Obligation of the Parties 2.1 The Fund shall prepare and be responsible for filing with the SEC and any state securities regulators requiring such filing, all shareholder reports, notices, proxy materials (or similar materials such as voting instruction solicitation materials), prospectuses and statements of additional information of the Fund. The Fund shall bear the costs or registration and qualification of its Shares, preparation and filing of the documents listed in this Section 2.1 and all taxes to which an issuer is subject on the issuance and transfer of its shares.
2.2 At least annually, the Fund or its designee shall provide the Company, free of charge, with as many copies of the current prospectus (describing only the Portfolios) for the Shares as the Company may reasonably request for distribution to existing Contract owners whose Contracts are funded by such Shares. The Fund or its designee shall provide the Company, at the Company's expense, with as many copies of the current prospectus for the Shares as the Company may reasonably request for distribution to prospective purchasers of Contracts. If requested by the Company in lieu thereof, the Fund or its designee shall provide such documentation (including a "camera ready" copy of the new prospectus as set in type) and other assistance as is reasonably necessary in order for the parties hereto once each year (or more frequently if the prospectus for the Shares is supplemented or amended) to have the prospectus for the Contracts and the prospectus for the Shares printed together in one document; the expenses of such printing to be borne by the Company. In the event that the Company requests that the Fund or its designee provide the Fund's prospectus in a "camera ready" format, the Fund shall be responsible solely for providing the prospectus in the format in which it is accustomed to formatting prospectuses and shall bear the expense of providing the prospectus in such format (e.g., typesetting expenses), and the Company shall bear the expense of adjusting or changing the format to conform with any of its prospectuses.
2.3 The prospectus for the Shares shall state that the statement of additional information for the Shares is available from the Fund or its designee. The Fund or its designee, at its expense, shall print and provide such statement of additional information to the Company (or a master of such statement suitable for duplication by the Company) for distribution to any owner of a Contract funded by the Shares. The Fund or its designee, at the Company's expense, shall print and provide such statement to the Company (or a master of such statement suitable for duplication by the Company) for distribution to a prospective purchaser who requests such statement.
2.4 The Fund or its designee shall provide the Company free of charge copies, if and to the extent applicable to the Shares, of the Fund's proxy materials, reports to Shareholders and other communications to Shareholders in such quantity as the Company shall reasonably require for distribution to Contract owners.
2.5 The Company shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, to the Fund or its designee, a copy of each prospectus for the Contracts or statement of additional information for the Contracts in which the Fund or its investment adviser is named prior to the filing of such document with the SEC. The Company shall furnish, or shall cause to be furnished, to the Fund or its designee, each piece of sales literature or other promotional material in which the Fund or its investment adviser is named, at least five Business Days prior to is use. No such prospectus, statement of additional information or material shall be used if the Fund or its designee reasonably objects to such use within five Business Days after receipt of such material.
2.6 The Company shall not give any information or make any representations or statements on behalf of the Fund or concerning the Fund or its investment adviser in connection with the sale of the Contracts other than information or representations contained in and accurately derived from the registration statement or prospectus for the Fund Shares (as such registration statement and prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time), reports of the Fund, Fund-sponsored proxy statement, or in sales literature or other promotional material approved by the Fund or its designee, except with the written permission of the Fund or its designee.
2.7 The Fund shall not give any information or make any representations or statements on behalf of the Company or concerning the Company, the Accounts or the Contracts other than information or representations contained in and accurately derived from the registration statement or prospectus for the Contracts (as such registration statement and prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time), or in materials approved by the Company for distribution including sales literature or other promotional materials, except with the written permission of the Company.
2.8 The Company shall amend the registration statement of the Contracts under the 1933 Act and registration statement for each Account under the 1940 Act from time to time as required in order to effect the continuous offering of the Contracts or as may otherwise be required by applicable law. The Company shall register and qualify the Contracts for sale to the extent required by applicable securities laws and insurance laws of the various states.
Obligations of Both Parties Obligations of Party A:
1. Party A undertakes that the products that it provides have been authorized by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the PRC.
2. In order to enhance Party B’s reputation, Party A hereby authorizes Party B to use the Ninetowns trade name in its company name, provided, however, that Party B shall not use such trade name to engage in business activities that are not related to the business as contemplated hereunder.
3. Party A undertakes that during the term of this agreement, it will obtain Party B’s prior consent before developing other franchisees within the franchised area.
4. Party A shall provide Party B with marketing and training materials in connection with the franchised products.
5. Party A shall provide Party B with technical support services.
6. Upgrade services. Obligations of Party B:
1. Party B is responsible for distribution of Party A’s products, after-sale services and technical support in the franchised area.
2. Party B undertakes that it will comply with relevant state and industrial laws and regulations through its sales activities.
3. Party B undertakes that it will not be any third party’s franchisee for any other product that competes with Party A’s products in the franchised area during the term of this agreement.
4. Party B undertakes that the products that it sells are the official versions of Party A’s products, and Party B undertakes that it will not engage in any form of counterfeit activities.
5. Party B undertakes that it will provide users with after-sales service and technical support in accordance with Party A’s service standards and service contents.
6. Party B undertakes that it will make payments to Party A within the prescribed time limit.
7. Party B undertakes that the sales data delivered by Party B to Party A monthly, i.e. the monthly sales report, will be true and accurate.