Terms of service
USIPA TERMS OF SERVICE
The following terms and conditions govern all use of the usipalliance.org web platform (“Platform”) and all content, services and products available at or through the Platform. The Platform is owned and operated by United States Intellectual Property Alliance, Inc., (“USIPA”). The Platform is offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies (including, without limitation, the USIPA Privacy Policy) and procedures that may be published from time to time on this Site by USIPA (collectively, the “Agreement”).
Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using the Platform. By accessing or using any part of the Platform, you agree to become bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the Platform or use any services. If these terms and conditions are considered an offer by USIPA, acceptance is expressly limited to these terms. The Platform is available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old.
Responsibility of Contributors. If you contribute to the USIPA blog, comment on the blog, post material to the Platform, post links on the Platform, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available by means of the Platform (any such material, “Content”), You are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content. That is the case regardless of whether the Content in question constitutes text, graphics, an audio file, or computer software. By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:
the downloading, copying and use of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party;
if your employer has rights to intellectual property you create, you have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;
you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms;
the Content does not contain or install any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses or other harmful or destructive content;
the Content is not spam, is not machine- or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing);
the Content is not pornographic, does not contain threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party;
your blog is not getting advertised via unwanted electronic messages such as spam links on newsgroups, email lists, other blogs and web sites, and similar unsolicited promotional methods;
your blog is not named in a manner that misleads your readers into thinking that you are another person or company. For example, your blog’s URL or name is not the name of a person other than yourself or company other than your own; and
you have, in the case of Content that includes computer code, accurately categorized and/or described the type, nature, uses and effects of the materials, whether requested to do so by USIPA or otherwise.
By submitting Content to USIPA for inclusion on the Platform, you grant USIPA a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting your Content. If you delete Content, USIPA will use reasonable efforts to remove it from the Platform, but you acknowledge that caching or references to the Content may not be made immediately unavailable.
Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, USIPA has the right (though not the obligation) to, in USIPA’s sole discretion (i) refuse or remove any content that, in USIPA’s reasonable opinion, violates any USIPA policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Platform to any individual or entity for any reason, in USIPA’s sole discretion. USIPA will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid.
Responsibility of Platform Visitors. USIPA has not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, posted to the Platform, and cannot therefore be responsible for that material’s content, use or effects. By operating the Platform, USIPA does not represent or imply that it endorses the material there posted, or that it believes such material to be accurate, useful or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. The Platform may contain content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. The Platform may also inadvertently contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms and conditions, stated or unstated. USIPA disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use by visitors of the Platform, or from any downloading by those visitors of content there posted.
Content Posted on Other Websites. We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites and webpages to which usipalliance.org links, and that link to usipalliance.org. USIPA does not have any control over these websites and webpages, and is not responsible for their contents or their use. By linking to a non-USIPA website or webpage, USIPA does not represent or imply that it endorses such website or webpage. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. USIPA disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from your use of non-USIPA websites and webpages.
Copyright Infringement and DMCA Policy. As USIPA asks others to respect its intellectual property rights, it respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on or linked to by usipalliance.org violates your copyright, you are encouraged to notify USIPA in accordance with USIPA’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) Policy. USIPA will respond to all such notices, including as required or appropriate by removing the infringing material or disabling all links to the infringing material. USIPA will terminate a visitor’s access to and use of the Platform if, under appropriate circumstances, the visitor is determined to be a repeat infringer of the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of USIPA or others. In the case of such termination, USIPA will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to USIPA.
Intellectual Property. This Agreement does not transfer from USIPA to you any USIPA or third party intellectual property, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with USIPA. USIPA, usiallaince.org, and the USIPA logo, and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Platform are trademarks or registered trademarks of USIPA or under license from the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Platform may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of the Platform grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any USIPA or third-party trademarks.
Changes. USIPA reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the Platform following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. USIPA may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the Platform (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Termination. USIPA may terminate your access to all or any part of the Platform at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your usipalliance.org account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Platform. USIPA can terminate the Platform immediately as part of a general shut down of our service. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.
Disclaimer of Warranties. The Platform is provided “as is”. USIPA and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Neither USIPA nor its suppliers and licensors, makes any warranty that the Platform will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. You understand that you download from, or otherwise obtain content or services through, the Platform at your own discretion and risk.
Limitation of Liability. In no event will USIPA, or its suppliers or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of this agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement for substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or (iv) for any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to USIPA under this agreement during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action. USIPA shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.
General Representation and Warranty. You represent and warrant that (i) your use of the Platform will be in strict accordance with the USIPA’s Privacy Policy, with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside) and (ii) your use of the Platform will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.
Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless USIPA, its contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Platform, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.
Miscellaneous. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between USIPA and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and they may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of USIPA, or by the posting by USIPA of a revised version. Except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, this Agreement, any access to or use of the Platform will be governed by the laws of the state of Georgia, U.S.A., excluding its conflict of law provisions, and the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be the state and federal courts located in Atlanta, Georgia. Except for claims for injunctive or equitable relief or claims regarding intellectual property rights (which may be brought in any competent court without the posting of a bond), any dispute arising under this Agreement shall be finally settled in accordance with the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, Inc. (“JAMS”) by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with such Rules. The arbitration shall take place in Atlanta, Georgia, in the English language and the arbitral decision may be enforced in any court. The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce this Agreement shall be entitled to costs and attorneys’ fees. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties’ original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. You may assign your rights under this Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms and conditions; USIPA may assign its rights under this Agreement without condition. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.