Sovereign Brands Terms of Use

Effective Date: 05/15/2024

Unauthorized Use

YOU MUST BE OF LEGAL DRINKING AGE TO VISIT SOVEREIGN BRANDS’ WEBSITES. IF YOU ARE NOT, YOU MUST LEAVE THE SITES IMMEDIATELY. BY USING OUR SITES, AND ANY TO WHOM YOU SUBSEQUENTLY ELECT TO BE DIRECTED, YOU HAVE REPRESENTED TO US UNDER PENALTY OF LAW THAT YOU ARE IN FACT OF LEGAL DRINKING AGE.

1. Introduction

Welcome to Sovereign Brands! Please review this page carefully. These Terms of Use (“Terms”) constitute a legal contract between you and the Sovereign Brands family of companies, which includes:

Bumbu Rum Company LLC

Luc Belaire International Limited

Luc Belaire LLC

Sovereign Brands, L.L.C.

Villon International LLC

Violet Fog International LLC

(collectively known as “Sovereign Brands,” “we,” “us” or “our”). The Terms govern your access to and use of the following websites, as well as their subdomains or portals (collectively known as the “Websites” or “Sites”) or otherwise use or interact with all portals, products, goods, services, events, and interactive features, or other services controlled by us that post a link to these Terms (collectively, the “Services”).

By using the Websites or Services, you agree to be bound by and comply with these Terms. We may change these Terms or modify any features of the Websites at any time. The most current version of the Terms can be viewed by clicking on the “Terms of Use” link posted through the Websites. You accept any changes to the Terms by continuing to use the Services after we post the changes. If you do not agree to the Terms, do not use our Services.

All references to “you” or “your” in these Terms mean the person that registers for, accesses, or uses the Sites or the Services. If you use or access any of the Services on behalf of an entity or individual, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that entity or individual. Our Services are not intended for those under the age of 21 – if you access our Services, you represent and warrant that you are at least 21 years of age.

“Buy” Links in Websites

Upon clicking any of the “Buy” links on our Sites (i.e., “Buy [brand name]”, or simply “Buy”), or upon clicking any of the similar “Buy” links that may appear in any emails we send to those who opt-in to receiving communications from us, you will be redirected to a page where you can choose among several websites operated by third party retailers or other entities who engage in e-commerce (the “Retailers”). The use of their sites is subject to their terms and conditions which can be found on their sites. Sovereign Brands bears no responsibility whatsoever for the conduct of the Retailers, their terms and conditions, your use of their site, or for any other site to where you may elect to be redirected by their site (other than our Sites). Your purchase of our alcohol products on the Retailer’s site must be made from a duly licensed retailer in accordance with (a) the applicable law in your state or country, which may vary from state to state and country to country, (b) the terms and conditions of the retailer, for which Sovereign Brands bears no responsibility, and (c) in accordance with all other laws and local requirements. Sovereign Brands is not licensed as a retailer of alcohol beverages. Sovereign Brands is prohibited by federal and state laws from certain relationships with alcohol beverage retailers, and bears no responsibility for the conduct of any retailer from whom you may purchase our products, your use of any retailer’s site, the terms and conditions of any retailer’s site, or for any transaction you may enter into with a retailer for the purchase of our alcohol products. Subject to applicable laws, Sovereign Brands, as a manufacturer and importer of alcoholic beverages, does not sell its products to anyone other than to duly licensed wholesalers of alcoholic beverages for their re-sale to duly licensed retailers. The use of our Websites, and by using the “Buy” link we have provided to such Retailers, is not an offer to sell our products to you or an actual sale to you, and Sovereign Brands is not participating in any way in a sale of alcohol beverages to you.

3. Privacy Notice

Our Privacy Notice is incorporated into these Terms by reference, and constitutes a part of these Terms. By using the Services, you indicate that you understand and consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your information as described in our Privacy Notice.

4. Prohibited Conduct

You may not access or use, or attempt to access or use, the Sites or Services to take any action that could harm us or any third party, interfere with the operation of the Sites or Services, or in a manner that violates any law(s). For example, and without limitation, you may not:

Impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity or the origin of any information you provide;
Engage in unauthorized spidering, scraping or harvesting of content or personal information, or use any other unauthorized automated means to compile information;
Obtain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to other computer systems, materials, information or any services available on or through the Sites;
Use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Sites or Services or any activity conducted on the Sites or attempt to probe, scan, test the vulnerability of, or breach the security of any system or network;
Circumvent, reverse engineer, decipher, decompile, disassemble, decrypt or otherwise alter or interfere with (or attempt, encourage or support anyone else’s attempt to engage in such activities) any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Sites. The use or distribution of tools designed for compromising security (e.g., password guessing programs, cracking tools or network probing tools) is strictly prohibited;
Take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our network or infrastructure;
Upload or otherwise transmit any communication, software or material that contains a virus or is otherwise harmful to Sovereign Brands’ or its users’ computers or systems;
Send or cause to be sent any communication (including email) to other users without their consent (e.g., “mailbombs” or “spamming”);
Violate, or encourage any conduct that would violate, any applicable law or regulation;
Engage in fraud or misuse of the Sites or Services;
Cause damage, embarrassment or adverse publicity to Sovereign Brands; or
Engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any person from using or enjoying the Sites or Services or that, in our sole judgment, exposes us or any of our users, affiliates or any other third party to any liability, damages or detriment of any type.

Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. We may investigate and work with law enforcement authorities to prosecute users who violate the Terms. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Sites for any or no reason at any time without notice.

4. User Communications

Unless specifically requested, Sovereign Brands does not wish to receive any confidential, proprietary, or trade secret from you via the Sites (including via contact email made available on our Services). You remain fully responsible for the materials that you provide to us, including, without limitation, information, requests, creative works, pictures, photographs, letters, documents, demos, ideas, suggestions, reviews, concepts, methods, systems, designs, plans, techniques or other materials submitted, posted, uploaded, sent or otherwise transmitted to us (“User Content”). If you send Sovereign Brands any User Content, you grant Sovereign Brands a royalty-free, unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully transferable, assignable, and sub-licensable right and license to use, copy, reproduce, modify, adapt, print, publish, translate, create derivative works from, create collective works from, and distribute, perform, display, license and sublicense (through multiple levels) such User Content in any media now known or hereinafter invented, including for commercial purposes. In addition to the rights applicable to any User Content, when you post comments or reviews to our Sites, or via mentions in social media, you also grant us the right to use the name that you submit with any comment, review, or other content, in connection with the comment, review or other content.

You agree not to provide User Content that:

Infringes on the copyright, trademark, patent or other intellectual property right of any third party;
Is false, misleading, libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, hateful or sexually explicit;
Violates a third party’s right to privacy or publicity;
Degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification;
Contains epithets or other language or material intended to intimidate or incite violence;
Contains a virus, worm, Trojan Horse, time bomb or any other harmful program or component;
Contains any commercial material or solicits any funds (charitable or commercial), perpetuates chain letters or pyramid schemes, promotes commercial entities, or otherwise engages in commercial activity; or
Violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or advocates illegal activity.

We are not obligated to use your User Content. We do not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any User Content.

The obligations that you have to us under these Terms shall survive termination of the Sites or Services, any use by you of the Sites or Services as well as any User Content uploaded or sent through the Sites, or the termination of these Terms.

5. Restricted access

Access to certain areas of the Sites may be restricted. Sovereign Brands reserves the right to restrict access to other areas of the Sites, or indeed the entire websites or portals, at Sovereign Brands’ discretion.

If Sovereign Brands provides you with a user ID and password to enable you to access restricted areas of the Sites or other content or services, you must ensure that the user ID and password are kept confidential.

Sovereign Brands may disable your user ID and password in Sovereign Brands’ sole discretion without notice or explanation.

6. Intellectual Property

The Websites contain content that is protected under the copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws of the United States and other countries (“Content”) and these rights are valid and protected in all forms, media, and technologies existing now and hereinafter developed. Unless otherwise provided in these Terms or elsewhere indicated on the Websites, all intellectual property rights in the Content are owned by us or our third-party licensors to the full extent permitted under United States and international intellectual property laws, including, without limitation, all videos, text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, moving images, illustrations, files, trademarks, logos, service marks, artwork, computer code, design, structure, selection, coordination, “look and feel,” and arrangement of the Content. Your use of the Websites shall not grant you any claim of ownership over any Content, and you agree to comply with all applicable intellectual property laws. You may print copies of the Content, provided that these copies are made only for personal, non-commercial use, and provided that you maintain any notices contained in the Content, or maintained by the licensor or author, such as all copyright notices, trademark legends, attributions, by-lines or other proprietary rights notices. You may not publish, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, edit, adapt, modify or otherwise exploit any part of the Websites, including the Sovereign Brands name and logo, without our prior written consent. You may provide a link to the top page of the Websites unless and until Sovereign Brands gives notice that you must discontinue linking to the Websites. You may not store electronically any significant portion of Content from the Websites. The use of Content from the Websites on any other site, including by linking or framing, or in any networked computer environment, for any purpose, is prohibited without our prior written approval.

7. Claims of Infringement

Sovereign Brands respects the intellectual property of others and requires that you do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), the text of which may be found on the U.S. Copyright Office Websites at http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf, Sovereign Brands will respond expeditiously to notices of alleged copyright infringement that are duly reported to its Designated Copyright Agent identified in the notice below. Sovereign Brands will disable and/or remove access to the Websites for users who are repeat infringers. If you believe that your content has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide Sovereign Brands Copyright Agent the following information:

DMCA Notice of Alleged Infringement (“Notice”)

Identify the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, or if multiple works are covered by this Notice you may provide a representative list of the copyrighted works that you claim have been infringed.
Identify the material or link you claim is infringing and provide a description of where the infringing work is located on the Websites.
Provide your mailing address, telephone number and, if available, email address.
Include both of the following statements in the body of the Notice:
“I hereby state that I have a good-faith belief that the disputed use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law (e.g., fair use).”
“I hereby state that the information in this Notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that I am the owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright or of an exclusive right under the copyright that is allegedly infringed.”
Provide your full legal name and your electronic or physical signature.
Deliver this Notice, with all items completed, to Sovereign Brands Designated Copyright Agent:

General Counsel
Sovereign Brands, L.L.C.
383 West Broadway
5th Floor
New York, NY 10012

Email Address: support@sovereignbrands.com

Toll-Free Number: 888-460-1205

While Sovereign Brands considers all such notices seriously, you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that content or activity is infringing. Accordingly, if you are uncertain whether material infringes your copyrights (including whether use of copyrighted material may constitute fair use) you may wish to seek the advice of an attorney.

8. Third-Party Content and Links to Third-Party Websites

The Sites or Services may contain links to third-party content that take you outside of the Sites and Services (“Linked Sites”). We do not control, endorse, sponsor, recommend or otherwise accept responsibility for such Linked Sites, nor do we make any warranties or representations, express or implied, regarding the content (or the accuracy, currency, or completeness of such content) on any Linked Sites. When you follow a link to another website, that Websites will be governed by different terms of use and a different privacy policy. You should be sure that you read and agree to those policies. Use of any linked third-party content is at the user’s own risk.

9. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Sovereign Brands, its officers, directors, affiliates, agents and employees, from and against any claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties or other liabilities (including attorney’s fees and costs) in any way associated with (i) your use of and access to the Websites or Services, (ii) your violation of any of these Terms, and (iii) your violation of any third party right, including any copyright, trademark, trade secret or privacy right related to your User Content (as applicable) or use of the Websites.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITES OR THE INFORMATION, MATERIALS, GOODS OR SERVICES APPEARING OR OFFERED ON THE WEBSITE, ALL OF WHICH ARE PROVIDED “AS IS.” WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY (1) WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE; (2) WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF ANY THIRD-PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS; (3) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY OF THE WEBSITE; (4) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CORRECTNESS OR COMPLETENESS OF DATA MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITES OR OTHERWISE BY SOVEREIGN BRANDS; (5) WARRANTIES OTHERWISE RELATING TO PERFORMANCE, NONPERFORMANCE OR OTHER ACTS OR OMISSIONS BY SOVEREIGN BRANDS OR ANY THIRD PARTY; AND (6) WARRANTY OF TITLE. FURTHER, SOVEREIGN BRANDS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITES WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OTHER PERSON. WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, (1) THAT THE WEBSITES OR ANY EMAIL WE SEND YOU IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT OR OTHER PROPERTY BECAUSE OF YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF OR BROWSING ON THE WEBSITES OR YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIALS, DATA, TEXT, IMAGES, VIDEO OR AUDIO FROM THE WEBSITE; OR (2) THAT THE WEBSITE, WEBSITES CONTENT, FUNCTIONS OR MATERIALS CONTAINED THEREIN WILL BE TIMELY, SECURE, ACCURATE, COMPLETE, UP-TO-DATE OR UNINTERRUPTED. IF APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE WARRANTIES TO APPLY TO YOU, THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS WILL APPLY TO YOU TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

11. Limitation of Liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, WILL SOVEREIGN BRANDS (OR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, OR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DELIVERING THE WEBSITE) BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OR LOSSES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES AND LOST PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS, USE, MISUSE OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE, WEBSITES CONTENT, USER CONTENT OR ANY LINKED SITES, OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS OR LINE OR SYSTEM FAILURE. THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF SOVEREIGN BRANDS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. IN NO EVENT WILL SOVEREIGN BRANDS’ AGGREGATE LIABILITY (OR THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OF USE, THE WEBSITE, OR THE SERVICES (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, WARRANTY OR OTHERWISE) EXCEED $100. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SOVEREIGN BRANDS’ LIABILITY IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, SOVEREIGN BRANDS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF YOUR INFORMATION. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE WEBSITES OR APPS, YOUR SOLE REMEDY IS TO STOP USING THE WEBSITES.

12. Applicable Law; Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by, and must be construed in accordance with, the laws of the United States and the State of Illinois, as applicable, without giving effect to their principles of conflicts of law. By using the Sites or Services, you waive any claims that may arise under the laws of other countries or territories.

13. Dispute Resolution; Class Action Waiver

With respect to any and all disputes arising out of or in connection with the Sites or Services, or these Terms (including, without limitation, the Privacy Notice), Sovereign Brands and you agree to negotiate in good faith and undertake reasonable efforts to cooperate with one another in order to achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution. If you and Sovereign Brands do not resolve any dispute by informal negotiation, any other effort to resolve the dispute will be conducted exclusively by binding arbitration as described in this section. You are giving up the right to litigate (or participate in as a party or class member) all disputes in court before a judge or jury. Instead, all disputes will be resolved before a neutral arbitrator, whose decision will be final except for a limited right of appeal under the Federal Arbitration Act. Any court with jurisdiction over the parties may enforce the arbitrator’s award. Any proceedings to resolve or litigate any dispute in any forum will be conducted solely on an individual basis. Neither you nor Sovereign Brands will seek to have any dispute heard as a class action or in any other proceeding in which either party acts or proposes to act in a representative capacity. No arbitration or proceeding will be combined with another without the prior written consent of all parties to all affected arbitrations or proceedings. Sovereign Brands and you agree that all disputes arising under these Terms that cannot be settled through informal negotiation will be settled exclusively through confidential binding arbitration in Highland Park, Illinois, or another forum if mutually agreed upon by the parties, pursuant to the Rules of Arbitration (“Rules”) of the International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) by a sole arbitrator nominated by agreement of the parties and confirmed in accordance with said Rules. The arbitrator’s award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction. You agree that Sovereign Brands is entitled to obtain preliminary injunctive relief to the extent allowed by law to enforce any of the terms of these Terms pending a final arbitral decision. To the extent permitted by law, any claim or dispute under this agreement must be filed within one year in an arbitration proceeding. The one-year period begins when the claim or notice of dispute first could be filed. If a claim or dispute is not filed within one year, it is permanently barred. If any other provision of this section is found to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be severed, with the remainder of this section remaining in full force and effect.

14. Separate Terms and Conditions

In connection with your use of the Sites, you may be asked to consent to policies or terms and conditions in addition to these Terms. Please read these supplemental policies and terms carefully before making any use of such portions of the Sites. Any supplemental terms will not vary or replace these Terms regarding any use of the Sites, unless otherwise expressly stated.

15. Access Outside the United States

If you are visiting the Sites from a location outside of the United States, be advised that your information may be transferred from your location through and to servers located in the United States or elsewhere. The data protection laws in the United States and in other countries may differ from those of the country in which you are located, and your information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to laws of the United States. By using the Sites or providing us with any information, you consent to the transfer to, and processing, usage, sharing and storage of your information in the United States and in other countries. Please see our Privacy Notice for more information.

16. Miscellaneous

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between Sovereign Brands and you, superseding any prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals (whether oral, written or electronic) between you and us. In the event any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, it will not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions and will be replaced by an enforceable provision that comes closest to the intention underlying the unenforceable provision. You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship exists between you and Sovereign Brands as a result of these Terms or your access to and use of the Sites. Our failure to enforce any provisions of these Terms or respond to a violation by any party does not waive our right to subsequently enforce any terms or conditions of the Terms or respond to any violations. Nothing contained in these Terms is in derogation of our right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Websites or information provided to or gathered by us with respect to such use.

17. Contact Us

If you have any questions about the Terms, please contact us at:

Sovereign Brands, L.L.C.
383 West Broadway
5th Floor
New York, NY 10012

Email Address: support@SovereignBrands.com