Last updated September 04, 2018

Thank you for choosing to be part of our community at Rico Industries Inc. (“Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about our policy, or our practices with regards to your personal information, please contact us at info@ricoinc.com.

When you visit our website http://www.ricoinc.com/, and use our services, you trust us with your personal information. We take your privacy very seriously. In this privacy notice, we describe our privacy policy. We seek to explain to you in the clearest way possible what information we collect, how we use it and what rights you have in relation to it. We hope you take some time to read through it carefully, as it is important. If there are any terms in this privacy policy that you do not agree with, please discontinue use of our Sites and our services.

This privacy policy applies to all information collected through our website (such as http://www.ricoinc.com/), and/or any related services, sales, marketing or events (we refer to them collectively in this privacy policy as the "Sites").

Please read this privacy policy carefully as it will help you make informed decisions about sharing your personal information with us.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
• HOW DO WE USE YOUR INFORMATION?
• WILL YOUR INFORMATION BE SHARED WITH ANYONE?
• HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?
• HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?
• DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?
• WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?
• DO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?
• DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS POLICY?
• HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS POLICY?

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

Personal information you disclose to us.

In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us such as name, address, contact information, passwords and security data, and payment information.

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when registering at the Sites expressing an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and services, when participating in activities on the Sites or otherwise contacting us.

The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Sites, the choices you make and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect can include the following:

Name and Contact Data. We collect your first and last name, email address, postal address, phone number, and other similar contact data.

Credentials. We collect passwords, password hints, and similar security information used for authentication and account access.

Payment Data. We collect data necessary to process your payment if you make purchases, such as your payment instrument number (such as a credit card number), and the security code associated with your payment instrument. All payment data is stored by our payment processor and you should review its privacy policies and contact the payment processor directly to respond to your questions.

All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.

Information collected from other sources

In Short: We may collect limited data from public databases, marketing partners, and other outside sources.

We may obtain information about you from other sources, such as public databases, joint marketing partners, as well as from other third parties. Examples of the information we receive from other sources include: social media profile information; marketing leads and search results and links, including paid listings (such as sponsored links).

2. HOW DO WE USE YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We process your information for purposes based on legitimate business interests, the fulfillment of our contract with you, compliance with our legal obligations, and/or your consent.

We use personal information collected via our Sites for a variety of business purposes described below. We process your personal information for these purposes in reliance on our legitimate business interests (”Business Purposes"), in order to enter into or perform a contract with you ("Contractual”), with your consent (“Consent"), and/or for compliance with our legal obligations (”Legal Reasons”). We indicate the specific processing grounds we rely on next to each purpose listed below.

We use the information we collect or receive:

• To facilitate account creation and Iogon process with your Consent. If you choose to link your account with us to a third-party account *(such as your Google or Facebook account), we use the information you allowed us to collect from those third parties to facilitate account creation and logon process.
• To send you marketing and promotional communications for Business Purposes. We and/or our third-party marketing partners may use the personal information you send to us for our marketing purposes, if this is in accordance with your marketing preferences. You can opt-out of our marketing emails at any time (see the "WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS" below).
• To send administrative information to you for Business Purposes and/or Legal Reasons. We may use your personal information to send you product, service and new feature information and/or information about changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.
• Fulfill and manage your orders for Contractual reasons. We may use your information to fulfill and manage your orders, payments, returns, and exchanges made through the Sites.
• Administer prize draws and competitions for our Business Purposes. We may use your information to administer prize draws and competitions when you elect to participate in competitions.
• Request Feedback for our Business Purposes and/or with your Consent. We may use your information to request feedback and to contact you about your use of our Sites.
• To enable user-to-user communications with your Consent. We may use your information in order to enable user-to-user communications with each user's consent.
• To enforce our terms, conditions and policies for Business Purposes and/or for Legal Reasons.
• To respond to legal requests and prevent harm for Legal Reasons. If we receive a subpoena or other legal request, we may need to inspect the data we hold to determine how to respond.

3. WILL YOUR INFORMATION BE SHARED WITH ANYONE?

In Short: We only share information with your consent, to comply with laws, to protect your rights, or to fulfill business obligations.

We only share and disclose your information in the following situations:

• Compliance with Laws. We may disclose your information where we are legally required to do so in order to comply with applicable law, governmental requests, a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process, such as in response to a court order or a subpoena (including in response to public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements).
• Vital Interests and Legal Rights. We may disclose your information where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding potential violations of our policies, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person and illegal activities, or as evidence in litigation in which we are involved.
• Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
• Business Partners. We may share your information with our business partners to offer you certain products, services or promotions.
• With your Consent. We may disclose your personal information for any other purpose with your consent.

4. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy policy unless otherwise required by law.

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting or other legal requirements). No purpose in this policy will require us keeping your personal information for longer than the period of time in which users have an account with us.

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

5. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?

In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, please also remember that we cannot guarantee that the internet itself is 100% secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Sites is at your own risk. You should only access the services within a secure environment.

6. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?

In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.

We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 18 years of age. By using the Sites, you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent’s use of the Sites. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we have collected from children under age 18, please contact us at info@ricoinc.com.

7. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time. If you are resident in the European Economic Area and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection supervisory authority. You can find their contact details here:

Account Information

If you would at any time like to review or change the information in your account or terminate your account, you can:

• Log into your account settings and update your user account.
• Contact us using the contact information provided.

Upon your request to terminate your account, we will deactivate or delete your account and information from our active databases. However, some information may be retained in our files to prevent fraud, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our Terms of Use and/or comply with legal requirements.

Opting out of email marketing; You can unsubscribe from our marketing email list at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the emails that we send or by contacting us using the details provided below. You will then be removed from the marketing email list - however, we will still need to send you service-related emails that are necessary for the administration and use of your account. To otherwise opt-out, you may:

• Access your account settings and update preferences.
• Contact us using the contact information provided.

8. DO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: Yes, if you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.

If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with the Sites, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Sites. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below, and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Sites, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from our systems.

9. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS POLICY?

In Short: Yes, we will update this policy as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated “Revised” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy policy, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy policy frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

10. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS POLICY?

If you have questions or comments about this policy, you may email us at info@ricoinc.com or by post to:

Rico Industries Inc.

7000 N Austin Ave

Niles, IL 60714

United States

If you have any further questions or comments about us or our policies, email us at info@ricoinc.com or by post to:

Rico Industries Inc.

7000 N Austin Ave

Niles, IL 60714

United States

Phone: (855) 608-4618

Fax: 312-427-1887

Agreement between User and http://www.ricoinc.com/, Welcome to http://www.ricoinc.com/. The http://www.ricoinc.com/ website (the "Site") is comprised of various web pages operated by Rico Industries Inc. (" Rico "). http://www.ricoinc.com/ is offered to you conditioned on your acceptance without modification of the terms, conditions, and notices contained herein (the "Terms"). Your use of http://www.ricoinc.com/ constitutes your agreement to all such Terms. Please read these terms carefully, and keep a copy of them for your reference.

http://www.ricoinc.com/ is an E-Commerce Site.

Consistently top-ranked licensee of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and more than 200 colleges and universities.

Privacy

Your use of http://www.ricoinc.com/ is subject to Rico 's Privacy Policy. Please review our Privacy Policy, which also governs the Site and informs users of our data collection practices.

Electronic Communications

Visiting http://www.ricoinc.com/ or sending emails to Rico constitutes electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically, via email and on the Site, satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

Your Account

If you use this site, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your computer, and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password. You may not assign or otherwise transfer your account to any other person or entity. You acknowledge that Rico is not responsible for third party access to your account that results from theft or misappropriation of your account. Rico and its associates reserve the right to refuse or cancel service, terminate accounts, or remove or edit content in our sole discretion.

Children Under Thirteen

Rico does not knowingly collect, either online or offline, personal information from persons under the age of thirteen. If you are under 18, you may use http://www.ricoinc.com/ only with permission of a parent or guardian.

Cancellation/Refund Policy

You may cancel your subscription at any time. Any cancellations made after 30 days of service will not qualify for a refund. Please contact us at info@ricoinc.com with any questions.

Links to Third Party Sites/Third Party Services

http://www.ricoinc.com/ may contain links to other websites ("Linked Sites"). The Linked Sites are not under the control of Rico and Rico is not responsible for the contents of any Linked Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Linked Site, or any changes or updates to a Linked Site. Rico is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Rico of the site or any association with its operators.

Certain services made available via http://www.ricoinc.com/ are delivered by third party sites and organizations. By using any product, service or functionality originating from the http://www.ricoinc.com/ domain, you hereby acknowledge and consent that Rico may share such information and data with any third party with whom Rico has a contractual relationship to provide the requested product, service or functionality on behalf of http://www.ricoinc.com/ users and customers.

No Unlawful or Prohibited Use/Intellectual Property

You are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use http://www.ricoinc.com/ strictly in accordance with these terms of use. As a condition of your use of the Site, you warrant to Rico that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. You may not use the Site in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of the Site. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Site.

All content included as part of the Service, such as text, graphics, logos, images, as well as the compilation thereof, and any software used on the Site, is the property of Rico or its suppliers and protected by copyright and other laws that protect intellectual property and proprietary rights. You agree to observe and abide by all copyright and other proprietary notices, legends or other restrictions contained in any such content and will not make any changes thereto.

You will not modify, publish, transmit, reverse engineer, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit any of the content, in whole or in part, found on the Site. Rico content is not for resale. Your use of the Site does not entitle you to make any unauthorized use of any protected content, and in particular you will not delete or alter any proprietary rights or attribution notices in any content. You will use protected content solely for your personal use, and will make no other use of the content without the express written permission of Rico and the copyright owner. You agree that you do not acquire any ownership rights in any protected content. We do not grant you any licenses, express or implied, to the intellectual property of Rico or our licensors except as expressly authorized by these Terms.

International Users

The Service is controlled, operated and administered by Rico from our offices within the USA. If you access the Service from a location outside the USA, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws. You agree that you will not use the Rico Content accessed through http://www.ricoinc.com/ in any country or in any manner prohibited by any applicable laws, restrictions or regulations.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Rico , its officers, directors, employees, agents and third parties, for any losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) relating to or arising out of your use of or inability to use the Site or services, any user postings made by you, your violation of any terms of this Agreement or your violation of any rights of a third party, or your violation of any applicable laws, rules or regulations. Rico reserves the right, at its own cost, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with Rico in asserting any available defenses.

Liability Disclaimer

THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN. RICO INDUSTRIES INC. AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES IN THE SITE AT ANY TIME.

RICO INDUSTRIES INC. AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND. RICO INDUSTRIES INC. AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THIS INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL RICO INDUSTRIES INC. AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SITE, WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR RELATED SERVICES, THE PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE SITE, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF RICO INDUSTRIES INC. OR ANY OF ITS SUPPLIERS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF THE SITE, OR WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS OF USE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SITE.

Termination/Access Restriction

Rico reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to the Site and the related services or any portion thereof at any time, without notice. To the maximum extent permitted by law, this agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Illinois and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of courts in Illinois in all disputes arising out of or relating to the use of the Site. Use of the Site is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of these Terms, including, without limitation, this section.

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Rico as a result of this agreement or use of the Site. Rico 's performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of Rico 's right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Site or information provided to or gathered by Rico with respect to such use. If any part of this agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the agreement shall continue in effect.

Unless otherwise specified herein, this agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the user and Rico with respect to the Site and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between the user and Rico with respect to the Site. A printed version of this agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. It is the express wish to the parties that this agreement and all related documents be written in English.

Changes to Terms

Rico reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to change the Terms under which http://www.ricoinc.com/ is offered. The most current version of the Terms will supersede all previous versions. Rico encourages you to periodically review the Terms to stay informed of our updates.

Contact Us

Rico welcomes your questions or comments regarding the Terms:

Rico Industries Inc.

7000 N Austin Ave

Niles, Illinois 60714

Email Address: info@ricoinc.com

Telephone Number: (855) 608-4618

Effective as of September 04, 2018

This page has been created to help individuals and companies learn how to submit product ideas to Rico. Rico wants to connect with high quality business partners who have ready to go products that match Rico’s goals, strategies and needs. If you are the owner or representative of a new product that might fit with Rico’s business, this site can help you submit your product idea for review by Rico.

About the Submission Process

We want to make it easy for current and potential partners to reach out to us with products ideas that may be of interest to our business. Whether you're a previous partner or brand new to Rico, the information in this section will help answer your questions about how to reach out to Rico.

How to Submit Your Idea to RICO

Follow the process below to submit your product idea to Rico.

1. Review the criteria for submitting your ideas

The below submission criteria describes what types of submissions Rico can consider and what types Rico cannot. This information will help you decide whether to submit your product idea. Submission Criteria:

If your product idea fits the criteria below, we invite you to submit your idea.

• We are looking for matches for the product or business needs of Rico. Please look at Rico’s products on this website to see the types of consumer products Rico sells.
• Product ideas should also include protectable intellectual property, typically in the form of a granted patent or trademark or published patent application or published trademark application. Rico cannot advise you on whether or not to pursue a patent, trademark or other form of intellectual property protection. For more information regarding the nature of intellectual property and its uses, you should consult your legal representative or appropriate government agencies, for example, the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Please do not submit the following:

• Product ideas which you do not own or have the full legal right to represent, or about which you are unable to provide information on a nonconfidential basis.
• Confidential information or documents. Remember, all information submitted must be nonconfidential. Do not submit confidential information. We will not review any documents that are marked ‘Confidential’ or the equivalent. The documents will be deleted from our system, and the submission will be automatically declined.
• Ideas, suggestions or thoughts that do not include protectable intellectual property.
• Designs for use on any product you do not own or control. This includes designs for use on current Rico products.

2. Submit Your Product Idea

Once you have determined that your product idea is a right fit for RICO, reviewed the submission criteria, gathered the appropriate information and completed and signed the necessary documents required by Rico you are required to submit the following to Rico:

• A fully signed Rico New Product Submission Agreement in the form of the link which will apply to all products you may submit to Rico at any time. Please do not alter the form. Rico will not consider any submission that alters this form in any manner.
• For each product you wish Rico to consider, you also must fully complete and sign a Rico New Product Information Questionnaire in the form of the link for that product. One product per questionnaire. Please do not combine product answers for multiple products in one Rico New Product Information Questionnaire, as if you do so Rico will not consider that submission. Also, we need clear, concise answers and responses to each question in the Rico New Product Information Questionnaire for each product.
• Copies of any safety, chemical, consumer, or other relevant testing as required in the Rico New Product Information Questionnaire.
• Any samples.

You should send your submission with all postage and other delivery costs paid by you to the following:

Rico Industries, Inc.

1028 Heath Springs Industrial Dr

Heath Springs, SC 29058

Attention: New Product Coordinator

Anything you submit to Rico will not be returned to you, including any samples you may send.

3. Frequently Asked Questions

The following frequently asked questions provide helpful information about our submission and review process, including more about how to submit a product idea to Rico, what happens to the information you provide after it reaches us, and what kinds of responses you can expect to receive.

Will Rico sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before I share my product idea?

No. Rico will only consider non-confidential information for its initial review of your submission. If after our initial review of a submission, we find that we may have interest in learning more, we will contact you to discuss how to proceed and any needed agreements.

How can I arrange to present my product idea in person or via electronic means?

You cannot arrange for an in person presentation or any presentation via electronic means (including phone, internet, or teleconferencing methods). Our initial review is based wholly on the non-confidential information you provide in your submission. Face-to-face meetings, phone conferences, internet conferences, teleconferences or live demonstrations are typically not required at this stage. If Rico desires any such meeting, conference or demonstration, Rico will notify you.

How can I present my product idea to Rico in a manner different than outlined in Rico’s New Product Submission Process?

In order to submit any new product idea to Rico, you must fully comply with Rico’s New Product Submission Process. Thus, you cannot present any new product idea to Rico in any other manner. If you attempt to submit any product idea to Rico in any manner other than as outlined in Rico’s New Product Submission Process, it will not be reviewed, everything you submit will be deleted from our system, and the submission will be automatically declined.

Who will review my submission, and how long will it take?

Each submission is handled by Rico’s New Product Coordinator who manages the process and determines how to route it to ensure it reaches the relevant personnel within Rico. In many cases, this means review by multiple people to evaluate merit or strategic business fit for Rico.

We are committed to reaching a decision as quickly as possible. However, a thorough initial review may take as long as twelve weeks to complete.

In the event that we need additional information or samples, we will contact you.

In the meantime, we ask that you be patient and not contact our executives or other employees regarding your submission. Unfortunately, we will not take your calls or respond to any communication you send us other than the initial submission. Even if you have not yet heard from us, we are working on it!

What is my protection? How can I be assured my product idea won’t be taken?

Rico is committed to doing the right thing. It’s who we are. We also know that we’re only as good, only as trustworthy as our last partnership. We enter every business arrangement with that in mind!

We appreciate the value of protecting the “intellectual property” behind any product. If you have something of real value, you want to protect it so others can’t duplicate it!

That’s why, when you submit a product idea to us, we state over and over again: only send non-confidential information. Anything that is proprietary – anything that would enable someone to duplicate your product idea – should not be part of your submission. We do this to protect your interests; but also to protect us, as well. We urge you to consult with your attorney prior to making any submission to us to protect your interests. Please understand that just because you send us a product idea does not mean you have rights to it or that Rico hasn’t already been developing the same product or someone else has already submitted the same idea to Rico or the product is already in the marketplace. If you truly have a protectable interest in the product idea submitted to Rico, Rico simply can’t sell that product unless an arrangement is worked out with you.

If Rico likes my submission, how much money will Rico pay me for it?

Compensation is an important component of any business deal. Value is determined through discussions between Rico and the party which controls the rights to the intellectual property and the product. Each deal is evaluated on its own merits. As a result, there is no standard amount.

What type of business deal with Rico could result from my submission?

The type of business relationship that might result from a submission of interest to Rico could take a variety of forms, depending upon the specifics of the innovation and both the potential partner's and Rico’s needs. As examples, this may take the form of a licensing, purchase or supply agreement, or other type of collaborative venture.

For what reasons might Rico decline to pursue my submission?

We realize that those who submit product ideas to Rico desire feedback, including the reasons why we may decide to decline an opportunity. However, we are not at liberty to give reasons. Generally speaking, submissions are most frequently declined for one or more of the following reasons:

• The proposed product idea is already known to us.
• We already have work in progress in the area encompassed by the submission.
• The product is not a strategic match with where we want to take our businesses or brands.
• The size of the opportunity does not fit with our business plans.
• There is a lack of protectable intellectual property associated with the submission.

What does Rico do with personal information that I provide with my submission?

Rico uses this information to communicate with you about your submission. It is not used for any other purpose, nor is it shared with any third parties unless you have expressly indicated your agreement for us to do so.