Terms of service

1. Definitions

(a) The “Company" means African Ancestry, Inc.

(b) The “Customer" means a party that has ordered a MatriClan™ and/or PatriClan™ test kit from the Company and for whom the Company performs an analysis of the MatriClan and/or PatriClan test kit.

(c) "Report" means the documented results of the MatriClan and/or PatriClan test kit as provided in writing by the Company.

(d) "Contract" means a contract constituted by the Customer's order for an analysis to be performed, and the Company's acceptance of the Customer’s order. No Contract shall be deemed ratified with any Customer until the Company has accepted the Customer’s order.

2. Acceptance of Conditions

Every Contract is governed by these Terms and Conditions. No Contract will be subject to any other terms nor will the Company be deemed to accept any other terms or any variation of these Terms and Conditions, unless agreed to in writing by the Company. By ordering a MatriClan and/or PatriClan test kit, the Customer expressly accepts these Terms and Conditions and acknowledges that he/she has not relied on any other information supplied, data published, or representation made by or on behalf of the Company.

The Company accepts the Customer’s order on receipt of a signed acceptance of the Terms and Conditions by the Customer, the DNA swab sample(s), and payment made in full by Customer.

3. Customer Representations and Warranties

The Customer represents and warrants that:

(a) He/She is at least 18 years old, or the age of legal consent for engaging the Company for the services offered by the Company under the relevant laws of any jurisdiction that applies to him/her, whichever is greater. Any prospective Customer under 18 years of age must have the permission of a parent or legal guardian who has signed the Specimen Information Form before an order is deemed accepted by Company.

(b) All the details contained in the Customer’s order as submitted and any details given when submitting a DNA sample to the Company are true, correct, and complete. The Customer will promptly notify the Company of any changes to those details. Should any of the information that the Customer provides to the Company be untrue, inaccurate, or otherwise incomplete, the Company may terminate the Customer’s order immediately and refund 50% of any payments made by Customer in connection with such order, or prevent the Customer from using the services, in addition to any other remedy available to the Company under the law.

4. Services

(a) The Company is entitled to refuse to perform any service for the Customer without stating a reason. In such event, the Company will refund any payment made with the order subject to the provisions of paragraph 4(b) below.

(b) The Company will attempt to determine the ethnic origin of the DNA sample(s). If the Company cannot determine the African origin, the Company will attempt to otherwise determine the origin of the DNA sample. If the Company is unable to find any geographic match for the DNA sample, the Company will maintain the DNA sequence of the DNA sample on file for up to (1) year so that Company can reanalyze the DNA sequence for geographic origin when the African Lineage Database is updated. If Customer would prefer not to allow Company to maintain the DNA sequence on file, the sample(s) will be destroyed and the agreement will be deemed void. If Customer has paid in full, and Company is unable to determine any lineage, Company agrees to reimburse 50% of the amount paid by Customer for services.

(c) The Company will provide the Customer with a written Report of the DNA sample result(s) provided Company is able to determine the Customer lineage through its current testing processes. If the lineage is determined to be African, Company will also provide to Customer a continental map of Africa.

(d) The Company will have no obligation to provide any information to the Customer other than the standard Report unless agreed to in writing by Company.

5. Payment

(a) The prices of the Company's services are as stated in the most recent price list as posted at www.africanancestry.com at the time the order is placed by the Customer.

(b) Any agreed discount will apply only if the Customer fulfills all of the terms on which the discount is offered.

(c) The Company is entitled to recover from the Customer any extra costs arising from meeting the Customer's additional requirements (if agreed to by the Company), from delay on the Customer's part, and/or from any breach of the Customer's contractual obligations.

(d) Payment for the Company's services must accompany the Customer's order. The Company reserves the right not to perform an analysis and/or the right to withhold its Report until payment is made. Checks should be made payable to African Ancestry, Inc.

(e) In the case of payments made for more than one analysis, the Company reserves the right to accept payment and issue a refund for any unperformed analysis by the Company.

6. Delivery

(a) The Customer acknowledges that performance of the Contract requires laboratory testing and analysis of laboratory results. As such the Company’s performance of such Contract may take longer than 45 days.

(b) The Company will take all reasonable steps to meet advertised or contractual delivery times but anticipated dates for supplying Reports are approximate only and the Company accepts no liability for any incidental, indirect, consequential, or punitive damages, including, but not limited to, loss of profits, caused by any act or omission of Company under the terms of this Contract, regardless of whether the result of Company’s negligence. Delay in reporting will not entitle the Customer to terminate the Contract in whole or in part unless (i) the Customer has served written notice on the Company that the delay in unreasonable and exceptional and (ii) the Customer has not received the Report within twenty-one days thereafter.

7. Samples

(a) In submitting a DNA sample the Customer will comply with the Company's instructions included with the MatriClan and/or PatriClan test kit regarding method of collection, identification, and date and time of submission.

(b) Each DNA sample will become the property of the Company as soon as delivered to the Company's premises. By submitting a sample for analysis, the Customer warrants that it has the right to take and submit the sample and that it does so either as owner of all samples involved or with full authority of the owner of all such samples.

(c) The Company will keep the DNA samples and analysis thereof confidential to the extent permitted by law.

(d) After the Company has supplied its Report, the Company will destroy the sample.

8. Liability

(a) The Company will not be liable for loss of or damage to a DNA sample in transit, against which the Customer should arrange his/her own insurance coverage. In case of loss or damage of the DNA sample, new swabs will be provided to the Customer at the Company’s expense and a new DNA sample will be submitted to the Company at the Customer’s expense in order to receive a Report.

(b) The Company will use all reasonable efforts to protect DNA samples submitted to it but in the event of loss of or damage to a sample while in the Company's possession, or the failure by the Company to produce a Report from a DNA sample, the Company will, at no further cost to the Customer, test and report on a replacement sample provided by the Customer, but otherwise will have no liability arising out of such loss, damage or failure. The Customer shall not have the right to cancel a Contract in the event the Company requests a replacement sample.

(c) The Company shall be held harmless by Customer, and shall not be liable to Customer or any third party for any loss or damages whatsoever, whether arising directly or indirectly from (i) Customer’s failure to submit a sample in accordance with the Company's instructions or (ii) incorrect or incomplete information being submitted with a sample.

(d) Opinions given by the Company in response to particular questions from the Customer will be given in good faith, but the Company shall be held harmless, and shall have no liability to Customer as a result of, or in connection with, Customer’s use of, or reliance on, any Report provided by Company, or any opinion given by Company related to said results.

(e) Upon becoming aware of an error or possible deficiency in a Report, the Customer will forthwith notify the Company in writing. The Customer acknowledges that failure to do so without delay may prejudice any rights to which the Customer may be entitled under the Contract.

9. Limitation of Liability

(a) The Customer acknowledges that the DNA sample submitted will undergo laboratory DNA analysis. The Customer further acknowledges that, as with all laboratory tests it may not be free of error in every case. In this respect, the Company shall use all reasonable efforts in compiling a Report, but the Company does not warrant that a Report will be accurate or complete. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE COMPANY BE LIABLE TO THE CUSTOMER OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (EVEN IF THAT PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), ARISING FROM BREACH OF THE CONTRACT, THE ISSUANCE OF A REPORT, THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY REPORT, OR ARISING FROM ANY ACT OR OMISSION OF COMPANY, OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO COMPANY’S PERFORMANCE UNDER THIS CONTRACT, SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF REVENUE OR ANTICIPATED PROFITS OR LOST BUSINESS.

(b) In the event Company is liable under this Contract, the Company's total liability for any one claim or for the total of all claims arising from any one act or default, whether arising from the Company's negligence or otherwise, shall not exceed the amount actually paid by Customer under the Contract.

10. Privacy Information and Disclosure

(a) The Company recognizes the confidentiality of information that is provided by the Customer. Company maintains all such information received by Customer in confidence.

(b) The Company will not disclose or sell a Customer’s name, genetic information, or other personally identifiable information (“Customer Confidential Information”) to any third party, other than to its employees, consultants or other agents who must have access to such Customer Confidential Information for such party to perform certain duties in connection with such Customer’s order (collectively, “Employees”). All Employees will have signed a confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement that prohibits their disclosure of any Customer Confidential Information. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may make a disclosure containing Customer Confidential Information without the consent of the Customer, only to the extent such disclosure is required by law, rule, regulation or government or court order or as reasonably advised by the Company’s legal counsel in good faith. In the event that any such disclosure is necessary, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to provide such Customer with fourteen (14) days prior written notice of any such required disclosure.

(c) When the Customer’s DNA sample is handled by lab personnel, it is only identified by a bar code.

(d) Other than as provided above, the Company only shares the results of the Company’s analysis with the person providing the DNA sample, unless that person has given us permission to do otherwise.

11. Cancellation

(a) After the Company has received the Customer’s DNA sample, the Customer is not entitled to cancel the Contract.

(b) Should the Customer fail to return a DNA sample within 90 days of receiving a MatriClanTM and/or PatriClanTM test kit, the Company will have no obligation to refund the Customer’s payment or perform an analysis of the DNA sample.

12. No Set-Off

In the event of a Report being defective or allegedly defective, the Customer will nonetheless be obliged to pay for other Reports properly supplied by the Company in compliance with the Contract. For the purposes of the Customer's payment obligations, each Contract will be treated separately and the Customer will not be entitled to any set-off.

13. Force Majeure

The Company accepts no liability for loss or damage arising from fire, flood, meteorological conditions, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, industrial disputes, industrial action, transport delays, accidents of any kind, perils of the sea or rivers, acts of God, government or local authority restrictions, or other contingencies beyond the Company’s reasonable control, that prevent or delay the Company's implementation of its obligations under the Contract.

14. Modifications

The Company has the right, at its sole discretion, to modify these Terms and Conditions or the service at any time in its reasonable discretion. Notice of all such changes will be provided by posting said changes on the Company website (www.africanancestry.com), or sent via e-mail, or first class mail to you.

15. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

The Contract will be interpreted, construed and enforced in all respects in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland except for its conflicts of laws principles. Each party irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of the federal and/or local courts located in Maryland in connection with any action violating the Contract.