Do you want to be part of our affiliate program?

Leave us your information and we will contact you to access our affiliate program. It is a manual process, Be patient, it will be worth it. Thank you very much.[/vc_column_text][contact-form-7 id=”105508″][vc_column_text]Conditions of the affiliate programme

The following terms and conditions apply to your participation in the Ellebogen® Affiliate Programme. We ask that you read this contract carefully. To make use of the Affiliate Programme, you must accept the terms and conditions of the Ellebogen® Affiliate Programme. You will accept these conditions when registering in the “Affiliates” section of our website.

Acceptance of that stipulated in this contract is a necessary prerequisite to use the Affiliate Programme. If you accept these clauses, you will be considered aware of the rights and duties that derive from that stipulated in these terms and conditions.

These terms and conditions will be applied to all agreements and provisions entered into with the affiliate by Ellebogen® or on its behalf.

General conditions 

Article 1 – Purpose of the contract 

These conditions aim to regulate the use and operation of the Ellebogen affiliate programme, as well as the conditions thereof, in order to allow the affiliate to charge a commission for the transactions made through links or promotional codes of ELLEBOGEN (published on Ellebogen’s website www.ellebogen.com or on its sub-domains) and that will be made available by it to the affiliate for insertion on to its website or social networks.

Article 2 – Ownership 

The contractual relationship derived from the affiliate programme is signed on the one hand by ELLEBOGEN, S.L., with Tax ID Code (CIF) B01914431 and address in AVENIDA DE TOLOSA 3 8B, 20018 DONOSTIA-SAN SEBASTIÁN (GIPUZKOA-SPAIN), hereinafter, ELLEBOGEN, and on the other by the natural and/or legal person (hereinafter, the AFFILIATE), whose personal information and data have been provided through the affiliate registration form. Both parties state that they have sufficient capacity to be bound in accordance with these conditions and the applicable law.

Each party will be considered an independent party with respect to the purpose of these conditions, and no content in these conditions will be considered or interpreted in any way as creating a partnership, joint venture, employment relationship, agency agreement or other similar relationship.

The AFFILIATE states that they know, understand and accept all these conditions, and that all information provided by ELLEBOGEN through any means is accurate, up to date and used legitimately.

Article 3 – Applicable regime 

All operations that could be performed in application of these conditions and the affiliate programme will be governed by that contained therein, which the parties declare to know about and accept.

The valuation of the credits and debits that derive from the transactions covered in the contract and in accordance with it will be that resulting from the standards applicable on the valuation dates in force at any given time and communicated by Ellebogen.

Article 4 – Operation of the Affiliate Programme 

Article 4.1 – Registration and acceptance 

4.1.1 Any natural or legal person, of legal age, with sufficient capacity to act, may request their appointment as an AFFILIATE within the Ellebogen Affiliate Programme.

4.1.2 The application for appointment as an Affiliate means that the AFFILIATE fully accepts the terms and conditions of the affiliate programme.

4.1.3 In order to be able to participate as an affiliate in the Ellebogen® Affiliate Programme, the affiliate must:

• • Complete the registration form fully and accurately. Ellebogen reserves the right to request any information to verify what is stated in the form or to comply with the provision of these Conditions.
  • Confirm that they accept the terms and conditions of the programme. To this end, there will be an acceptance box in the AFFILIATE registration form that you will have to check to be able to continue the registration in order to prove that you have read, understood and accepted each and every one of these conditions, as well as show your consent with these conditions, deriving from it the application, execution and validity of these conditions and each of their clauses.
  • Be accepted to the programme by Ellebogen.

4.1.4 After completing the registration form in full, the steps for the affiliate candidate to be accepted by Ellebogen are:

• • Ellebogen will study the AFFILIATE’S application to verify that its contents are not contrary to the law, morality or public order, and are not detrimental to Ellebogen’s image, particularly for the reasons listed in Article 2.8. Ellebogen reserves the right to deny participation in the affiliate programme for any reason without needing to give a reason.
  • Ellebogen will notify the candidate of the particular conditions, if applicable, by e-mail sent to the address indicated on the form.
  • The candidate will sign the contract, with the general and particular conditions that may be established and send it to Ellebogen.
  • Ellebogen will confirm the candidate’s acceptance into the Affiliate Programme by sending an e-mail containing: the affiliate’s username; the password associated with it, which can be changed; and the guidelines for using the domains authorised to advertise Ellebogen products and promotional codes offered.

4.1.5 The affiliate guarantees that the information supplied to Ellebogen® about themselves, their activity and their website is true and complete, and that this information corresponds to their current status. (See termination of the contract)

4.1.6 The affiliate must notify Ellebogen® immediately of all changes in product information by updating the information provided on the Ellebogen® website.

Article 4.2 – Use. 

4.2.1 The AFFILIATE will not allow the existence of any misunderstanding about the fact that it is not the affiliate, but rather Ellebogen, that provides the products and/or services. Customers will always be those of Ellebogen and not of the Affiliate. Under no circumstance will the AFFILIATE make a direct offer of remuneration or advantages of any kind to third parties unrelated to Ellebogen for carrying out transactions with Ellebogen.

4.2.2 The affiliate must exclusively use the name of Ellebogen®, for the purposes of the Affiliate Programme, in the manner specified for the occasion, and thus follow all instructions of Ellebogen at all times. No change may be made that could be misleading or likely to cause any damage.

4.2.3 Without prejudice to the provisions contained in these conditions, the affiliate will respect the copyrights, rights derived from registering the trademark and other exclusive rights of Ellebogen and third parties involved.

4.2.4 The affiliate will use the content provided by Ellebogen without making any changes to it.

4.2.5 The products and/or services offered on the Ellebogen website could change regularly. The affiliate will guarantee at all times that the terms and conditions of the aforementioned products and/or services on their website and/or those that may be in their possession for promotional purposes are identical to the goods and/or services mentioned on the Ellebogen website.

4.2.6 Affiliates cannot use the materials supplied for actions and/or conduct that violate the applicable law or these terms and conditions. This will include, but is not limited to, the following actions and conduct, among others:

• • Sending large amounts of unsolicited e-mails with identical content
  • Failing to comply with copyrights in matters protected by them, or, if not, violating the intellectual property rights of third parties involved
  • Deceiving third parties involved
  • Unprofessional, discriminatory or offensive conduct
  • Misusing the texts, logos or information of Ellebogen.

4.2.7 Among other things, the content of the affiliate’s website may not:

• • Entail illegal activities, or promote or incite to incur therein
  • Damage the good name and reputation of Ellebogen®
  • Violate the copyrights, registered trademark rights or other rights of Ellebogen or third parties
  • Be of a violent, pornographic or derivative nature
  • Discriminate based on race, gender, religion or life philosophy.

4.2.8 The affiliate also guarantees that they are either the owner of the rights related to all information and productions on their website or platform they use (Youtube, Twitch, etc.) or that the owner of the information and productions on their website or content has given them their express consent to publish them on the affiliate’s website or platform. The affiliate also guarantees that the information and production on their website do not violate the rights of third parties involved, including rights deriving from intellectual property, and that the information and productions are in no way offensive, forbidden or suspicious.

4.2.9 If Ellebogen establishes that the installation and use of the Ellebogen® link or promotional code made by the affiliate is not appropriate, it will be entitled to block this link or promotional code.

4.2.10 The affiliate agrees to remove a link from their website or stop using an affiliate promotional code within 24 hours if requested by Ellebogen®.

4.2.11 Each Affiliate Programme may be modified or terminated by Ellebogen® at any time. The general conditions of the Affiliate Programmes will be available on the Ellebogen® website (www.ellebogen.com).

4.2.12 The affiliate must always be aware of any changes that may occur to the Affiliate Programmes. In particular, in the event that a registered website has terminated its Affiliate Programme, or in the event that the commission structure for affiliates has been modified.

4.2.13 The affiliate will not make any promises or undertake any kind of obligation for or on behalf of Ellebogen.

4.2.14 The affiliate may in no way contribute to the creation of artificial traffic on the indexed or linked websites: the affiliate must immediately notify Ellebogen® of all suspected or known misuses of the affiliate’s links to the Ellebogen® website.

5.2.15 Unless Ellebogen® has expressly given its permission in writing, the affiliate may not transfer or promise their rights and/or duties under contract or agreement with Ellebogen®, in whole or in part, to a third party, without the prior written consent of Ellebogen®. The approval required for this may be subject to specific terms and conditions imposed by Ellebogen®.

4.2.16 In order to prevent fraud, Ellebogen® may occasionally delay the payment of commissions to the AFFILIATE if it suspects that the sales causing these commissions have been made due to an incorrect use of the resources, materials and/or promotional links provided by Ellebogen® to the AFFILIATE. Some examples of these incorrect, illegal, prohibited practices and/or practices that may endanger the company’s reputation are:

1. publishing the promotional material (such as images, links and/or graphs) on platforms where they do not have the proper authorisation to make these publications (for example, spamming in forums, mailing lists, among others).
2. publishing the promotional material (such as images, links and/or graphs) without properly specifying that it is an advertisement and/or affiliate link. The AFFILIATE must notify their users that it is a link, graph and/or banner whose final link is an affiliate, and the mere contracting of a product and/or service through that link will result in a monetary commission for the AFFILIATE.
3. any other activity that lies about our products and/or services, is not within current legislation and/or endangers the reputation of Ellebogen®.

4.2.17 If Ellebogen® detects fraudulent activity by the AFFILIATE in relation to the promotional resources provided by Ellebogen®, understanding as such the assigned links, assigned graphics and provided images, Ellebogen® will immediately cancel the AFFILIATE’s account and will reserve the right to take the corresponding legal actions against the AFFILIATE in order to be compensated for the activities that may have endangered the public image and/or reputation of the brand due to the bad practices exercised by the AFFILIATE.

Article 4.3 – Remuneration 

4.3.1 This contract will accrue, as the only remuneration in favour of the affiliate, a commission for the individual and specific sales transactions carried out by Ellebogen directly through the links and promotional codes inserted on the affiliate’s website, in accordance with the conditions established in this contract.

The affiliate accepts that the commissions generated in their favour are invoiced through the “self-invoicing” system through which Ellebogen® will create the payment notifications and invoices; in such a way that the affiliate will not have to generate their own invoices.

4.3.2 The recording of transactions represented on the Ellebogen® website will be binding for the affiliate.

The transaction recording system used by Ellebogen is YITH WooCommerce Affiliates. In the event that it changes to another, Ellebogen will inform the affiliate of this change within 10 days, so that the affiliate can verify that the new system is safe and reliable for them.

If the affiliate is not satisfied with the new system, they must express it by e-mail to Ellebogen, leading to the end of this Affiliate Programme. If the affiliate does not declare their objection within the 10-day period, it will be understood that they accept it.

4.3.3 The billing periods are monthly.

4.3.4 The commission to be received by the affiliate will be determined based on the link or code specifically used in the transaction, in accordance with the table made available to the affiliate by Ellebogen. It will be a commission on the amount actually paid by the customer (not including taxes, discounts or shipping costs), without prejudice to the other sections of this article.

4.3.5 Cookies, which underlie the affiliate programme’s operating system, are stored for 15 days.

4.3.6 The affiliate will only be paid if Ellebogen has approved the transaction and received its price first. The approval of transactions corresponds to Ellebogen and to predefined criteria set by it.

4.3.7 The commission will be paid through Paypal (direct deposit into a bank account, transfer) once the term established in section 4.3.9 has elapsed.

4.3.8 If the user returns the product or service and/or cancels it, the affiliate will not be able to claim the commission in question. The affiliate will not receive any commission in that case.

4.3.9 Given that there is a 60-day guarantee for returns, commissions will not be paid immediately to the affiliate until after these 60 days have passed.

4.3.10 If the case contemplated in Article 4.3.8 arises and the affiliate has already collected the commission for that transaction, it will be deducted from the commission amount to be paid in the following billing period.

4.3.11 If the commission for one month is less than fifty euros (€50), no payment will be made during that month and the commission will be accumulated. Payment thereof will be made during the month in which the total accumulated amount is €50 or more.

4.3.12 Ellebogen® will pay the total commission earned by the affiliate for their participation in the various affiliate programmes in euros after the final billing period.

4.3.13 Ellebogen® will have a right, at all times, to set the amount owed to the affiliate against any amount owed by them to Ellebogen® for any reason.

4.3.14 The accumulated balance will be cancelled if the affiliate earns a total commission of less than €50, as well as if no transaction has been made in a twelve-month period.

4.3.15 If the affiliate is a natural person residing in the Spanish territory, a current personal tax withholding will be imposed on the total invoice in order to comply with the law of the Spanish Tax Agency. For affiliates who are natural or legal persons not residing in Spain and living in countries with no double taxation agreements with Spain, a current non-resident income tax withholding will be applied to the total invoice in order to comply with the law of the Spanish Tax Agency. The affiliate (who does not meet the requirements of the previous two paragraphs) will be responsible for paying all taxes and Social Security payments in their respective countries, through the invoices issued by Ellebogen®. Ellebogen may require the affiliate to truthfully complete a tax questionnaire for the purpose of providing tax information.

4.3.16 All persons residing in the Canary Islands who wish to invoice Canary Islands indirect tax must let us know through the traditional means of communication, as, by default, this tax is not invoiced.

4.3.17 Neither party to this agreement creates or presumes the creation of an employment, agency or distribution relationship between Ellebogen® and the affiliate.

4.3.18 Commission in favour of the Affiliate will only accrue through sales transactions specifically made through the specific links and promotional codes inserted on the Affiliate’s website at any time, so long as this insertion is authorised by this contract and meets its requirements. In the event that a transaction is performed through these links, it will not attribute any right in favour of the affiliate over other transactions that Ellebogen may perform with the same customer, before or in the future, over any kind of products and services, whether or not they are included in these links, when these transactions are made outside the links inserted on the affiliate’s website.

Article 5 – Consent 

The parties expressly acknowledge and accept that the provision of consent through online forms and e-mails is valid and binding.

Article 6 – Responsibility 

6.1 The affiliate is fully responsible for the development and maintenance, operation and content of the website and the use made of the promotional code provided.

6.2 The affiliate will ensure that all obligations relating to tax laws will be met and Ellebogen® will be compensated for claims relating thereto.

6.3 Ellebogen® cannot guarantee or provide any insurance for the operation of the Ellebogen® Affiliate Programme or the links on the websites.

6.4 Ellebogen® will not be responsible for errors in the implementation of the promotional code or links on the affiliate’s website or the operation of the code or links.

6.5 The affiliate will protect Ellebogen® at all times against, and will compensate Ellebogen® for all costs, damages and interests that it may have to pay as a direct consequence of, third-party claims implied against Ellebogen® in relation to incidents, actions or negligence during or within the scope of the execution of the order, for which Ellebogen® is not responsible for the affiliate under these terms and conditions.

6.6 Ellebogen® cannot be held responsible for defects in the Affiliate Programme, interruptions in access to the Affiliate Programme, violations regarding data or loss of data in the information processing system, defects in the security system or viruses or other harmful software components used by the Ellebogen® Affiliate Programme, nor for damage caused by viruses or components in the Affiliate Programme, the affiliate’s software and/or the affiliate’s website.

6.7 The AFFILIATE undertakes to participate in the Affiliate Programme:

1. by making use of authorised platforms (their own and/or with the owner’s authorisation for this purpose) for an audience that has expressed their consent (if necessary, according to the platform, for example, a mailing list) to receive advertising.
2. by clearly announcing that it is promotional material and that the contracting of a product and/or service through these resources (in text format, links, graphics and images) will result in a commission to the AFFILIATE.
3. by always avoiding offering advantages and/or inciting alleged discounts not authorised by Ellebogen®, except for all those that are contractually agreed exclusively with the AFFILIATE under alleged conditions.
4. by making use of the materials provided by Ellebogen in accordance with good marketing practices, avoiding using them in a way that is invasive or occurs without the prior consent of the recipient (on the means and/or platforms where it is necessary to obtain their prior consent, it will be necessary to keep these records of consent in the event of any inconvenience).
5. by avoiding inciting fraud and/or returning any future purchase.

Article 7 – Intellectual Property 

7.1 The copyright and intellectual property rights related to reports, recommendations and other goods, services and/or documents produced for the benefit of the affiliate, will always belong to Ellebogen®. The explicit and written consent of Ellebogen® will be required if the affiliate wishes to acquire the right to reproduce or publish the products, services and/or documents, or use them for purposes other than those established by Ellebogen® at the time of their delivery to the affiliate.

7.2 The affiliate may not publish or provide to third parties the items specified in Article 6.1 or the information and expertise described therein, except where Ellebogen® has specifically given the affiliate its written consent to do so.

7.3 The affiliate is not permitted to remove or modify any mark relating to the copyrights, trademark, commercial name or other intellectual or industrial property on the software, equipment or materials, including any mark that concerns the confidential nature of the software and confidentiality obligation in this regard.

7.4 If the affiliate is negligent in exercising the provisions of Article 6.1, Ellebogen®  is entitled to recover all items belonging to it at the affiliate’s expense. The affiliate will irrevocably and retroactively provide Ellebogen® with access to the place in which the items in question are stored.

7.5 Ellebogen® owns all copyrights, intellectual property rights, expertise and any other right associated with the Affiliate Programme or with the software required for the Affiliate Programme. The affiliate will not obtain any right or permission under this contract.

7.6 If the terms and conditions described in Articles 6.1, 6.2 and/or 6.3 are violated, the affiliate will be responsible for paying Ellebogen® a penalty of €50,000 for each violation, without needing to issue a notification of breach and without prejudice to any of the rights of Ellebogen® to enforce the contract, terminate the contract, claim for additional damages and losses, etc.

Article 8 – Confidentiality 

8.1 Before, during and after the execution of the contract established with Ellebogen®, the affiliate must refrain from making any statement to third parties or providing any information regarding the methods used or the data provided by Ellebogen®, in the broadest sense of the term.

8.2 If the affiliate violates the terms and conditions contained in this clause in any way possible, they will be responsible for paying Ellebogen® a penalty of €50,000 for each violation, without needing to issue a notification of breach and without prejudice to any of the rights of Ellebogen® to enforce the contract, terminate the contract, claim for additional damages and losses, etc.

Article 9 – Duration of the Contract 

9.1 The duration of this contract is indefinite. However, the Parties may terminate it at any time, without giving a reason, by e-mail sent to the other party at least 15 days before the effective termination date.

Nevertheless, either Party may terminate this contract with immediate effect and cancel the Affiliate Programme in the event that the other Party breaches any of its obligations.

9.2 Upon termination of the contract, the Parties are obligated to meet the obligations contracted until then, except in the cases contemplated in the following points. Under no circumstance will it be understood that any remuneration or compensation is owed to the AFFILIATE other than the payment of any commissions outstanding on the termination date.

9.3 Ellebogen will be entitled to terminate this contract with immediate effect and/or deny the affiliate the right to use the Affiliate Programme in the following cases:

1. a) In the opinion of Ellebogen®, the Affiliate’s website violates public order or public decency or may be offensive or violent;
2. b) The affiliate commits illegal acts against Ellebogen® and/or third parties related to the Affiliate Programme;
3. c) Ellebogen® deems the affiliate or the content of their website to be inappropriate in any way, if they do not correspond to Ellebogen’s business concept.
4. d) The affiliate fails to fully comply with their obligations or commits fraud or illegal acts in any way, or if the affiliate generates or attempts to generate artificial traffic or if the affiliate violates any of the terms of this contract in any way;
5. e) The affiliate has not generated traffic for a period of three months.

9.4 If the affiliate’s contract terminates, regardless of the cause:

1. a) The links will be destroyed.
2. b) Ellebogen® will have the right to block the affiliate’s access to the Ellebogen® website.
3. c) The affiliate will no longer be able to claim commissions.
4. d) The affiliate will remove or return any link and/or material provided by Ellebogen®.
5. e) The affiliate will no longer have the right to use the Ellebogen® name.

9.5 The affiliate may claim payment of commissions for transactions made before the termination date, as established in Article 4, unless the contract is terminated because Ellebogen decides so for the reasons outlined in Article 8.3 or because the content of the affiliate’s website or the use of the promotional code does not respect or has not respected these conditions.

9.6 If an affiliate (partially) violates the stipulations of Article 4.2.16, the affiliate, without further warning or notice of breach and without the need for judicial intervention, will immediately pay Ellebogen® a penalty of €50,000 without prejudice to the rights of Ellebogen®, such as the right to terminate the contract or claim compensation for damages.

9.7 If Ellebogen® detects an incorrect use of the resources, promotional materials, graphics and/or links by the AFFILIATE, which have jeopardised the public image and reputation of Ellenbogen® and/or have caused an illegal use of these resources that are associated at all times with the image of the Ellenbogen® brand, it reserves the right to take the corresponding legal actions against the AFFILIATE, in order to be compensated for these activities and re-establish the brand’s reputation.

Article 10 – Force Majeure 

Neither party will be responsible for any failure or delay in the execution of their obligations, according to these Terms and Conditions, if this failure or delay is caused by reasons beyond the reasonable control of this party (failure in third-party systems, natural disasters, etc.).

Article 11 – Personal Data Protection 

11.1 The affiliate’s personal data contained in this document or contained/generated as a result of its execution and control will be processed in accordance with Ellebogen’s privacy policy, which is available on the website, and for the following purposes:

• The development, maintenance, fulfilment and control of the pre-contractual or contractual relationship between the affiliate and Ellebogen, which is created or will be created by virtue of this contract.
• Compliance by Ellebogen with the obligations imposed by law.

11.2 The affiliate undertakes to expressly notify Ellebogen of any update or other relevant modification with regard to the data provided. Ellebogen is not responsible for any possible outdated data.

11.3 The affiliate expressly consents to the processing of their data by Ellebogen, even once their relationship with it has ended, for the analysis of their profile for commercial purposes and to send them advertising communications, including by means of electronic communication such as their e-mail or mobile phone, regarding products and services in the financial, property, cultural, travel, consumer, entertainment and leisure sectors.

11.4 The affiliate consents to the communication of their personal data to any other companies in their group that market, manage or finance products or services from the aforementioned sectors at any time, in order for them to process the affiliate’s data to analyse their profile for commercial purposes and to send commercial communications regarding products and services from the sectors mentioned in Article 10.3.

11.5 The affiliate may revoke the consent given in this contract at any time, as well as exercise their rights of access, rectification, cancellation and objection, by sending their request, in writing, duly proving their identity, to the e-mail address online@ellebogen.com with the subject “LOPD”.

Article 12 – Modifications to the Affiliate Programme or to the conditions of the contract 

Ellebogen® may modify the terms and conditions at any time, and these changes will be notified to the affiliate electronically. If the affiliate cannot accept the modified terms and conditions, the affiliate may terminate the contract. If the affiliate does not terminate the contract within a period of 14 days, it will be assumed that the affiliate has accepted the modifications.

Article 13 – Limitation of liability 

13.1 Ellebogen will not be liable, vis-a-vis the AFFILIATE or any other person, for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damage derived from the use, or inability to use, the Ellebogen website, or any information provided on the Ellebogen website, including but not limited to, damages due to the loss of goodwill, any loss of profit, interruption of business, loss of programs or any other data in its information management system or any other damage.

Article 14 – Applicable Legislation 

14.1 These terms and conditions and the entire contract between Ellebogen® and the affiliate will be exclusively subject to Spanish law, and lawsuits will be brought before the corresponding court in Spain. Both parties expressly acknowledge that this agreement does not have the nature of an agency contract. The application of Law 12/1992, of 27 May, on Agency Contracts, is therefore completely excluded.

This Contract does not give the affiliate any exclusive rights to Ellebogen’s products or services, nor does it restrict Ellebogen’s freedom to recruit other affiliates. It also will not generate, in the Affiliate’s favour, any kind of customer rights, portfolio, compensation or remuneration due to the termination of the contract.

14.2 Any lawsuit, including those seen as such only by one of the parties, which may arise between Ellebogen® and an AFFILIATE under the affiliate programme, and these terms and conditions are applicable in whole or in part, or based on other agreements, as well as other lawsuits related to the contract, legal or factual, will be summoned without exception before the Courts of Donostia-San Sebastián. If the parties fail to reach an agreement, they may, expressly waiving their own jurisdiction, with the exception of Ellebogen, at its sole discretion, initiate proceedings at the courts of the AFFILIATE’s jurisdiction or where they are active.

14.3 All lawsuits will be brought before the competent court to investigate the dispute, always having jurisdiction over the place where the registered office of Ellebogen® is located, except in the event that the applicable legislation regarding that particular case requires it to be presented before a different court, and unless Ellebogen®, as the complainant, chooses to bring the matter in question to the competent court that has jurisdiction over the district in which the affiliate has their registered office.

14.4 If any provision contained in this contract violates the applicable legislation, it will be modified in such a way that it conforms to this legislation, properly taking into account the meaning of the original provision, and it will not affect the validity and effectiveness of those clauses that are not affected.