STIHL's Internet Policy

USE OF STIHL TRADEMARKS ON THE INTERNET

1. Permitted Uses. Use of STIHL trademarks on the Internet, like all uses of STIHL trademarks by authorized dealers or distributors, must be only in connection with the promotion of STIHL products. Any use of a STIHL trademark in connection with other goods or services constitutes trademark infringement and will be treated as such.

2. Domain Names and Email address. Under no circumstances shall a STIHL dealer use the mark "STIHL" in a domain name or Email address. Usage of the mark STIHL or any other STIHL trademark in a domain name or Email address may be confusing or deceptive to consumers and as such violates STIHL policy, as well as federal and state trademark laws. Any such usage shall be regarded by STIHL as trademark infringement. STIHL will take action, including legal action as it deems appropriate, to prevent consumer confusion and to protect STIHL trademarks.

3. Acknowledgement of Trademark Ownership. Use of any STIHL trademarks on a dealer or distributor's web site should be accompanied by a notice indicating that STIHL® and any other STIHL trademarks in use on the site, are registered trademarks of Andreas Stihl. See Web Site Content (Item 5) below, for additional information about required notices.

WEB SITE CONTENT

1. No Misleading References to Corporate Affiliation. Nothing on a dealer or distributor's web site should imply that the site is "sponsored" by STIHL or is otherwise a STIHL corporate site. Similarly, nothing on a dealer web site should suggest or otherwise convey that it is the only STIHL dealer site or that the dealer has any kind of "preferred" or elevated status as compared to other STIHL dealers.

2. Links. STIHL dealers and distributors may include links on their web sites to STIHL Inc.'s web site, located at URL www.stihlusa.com. STIHL policy does not permit the placement of links from STIHL's web site to dealers' sites.

3. Advertising/Promotional Materials. In consideration for the advertising support STIHL dealers provide to STIHL by the promotion of STIHL products on such dealers' web sites, STIHL hereby grants to each such authorized dealer a license to reproduce graphic material and textual material in the nature of product photographs, descriptions, and specifications, from STIHL's corporate web site or from current STIHL product literature for use on such dealer's web site. The license granted herein relates to photographic and textual material only. Nothing in this policy shall be construed as granting a license in any proprietary software or search mechanisms, including, without limitation, the "Dealer Locator" and "Virtual Dealer" programs located on STIHL's corporate web site.

4. Future Enhancements. STIHL is in the process of developing a file transfer protocol (FTP) to provide dealers with an easily downloadable "library" of product materials for use by dealers on their web sites. All materials made available to dealers through such future enhancements are subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Internet Policy, as it may be amended from time to time in STIHL's sole discretion.

5. Acknowledgement of Intellectual Property Ownership. Any use of STIHL's intellectual property on a dealer's web site (for example, copyright-protected photography or textual material licensed in accordance with this policy, or trademarks used in connection with such material) should be accompanied by a notice acknowledging STIHL's ownership of such property and indicating that its use on the dealer site is by permission. STIHL strongly encourages dealers to include a "legal notices" or "terms and conditions" page on their web sites, to provide visitors with appropriate legal information about use of the site, but in any case, notices with respect to STIHL's intellectual property must be included on the site. With respect to the copyright-protected material licensed from STIHL, the dealer's web site should acknowledge STIHL's ownership of the licensed materials and specifically grant the web site visitor the right to view and download a single copy of the material for their personal, non-commercial use. The ® symbol, with respect to registered trademarks, or the TM symbol, in other cases, must accompany all uses of STIHL trademarks. Any questions regarding the proper use of STIHL intellectual property should be directed to The Product Information Department, Stihl Incorporated.

INTERNET SALES

• No Internet Sales. STIHL encourages dealers to include informational materials about STIHL products on their web sites. In accordance with STIHL's no-mail order policy, however, STIHL does not permit sales of its products over the Internet. Delivery of any STIHL product to a customer must be made in person by a trained dealer employee.

MISCELLANEOUS

1. Supplements. STIHL is currently studying the impact of the Internet on the sales and marketing of STIHL products and expects to supplement this Internet Policy in accordance with its observations and conclusions.

2. No Reliance. STIHL reserves the right to change this policy at any time. Any investment made by a dealer in web site development and Internet marketing in reliance on this Internet Policy is made at the dealer's own risk.

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What to Do When an Inquiring Customer
E-mails You About an Internet Sale

Reprinted from The STIHL Post
Vol. 4, No. 2
Summer, 2000

STIHL is very clear about its policy of no catalog sales by dealers to consumers, and the CDC/BME price books clarify this position in two places. The selling of STIHL branded products via the Internet is strictly forbidden.

Dealers should be aware that STIHL, Inc. is policing the Internet and checking all STIHL dealer websites. They notify CDC/BME if they find a dealer out of compliance and if the dealer doesn't stop immediately, their account is cancelled.

As STIHL Southeast noted recently in a memo to its dealers, there are certain selling procedures that must be followed to separate us from mass merchants, and to allow us to meet product liability criteria.

The following e-mail correspondence between a prospective customer and a dealer is a fine example of how STIHL dealers should respond to sales inquiries from Internet consumers.

The Customer Wrote:

The Dealer Replied:

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