25. DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES YOU TO ARBITRATE CERTAIN DISPUTES AND CLAIMS WITH ANIFIE, INC. AND LIMITS THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU CAN SEEK RELIEF FROM US.
a. Binding Arbitration
Except for any disputes, claims, suits, actions, causes of action, demands or proceedings (collectively, “ Disputes ”) in which either party seeks to bring an individual action in small claims court or seeks injunctive or other equitable relief for the alleged unlawful use of intellectual property, including, without limitation, copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets or patents, you and Anifie, Inc. agree
(a) to waive your and Anifie, Inc.’s respective rights to have any and all Disputes arising from or related to this Agreement, use of our Website or App, resolved in a court, and (b) to waive your and Anifie, Inc.’s respective rights to a jury trial. Instead, you and Anifie, Inc. agree to arbitrate Disputes through binding arbitration (which is the referral of a Dispute to one or more persons charged with reviewing the Dispute and making a final and binding determination to resolve it instead of having the Dispute decided by a judge or a jury in court).
b. No Class Arbitrations, Class Actions or Representative Actions
You and Anifie, Inc. agree that any Dispute arising out of or related to these Terms of Service or use or access of our Website or App is personal to you and Anifie, Inc. and that such Dispute will be resolved solely through individual arbitration and will not be brought as a class arbitration, class action or any other type of representative proceeding. You and Anifie, Inc. agree that there will be no class arbitration or arbitration in which an individual attempts to resolve a Dispute as a representative of another
individual or group of individuals. Further, you and Anifie, Inc. agree that a Dispute cannot be brought as a class or other type of representative action, whether within or outside of arbitration, or on behalf of any other individual or group of individuals.
c. Federal Arbitration Act
You and Anifie, Inc. agree that these Terms of Service affect interstate commerce and that the enforceability of this Section 25 shall be both substantively and procedurally governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. (the “ FAA ”), to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.
d. Notice; Informal Dispute Resolution
You and Anifie, Inc. agree that each party will notify the other party in writing of any arbitral or small claims Dispute within thirty (30) days of the date it arises, so that the parties can attempt in good faith to resolve the Dispute informally. Notice to Anifie, Inc. shall be sent by certified mail or courier to Anifie, Inc., Attn: Yohei Iwasaki, 18004 Sky Park Circle, Ste. 260, Irvine, California, 92614. Your notice must include (a) your name, postal address, telephone number, the email address you use or used for your Anifie, Inc. account and, if different, an email address at which you can be contacted, (b) a description in reasonable detail of the nature or basis of the Dispute, and (c) the specific relief that you are seeking. Our notice to you will be sent electronically in accordance with this Agreement and will include (x) our name, postal address, telephone number and an email address at which we can be contacted with respect to the Dispute, (y) a description in reasonable detail of the nature or basis of the Dispute, and (z) the specific relief that we are seeking. If you and Anifie, Inc. cannot agree how to resolve the Dispute within thirty (30) days after the date notice is received by the applicable party, then either you or Anifie, Inc. may, as appropriate and in accordance with this Section 25 , commence an arbitration proceeding.
e. Process
EXCEPT FOR DISPUTES IN WHICH EITHER PARTY SEEKS TO BRING AN INDIVIDUAL ACTION IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT OR SEEKS INJUNCTIVE OR OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF FOR THE ALLEGED UNLAWFUL USE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, COPYRIGHTS, TRADEMARKS, TRADE NAMES, LOGOS, TRADE SECRETS OR PATENTS, YOU AND ANIFIE, INC. AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE MUST BE COMMENCED OR FILED BY YOU OR ANIFIE, INC. WITHIN (1) YEAR OF THE DATE THE DISPUTE AROSE, OTHERWISE THE UNDERLYING CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED (WHICH MEANS THAT YOU AND ANIFIE, INC. WILL NO LONGER HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASSERT SUCH CLAIM REGARDING THE DISPUTE). You and Anifie, Inc. agree that (a) any arbitration will occur in Orange County, California, (b) arbitration will be conducted confidentially by a single arbitrator in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by this “Dispute Resolution” section, and (c) that the state or federal courts of the State of California, have exclusive jurisdiction over any appeals and the enforcement of an arbitration award. You may also litigate a Dispute in the small claims court located in the county of your billing address if the Dispute meets the requirements to be heard in small claims court.
f. Authority of Arbitrator
As limited by the FAA, these Terms of Service and the applicable AAA rules, the arbitrator will have (a) the exclusive authority and jurisdiction to make all procedural and substantive decisions regarding a Dispute, including the determination of whether a Dispute is arbitral, and (b) the authority to grant any remedy that would otherwise be available in court; provided, however, that the arbitrator does not have the authority to conduct a class arbitration or a representative action, which is prohibited by these Terms of Service. The arbitrator may only conduct an individual arbitration and may not consolidate more than one individual’s claims, preside over any type of class or representative proceeding, or preside over any proceeding involving more than one individual. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein or the applicable AAA rules, discovery in the arbitration shall be limited to one set of interrogatories, one set of requests for admissions, and one set of requests for production of documents.
The arbitrator’s award of damages must be consistent with the terms of the “Limitation of Liability” section above as to the types and amounts of damages for which a party may be held liable. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, to the extent provided under applicable law. We will not seek and hereby waive all rights we may have under applicable law to recover, attorneys’ fees and expenses if we prevail in arbitration.
g. Rules of AAA
The AAA Rules are available at
www.adr.org/arb_med or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879. By agreeing to be bound by these Terms of Service, you either (a) acknowledge and agree that you have read and understand the rules of AAA, or (b) waive your opportunity to read the rules of AAA and any claim that the rules of AAA are unfair or should not apply for any reason.
h. Severability
If any term, clause or provision of this Section 25 is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be so held to the minimum extent required by law, and all other terms, clauses and provisions of this Section 25 will remain valid and enforceable. Further, the waivers set forth herein are severable from the other provisions of this Agreement and will remain valid and enforceable, except as prohibited by applicable law.
i. Opt-Out Right
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF BINDING ARBITRATION WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS OF THE DATE YOU FIRST ACCEPTED THE TERMS OF THIS SECTION 25 BY WRITING TO: ANIFIE, INC. , RE: OPT-OUT, 18004 SKY PARK CIRCLE, STE. 260, IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, 92614. IN ORDER TO BE EFFECTIVE, THE OPT OUT NOTICE MUST INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME AND CLEARLY INDICATE YOUR INTENT TO OPT OUT OF BINDING ARBITRATION. BY OPTING OUT OF BINDING ARBITRATION, YOU ARE AGREEING TO RESOLVE DISPUTES IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 25 .