Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions of Sale for Sea-Bird Scientific Company Products and Services

1. Offer and Acceptance

   A Sea-Bird quotation confirms that Sea-Bird Scientific* or its affiliates ("Sea-Bird") will sell goods ("Products"), and/or perform services ("Services"), at the prices and on the terms and conditions quoted, to the “Customer.” Acceptance of any Sea-Bird proposal or quotation referring to these terms, or to which these terms are attached, is limited to acceptance of the exact terms as stated herein and in said proposal or quotation. “Acceptance” may be effected by any customary means including issuance of a responsive purchase order or equivalent authorization. Any different or additional terms shall be deemed objected to without effect unless subsequently agreed to in writing by Sea-Bird. The receipt of these terms by a Customer following an order not in response to, or inconsistent with, a written Sea-Bird proposal or quotation, shall be deemed an objection to all inconsistent terms in the order.

   * Sea-Bird Scientific (referred to herein as Sea-Bird) is an assumed business name and/or trade name of one or more of the following entities to which the subject transaction applies, and these terms are only binding on such entity:

   • Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc. (SBE), 13431 NE 20th Street, Bellevue, WA 98005, USA
   • Western Environmental Technology Laboratories, Inc. (WET Labs), 620 Applegate Street, Philomath, OR 97370, USA

2. Expiration

   Quotations are valid for 60 days.

3. Prices

   The prices in the quotation shall govern Customer’s purchase of the Products and Services. Any Sea-Bird catalogs or other advertising materials are maintained only as a source of general information, and any prices and/or specifications shown therein are subject to confirmation by specific quotations. Customer shall bear all taxes, including excise and/or sales taxes and/or value-added taxes (“Taxes”) with respect to the Products or Services that may be imposed by any statute, ordinance or regulation.

4. Terms of Payment

   Sea-Bird may require partial or full payment ARO. Unless otherwise agreed or required by Sea-Bird, to the extent that Sea-Bird extends any credit, payments shall be made in the lawful currency of U.S.A., and drawn from a U.S.A. bank (or by wire transfer or irrevocable and confirmed Letter of Credit), within 30 days of Sea-Bird’s invoice date, and subject to a monthly 1.5% late payment assessment. If Sea-Bird believes timely payments from Customer will not follow, and/or if the level of cost incurred by Sea-Bird for custom work is high, and/or if lead times are long, as determined by Sea-Bird in its sole discretion, then Sea-Bird may require payment on different terms, including but not limited to prepayment in full. Sea-Bird reserves the right to invoice for partial shipments.

5. Delivery and Risk of Loss

   Terms of Product delivery shall be “Ex Works” at the point of shipment (unless otherwise noted). All delivery, insurance, and transportation of the Products are at the Customer’s risk and pursuant to Customer’s discretion and account. The risk of loss or damage to the Products shall pass to the Customer at the time of shipment. Upon the request of the Customer, Sea-Bird may, but is not obligated to, arrange for transport and insurance at the Customer’s sole expense. Shipping dates are considered estimates only, and failure to meet said dates shall not be considered a breach by Sea-Bird.

6. Title and Security

   Title to Products shall pass to Customer upon delivery to a common carrier. Until Sea-Bird has received full payment for any Products, Sea-Bird is entitled to a security interest in the Products which shall upon Sea-Bird request, and with the assistance of Customer, be created and remain with Sea-Bird. Until the security interest is extinguished, Sea-Bird may stop shipment of, repossess and/or resell any Products in question.

7. Inspection

   Upon arrival Customer shall be entitled to conduct a reasonable investigation of the products purchased by it, but all claims for losses due to loss or damage to products while in transit shall be waived unless made immediately by Customer, but not more than thirty (30) days from arrival.

8. Warranty

   Sea-Bird warrants that the Products sold hereunder are free from defects in material or workmanship for a specific warranty period, as set forth in Sea-Bird’s then-current warranty policy applicable to the particular Sea-Bird site and/or Products, and these terms and conditions, which together govern Sea-Bird’s liability to its Customers. Warranty periods depend on the particular Sea-Bird site and/or Products, and vary generally between one (1) and five (5) years from the date of original shipment. Any deviations from this warranty policy shall be separately agreed among Sea-Bird and Customer. This warranty is void and does not apply to Products that have been subject to abuse, misuse, neglect, accident, impact such as dropping, tampering, modification, unauthorized repair, improper installation, if the Products have been used for purposes not authorized by Sea-Bird or other causes unrelated to defective materials or workmanship. Sea-Bird shall make the final determination as to the existence and cause of any alleged defect. No warranty is made with respect to custom equipment or Products produced to Customer's specifications except as may be specifically set forth in writing by Sea-Bird in a separate contract for such custom equipment. EXCEPT FOR THE EXPRESS WARRANTIES SET FORTH HEREIN, SEA-BIRD HEREBY DISCLAIMS AND MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SEA-BIRD’S SOLE LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED, AT SEA-BIRD’S SOLE OPTION, TO THE REMEDY PROVIDED HEREIN. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Customer acknowledges that the warranty set forth in this paragraph supersedes all prior agreements and discussions with respect to the quality and performance of the Products and Services.

9. Remedy

   If any Product proves to be in breach of the foregoing warranty, Customer must notify Sea-Bird in writing not later than the 30th day following the end of the warranty period. Sea-Bird will promptly issue a return authorization for such Product. AS THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY, SEA-BIRD SHALL, AT ITS OPTION, EITHER REPAIR, REPLACE OR MODIFY THE PRODUCT. Customer shall be responsible for removing any defective parts in the Products and installing any repaired or replacement parts provided hereunder.

10. Limitation of Liability

    IN NO EVENT SHALL SEA-BIRD BE LIABLE FOR ANY PENALTY OR ANY DAMAGES TO THE CUSTOMER, ITS CUSTOMERS, AGENTS OR ANY THIRD PARTY WITH RESPECT TO ANY LOSS OF PRODUCTION, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF OTHER GOODS, LOSS OF ORDERS, LOSS OF PROFITS, SUBSTITUTION COSTS, LOSS OF REVENUES, DOWN-TIME COSTS OR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FAILURE OF THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES AND/OR THE REMOVAL OF PRODUCTS FROM SERVICE, OR ANY OTHER SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, TORT, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OR THE LEGAL THEORY THEREFOR, INCLUDING LATE DELIVERY. SEA-BIRD’S LIABILITY, IF ANY, IS LIMITED TO THE ABOVE WARRANTY, AND PAYMENT RECEIVED FROM THE CUSTOMER FOR THE PRODUCTS IN QUESTION. This exclusion also includes any liability which may arise out of third party claims against Customer. Sea-Bird assumes no obligations or liability of any kind with respect to infringements or alleged infringements of United States or foreign patents, copyrights, trademarks, or other proprietary rights arising out of Customer's purchase, use, or possession of Products.

11. Returns

    No Products may be returned, unless authorized by Sea-Bird, and Sea-Bird shall not be liable for any Products returned without such authorization. Customer shall be responsible for the transportation charges and losses of such Products returned. Any Products wrongfully returned, but accepted by Sea-Bird, shall be subject to a restocking charge of thirty percent (30%) of the invoice or purchase order amount plus any transportation costs incurred by Sea-Bird. Products built to Customer's specifications and Products that have been modified by the Customer may not be returned under any conditions. Customer shall carefully pack any returned Product in order that same may reach Sea-Bird without damage. Products shall be returned only to those locations stipulated to by Sea-Bird at the time that Sea-Bird consents to the return of such Products. The shipping container for all returned Products must be adequate to ensure safe delivery of Products to Sea-Bird.

12. Default and Cancellation

    In the event of Customer's default in payment for Products purchased hereunder, Customer shall be responsible for all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by Sea-Bird in collection of any sums owing by Customer (including reasonable attorney's fees), and Sea-Bird may decline to make further shipments to Customer without in any way affecting its rights under this contract. If, despite any such breach by Customer, Sea-Bird elects to continue to make shipments, such shipments shall not constitute a waiver of any breach by Customer or in any way affect Sea-Bird's legal remedies arising from such breach. Customer shall not cancel, terminate, suspend performance of, or issue a hold on, any commitment for the purchase of, or payment for, Sea-Bird Products or Services, without prior written consent of Sea-Bird. Sea-Bird shall be entitled upon any termination or equivalent action to any losses including but not limited to the cost of the Products designed, manufactured and/or shipped; the cost of Services rendered; lost profits; and other incurred costs or expenses. Any termination is subject to a minimum 15% termination charge. Sea-Bird retains the right to terminate any contract for Services (or any contract for Products to the extent said contract requires specialized services) at its sole discretion, with reimbursement for all reasonable costs and expenses incurred up to point of termination. If Customer becomes bankrupt or insolvent, or files or has filed against it in any petition in bankruptcy, or makes an arrangement for the benefit of its creditors, or suffers a receiver or similar party to be appointed, Sea-Bird shall be entitled to cancel this contract without judicial intervention or declaration of default of Customer and without prejudice to any right or remedy which shall have accrued or shall thereafter accrue to Sea-Bird.

13. Indemnification

    Customer shall indemnify, defend and hold Sea-Bird harmless from any and all claims (including attorney's fees and court costs) arising out of or connected with any Services, or production or use of any Products designed according to any Customer Specifications and/or Designs, to the extent that said claims result from Sea-Bird’s use of and/or reliance on said Specifications and/or Designs for said Products and Services.

14. Software License Grant and Limitations

    Any Customer of a software Product created by Sea-Bird is granted a limited, non-exclusive, and non-sublicensable license to use the Software products to use a single instance of the software Product in connection with a single Sea-Bird system. Sea-Bird retains title to and ownership of and all proprietary rights with respect to such software Products and all copies and portions thereof, whether or not incorporated into or with other software. This License does NOT constitute a sale of the software Products or any portion or copy thereof. Customer acknowledges that the software created by Sea-Bird and all accompanying documentation and specifications constitute valuable proprietary, confidential, and trade secret information of Sea-Bird. Such software, documentation and specifications may not be copied or sub-licensed, in whole or in part, provided, transferred, or otherwise disclosed or made available to third parties without the express written consent of Sea-Bird. Title and ownership of the software created by Sea-Bird shall at all times remain with Sea-Bird. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Products are offered for sale and are sold by Sea-Bird subject in every case to the condition that such sale does not convey any license, expressly or by implication, estoppel or otherwise, under any patent claim with respect to which Sea-Bird can grant licenses covering complete equipment, or any assembly, circuit combination, method or process in which any such Products are used as components. Sea-Bird expressly reserves all its rights under such patent claims. Sea-Bird may revoke this license upon the breach of any of its terms or upon misuse of the license or the software.

15. Proprietary Rights

    All Sea-Bird contributions to the Products and Services, the results of the Services, and any other work product designed or provided by Sea-Bird hereunder may contain or result in statutory and non-statutory Intellectual Property, including but not limited to patentable subject matter or trade secrets; and all such Intellectual Property remains the sole property of Sea-Bird; and Customer shall not disclose (except to the extent inherently necessary during any resale of Product sold hereunder), disassemble, decompile, or otherwise reverse engineer said contributions, or any results of the Services, or any work product, or otherwise attempt to learn the underlying processes, source code, structure, algorithms, or ideas.

16. Compliance with Laws

    Unless otherwise specified, Customer is responsible for obtaining any required export or import licenses. Customer will comply with all laws and regulations applicable to the installation, use, or export and import of all Products, including applicable export control laws and regulations of the U.S., E.U. and any other country having proper jurisdiction and will obtain all necessary export licenses in connection with any subsequent export, re-export, transfer and use of all Products and technology delivered hereunder. Customer will not sell, transfer, export or re-export any Sea-Bird Products or technology for use in activities which involve the design, development, production, use or stockpiling of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or missiles, nor use Sea-Bird Products or technology in any facility which engages in activities relating to such weapons. Customer will comply with all local, national, and other laws of all jurisdictions globally relating to anti-corruption, bribery, extortion, kickbacks, or similar matters which are applicable to Customer’s business activities, including but not limited to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (the “FCPA”). Customer agrees that no payment of money or provision of anything of value will be offered, promised, paid or transferred, directly or indirectly, by any person or entity, to any government official, government employee, or employee of any company owned in part by a government, political party, political party official, or candidate for any government office or political party office to induce such organizations or persons to use their authority or influence to obtain or retain an improper business advantage for Customer or for Sea-Bird, or which otherwise constitute or have the purpose or effect of public or commercial bribery, acceptance of or acquiescence in extortion, kickbacks or other unlawful or improper means of obtaining business or any improper advantage, with respect to any of Customer’s activities.

17. Notices

    Any notice contemplated by or made pursuant to this contract shall be in writing.

18. Modification/Waiver

    These terms incorporate and/or replace all prior terms whether oral or written, and may not be changed by either party except by a writing signed by both parties. The failure by Sea-Bird to enforce at any time any of the provisions of this contract, or to exercise any election or option provided herein, shall in no way be construed as a waiver of such provision or option, nor in any way affect the validity of this contract (or any part hereof), or the right of Sea-Bird thereafter to enforce each and every such provision. If any provision hereof is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable the remaining terms and provisions shall be unaffected and remain in full force and effect.

19. Assignment

    This agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of Sea-Bird's successors and assigns, including without limitation, any entity into which Sea-Bird shall merge or consolidate. Customer may not assign any of Customer's rights or obligations under this agreement without Sea-Bird's prior written consent. Any attempted assignment, delegation, or transfer by Customer without such consent of Sea-Bird shall be void.

20. Force Majeure

    Sea-Bird will exercise reasonable efforts to fill all orders according to the agreed schedule(s); provided, however, that Sea-Bird shall not be responsible for any damages or delays caused by acts of God, acts of civil or military authorities, fires, strikes, floods, epidemics, quarantines, restrictions of government, war, riots, transportation delays, obtaining necessary engineering talent, labor, materials or manufacturing facilities, or any other cause beyond its reasonable control. In the event of any such delay, the delivery date shall be extended for such length of time as may be reasonably necessary.

21. Miscellaneous

    All rights of the parties with respect to any sale covered hereby shall be governed by the substantive law of the State of New York as applied to agreements among New York residents entered into in New York. In no event shall any provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods govern the terms of the same contemplated hereby. The Customer irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of any state or federal court having within its jurisdiction Sea-Bird's place of business.