Second FRANCIS Frugal Innovation Challenge

The second FRANCIS Frugal Innovation Challenge (henceforth called the “Challenge”) is organised by the project FRANCIS that is co-funded by the European Commission (“FRANCIS”). It is supported by a team of mentors: (1) The FutureHotel Innovation Network and Globetrotter (henceforth called “Industry Coaches”) will provide technical and business guidance for the Participants. Each Team (one to five Participants) will, in addition, be supported by (2) scientists or consultants (henceforth called “Facilitators”) providing hands-on assistance and running sessions from time to time to support the creative process.

The aim of these participant rules (henceforth called the “Rules”) is to set out the terms and conditions governing your involvement in the Challenge as a Participant.

By registering for this Challenge as a Participant, you fully and unconditionally agree to comply with the following Rules. If you do not agree with any of these Rules, do not register for this Challenge and do not submit an entry. If you join the challenge and want to leave later on, you are free to do so.

 

1. DATES AND TIMES

This Challenge begins on Tuesday, 8 July2024, at 9:00 am CET and ends on Wednesday, 13 November 2024, at 5:00 pm CET. The stated timeline for this challenge is subject to changes and will be updated on the challenge website. Participants are advised to check the website regularly for updates. Once registered on the challenge website, participants will also be notified of any changes to the timeline. The Challenge will be accessible 24 hours a day on the dedicated Challenge website operated by Agorize at https://francis-challenges.agorize.com (henceforth called the “Challenge website”), subject to possible IT maintenance operations and malfunctions. Dates and times in these Rules refer to Central European Time (CET).

 

2. AGREEING TO THE RULES

 Any eligible person, who is registered on the Challenge website and enrols to participate in the Challenge (henceforth called “Participant” or “You”), is required to review and accept the Challenge Rules at hand. By accessing and accepting these Rules, You:

• enter into a valid and enforceable contractual relationship with FRANCIS regarding participation in the Challenge. The registration and enrolment in the Challenge do not set up any subordination relationship between FRANCIS and the Participant, and
• fully and unconditionally agree to comply with these Rules. Participants express their agreement by checking an online box while enrolling for the Challenge.

In case of non-respect of these Rules, the Participant will be immediately disqualified from the Challenge and no grant will be awarded.

 

3. REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION IN THE CHALLENGE

To take part in the Challenge, we must have received your completed registration by the end of Round One. To register, the Participant must create a user account on the Challenge website and truthfully and accurately complete required personal information, such as full name, email address, etc.

Any registration based on inaccurate, false or incomplete information will result in the Participant’s disqualification. Refusing collection, recording and use of their personal data that is strictly necessary to perform the Challenge will result in the Participant’s disqualification. The Participant is solely responsible for the information they provide when they register. Any intentional or non-intentional mistake, anomaly, or inconsistency, regarding this information, may result in the Participant’s disqualification. FRANCIS reserves the right to proceed all necessary verifications regarding the Participant’s identity, postal and/or email address.

Deletion of a Participant’s user account on the Challenge website will be deemed as a withdrawal from the Challenge. In this case, the Participant, will not participate in the Challenge, and will not obtain any compensation, regardless of whether the deletion results from the Participant’s personal act or not.

You must also have accepted the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy during the creation of your user account and your registration to the Challenge as well as the Data Protection Notice.

Registration for and participation in the Challenge is free, with no purchase or payment obligation.

 

4. ELIGIBILITY

This Challenge is open and offered solely to individuals who are at least eighteen (18) years old and with full legal capacity. Each individual (henceforth called “Participant”) may only participate once in each Challenge.

FRANCIS specifically invites the following groups to join the challenge:

• Hotel pioneers: People working in operational departments of hotels, such as reception, housekeeping, food & beverages, who excel in innovative spirit
• Eco-conscious travellers: People with an eco-friendly mindset, who aim at prioritising the preservation of nature during both business and leisure trips
• Travel visionaries: People with a unique perspective on traveling, such as senior citizens, people with disabilities, single travellers, and the LGBTQI+ community
• Outdoor enthusiasts: People, who love outdoor activities, such as backpacking, camping, and hiking

All documents that may confirm the Participant’s eligibility will be required prior to awarding any Grants ().

This Challenge is not open to employees and representatives of the FRANCIS project partners and the members of their families.

This Challenge is void in countries where it is prohibited or restricted by law.

 

5. PURPOSE OF THE CHALLENGE AND PARTICIPATION

Individual Participants form a Team of at least 1 and up to 5 members (henceforth called “Team”). Every Team assigns one Participant as Team Captain. The Team Captain coordinates the team, uploads the Proposals and receives the Grant for all Team members. Each Team member must accept these Rules. FRANCIS may disqualify any Team (and all its members) in the case where any one member has not accepted or violates these Rules.

The goal of the Challenge is for Participants to submit contributions meeting the requirements determined by FRANCIS in the Challenge Brief, and that are formalised by Proposals. The Brief includes information on the Challenge, including the topic and relevant deadlines (henceforth called the “Brief”). The Brief is accessible through the Challenge website.

 

6. PROPOSALS

During the Challenge, Participants may upload documents or other materials (such as texts, presentations, videos, etc.) relating to their idea to the Challenge website in response and as a solution to the FRANCIS’ Challenge (henceforth called the “Proposal”). Every Team can enter several Proposals to the Challenge but only one Proposal per Team will be allowed to proceed to Round Two.

To be eligible, Proposals must (i) address the specific issue set out in the Brief, (ii) be in a common digital format, such as DOC, DOCX, PDF, PPT, PPTX, KEY, ODT, MP3, MPEG, MOV, MP4, (iii) be in English, German, or Spanish and in general terms must comply with these Rules.

If a Proposal cannot be downloaded, is not in the right format or is incompatible, illegible, or unintelligible, the Proposal will be disqualified.

By submitting a Proposal, Participants represent and warrant that:

• The Proposal exclusively includes contributions from an individual Team.
• Otherwise, if any content from a third party has been used in the development of the Proposal, all rights, authorisations, and agreements necessary to upload the Proposal and grant the rights mentioned herein have been obtained. The existence of uncredited third-party contributions in the Proposal will result in the disqualification of the Proposal and the related Participants.
• No other individual and/or entity is entitled to claim any rights from the use of the Proposal; and
• The content of the Proposal does not and will not infringe or violate any rights of any third party or entity, including, without limitation, intellectual property rights, privacy, competition law, confidentiality, or any contractual or extracontractual right. All Proposals suspected of any law(s) and/or any third party’s right will be ineligible.

 Participants are responsible for and shall bear any costs or expenses associated with preparing and submitting Proposals. Participants assume all risk of damaged, lost, late, incomplete, invalid, incorrect, or misdirected Proposals.

7. CHALLENGE PROCESS

Challenge Rounds. The Challenge consists of several Rounds (henceforth called “Rounds”). Rounds One and Two will be asynchronous, meaning there are no set times for these rounds. After completing successfully Round One, you can proceed to Round Two at your own pace. The only fixed deadlines are at the end of Round Two and Final Round. For exact dates and deadlines, please refer to the Challenge website.

• Round One. There is no restriction on the number of Proposals in Round One (henceforth called “Round One”). Proposals that meet our requirements (see below) will be selected to proceed to Round Two.
• Round Two. At the end of this Round (henceforth called “Round Two”), 5 Proposals will be selected to proceed to the Final Round.
• Final Round. The teams of the selected Proposals will have time to complete simple demonstrators, based on a prototyping kit provided by FRANCIS. The last Round (henceforth called “Final Round”) ends with an event, where the finalists will present their prototypes. Teams that successfully completed their Proposals will receive a Grant.

Proposal. If a Participant does not upload a Proposal on the Challenge website before the deadline, this will be considered as a withdrawal from the Challenge. The Participant may not join the Challenge and may not obtain any compensation from FRANCIS.

Selection criteria. Proposals will be judged according to the Selection criteria described below (henceforth called “Selection criteria”). You agree and acknowledge that the Challenge relies on your creativity, capacity, ability, and ingenuity to solve difficult problems. The Challenge does not depend, even partially, on chance or luck, and therefore should not be considered as a lottery. Under no circumstances are factors such as appearance, religion, membership in a trade union, political opinions or sexual orientation considered.

Notification to Participants. Once the selection has been completed, Participants will be notified by email, or by other means, at FRANCIS’ discretion, of the results of each Round. FRANCIS will be free to alter the dates on which results are released should this become necessary due to the number of projects to be assessed. The final ranking decided by the Jury will be announced on the day that the presentations are made.

Round One

All Round One Proposals must be received by FRANCIS on or before the Round ends. Proposals must meet the specifications set out in Section 6, above, and include the following:

• Description of the idea based on the instructions provided by FRANCIS. FRANCIS offers creativity sessions to support the idea development.
• Completion of mandatory questions during registration and submission

Members of the FRANCIS consortium (regional teams) , will evaluate the Proposals and select Proposals for the next Round based on their completeness (Were all boxes filled out correctly?) and their fit to the Challenge Brief (How well does the idea match the task description? Is it specifically relevant for one of the target groups and/or target countries? Is it frugal, i.e. simple, affordable and sustainable?).

Participants will be informed of the results of Round One within one week after submitting their Proposal.

Round Two

All Round Two Proposals must be received by FRANCIS on or before the round ends. Round Two Proposals must meet the specifications set out in Section 6, above, and include the following:

• Description of the concept using the template provided by FRANCIS. FRANCIS offers creativity sessions to support the concept development.

Criteria based voting will take place after the round has ended by external advisors of FRANCIS (the “Jury”). The Jury will evaluate the Proposals and select Proposals for the next Round based on their content and the Selection criteria detailed below.

• Innovation: How innovative is the solution, is it something new compared to existing solution?
• Feasibility: How easy is it to turn the idea into a solution (product, service, business model)? What are the chances that the solution will stay on the market and reach many consumers?
• Impact: What is the potential impact of the idea on society and/or nature? How big is the impact?
• Clarity: How well is the idea and its potential impact described? Is it easy to understand?

The weighing of the Selection criteria in Round Two is as follows: Innovation 20%, Feasibility 50%, Impact 20%, Clarity 10%.

About five Participant concepts will be selected at the end of this Round for the next Round. Participants will be informed of the results of Round Two within one week after the round ended.

Final Round

Participants who have been selected to participate in the Final Round will be directly notified. In the event a Participant does not answer after FRANCIS has tried to contact them by email, FRANCIS reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify this Participant. This disqualification shall not entitle the Participant to claim any kind of compensation from FRANCIS.

Participants must prepare a Proposal which meets the specifications set out in Section 6 and which includes the following:

• Simple demonstrator based on the prototyping kit provided by FRANCIS
• Pitch for the idea (short video)
• Proof of identity, bank details, contact details

The prototype and the pitch will be used to present the concept in the final event.

At the end of the Final Round, the Jury will evaluate and rank the selected Proposals based on their content and the Selection criteria detailed above. The weighing of the Selection criteria in the Final Round is as follows: Innovation 20%, Feasibility 20%, Impact 50%, Clarity 10%.

 

8. Rewards

 The grants to be awarded to the Finalists of the Challenge are subject to compliance with the following cumulative conditions: 

• The Proposals comply with Section 6 (“Proposals”);
• Each Participant of a selected Team complies with Sections 10 and 12;
• It can be proven that the selected Participants fulfil the conditions of eligibility of Section 4.

No grant will be awarded to selected Teams who do not fulfil the above.

Subject to these Terms and Conditions, once confirmed by FRANCIS, the Participants will receive the following:

• Round One: All registered Participants will receive a participation certificate and a badge that they can share on social media.
• Round Two: All Teams will receive a participation certificate and a badge that they can share on social media when they upload their Proposal at the end of the Round.
• Final Round: 5 Teams will receive a finalist certificate, a badge that they can share on social media and a Grant when they upload their Proposal at the end of the Round as well as a token of appreciation. FRANCIS will invite them to the final event, where they can present their concept and prototype. The Teams with the highest ranking will get the opportunity to continue the further development of their concept with the Industry Coaches or to get FRANCIS’ support for the further development. Advice on Intellectual Property Rights will be provided to the final Teams in this step free of charge.

Each team will receive an equal grant, regardless of the number of members in the team.

No assignment or transfer of Grants is allowed by a selected Participant. If a potentially selected Participant cannot be reached or is unable to accept the Grant, FRANCIS shall have no further obligation to the Participant. FRANCIS will not replace any lost or stolen Rewards after being given to selected Participants. Selected Participants will accept the Grant “as it is”. FRANCIS disclaims any warranty regarding the Grant.

In the event a selected Participant cannot be reached, by email, for more than two (2) weeks after the first attempt to reach them was made, they will be deemed as having waived their right to claim the Grant and will not be entitled to any Grant or any kind of compensation.

Any Participant who does not fulfil the conditions of Participation as provided in the Rules during their registration and/or at any time during the Challenge will be summarily disqualified from the Challenge without prior notice and will not be entitled to any Grant. In the assumption that a Grant is awarded to a Participant who does not meet the conditions of Participation when registering or throughout the duration of the Challenge, FRANCIS reserves the right to require the Participant to return the awarded Grant.

 

9. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Definitions. For the purposes of this section,

• "Intellectual Property Rights" refers to any copyright or other rights over a brand, a design or a model, a patent and, more generally, any element (including trade secrets and know-how) that may be protected by national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property (henceforth called “Intellectual Property Rights”).
• “Previous Rights” refer to any Intellectual Property Rights and/or any associated know-how held by the Participants before the start date of the Challenge (henceforth called “Previous Rights”).
• “Creations” refer to any software (including source and object code software), database, technical specifications, text, design, model, information, knowledge, method, process or product, as well as any resulting elements and/or processes likely or otherwise to be protected according to national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property developed by any Participant as a part of any Proposal throughout the Challenge (henceforth called “Creations”).

Every Participant will maintain the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) related to their idea throughout the course of the Challenge. If a Participant stays involved in a Challenge and is selected in the voting at the end of a Challenge Round, they will receive a fixed Grant at the end of the next Round as appreciation for their efforts. Participants may leave the challenge at any point to pursue the further development and exploitation of their idea by themselves. This freedom of choice will not be impacted if they receive one of the Challenge Grants. Please be aware that you should not participate in this Challenge if you want to patent your idea, as any information contained in the Proposals may be disclosed by FRANCIS (see below).

The Industry Coaches of the Challenge plan to turn the most interesting ideas at the end of the Challenge into solutions that enter the market. Finalists, whose ideas are eligible for this commercialisation, will have the option to sell their idea to the Industry Coaches or to get support from the Industry Coaches for the further development of their idea. In this case, they will receive legal advice free of charge.

Warranty of non-infringement. When submitting any Proposal, at any stage of the Challenge, each Participant guarantees to FRANCIS that they are the co/owner and/or co/holder of the Intellectual Property Rights regarding all or part of the Creations contained in the Proposals uploaded at any stage of the Challenge, and that they have obtained all rights and permissions regarding all pre-existing Creations and any elements of the Proposals for which they do not hold the relevant rights.

Each Participant guarantees (i) that their contribution is original and unprecedented; (ii) that it does not infringe upon the copyright or any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party; (iii) that all the elements of which their Proposals are formed, as well as all pieces of contributions and information communicated in the Proposal presentation documents are accurate, reliable and complete; and (iv) that the submission of the relevant Proposals does not constitute an act of unfair competition of any kind.

It is compulsory for Participants to indicate the source of any pre-existing Creations of whichever nature and on whichever support that are included in any Proposal. Any Proposal involving several Participants constitutes a collaborative work and it should be treated as such in accordance with the applicable regulation in force.

Liability. Every Participant will maintain the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) related to their idea throughout the course of the challenge. FRANCIS however cannot be held liable for any infringement of the above provisions by Participants. Each Participant shall indemnify FRANCIS against any disturbance, action, claim, opposition and demand or eviction attempt from any third party in connection with any Creation in the Proposals (Intellectual Property Rights included).

 

10. COMMERCIALISATION AND IPR SCENARIOS

The Participants shall present their ideas for the target audience specified on the Challenge website and will take part in the process of transforming these ideas into usable solutions and perform the given tasks within the scope of the Challenge. Persons who take part in the Challenge among the Industry Coaches’ own employees are obliged to fulfil the responsibilities defined within the scope of the Challenge. In addition, the Industry Coaches as a legal entity is responsible for fulfilling the obligations specified in the agreements to which it is a party under the EU Project.

The Participants develop their ideas in line with the Brief and try to reach a usable solution in the following Rounds. A Jury selects the ideas that proceed from one Round to the next. The following scenarios apply to the Participants, who have passed the first Round.

• The Team has no interest in the Proposal, is not interested in commercialisation and intellectual property rights, but the Industry Coaches are interested in bringing the results to life.
• The Team and the Industry Coaches are not interested in the Proposal, they are not interested in commercialisation and intellectual property rights.
• The Team is not interested in the Proposal but wants to sell the Intellectual Property Rights to the Industry Coaches and the Industry Coaches are interested in bringing the results to life.
• The Team has no interest in the Proposal but wants to sell the intellectual property rights to the Industry Coaches and the Industry Coaches are not interested in bringing the results to life.
• The Team wants to further develop the Proposal and commercialise the results, but the Industry Coaches are not interested in bringing the results to life.
• The Team wants to further develop the Proposal and commercialise the results, and the Industry Coaches are interested in bringing the results to life.

In the above-mentioned scenarios, Teams may develop and commercialise ideas, turn them into a product and submit it to the market or apply for a patent in cases, where the Industry Coaches are not interested in Intellectual Property Rights and commercialisation. The Industry Coaches waive all rights for these situations.

The Industry Coaches begin negotiations with Teams to determine the conditions in the above-mentioned scenarios, where the Industry Coaches have an interest in the Intellectual Property Rights and/or the commercialisation. The Industry Coaches may offer to pay the Team based on the value of their idea/concept or future earnings during the negotiations.

 

11. COMMUNICATION

 The Participant acknowledges and consents that FRANCIS may use the Challenge for publicity, including for advertising or other marketing purposes, by any means and through any format (website, advertising banners, social networks, newsletter, press release) now known or unknown to date, free of charge or for a consideration. This applies throughout the European Union as well as the countries represented by FRANCIS’ consortium partners.

 In particular, you consent to the using, by FRANCIS, of anonymised data concerning, for example, your country of residence, your gender, the target group you relate to, and your category of participation.

 As an example, each Participant authorises FRANCIS to use the photographs taken during the final event for dissemination via any communication medium. Such use does not entitle the selected Teams to any other payment than the reward they received.

 

12. CONFIDENTIALITY

FRANCIS has no obligation to keep the information contained in the Proposals confidential. In general terms, when submitting any Proposals, the Participants understand, agree, and accept that any information contained therein may be disclosed by FRANCIS (see IPR section).

If you are awarded a Grant, FRANCIS may request that you execute a confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement for the purpose of entering negotiations regarding the further development of your idea/concept, as described in your Proposal. Such confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement will be directed to your Proposal and all intellectual property that it may contain.

 Furthermore, Participants acknowledge that FRANCIS may currently or in the future be developing information internally, or receiving information from other parties, that is similar to the information contained in any of the Proposals. Accordingly, nothing herein shall prohibit FRANCIS from independently acquiring, developing, or having developed for it, products, concepts, systems, services, or techniques that are similar to or compete with the products, concepts, systems or techniques contemplated by or embodied in any Proposal.

 The Participants recognize that other Participants, individuals, or entities may have provided FRANCIS or others, or made public, or may in the future submit, or make public, content that is the same or similar to any piece of information contained in any of the Proposals. Hence, the Participants acknowledge, agree and accept that FRANCIS shall have the right to use such same or similar materials, and that the Participants will not be entitled to any compensation arising from FRANCIS’ use of such materials.

 

13. MODIFICATION OF RULES, SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF THE CHALLENGE

Update of the Rules. FRANCIS reserves the right to amend these Rules at any time, including the Challenge duration, in case of operational imperatives regarding the enforcement or the validity of these amendments. Participants are encouraged to consult these Rules regularly. Participants expressly waive all claims or disputes related to any amendment to these Rules by FRANCIS.

Should any paragraph of these Rules be declared or judged illegal, unenforceable, or void by a court decision, the paragraph in question will be considered null and void, but all other unaffected paragraphs will be enforced within the limits of the law.

Challenge Cancellation or Suspension. FRANCIS reserves the right, in its discretion, to (i) cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Challenge and these Rules for important reasons (force majeure) at any time and without any liability, and (ii) to limit or restrict participation in the Challenge. FRANCIS will not be held liable for the modification, cancellation or suspension of the Challenge and no compensation or remuneration will be due to the Participants.

 

14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

FRANCIS will in no way be held liable in the event of breakdown or failure, regardless of the cause, of any telecommunications network used that causes Participants difficulty in or prevents Participants from identifying themselves on or gaining access to the Challenge website.

Participants agree that project partners, their affiliates and all of their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, representatives and agents (henceforth called “Released Parties”) will have no liability whatsoever for, and will be released and held harmless by Participants for any claims, liabilities, or causes of action of any kind or nature for any injury, loss or damages of any kind including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages to persons, including without limitation disability or death. Without limiting the foregoing, everything on the Challenge website and in connection with the challenge is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Some jurisdictions may not allow the limitations or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages or exclusion of implied warranties, in which case such limitation or exclusion shall apply only to the extent permitted by the law in the relevant jurisdiction.

Participation in the Challenge implies acknowledgment and acceptance of the characteristics, limits, and risks of the internet and related technologies, particularly with regards to performance, response time, security of software and computer equipment against various potential attacks, such as viruses, logic bombs or Trojans, and loss or misuse of data. As a result, FRANCIS will not be held liable in any way for any damage incurred by Participants arising from these characteristics, limits, and risks, which Participants accept by registering and taking part in the Challenge.

FRANCIS will not, in any case, be held liable for damages resulting from faults with or delays in the upload of Proposals by Participants, including refusal to accept these Proposals because of their Proposal outside the deadlines set out in the Rules, from faults with or delays to the sending of any emails by the Participant sent as part of the Challenge, or from any alterations made to the Proposals independently of FRANCIS.

FRANCIS will not, in any case, be held liable for damages resulting from services provided by a third party relating to the Grants.

FRANCIS will not be held liable for the consequences of a Participant’s disqualification from the Challenge as a result of their violation of these Rules.

The European Commission cannot be held liable for any damage caused to or by the Participants or third parties as a consequence of implementing the Open Innovation challenge, including for gross negligence.

 

15. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

 Participation in the Challenge requires the communication of the Participant's personal data (henceforth called "Personal Data"). FRANCIS’ Quality & Data Manager (QDM) Fraunhofer is responsible for the project’s data processing (please feel free to contact FRANCIS’ QDM in your personal Challenge space or via the FRANCIS website).  

The Personal Data of a Participant is subject to processing within the meaning of the regulations on the protection of personal data (EU 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation and the Council of 27 April 2016, known as GDPR) for which FRANCIS defines the purposes and means and is, as such, “Data controller” within the meaning of the GDPR as detailed above.

The purposes of the processing are:

• To meet the organisation of the challenge needs
• To organise the intermediation between the Participant and FRANCIS, to ensure identification, communication and preservation of the exchanges with the Participant

In accordance with the provisions of the GDPR, FRANCIS undertakes to implement organisational and technical security measures in order to protect the Personal Data of all Participants. FRANCIS undertakes to allow the exercise of their rights from GDPR.

 

16. CLAIMS

Any Participant’s claims arising from the Challenge should be addressed no later than thirty (30) days following the Challenge end date. All claims must include: (i) the Participant’s complete contact details (name, address, email address and phone); (ii) the name of the Challenge; and (iii) a clear and detailed explanation for the claim.

 

17. APPLICABLE LAW AND DISPUTES RESOLUTION

The Challenge and any action related thereto shall be governed by the law applicable in France.

In case of persistent litigation beyond a period of fifteen (15) days after the Participant has filed a claim, FRANCIS and the Participant undertake to submit their dispute to an amicable conciliation prior to any legal proceedings. The party wishing to initiate conciliation shall inform the other party by means of a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt in which it will inform of its intentions and will explain the cause. If no agreement is reached between the parties within thirty (30) days after receipt of the registered letter, the parties regain their freedom of action.

In case of persistent disagreement on the application or interpretation of the Rules, and in the absence of an amicable settlement, any dispute that may arise between the parties, will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the French courts to which the parties expressly Grant jurisdiction, even in the case of multiple defendants, in summary proceedings, appeal by guarantee or by motion.