to have been in the public domain prior to
the Time of Receipt; (iii) to have become part of the public domain after the
Time of Receipt by a publication or by any other means except an unauthorized
act or omission or breach of this Agreement on the part of the recipients, its
employees, or agents; or (iv) to have been supplied to the recipient after the
Time of Receipt without restriction by a third party who is under no obligation
to the disclosing party to maintain such information in confidence.
9.2 OBLIGATIONS
All of a party's Confidential Information shall be held in strict
confidence by the other party and shall not be disclosed or used by the other
party without the prior written consent of the owner of such Confidential
Information, except as provided in this Agreement, or as may be required by law
pursuant to available confidentiality restrictions. Each party shall hold
Confidential Information in strict confidence and shall use its commercially
reasonable efforts to provide protection for Confidential Information, including
measures at least as strict as those the owner of such Confidential Information
uses to protect its own Confidential Information.
10. WARRANTIES
10.1 BHI WARRANTIES
BHI represents and warrants that: (i) all of the Services to be performed
hereunder will be rendered using sound, professional practices and in a
competent and professional manner by knowledgeable, trained and qualified
personnel; (ii) the NCI Site will appear and operate in
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conformance with the Operations Specifications and the Requirements Document,
and the NCI Site will be accessible by users of the Internet with service levels
as specified in Exhibit 1, Section 2. (iii) BHI has full authority to enter into
this Agreement; (iv) all obligations owed to third parties with respect to the
activities contemplated to be undertaken by BHI pursuant to this Agreement are
or will be fully satisfied by BHI, so that NCI will not have any obligations
with respect thereto; (iv) BHI is the owner of or otherwise has the right to use
and distribute the Software, BHI Materials, and any other materials and
methodologies used in connection with providing the Services hereunder, (vi) BHI
will comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws in the performance
of its obligations hereunder; (vii) the Software, BHI Materials and other
materials and methodologies used by BHI in fulfilling its obligations under this
Agreement (except the Content) shall not infringe, to BHI's knowledge, upon any
third party copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or other third party
right; (viii) the NCI Site shall not, to BHI's knowledge, contain any Trojan
horses, worms, viruses or other disabling devices; and (ix) BHI, in implementing
the NCI Site, shall not alter NCI Materials in any manner, except with prior
written approval from NCI.
10.2 NCI WARRANTIES
NCI represents and warrants that: (i) it has full authority to enter into
this Agreement; (ii) all obligations owed to third parties with respect to the
activities contemplated to be undertaken by NCI pursuant to this Agreement are
or will be fully satisfied by NCI, so that BHI will not have any obligations
with respect thereto; (iii) NCI has provided Content and domain names for the
NCI Site that do not infringe or violate copyright, patent, trademark, trade
secret or other proprietary rights of any third party; (iv) NCI will comply with
all applicable federal, state and local laws in the performance of its
obligations hereunder;.
11. DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTY
THE WARRANTIES SET FORTH IN SECTIONS 1.2, 3.3, 4.2, 4.6, 5.3 AND IN
ARTICLE 11 OF THIS AGREEMENT ARE LIMITED WARRANTIES AND ARE THE ONLY WARRANTIES
MADE BY THE RESPECTIVE PARTIES. THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM, AND HEREBY
EXPRESSLY WAIVE, ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSES.
NCI MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY
CONTENT PUBLISHED OR MADE ACCESSIBLE ON THE NCI SITE.
12. INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE
12.1 BHI INDEMNIFICATION
BHI shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless NCI, its directors,
officers, employees and agents, against same with respect to any claim, demand,
cause of action, debt or liability, including reasonable attorney's fees, to the
extent that the same is based upon a claim that: (i) if true, would constitute a
breach of any of BHI's representations, warranties, or obligations hereunder;
(ii) arises out of the negligence or willful misconduct of BHI; or (iii) any of
BHI Materials, or Services or Deliverables or the NCI Site or any portion
thereof infringes or violates any patents, copyrights, trade names, trade
secrets, licenses, or other rights of any third party, except to the extent that
such infringement is a result of the NCI Materials or actions taken by BHI
pursuant to a specific request from NCI.
12.2 NCI INDEMNIFICATION
NCI shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless BHI, its directors,
officers, employees and agents, with respect to any claim, demand, cause of
action, debt or liability, including reasonable attorneys' fees, to the extent
that the same is based upon a claim that (i) if true, would constitute a breach
of any of NCI's representations, warranties or obligations; (ii) arises out of
the negligence or willful misconduct of NCI; or (iii) any of the Content (or the
domain names) provided by NCI infringes or violates any U.S. patents which have
issued as of the Effective Date, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets,
licenses, or other property rights of any third party.
12.3 NOTICE
In claming any indemnification hereunder, the indemnified Party shall
promptly provide the indemnifying Party with written notice of any claim which
the indemnified Party believes falls within the scope of this Article 13. The
indemnified Party may, at its own expense, assist in the defense if it so
chooses, provided that the indemnifying Party shall control such defense and all
negotiations relative to the settlement of any such claim and further provided
that any settlement intended to bind the indemnified Party may not be entered
into without the indemnified Party's prior written consent, which shall not be
unreasonably withheld of delayed.
12.4 INSURANCE
During the Term, BHI shall procure and maintain at its own expense
insurance, which must be satisfactory to NCI, of the following type and in the
following amounts: (i) Professional Liability Insurance with a limit of not less
than ONE MILLION DOLLARS ($1,000,000.); and (ii) Comprehensive General Liability
Insurance with broad form coverage and combined single limits of TWO MILLION
DOLLARS ($2,000,000.), per each occurrence as respects personal injury and
property damage. BHI shall furnish to NCI certificates of insurance evidencing
such coverage and listing NCI as an additional insured and loss payee, and such
certificates shall provide notice of cancellation or alteration.
13. TERM AND TERMINATION
13.1 TERM
The initial term of this Agreement shall commence on the Launch Date and
shall continue for two years until JAN 22nd, 2006("Initial Term"). Thereafter
the Agreement shall automatically be renewed for successive period of one (1)
year (each a "Renewal period") for a maximum of two (2) aggregate years
("Complete Term"), unless terminated by either of the Parties pursuant to the
terms of this Agreement. BHI's obligations under this Agreement shall not begin
unless this Agreement is executed more than thirty (30) days from Launch. If
this Agreement is executed less than thirty (30) days from Launch, then BHI's
obligations shall not begin until 30 days from execution.
13.2 TERMINATION BY NCI
NCI may terminate this Agreement at any time upon ninety (90) days advance
written notice to BHI for any reason. NCI may terminate immediately effective
upon written notice: (i) if a petition under any foreign, state, or United
States bankruptcy act, receivership statute, or the like, as they now exist, or
as they may be amended, is filed by BHI; or (ii) if such a petition is filed by
any third party, or an application of a receiver of BHI is made by anyone, and
such petition or application is not resolved favorably by such BHI within thirty
(30) days; or (iii) BHI materially breaches any of its representations,
warranties, obligations or agreements hereunder, and such breach, if capable of
being cured, is not cured within ten (10) days following receipt of written
notice of such breach from NCI. Termination under Section 14.2(iii) hereof shall
be effective, at NCI's option, upon the breaching party's receipt of a notice of
a material breach under Section 14.2(iii).
13.3 TERMINATION BY BHI
BHI may terminate immediately effective upon written notice: (i) if NCI
materially breaches any of its representations, warranties, obligations or
agreements hereunder, and such breach, if capable of being cured, is not cured
within ten (10) days following receipt of written notice of such breach from
BHI. (i) if NCI fails to make any payment to BHI as required by this Agreement
within 30 days of the payment due date (ii) if a petition under any foreign,
state, or United States bankruptcy act, receivership statute, or the like, as
they now exist, or as they may be amended, is filed by NCI; or (iii) if such a
petition is filed by any third party, or an application of a receiver of NCI is
made by anyone, and such petition or application is not resolved favorably by
such NCI within thirty (30) days.
13.4 SURVIVAL
Upon expiration or termination of this Agreement, all provisions comprising
the Parties' express warranties provided herein, in addition to Sections, 8.4,
8.5, 9, 10, 11, 12 13 and 14, 15 shall survive.
13.5 RETURN OF NCI MATERIALS AND PROPERTY
Upon expiration or termination of this Agreement, or upon request by NCI,
BHI shall immediately cease using and return to NCI (Or at NCI's request,
destroy) all copies of NCI Materials, if any, in its control or possession, in
addition to all other property belonging to and/or received from NCI, including,
but not limited to, all source codes, object codes, system documentation and
configuration for all operating systems and third party software.
13.6 TRANSFER OF SERVICES
Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, BHI shall, at then
current commercially reasonable rates, provide reasonable assistance to NCI and
any third parties authorized by NCI in assuming performance of those Services
necessary for the continued and uninterrupted operation of the NCI Site.
14. GENERAL PROVISIONS
14.1 NO AGENCY OR JOINT VENTURE
The Parties agree and acknowledge that the relationship of the Parties is
in the nature of an independent contractor. This Agreement shall not be deemed
to create a partnership or joint venture and neither Party is the other's agent,
partner, employee, or representative.
14.2 FORCE MAJEURE
Neither Party shall be deemed in default of this Agreement to the extent
that performance of its obligations or attempts to cure any breach are delayed
or prevented by reason of any act of God, fire, natural disaster, or act of
government provided that such Party gives the other Party written notice thereof
promptly upon discovery thereof and uses its best efforts to cure the delay.
14.3 PARTIAL INVALIDITY
Should any provision of this Agreement be held to be void, invalid or
inoperative, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected
and shall continue in effect and the invalid provision shall be deemed modified
to the least degree necessary to remedy such invalidity.
14.4 NO WAIVER
The failure of either Party to partially or fully exercise any right or the
waiver by either Party of any breach shall not prevent a subsequent exercise of
such right or be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same or any
other term of this Agreement.
14.5 NO ASSIGNMENT
BHI shall not assign this Agreement or any of its rights or obligations
under this Agreement to any other entity without the prior written consent of
NCI, unless such assignment is to an entity buying BHI or all or substantially
all of BHI's assets. Furthermore, no work to be performed by BHI hereunder shall
be subcontracted to or performed on behalf of BHI by any third party, except
with the prior written consent of NCI. NCI may assign this Agreement without
consent of BHI, as long as the obligations stated herein of BHI are unaffected.
14.6 NOTICES
Any notice required or permitted to be sent shall be in writing and shall
be sent in a manner requiring a signed receipt such as authenticated Internet
transmission, authenticated facsimile transmission, FedEx or like courier
delivery, or if mailed, then mailed by registered or certified mail, return
receipt requested. Notice is effective upon receipt. Notices shall be sent to
the addresses first set forth above to the attention of the signatories of this
Agreement.
14.7 ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This Agreement, including any Exhibits annexed hereto and the Web Site
Development Agreement and all exhibits or amendments thereto and the Requirement
Document, sets forth the entire agreement between the Parties on this subject
and supersedes all prior negotiations. No amendment or modification of this
Agreement shall be made except by a writing signed by the Party to be bound
thereby.
14.8 GOVERNING LAW
This Agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the
laws of the State of Georgia without regard to principles of conflict of laws.
The Parties agree that for any action or claim initiated or brought by BHI
against NCI to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction over such dispute and all
subsequent disputes hereunder in the federal and state courts in the State of
Georgia located in Gwinnett County. The Parties agree that for any action of
claim initiated by NCI against BHI, to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction
over such dispute and all subsequent disputes hereunder in the federal and state
courts in the State of Texas located in Xxxxxx County.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed and delivered this Agreement
as of the Effective Date.
BUILDER HOMESITE, INC. NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
By: /s/ XXXXXXX X. XXXXXX By: /s/ XXXXXX XXXXXX
--------------------------------- ------------------------------------
Print Name: XXXXXXX X. XXXXXX Print Name: XXXXXX XXXXXX
Title: CIO Title: CFO
Date: 12/16/2003 Date: 12/9/03
EXHIBIT 1
REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT
Included herein by reference
Refers to the Requirements Document dated August 1st, 2003 created pursuant to
the Website Development Agreement
EXHIBIT 2
OPERATIONS SPECIFICATIONS
1. SERVICES:
As a part of providing the maintenance, support and ongoing operations, BHI
would provide services in the areas of Network, Systems, Database, Application,
Reporting and Documentation. The details of what services will be included is
described below:
- APPLICATION (SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE)
- Bug fixes/error corrections and maintenance pursuant to Section
2.4 below
- Application error analysis and correction
- Up to 20 hours of application development per month to be used as
NCI directs. This includes changes to user interface, site
content, third party integrations, new functionality development
etc.
- NETWORK
- Network Hardware Maintenance
- Firewall Maintenance & audit
- Network monitoring & maintenance
- Monitor metrics on all devices such as utilization,
throughput, memory, buffers etc.
- Monitor system logs
- Monitor security mailing lists for security patches and hot
fixes
- Check SMTP failures and bounces
- Check and manage external services such as DNS and
URL/website monitoring
- Verify and maintain internal monitoring servers
- Intrusion detection system maintenance including monitoring of
IDS logs
- Denial of Service Prevention
- SYSTEMS
- Operating system & firmware evaluation & patching
- 24/7/365 proactive monitoring
- Server configuration and change management
- System security administration
- Hardware maintenance
- Performance tuning and proactive capacity planning
- Data backup services in coordination with co-location provider
- File system maintenance
- System software/hardware fault isolation and notification
- Disaster recovery services
- Co-ordination and relationship management with co-location
provider
- Virus Detection and Correction
- DATABASE
- Data feed maintenance, monitoring & QA
- Database maintenance & monitoring
- Database performance tuning
- Backend processes maintenance & monitoring
- Microsoft SQL updates/patches - evaluation and implementation
- Synchronizing data between the various environments
- Data Updates (Maps, Schools etc.)
- REPORTING
- Web trends reporting server maintenance
- DOCUMENTATION
- Requirements Document for new development work and site changes
- Modified architecture document if applicable (i.e. in the event
of change in application or database architecture)
- Modified detailed process documentation if applicable
- Modified technical specifications if applicable
2. SERVICE LEVELS
2.1 Support & operations will be provided 24/7/365 for the NCI Site and all
their related processes & components including data feeds.
2.2 NCI Site Uptime - 99.9% measured monthly, outside of regularly scheduled
maintenance windows.
2.3 Regularly scheduled maintenance windows will be from 1 AM to 5 AM Central
Standard Time each Wednesday
2.4 Incidents including, but not limited to, site errors, will be classified
into three types and the corresponding response time will be as follows:
TYPE DESCRIPTION RESPONSE FIX
---- ----------- -------- ---
Priority 1 Site down or down for majority of users 15 minutes ASAP
Priority 2 Bugs that needs to be fixed in the short term 2 Business days Weekly
Priority 3 Nice to have corrections With Revisions or Releases