EXHIBITING AT A CONVENTION?
Many of you participate in conventions in one form or another. Some of my clients regularly exhibit at conventions/trade shows, etc… I just completed a review of an agreement sent to us by one of the largest “event” organizations on the west coast. Here are some of the warnings I sent my client. (There’s probably a larger article in here somewhere. Maybe when I come up for air in the fall…..)
- They may terminate our attendance at any time for any reason or no reason at all.
- They reserve the right to take photographs/video of our exhibit, booth space and personnel and we give them full rights to such images/footage. And we agree to sign all required releases.
- They may alter our space at any time.
- We need their written permission to “exchange goods or services”. (No actual sales should be made.) We may only exchange information for future contacts/sales.
- We’ll have to use their contractors for moving in, setting up, tearing down, etc…
- No offsite meetings. We agree not to “encourage absence of exhibitors or invited guests from the Event or Event Facilities.”
- We are required to provide them with a list of all individuals/entities who have visited our exhibit.
- We have to purchase and maintain an insurance policy naming both the Organizer and the Facility as additional insureds.
- They may change the date 30 days in either direction, and/or move the event up to 50 miles without any recompense.
- The limitation of liability and indemnification sections are ridiculous. But in my experience these are carved in stone. This should be mostly ameliorated with the insurance you’ll carry.
