Cost Savings Challenge Terms and Conditions

We, Confluent, Inc., are conducting a Cost Savings Challenge (“Cost Savings Challenge”) to educate prospective enterprise customers on savings opportunities associated with the use of Confluent products. We are planning to offer opportunities to participate in our Cost Savings Challenge until July 31, 2023 unless we end the initiative earlier, at our sole discretion, at any time and without prior notice. If you would like to participate in the Cost Savings Challenge, please carefully read these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”). By participating in the Cost Savings Challenge, you represent and warrant that: (i) you have the authority to bind the organization for which you work to these Terms; and (ii) you and such organization (which together, from here on, will be referred to as “you”) agree to these Terms. THESE TERMS INCLUDE A MANDATORY ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND LIMITATIONS TO OUR LIABILITY. 

How to Participate: If you express interest in participating in the Cost Savings Challenge and we agree, we will make reasonable efforts to schedule a meeting with you. If we determine, during the scheduled meeting, that we cannot demonstrate to you within 30 minutes that you will save money by adopting our or our affiliates’ services instead of self-managing an open source deployment of Apache Kafka, we will, subject to these Terms, offer you a USD $100 gift certificate or an opportunity to donate USD $100 to one of several charities selected by us (the “Offer”). If after the meeting you believe that you are entitled to the Offer, please notify us within 48 hours after the meeting by emailing bvc-team@confluent.io. The Offer is limited to one representative per organization, not per attendee of the call or per call. 

Eligibility: You must represent a prospective enterprise customer that is not subject to U.S., UK or EU trade transactions. Not eligible are public sector entities, consumers, or current customers (who are always welcome to reach out to their customer service representative with any questions). You may not be a legal resident of any country listed here: https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information. You must be above the age of 21. Employees, officers, directors, and agents of ours and our affiliates, and their immediate family members or those living in the same household as them, are not eligible to participate in the Cost Savings Challenge. You are responsible for confirming with your own organization that you are permitted to participate in the Cost Savings Challenge.

Compliance obligations: You agree to not engage in any conduct with respect to your participation of the Cost Savings Challenge that could harm us or any third party or violate any laws. You represent and warrant that you will comply with any tax obligations associated with receiving the Offer. You represent and warrant that your participation in the Cost Savings Challenge does not contravene any applicable rules or your company's codes of conduct, such as anti-bribery rules. The Offer is non-transferable, non-exchangeable, and has no cash value. The Offer cannot be combined with any other Cost Savings Challenges, discounts, or offers. We reserve the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the Cost Savings Challenge or any part of it, in our sole discretion, if any fraud, technical failures, or any other factor beyond our reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Cost Savings Challenge.

Confidentiality: We will not disclose confidential information that you share during the meeting regarding your systems configuration, costs, or procurement of goods and services to parties who are not affiliated with us. You will not disclose to any third party any confidential or proprietary information that we share during the meeting, including information regarding our pricing, software and services. 

Use of Your Feedback: You hereby grant us an irrevocable license and rights to use, adapt, distribute, commercialize, display, perform and otherwise utilize any feedback and suggestions that you provide on our products, services, activities or operations under a royalty-free, unlimited, irrevocable, worldwide, assignable, sublicenseable license, in any manner that we deem appropriate, without any obligation to attribute or compensate you. You hereby waive and release any claims you may have against us with respect to our use of the feedback or suggestions you provide.  

Governing Law: To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the validity, interpretation, modification, supplement, termination and execution of these Terms and any dispute or claim resulting from or in connection with these Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of California and the federal U.S. laws that apply therein, without regard to conflict of laws principles.

Mandatory Arbitration: Unless you are in a jurisdiction where mandatory and binding arbitration is prohibited by applicable law, mandatory arbitration is the only means of dispute resolution between you and us relating to these Terms. For any dispute with us, you agree to first contact us at contact@confluent.io and attempt to resolve the dispute with us informally. In the event that we were not able to resolve the dispute after 60 days, you and we agree to resolve any claim, dispute, or controversy (excluding any claims for injunctive or other equitable relief as provided below) arising out of or in connection with or relating to these Terms, or the breach or alleged breach thereof (collectively, “Claims”), exclusively by binding arbitration by JAMS, under the Optional Expedited Arbitration Procedures then in effect for JAMS, except as provided herein. JAMS may be contacted at https://www.jamsadr.com. The arbitration will be conducted in Santa Clara County, California, unless you and we agree otherwise. JAMS may require you to pay a fee for the initiation of your case, unless you apply for and successfully obtain a fee waiver from JAMS. The award rendered by the arbitrator may include your costs of arbitration, your reasonable attorney’s fees, and your reasonable costs for expert and other witnesses. Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this provision shall be deemed as preventing us from seeking injunctive or other equitable relief from courts as necessary to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of our applicable rights. In the event that the arbitration provision above is found to be unenforceable, you agree that Santa Clara County, California is the proper forum for any Claim, and you agree to personal jurisdiction and venue in the state and federal courts in Santa Clara County, California.

Class Action and Jury Trial Waiver: With respect to all persons and entities, regardless of whether they have participated in the Cost Savings Challenge, all Claims must be brought in the party’s individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action, collective action, private attorney general action or other representative proceeding. This waiver applies to class arbitration, and, unless we agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims. You agree that, by entering into these Terms, you and we are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action, collective action, private attorney general action, or other representative proceeding of any kind.

Limitation of Liability: By participating in the Cost Savings Challenge, you agree to release, indemnify, and hold harmless us and our affiliates, and our and their officers, directors, employees, and agents, from any and all liability, claims, losses, costs (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs), damages, expenses or actions of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Cost Savings Challenge or the receipt, use, or misuse of the Offer.

Severance: If any part of these Terms shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions of the Terms. 

Sponsor: The Cost Savings Challenge is sponsored by Confluent, Inc., located at 899 West Evelyn, Mountain View, CA 94041, USA.

Privacy: We will use your business contact details and the information you voluntarily provide to us to schedule and participate in a meeting with you, manage our relationship with you, and provide you with information. For more information about how we use your personal information, please see our Privacy Policy at https://www.confluent.io/legal/confluent-privacy-statement/.

California Notice of Financial Incentive. The following applies only if you reside in California. We provide you with this Notice of Financial Incentive so that you may make an informed decision on whether to participate in the Cost Savings Challenge, which we describe in these Terms. We target enterprise customers and not individual data subjects with the Cost Savings Challenge. We value your time but we do not assign monetary value to the personal information we collect from participants for the purposes of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, and the regulations thereunder. You may withdraw from the Cost Savings Challenge at any time by notifying us that you no longer wish to participate.