Website Terms & Conditions

LOBSTER INTERNATIONAL S.A. (“LOBSTER INK”)

TAKE NOTE THAT THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAIN PROVISIONS THAT DISCLAIM, LIMIT AND EXCLUDE THE LIABILITY OF LOBSTER INK TO YOU AND THAT INDEMNIFY LOBSTER INK AGAINST CLAIMS AND DAMAGES THAT IT MAY SUFFER AS A RESULT OF YOUR CONDUCT.  PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING TO USE THE WEBSITE FURTHER.

1. INTRODUCTION

Lobster Ink provides services to global clients and their designated users by producing and licensing to them world-class training and educational course content in the form of video, training manuals, workbooks, assessments and other learning collateral, accessed via its website, www.lobsterink.com.  The service includes the provision of general training content for, inter alia, the hospitality industry, focused on international standards, skills and product knowledge, as well as tailored content for a client’s brand. These Terms and Conditions of use pertain to all Lobster Ink websites, including the site found at the URL, www.lobsterink.com.  

These terms and conditions (“the Website Terms and Conditions”) govern your use of Lobster Ink websites (“the Website”), whether you are a registered user (i.e. student or manager) with login capability, or not. By accessing and using the Website, you agree to be bound by the Website Terms and Conditions set out in this legal notice. If you do not wish to be bound by these Website Terms and Conditions then you may not access, display, download, and/or otherwise use, copy or distribute any content obtained from the Website. You may not use the Website if you are not of a legal age to form a binding agreement with Lobster Ink. The general terms pertaining to visiting the Website in these Website Terms and Conditions become effective when you access the Website for the first time. To the extent that any terms pertain to your interaction with the Website, such as where you make use of any user forums on the Website, or share any information via the Website, such terms are effective and shall bind you and Lobster Ink from the point of such interaction.  The current version of these Website Terms and Conditions will govern our respective rights and obligations each time you access this site.

For further information on the gathering, use and disclosure of your personal information please see our Privacy Policy. For further information on our use of electronic cookies and web analytics tools, please see our Cookie Policy.

The Website is intended to provide you, the consumer, with information about the services we offer and to offer such products or services as we, in our discretion, may elect to make available via our Website.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE WEBSITE AND THE CONTENT AND ALL VIDEOS AND INFORMATION THEREIN HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AS INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES, WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT CLIENTS AND THEIR USERS WILL USE AND ADAPT ELEMENTS THAT THEY BELIEVE ARE APPROPRIATE TO THEIR PARTICULAR BUSINESS CONTEXT. AS SUCH THE TRAINING, INFORMATION AND PROCESSES ARE INTENDED TO SERVE AS GENERAL ADVICE AND RESOURCES ABOUT SELECTED TOPICS AND ARE NOT DESIGNED TO PROVIDE COMPLETE, SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS ON ALL ISSUES PERTAINING TO ALL TOPICS.  RELIANCE THEREON IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. EACH CLIENT AND USER IS UNIQUE AND IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO USE INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE APPROPRIATELY AND RESPONSIBLY, GIVEN INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONTEXT.

2. DEFINITIONS

In these Website Terms and Conditions, unless it is clear from the context that another meaning should be attached to a word, the following words and expressions shall bear the following meanings:

“Lobster Ink” means Lobster International S.A., a company incorporated and registered in Geneva, Switzerland, having its place of business at Boulevard Helvétique, 30, 1207, Geneva, Switzerland and shall bear the same meaning when referred to as “we” or “our”.

“Content” means all content published on the Website, and does not only refer to video and training content that is made available to registered and other users, but also includes information about us, the various products or services we offer, the clients we have serviced and various resources and shall include, but not be limited to, all information, data, images, sound clips and logo’s on the Website, as well as any other intellectual property (whether registered or unregistered) that is the property of Lobster Ink, its affiliates or subsidiaries, any of its clients, partners or licensors, or any other third party.  

“Effective date” means the date on which you first access and interact with the Website.  By accessing and using the Website, you are deemed to have read and accepted these Website Terms and Conditions.

“User” means you, the person who accesses the Website.  In the appropriate context, “you” or “your” shall bear the same meaning when referred to in the first person.

3. INTERPRETATION

These Website Terms and Conditions are legally binding on both you and Lobster Ink, and constitute a binding agreement between you and Lobster Ink.

In this document: a reference to any male shall include the female and vice versa; a reference to the singular shall include the plural and vice versa; a reference to a natural person shall include a corporate person or juristic entity (such as a company, or a trust) and vice versa; the provisions contained in the Introduction, Definitions and this clause on Interpretation shall, unless the context indicates a contrary intention, comprise substantive provisions conferring reciprocal rights and obligations on you and Lobster Ink.

These Website Terms and Conditions shall be construed and interpreted according to the laws of Switzerland.

4. DURATION OF THESE WEBSITE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, REGISTRATION FOR PARTICULAR SERVICE AND CONFLICT

These Website Terms and Conditions shall be effective from the Effective Date and shall endure for a continuous period until the User’s use of the Website is permanently discontinued or suspended or cancelled, save for the rights and obligations which by their nature are intended to survive termination of access to the Website.  If the User registers for a particular service and is given login details pursuant thereto, there may be other terms and conditions pertaining to the use of that specific service by the User, that are concluded during the online registration process. Such terms and conditions (“End-User Terms and Conditions”) shall be effective from registration, until the User’s use of the particular service is permanently discontinued or suspended or cancelled, save for the rights and obligations therein which by their nature are intended to survive termination of access to the particular service.  These Website Terms and Conditions shall bind the User simultaneously with the End-User Terms and Conditions, provided that, if there is a conflict between these Website Terms and Conditions and the End-User Terms and Conditions and both apply to a User, the latter shall prevail.

5. UPDATES TO THESE WEBSITE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Lobster Ink reserves the right to update, amend, change and/or modify these Website Terms and Conditions from time to time. Changes to these Website Terms and Conditions will become effective immediately upon such changes being posted to the Website.  By accessing the Website, you are bound to the version of the Website Terms and Conditions published at the time of any visit to the Website. The User’s continued use of the Website following the posting of updates, amendments, changes and/or modifications will be considered notice of the User’s acceptance to abide by and be bound by the updated and current version of these Website Terms and Conditions.

Lobster Ink is also entitled to make any changes to the Content of the Website, and to service offerings and/or any other information offered through the Website at any time and without notice.

A certificate signed by the administrator responsible for maintaining the Website will be face value (or “prima facie”) proof of the date of publication and Content of the current version of these Website Terms and Conditions, and/or all previous versions thereof.

6. COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Lobster Ink provides the Content on the Website. Content currently or anticipated to be displayed on the Website is provided by Lobster Ink, its affiliates and/or subsidiaries, or any other third party owners of such Content, and includes but is not limited to copyrighted material, musical works, artistic works, sound recordings, video materials, and other forms of content. All such proprietary works, and the compilation of the proprietary works, are copyright of Lobster Ink, its affiliates or subsidiaries, or any other third party owner of such rights (“the Owners”), and are protected by international copyright laws. Accordingly, any unauthorised copying, reproduction, retransmission, distribution, dissemination, sale, publication, broadcast or other circulation or exploitation of the Content or any component thereof will constitute an infringement of such copyright and other intellectual property rights.

The trademarks, names, logos and service marks (collectively "Trademarks") displayed on the Website are the registered and/or unregistered Trademarks of Lobster Ink, its affiliates and/or subsidiaries and/or any other third party owner (“the Owners”), as the case may be. Nothing contained on the Website should be construed as granting any license or right to use any Trademark without the prior written permission of the relevant Owner thereof.  Except as specified in these Website Terms and Conditions, you are not granted a license or any other right to copyright in respect of the Content, nor to use the Trademarks and/or any other intellectual property rights owned by the Owners which may be accessible via the Website, and all such rights are reserved and retained by Lobster Ink and/or the relevant Owners, as the case may be.

You acknowledge that you have no right, title or interest in or to the Content, the Trademarks and/or any other intellectual property rights owned by the Owners.

7. LIMITED LICENSE GRANTED TO USERS

Without limiting the generality of the above section, you are authorised to view the Content on the Website and Lobster Ink grants to you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited and revocable right to access, display, use, download and otherwise copy the current and future Content for personal, non-commercial use and information purposes only. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not apply to accessing training Content as a registered User for a particular service.

Save as contemplated by these Website Terms and Conditions, the Website and the Content may not be reproduced, duplicated, copied, resold, visited or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose without the express prior written consent of Lobster Ink.

The license does not allow you to collect or “scrape” information from the Website, and does not allow any derivative use of this Website or the Content for the benefit of another merchant and/or retailer.

You may not frame nor use framing technologies to enclose the Website or the Content nor any part thereof without the express written consent of Lobster Ink.

You are restricted to use the Website and Content only for lawful purposes and you warrant that you shall not use the Website: 1) to transmit or post material which is in violation of any law or regulation, which is obscene, threatening, racist, menacing, offensive, defamatory, in breach of any duty of confidence, in breach of any intellectual property rights, or otherwise objectionable or unlawful; and 2) other than for personal and non-commercial use, storage on a computer, or printing and/or copies of extracts from the Website, which shall include "mirroring" or cache-ing any of the Content of Website on a server, or copying, adapting, modifying and/or reusing the text or graphics obtained from the Website, without the prior written permission of Lobster Ink.

Lobster Ink does not offer its services to minors. If you are under the age of 18, Lobster Ink will not provide you with any services as advertised on the Website.

Lobster Ink, its affiliates and/or subsidiaries reserve the right to refuse service and to remove or edit Content at their sole discretion.

Any unauthorised use terminates this license.

8. ACCEPTABLE USAGE OF ANY USER FORUM

Access to any User-generated information sharing pages  that may appear on the Website from time to time, shall be granted at the sole and absolute discretion of Lobster Ink and access may be suspended or revoked at any time without reason or notice. No person who has been granted access to any such pages may re-publish the content contained thereon in any other medium without the express written consent of Lobster Ink. Any person who wishes to have access to such pages assumes all risks associated therewith. No person may publish any content on any Lobster Ink forum or information sharing page that propagates racist, sexist, homophobic or xenophobic views, that constitutes hate speech or incitement to violence or that is designed or likely to provoke a sense of discomfort or fear in the reader.  Lobster Ink retains unfettered editorial rights over all content published on its Website and reserves the absolute right to delete, edit or block any User-generated content as it sees fit.

9. RETURNS AND CREDIT CARD CANCELLATIONS

Where a User purchases Content (courses) via subscription or other method on the Website:

• Refunds: Lobster Ink does not provide refunds on courses purchased via subscription or other method of purchase; and
• Credit card payments: If you cancel payment after a credit card purchase, Lobster Ink reserves the right to claim payment from you, or take any other action that it deems fit.

Further information can be found at our  FAQ’s.

10. PERMISSION FOR HYPERLINKS, DEEP LINKING, CRAWLERS & METATAGS

No User may establish a hyperlink, frame, metatag or similar reference, whether electronically or otherwise (collectively referred to as “Linking”), to the Website or any subsidiary pages thereof before receiving Lobster Ink’s prior written approval, which may be withheld or granted subject to the conditions Lobster Ink may specify from time to time.

Any third party site may link to the Website provided that such a link is directed at the home page only, unless with our prior written consent.  We may provide links to other websites, but the inclusion of any link does not imply our endorsement of such sites, nor the endorsement of any products and/or services advertised on such sites and such links are for convenience only.

Lobster Ink shall not be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, in any way for the contents, use, or inability to use or access any linked websites or any advertisement displayed on the Website.  

It is expressly prohibited for any person, business, entity, or website to frame any page on the Website, including the home page, in any way whatsoever, without the prior written approval of Lobster Ink.  An application for Linking must be submitted to info@lobsterink.com. Once received Lobster Ink will do its best to respond and enter into further discussions with you. If you do not receive a written response from Lobster Ink within five business days, you should consider the request as having been rejected.

A breach of this provision entitles Lobster Ink to take legal action without prior notice to you and you agree to reimburse Lobster Ink with the costs associated with such legal action.

Hyperlinks:

Notwithstanding the fact that hyperlinks may exist from time to time in these Website Terms and Conditions to facilitate access to notices, policies and legislation that are incorporated into the Website Terms and Conditions, you agree that in those instances, where some or all of the hyperlinks malfunction or are not operational, such occurrence shall not affect the validity or enforceability of these Website Terms and Conditions.  You undertake, at your own convenience and discretion, to review and acquaint yourself with necessary documents.

External Links:

External links may be provided for your convenience, but the functioning of these links are beyond the control of Lobster Ink and no representation is made as to the accuracy or reliability of any content accessed via such links. Use or reliance on any external links or content accessed via such links provided is at your own risk.  When visiting external links you must refer to that external website’s terms and conditions of use. No hypertext links shall be created from any website controlled by you or otherwise to the Website without the express prior written permission of Lobster Ink.

Crawlers and Spider Searching Technology:

Apart from bona fide (or “good faith”) search engine operators and use of any search facility provided on the Website, you may not use or attempt to use any technology or applications (including web crawlers, robots or web spiders) to search, collect or copy Content from the Website for any purpose whatsoever, without the prior written consent of Lobster Ink.  The use of non-malicious search technology, such as 'web-crawlers' or 'web-spiders' to search and gain information from the Website is not permitted if such technology will result in slowing down the Website's server or if it will result in copyright infringement of any of the Content available on the Website. Data and information may only be used as provided for in these Website Terms and Conditions. No permission is given or should be implied to use information on the Website for the purpose of communicating unsolicited marketing communications. E-mail addresses, names, contact telephone numbers and fax numbers published on the Website may not be incorporated into any database used for electronic marketing or similar purposes.

11. SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS

Software, if any, made available for download on or via the Website may be governed by license conditions that establish a legal relationship with the licensor. You indemnify Lobster Ink against any breach of these license conditions. Lobster Ink gives no warranty and makes no representation, whether express or implied, as to the quality or fitness for purpose of the use of such software.

No warranty, whether express or implied, is given that any pages, files, downloads or applications available via the Website are free of viruses, Trojans, bombs, time-locks, spyware, malware or any other data or code which has the ability to corrupt or affect the operation of your computer, database, network or other information system.

12. BROWSER COMPATIBILITY

Lobster Ink retains an absolute and unfettered discretion to make this Website accessible or legible in particular web browsers only and, without limiting our discretion in any way, Lobster Ink does not guarantee accessibility or legibility on any particular mobile phone or tablet browsers.

13. NOTIFICATIONS & ALERTS

You understand and agree that if at any time we endeavour to provide you with any notifications or alerts, such notifications or alerts may be delayed or prevented by a variety of factors.  Lobster Ink neither guarantees the delivery nor the accuracy of the content of any notification or alert. You also agree that Lobster Ink shall not be liable for any delays, failure to deliver, or misdirected delivery of any notification or alert, for any errors contained therein or for any actions taken or not taken by you or any third party in reliance on a notification or alert.  If we ever request your contact details for any purpose, it is your sole responsibility to ensure that your contact details are kept updated for the purposes of receiving any notifications or alerts and that no other person has access to communications that we may send to you using the contact details that you provide us with.

14. TERMINATION, SUSPENSION & LIMITATION

Lobster Ink reserves the right to, at any time:

• modify, suspend or discontinue the Website, whether temporarily or permanently, without notice;
• impose limits or conditions on certain services, features or functions;
• update, change, terminate or in any other way amend Content (including courses) offered on the Website;
• restrict access to parts of or all of the services on the Website; and
• suspend or restrict a User’s access.

15. DISCLAIMER & LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Although Lobster Ink has taken reasonable care to ensure that the Content on the Website is accurate, the Website is provided on an “as is” basis. Use of the Website is entirely at your own risk. You assume full responsibility for any loss or damage resulting from your use of the Website or your reliance on any of the Content or part/s thereof.

LOBSTER INK MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION AS TO THE AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT. NONE OF LOBSTER INK NOR ITS AFFILIATES (INCLUDING SOUTHERN AFRICA SKILLS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED T/A LET’S SELL LOBSTER INK, A COMPANY INCORPORATED IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA), PARTNERS AND/OR SUBSIDIARIES SHALL BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES OF WHATSOEVER NATURE SUFFERED OR INCURRED BY YOU OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY THAT MAY ARISE DUE TO THE USE OF THE WEBSITE, OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE CONTENT OR THE WEBSITE OR ANY FUNCTIONALITY THEREOF, OR OF ANY LINKED WEBSITE, EVEN IF LOBSTER INK IS EXPRESSLY ADVISED THEREOF.

WITHOUT DEROGATING FROM THE GENERALITY OF THE ABOVE, LOBSTER INK WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

• ANY INTERRUPTION, MALFUNCTION, DOWNTIME OR OTHER FAILURE IN RESPECT OF THE WEBSITE OR RELATED DATABASE, SYSTEM OR NETWORK, FOR WHATEVER REASON;
• ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE IN RESPECT OF CUSTOMER DATA OR OTHER DATA, CAUSED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY AS A RESULT OF ANY MALFUNCTION OF THE WEBSITE OR RELATED DATABASE, SYSTEM OR NETWORK, POWER FAILURES, UNLAWFUL ACCESS TO OR THEFT OF DATA, COMPUTER VIRUSES OR DESTRUCTIVE CODE ON THE WEBSITE OR RELATED DATABASE, SYSTEM OR NETWORK, PROGRAMMING DEFECTS OR NEGLIGENCE; OR
• ANY EVENT OVER WHICH LOBSTER INK HAS NO DIRECT CONTROL.

LOBSTER INK MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANY WEBSITE INFORMATION, SECURITY OR ENCRYPTION FACILITIES OR THE WEBSITE’S SUITABILITY FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS PROVIDED BY THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVER WHICH MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your computers and information systems are adequately protected against computer viruses, spyware, Trojan horses and other forms of malicious software or code.  Lobster Ink will not be liable for any damages, losses or harm, including but not limited to direct, indirect, consequential loss or loss of profits that you or anyone else may sustain as a result of using the Website.

WITHOUT DETRACTING FROM OR IN ANY WAY NEGATING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THESE WEBSITE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU AGREE THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL OUR ENTIRE AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR HARM SUFFERED BY YOU AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF THE WEBSITE EXCEED THE SUM OF US$ 100.00 (ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS).

16. INDEMNITY

The User unconditionally and irrevocably indemnifies and holds Lobster Ink harmless against all and any loss, liability, actions, lawsuits, proceedings, costs, demands and damages of all and every kind (including direct, indirect, special or consequential damages), and whether in an action based on contract, negligence or any other action, arising out of or in connection with the failure or delay in the performance of the Website, the use of the Website, the Content available on the Website or any other matter, directly or indirectly related to the User’s use of the Website.

17. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

Where you choose to communicate with us by means of any communication channel accessible via the Website, including email, form submission, IP telephony or instant messaging, you agree, subject to the provisions of any applicable law, to our right to monitor, intercept, block, filter, read, store and delete all such communications as we see fit or as required or permitted by any law.

We do not recommend that sensitive or confidential information be submitted to us via unencrypted channels and we do not warrant that all information communicated to or from us via the Website or online channels shall be encrypted and free from risk of interception.

18. PROSECUTION AND INDEMNITY FOR BREACH

Lobster Ink reserves its right to take all appropriate actions against any person breaching these Website Terms and Conditions. Furthermore, we will pursue both criminal prosecution of and civil compensation by any person that delivers or attempts to deliver any destructive code to this Website or attempts to gain unauthorized access to any page on this Website.

You agree to indemnify and hold Lobster Ink harmless against any and all liabilities, including legal costs that it may sustain as a result of your breach of any of these Website Terms and Conditions or any negligent act or omission by you.

19. GENERAL

The headings of the clauses in these Website Terms and Conditions are provided for convenience and ease of reference only and will not be used to interpret, modify or amplify the Website Terms and Conditions.

The Website Terms and Conditions are severable, in that if any provision is determined to be illegal or unenforceable by any court or other forum of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be deemed to have been deleted without affecting the remaining provisions of the Website Terms and Conditions.

Lobster Ink’s failure or delay to exercise any particular right or provision of the Website Terms and Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision, whether express or implied, nor will it affect the validity of any part these Website Terms and Conditions or prejudice Lobster Ink’s right to take subsequent action against the User, unless acknowledged and agreed to by Lobster Ink in writing.

If Lobster Ink merges with, or is acquired by, any other business, you will be notified and any personal information that we hold about you will become available to that other business but only in terms of the detailed terms and conditions of our Privacy Policy and/or in accordance with any privacy provisions in any applicable End-User Terms and Conditions.

Should Lobster Ink be prevented from fulfilling any of its obligations to you as a result of any event of force majeure, then those obligations shall be deemed to have been suspended to the extent that and for as long as Lobster Ink is so prevented from fulfilling them and your corresponding obligations shall be suspended to the corresponding extent.  In the event that the relevant force majeure continues for more than fourteen days after it has first occurred then Lobster Ink shall be entitled (but not obliged) to terminate all of its rights and obligations in terms of or arising out of these Website Terms and Conditions by giving notice to the User.  An "event of force majeure" shall mean any event or circumstance which is not within the reasonable control of Lobster Ink including, without limitation, any act of God, strike, theft, riots, explosion, insurrection or other similar disorder, war (whether declared or not) or military operations, the downtime of any external telecommunications line, power failure, international restrictions, any requirement of any international authority, any requirement of any government or other competent local authority, any court order, export control or shortage of transport facilities.

The current version of these Website Terms and Conditions, as varied by Lobster Ink from time to time and including all documents incorporated by reference (or via hyperlink), constitute the entire and sole agreement between Lobster Ink and the User with regard to the use of the Content and this Website, save in the event that a User registers for any particular service, in which event the applicable End-User Terms and Conditions shall also apply, subject to the further provisions of clause 4 above.

These Website Terms and Conditions were last revised in April 2018.

20. LOBSTER INFORMATION

Full Name and Legal Status: Lobster International S.A., a company incorporated and registered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Physical and Registered Address: Spacesworks, Quai de l'île 13, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland.

Email Address: support (at) lobsterink.com

Company Identification Number: CHE-409.294.152