Virtual Expo Show Policies

IAAPA Intellectual Property Policy and Procedures

IAAPA Board of Directors adopted a policy and procedures document regarding intellectual property for companies who purchase 1) exhibit space for any IAAPA expo, 2) sponsorship for any IAAPA event, 3) or advertising for any IAAPA publications.

In general, this policy requires the purchasing company to attest that it owns or has rights to sell the product and in the event of a dispute will abide by a binding arbitration process.

We strongly encourage our manufacturers, and consultant members to become familiar with this policy to make sure you comply with its provisions.

Policy and Procedures Language

It is the policy of the association for those who provide products or services to the amusement industry and seek to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase advertising in IAAPA publications, to acquire sponsorships of IAAPA programs or events, or to rent exhibition space at IAAPA trade shows and expos in the United States or abroad, as a condition of being provided that opportunity by IAAPA, are required without exception to accept and adhere to the IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property;

The IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property will be periodically reviewed and, if necessary, revised by the Board; and

IAAPA executive staff is empowered and directed to implement and enforce the IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property and to report at appropriate times to the Board on the progress of that implementation.

General

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) is the largest international trade association for permanently-situated amusement facilities worldwide and is dedicated to the preservation and prosperity of the amusement industry.
IAAPA provides a variety of opportunities for those who provide products and services to the amusement industry represented by IAAPA to interface with the IAAPA members and non-members in the industry through media and events owned and operated by IAAPA for the betterment of the industry.
IAAPA has a strong interest and desire to assure a “level playing field” and fair and appropriate business practices by all who assist and serve the amusement industry and utilize or participate in IAAPA media or events respectively.
IAAPA in particular is committed to reducing or eliminating questions, issues, conflicts, controversies or contests over the ownership or use of intellectual property (IP) in connection with IAAPA advertising, sponsorships or exhibits.
Those who provide products or services to the amusement industry and seek to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase advertising in IAAPA publications, to acquire sponsorships of IAAPA programs or events, or to rent exhibition space at IAAPA trade shows and expos in the United States or abroad, as a condition of being provided that opportunity by IAAPA, are required without exception to accept and adhere to this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property.

Features

Every individual or firm that purchases advertising in any IAAPA publication, whether paper or digital; that acquires an individual or joint sponsorship of any IAAPA event or program, or portion of an event or program; or that rents exhibition space at any IAAPA owned and operated trade show exhibition in the U.S. or elsewhere shall, as a condition of that participation, agree to the terms of this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property.
In particular, IAAPA advertising, sponsorship and exhibitor contracts will all contain a non-negotiable provision whereby the purchasing/acquiring /renting firm agrees that any claim or dispute over ownership, use, registration or assignment of intellectual property arising under the terms of this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property will be resolved for purposes only of the IAAPA advertising, sponsorship or exhibition by IAAPA under the terms of this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property. For these purposes, “intellectual property” or “IP” may consist of patents, trademarks or copyrights, whether registered or not in any country, as well as names, logos, titles, designs, decorations, etc.
The contract provisions in the IAAPA advertising, sponsorship and exhibitor contracts will stipulate and clarify that the resolution of intellectual property claims or disputes over IP ownership under this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property is limited in its scope and purpose to impacts and effects upon the appearance of that IP in IAAPA advertising, sponsorships or exhibits. The resolution will have no effect, and the contracting firm specifically agrees to not assert any effect of that resolution, upon judicial, regulatory, or other legal forums in any country. In short, any resolution reached under the IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property is for the purposes of carrying on IAAPA advertising, sponsorships and exhibit programs exclusively and is not a legal adjudication for any other purposes.
Any party may lodge a complaint with IAAPA under this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property that an IAAPA advertiser, sponsor or exhibitor is using IP without authorization that is owned, available for use, or assigned to the Complainant or to a third party other than the individual or firm that is an IAAPA advertiser, sponsor or exhibitor. The complaint must be in writing and signed by the Complainant. It must include written information, graphic representations, legal documents or other factual information sufficient for IAAPA or its designated Adjudicator to resolve the matter and to determine that the complaint is not inadequately brief and unsupported or merely frivolous. If IAAPA determines that the complaint is inadequately supported or frivolous, the Complainant will be advised of that determination and there will be no further action on the complaint under this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property. Where IAAPA determines that the complaint is adequately supported and not frivolous, it will use best efforts to advise the Respondent IAAPA advertiser, sponsor or exhibitor of the complaint including the identity of the Complainant and the facts alleged.
Each complaint must be accompanied by a fee of USD $2,500. Complaints not accompanied by this fee will not be considered under this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property. If IAAPA determines that the complaint is inadequately supported or frivolous, the fee will be returned to the Complainant.
For any such complaint, IAAPA will, through its CEO in the CEO’s sole discretion, assign and appoint an expert Adjudicator or Adjudicators, with credentials that IAAPA, again in its sole discretion, deems appropriate and adequate to resolve the matter, with IAAPA taking into account the need for expeditious resolution when the matter is time-sensitive. IAAPA will inform the Complainant and the Respondent of the identity and credentials of the appointed Adjudicator for the purpose of permitting either to raise issues of possible bias or conflicts of interest; for any such issues raised in writing and adequately supported IAAPA will resolve them in its sole discretion.
The Adjudicator will establish and disclose to the Complainant and Respondent whatever procedures and timetable the Adjudicator deems reasonable in resolving the complaint. The Adjudicator, in his/her sole discretion, may interview the Complainant and/or Respondent privately or together; may discuss the matter with third parties or access any public or private information available to the Adjudicator, and may otherwise conduct any research or make any inquiries that the Adjudicator chooses. The Complainant or Respondent may consult with attorneys or other consultants, or engage them as spokespersons; but the Adjudicator will accord no special or additional scheduling concessions or other privileges as a result; and the Adjudicator will specifically not consider or entertain at either party’s request any judicial-type motions, filings or other such procedures. The Adjudicator may request that the Complainant or Respondent provide any information that the Adjudicator deems relevant; the failure of either to do so may be taken into account by the Adjudicator in issuing his or her resolution. Likewise the failure of the Complainant or the Respondent to cooperate in any other way requested by the Adjudicator may be taken into account by the Adjudicator in issuing his or her resolution.
In any complaint involving an ongoing IAAPA exhibition, or other ongoing or impending publication, service or event, where an expeditious resolution is essential, the Adjudicator should require extraordinarily strong evidence of impropriety or infringement by the Respondent as the basis for an expeditious/ emergency resolution.
In any complaint which is the subject of ongoing litigation, arbitration or adjudication in any other forum anywhere in the world, the Adjudicator has the prerogative to either proceed with a resolution exclusively for IAAPA purposes or to not proceed, in the Adjudicator’s sole discretion.
The Adjudicator will issue a resolution to the Complainant, the Respondent and IAAPA as soon as possible, recognizing that time may be of the essence in many circumstances such as during an IAAPA trade show or expo or with an impending IAAPA publication deadline. Such a time limitation may require the Adjudicator to limit the investigation in his or her discretion.
The resolution shall address exclusively the availability, or continued availability, to the IAAPA advertiser, sponsor or exhibitor of access to the IAAPA medium, program, publication or event. The advertiser, sponsor or exhibitor must immediately adjust its activities or pronouncements to be consistent with the Adjudicator’s resolution or otherwise forfeit the right to continued participation.
If the resolution requires the Respondent to remove or dismantle products or displays from an IAAPA exhibit space, the Respondent will do so as soon as that can be accomplished and will, while awaiting the removal or dismantling, cover the products or displays from view during exhibit hours.
Where the Adjudicator has issued a resolution against the Complainant and in favor of the Respondent, the initial fee paid by the Complainant is forfeited and will not be returned. Where the Adjudicator has issued a resolution against the Respondent and in favor of the Complainant, the initial fee paid by the Complainant must be paid by the Respondent to IAAPA and will be reimbursed by IAAPA to the Complainant. Failure by the Respondent to pay the fee to IAAPA will automatically disqualify the Respondent from any future access to IAAPA advertising, sponsorship or exhibits until the fee is paid. The IAAPA Board of Directors may determine that a Respondent who has failed to pay the fee under this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property should be removed from existing IAAPA membership or disqualified from future IAAPA membership.

Liability and Legal

The Complainant and the Respondent each releases, holds harmless, indemnifies and defends IAAPA, the Adjudicator(s) appointed by IAAPA, and IAAPA’s volunteer and executive leadership from any liability arising in any way from promulgation or enforcement of this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property.
The Complainant and the Respondent each further represents and warrants that it will accept and bring no challenge in any forum to challenge or seek to overturn or modify the resolution of the Adjudicator under this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property including but not limited to in judicial review in any court in any country.
The Complainant and the Respondent each finally commits that it will not reference or refer to the resolution of the Adjudicator under this IAAPA Policy and Procedures on Intellectual Property as support for, or evidence of, intellectual property rights before any agency, court or other decision-making body in any country.

Intellectual Property Enforcement Policy

IP Enforcement Policy: In an effort to ensure any claims or disputes by Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsors at the Event (or in the time period prior to the Event) are handled in a non-disruptive manner, the Association hereby agrees to provide all Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsors at the Event with the services of an intellectual property mediator (“IP Mediator”) after the Event. Following the Event, IP Mediator will provide assistance to Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsors, by evaluating potential intellectual property infringement claims and will work closely with the Association to issue any Sanctions (as defined below), if necessary. The Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor understands and agrees that the IP Mediator is a neutral party enlisted to mediate and settle disputes between Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsors, related to intellectual property or proprietary rights, as well as any violation of the Rules. Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor understands and agrees that all decisions made by the IP Mediator are final, and shall not be subject to appeal or challenge. The Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor understands and agrees that, at the Event and in the time period leading up to the Event, any Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor (“Complaining Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor”) may lodge with IP Mediator a complaint against any other Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor (“Defending Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor”), which after investigation may result in the Sanctions by the IP Mediator or the Association at the Event. IP Mediator’s evaluation of such a complaint will be free of charge to the Complaining Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor. Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor understands and agrees that the enforcement action or sanctions (“Sanctions”) shall be issued by IP Mediator and/or the Association in their sole discretion and may include but shall not be limited to: (i) the removal of any digital content (“Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor Content”), (ii) the shutdown of an Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor’s virtual event booth, (iii) restrictions on access or services provided by the Association, (iv) a loss of membership to the Association; or (v) a ban from any future show or event. The Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor understands and agrees that any determination by IP Mediator and/or the Association to issue any Sanctions is not a legal determination that any intellectual property infringement or violation has occurred; instead, Sanctions shall be issued (i) to enforce the rules and guidelines at the Event, including the Rules; (ii) when IP Mediator believes that the display of any Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor Content is potentially infringing on another Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor’s intellectual property or proprietary rights, or when IP Mediator and/or Association believes that any Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor Content is disruptive to the Event. In exchange for being permitted to exhibit at the Event and also for the services described above, Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor agrees as follows:
1. That Association is not responsible or liable for any claimed or recognized violations of the Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor’s intellectual property or proprietary rights, including any claims for trademark, copyright or patent infringement or any claims of counterfeiting or other violations of proprietary rights.
2. That the Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor will abide by any and all intellectual property laws, rules or guidelines, including the Rules, whether imposed by national or local laws or by the Association as part of its ownership and/or management of the Event.
3. That the IP Mediator and the Association have no obligation to enforce or act on the behalf of the Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor and that both IP Mediator and Association may, in their sole discretion, determine whether to issue Sanctions or take any action in any case, depending on the facts presented by the Complaining Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor. Nothing herein obligates IP Mediator or Association to take any action or issue any Sanctions.
4. Not to display Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor Content that violates or potentially violates the intellectual property or proprietary rights of another Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor at the Event or that is otherwise disruptive to another Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor. Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor hereby further agrees that the Association and/or its IP Mediator may determine—in their sole and complete discretion— whether to issue the Sanctions described herein.
5. To comply with any Sanctions issued by IP Mediator and/or the Association. Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor further understands that its refusal to comply with any issued Sanctions may result in further action by Association, which may include the issuance of additional Sanctions or another action as determined by Association in its sole discretion.
6. That a failure by Exhibitor, Advertiser, or Sponsor to abide by any Sanctions imposed by IP Mediator and/or the Association may lead to additional Sanctions imposed by Association.
7. That any claim of infringement made to IP Mediator or the Association shall be made with the good faith intent to enforce owned or licensed intellectual property or proprietary rights, and not solely in an effort to disrupt or impact another party’s ability to operate.
8. EXHIBITOR, ADVERTISER, OR SPONSOR AGREES TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE ASSOCIATION, IP MEDIATOR, AND THEIR AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS, (COLLECTIVELY, THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) FOR ANY CLAIMS, DEMANDS, OR LIABILITIES RELATED TO:
  1. A CLAIM OR DETERMINATION THAT A VIOLATION OF THE RULES HAS OCCURRED;
  2. A CLAIM OR DETERMINATION THAT ANY EXHIBITOR, ADVERTISER, OR SPONSOR CONTENT IS INFRINGING, POTENTIALLY INFRINGING, OR OTHERWISE DISRUPTIVE TO THE EVENT; OR
  3. ANY OTHER CLAIM OR DETERMINATION ISSUED BY THE IP MEDIATOR, ITS AGENT OR CONTRACTOR, OR THE ASSOCIATION RELATED TO ACTIVITY AT THE EVENT. TO BE CLEAR, SUCH RELEASE OF LIABILITY WILL INCLUDE ANY CLAIMS OF TRADE LIBEL, DEFAMATION, UNFAIR COMPETITION, OR NEGLIGENCE RELATED TO ANY DETERMINATION MADE AT THE EVENT BY THE RELEASED PARTIES.
9. To indemnify, hold harmless and defend the Released Parties from any claims, losses, damages or liability that may result from the Association or IP Mediator’s enforcement of this IP Enforcement Policy.
10. That it will accept and not seek to challenge, modify or overturn any resolution made by IP Mediator or the Association, including the issue of any Sanctions.

IAAPA Virtual Expo Policies

You may access and use the virtual event, provided that you:

You may access and use the virtual event, provided that you:

By registering for IAAPA Virtual Expo: Asia your contact information including name and email will be visible during the event to other attendees as you interact in chat rooms, and shared with the specific exhibitor/sponsor of the booths that you visit during the event. If you have questions or concerns, please contact [email protected].
Create a user account with accurate registration information and keep your password secure.
Are over the age of 13 or use the website under the consent and supervision of parental or guardian.
Do not initiate or participate in any activities that are prohibited below, illegal, harmful, or interfere with anyone's use of the virtual event, including the sending of e-mail or instant messaging spam.
Comply with all applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations and these Terms of Use.

IAAPA Expo, Virtual Expo and Event Participant Guidelines for Appropriate Conduct

IAAPA expos and events provide an ideal opportunity to exchange information, participate in education sessions, network, and buy and sell new products and services. IAAPA is committed to providing a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. We expect all attendees, journalists, speakers, staff, volunteers, organizers, venue staff, vendors, and exhibitors to help us ensure a safe and positive experience for everyone. The guidelines for appropriate behavior and conduct at all IAAPA Expos and events are listed below. Also included are the expectations for participant behavior, as well as the consequences for unacceptable behavior.

Facets of Ethical and Appropriate Conduct

Be considerate, respectful, and collaborative.
Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior or speech.
Be mindful of your surroundings at all times.
Alert event venue security or a member of the IAAPA team if you notice a dangerous or harassing situation or someone in distress.

Prohibiting Activities

You are solely responsible for the activity which occurs under your user account. You are prohibited from, and agree not to:

create false user accounts, use another individual’s user account or otherwise access the virtual event in an unauthorized manner;
copy, modify, reproduce, transmit, republish, distribute or create derivatives of any of the content, software or materials available in the virtual event;
launch any automated system, including, but not limited to, “robots”, “spiders” or “offline readers” which access the virtual event platform in a manner that sends more request messages to the platform in a given period of time than a human can reasonably produce in the same period of time by using a conventional on-line web browser;
transmit material that contains malicious code, such as viruses, timebombs, cancelbots, worms, trojan horses, spyware, or other potentially harmful elements;
use the communication systems made available to you within the virtual event for commercial solicitation, unless expressly authorized to do so by the virtual event sponsor or intentionally omit, delete, forge or misrepresent transmission information, including headers, return mailing and internet protocol addresses;
collect or harvest any personally identifiable information;
make or submit any sexually explicit, racially, culturally or ethnically offensive, harmful, harassing, intimidating, threatening, hateful, discriminatory or abusive statements or content;
impersonate any other person or entity or stalk or otherwise harass any other user;
make or submit any obscene, hateful or otherwise offensive material, comments or content;
submit content which features pornographic, sexually explicit, describes or encourages dangerous our illegal acts, graphic or gratuitously violent content; or
invade another user’s privacy or publish another user’s personally identifiable information without such user’s consent.

Antitrust Policy

Pursuant to section 2.02 (a) of the association’s bylaws, it is the policy of the association that IAAPA complies strictly with the letter and spirit of all federal and state antitrust laws, rules, and regulations applicable in any jurisdiction in which the association or its members do business. Any activities of the association or association-related actions of its staff, officers, directors, or members that violate these regulations and laws are detrimental to the interests of the association and are unequivocally contrary to association policy. As such, all directors, officers, committee members, employees, and staff will be advised of the areas of antitrust concern to IAAPA and are responsible for understanding and monitoring adherence to the antitrust policy.

This policy applies both to activities within IAAPA and to any joint activities that involve IAAPA with other entities, associations, and organizations. However, the policy is necessarily general and cannot anticipate every issue that may emerge. Therefore, it is very important that IAAPA employees, officers, directors, and members consult with legal counsel whenever questions or issues arise concerning application of this policy and the antitrust laws in general.

Implementation of the antitrust compliance policy of IAAPA shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

The association membership, Board of Directors, and all other committee meetings shall be conducted consistent with this policy and pursuant to agendas distributed to attendees; discussions shall be limited to agenda items and minutes of all meetings shall be kept and distributed to attendees promptly.
All association activities or discussions shall be avoided which might be construed as tending to: (a) address fees, including raising, lowering, or stabilizing prices; (b) regulate production; (c) allocate markets; (d) encourage boycotts; (e) foster unfair trade practices; (f) assist in monopolization or in any way violate applicable regulations and antitrust laws in any jurisdiction.
No officer, director, or member of the association shall make any representation in public or in private, orally or in writing, which states or appears to state an official policy or position of the association without specific authorization to do so.

Outboarding Policy

Outboarding is defined as marketing, sales, and hospitality events conducted by exhibitors and others capitalizing on the presence of buyers and/or sellers attending the original show without previously notifying the original show organizer and finagling an arrangement that benefits both parties. This practice is considered unethical and is condemned by IAAPA. It includes practices such as “coat-tailing”, “piggy-backing”, co-location of events, and large scale hospitality events, particularly during show hours.

Suitcasing Policy

Please note that while meeting attendees are invited to the Virtual Expo, any attendees who are observed to be soliciting business at exhibitor booths, in education sessions, or the networking areas of the Virtual Expo, will be removed from the show, not allowed to return to the show, and no refunds will be made. Additional penalties may apply. IAAPA asks that both attendees and exhibitors report any violations they may observe to the Show Management immediately.

General

As the sponsor of the Virtual Expo, IAAPA reserves the right to prohibit and prevent the attendance, participation, registration, exhibition or any individual or firm for any reason with the exclusive discretion of IAAPA. IAAPA need not disclose or describe the reasons for its decision to do so.