TERMS OF SERVICE AGREEMENT
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: High Country News has imposed the following terms of your use of all services and features available on the High Country News website. They contain important information regarding your legal rights, remedies and obligations. Your use of the website indicates your acceptance of these terms of use. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE.
1. REVISION DATE
These Terms of Service were last revised on June 14, 2018.
2. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS
HIGH COUNTRY NEWS (HCN) provides its website to you subject to the following Terms of Service (“TOS”). By registering with or by using the HCN website (the “Site”), and in exchange for HCN’s agreement to provide the Site to you, you agree to be bound by these TOS.
The TOS may be revised from time to time. We will indicate at the beginning of the TOS when they were last revised. Your continued use of the Site constitutes your agreement to all terms of the most recent TOS.
You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use the Site. Any registration by, use of, or access to the Site by anyone under 13 is unauthorized, unlicensed, and in violation of these TOS. By using the Site, you represent and warrant that you are at least 13 years old.
HCN reserves the right to refuse access to the Site or to any other service or product provided by HCN, without notice, at any time, and for any reason.
3. PROVISION AND MODIFICATION OF SERVICE
The Site includes software, services, content, and advertising provided by HCN. However, some of the content of the Site is provided by users who submit or post content on the Site. In addition, the Site includes advertising placed by advertisers and ad networks. HCN takes no responsibility for such content.
You understand and agree that the Site is provided to you on an AS IS and AS AVAILABLE basis. HCN disclaims all responsibility for the availability, timeliness, security, or reliability of the Site or any feature or software included in the Site. HCN also disclaims all responsibility for the acts or omissions of third parties whose services, software, content, or advertising may be utilized in connection with the Site. You agree that HCN shall not be liable for any such faults. HCN reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site (or any part thereof) with or without notice. The Site also may be subject to interruptions, caused by HCN or others. You agree that HCN will not be liable for any modification, suspension, interruption, or discontinuance of the Site.
4. REGISTRATION AND ACCOUNT CREATION
Certain features of the Site require you to register and create a user profile (“Profile Page”). As part of the registration process, you will select a member ID (username) and a password, and you will provide HCN with certain registration information. In consideration of your use of the Site, you agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information, and to promptly update the information you provide in connection with creating or maintaining your account, in order to keep it accurate, current, and complete. (If any of your registration or account information changes, you can update it by using the “Edit” tab on your Profile Page.)
You also agree that you will maintain the security of your password, that you will be responsible for all use of your account, and that you will notify HCN immediately of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account. You agree that you will not register for more than one account, register for an account on behalf of anyone other than yourself, or use another’s account without permission.
5. CONDITIONS ON USE OF THE SITE
HCN grants you permission to access and use the Site as set forth in these TOS, and in exchange you agree as follows:
1. You will access and use the Site solely for your own personal use;
2. You will not use the Site in any illegal manner or for any illegal purpose, in any other manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site, or in any manner inconsistent with these TOS;
3. You will not defeat or interfere with any security feature of the Site, or attempt to do so;
4. You will not alter or modify any content or component of the Site, other than content you have submitted to or posted on the Site.
5. You will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell, or exploit, for any commercial purpose, any content, component, or feature of the Site without the prior written permission of HCN, except for content you have submitted to or posted on the Site, or content which you have the prior written permission of the owner to use;
6. You will not use any automated system, software, or device to generate and send unsolicited communications to or through the Site;
7. You will not collect or harvest any personally identifiable information, including without limitation account names or email addresses, from the Site, nor use the communication systems provided by the Site for purposes of sending any commercial solicitation;
8. You will not upload, post, transmit, share, or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code designed to interfere with the functionality of or obtain any nonpublic information from any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; and
9. You will not harass or intimidate any other user of the Site.
10. If commenting, you will abide by our comments policy.
6. YOUR CONDUCT AND USE OF THE SITE
You acknowledge that you are solely responsible for the Profile Page (including your name, image or likeness, and biographical information), text, comments, and other content that you post, publish, upload, or display on the Site, or transmit to or share with others using the Site (collectively “User Content”), and for the consequences of posting, publishing, uploading, displaying, or sharing any User Content.
You understand and agree that any User Content you submit or post on the Site is intended to and generally will be made public, and that once made public User Content cannot be made private again. You consent to the public dissemination of all User Content you submit or post using the Site. However, HCN will generally not make your email address public, even if you choose to allow other users to contact you through your Profile Page. Your email address will not be considered User Content unless you make it publicly available on the site.
You agree that you will not use the Site to post, transmit, or share User Content that you did not create or that you do not have permission to post, transmit, or share. You affirm that you own or have all intellectual property rights (including without limitation copyright and trademark rights), licenses, and permissions to User Content you provide that are needed to use and to authorize HCN to use that User Content in the manner described in these TOS. By submitting or posting User Content, you warrant that it does not infringe any intellectual property rights of another person.
You agree that you will not use the Site to post, transmit, or share child pornography. The use of the Site to publish or transmit child pornography will not be tolerated. If identified, it will be reported to law enforcement authorities, and will result in termination of your account.
You agree that you will not use the Site to post, transmit, or share User Content that is obscene, defamatory, or invasive of the privacy of another person, graphically violent, physically threatening, intended for any illegal purpose, or otherwise inappropriate on a site intended for a general audience. By submitting or posting User Content, you warrant that it is not obscene, defamatory, or invasive of the privacy of any other person, or otherwise illegal.
You understand that HCN does not promise that User Content you submit to or post on the Site will be maintained by HCN. You are solely responsible for creating backup copies of and replacing any User Content you submit to or post on the Site. You agree that HCN has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of, or the failure to store or to transmit, any User Content or other communications provided on or through the Site. HCN retains the right to create limits on use and storage at its sole discretion, at any time, with or without notice.
7. RIGHTS TO AND USE OF THE CONTENT ON THE SITE
Except for User Content, all content and components of the Site (“HCN Content”), including without limitation, the software, text, photos, video and audio content, graphics, and features, and all trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein, are owned by or licensed to HCN, subject to any copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by others pursuant to law. HCN reserves all rights to the HCN Content and any other component or content of the Site not expressly granted to you by these TOS.
By submitting or posting User Content to the Site, you grant HCN an irrevocable, perpetual, nonexclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license to: (1) use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part), and distribute the User Content in or through any medium now known or hereafter invented, for any purpose; (2) to prepare derivative works using the User Content, or to incorporate it into other works, for any purpose; and (3) to grant and authorize sublicenses of any or all of the foregoing rights.
HCN may obtain and exercise intellectual property rights over compilations, collective works, derivative works, or revisions that incorporate User Content you have provided. In that case, the rights we obtain will apply only to the compilation, collective work, derivative work, or revision; as between HCN and you, subject to the rights granted to us in these TOS, you will retain full ownership of and rights to your User Content.
When you post User Content to the Site, you also authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting, maintenance, and storage of the User Content on the Site.
8. OBJECTIONABLE OR INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT
By its very nature, the Site may include offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise offensive or objectionable material. In some cases, the Site may include content that has been mislabeled or is otherwise deceptive. Please use caution and common sense and exercise proper judgment when using the HCN website. HCN does not endorse, support, represent, or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any content appearing on the Site at the direction of others. Moreover, HCN does not endorse any opinions expressed by others on the Site. You acknowledge that any reliance on material appearing on the Site will be at your own risk.
HCN does not routinely review or revise content submitted to or posted on the Site by others. However, HCN may read any such content, and reserves the right to refuse to distribute any such content, to remove any content from the Site, or to edit any content, in its sole discretion.
If you find content appearing on the Site that you believe violates these TOS, or that is offensive or otherwise objectionable, you may inform HCN by sending a message to HCN at website [at] hcn.org. Be sure to type “Feedback” in the subject line. HCN will review your message and the content to which you object (assuming it is still on the Site). We may remove the content if, in our judgment, it is inappropriate. However, please understand that deciding whether content is inappropriate is wholly subjective and that HCN is not legally responsible for content that it does not originate. Neither is HCN legally responsible for keeping content that it deems inappropriate off of the Site.
If content you have submitted is not published or is removed, please review these TOS and understand that the value of the HCN website is, to a large extent, based on providing an experience that is both enlightening and pleasant for the people who use the Site.
HCN reserves the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information it reasonably believes is necessary to do any of the following: (1) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; (2) enforce these TOS, including investigation of potential violations hereof; (3) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; (4) respond to user support requests; or (5) protect the rights, property, or safety of HCN, its users, or the public. You agree that HCN will not be liable for exercising or failing to exercise any of these rights.
9. USE, PROMOTION, AND DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT
You understand and agree that you will receive no compensation from HCN for any User Content you submit to or post on the Site.
By submitting User Content to HCN or posting it on the Site, you agree as follows:
1. User Content you submit to or post on the Site may be organized, arranged, formatted, categorized, designated, displayed, and edited as HCN determines, in its sole discretion.
2. HCN, in its discretion, may place your User Content in a location or locations of its choosing on the Site, and may apply designations currently existing or created in the future to your User Content. You will have no claim for compensation or any other remedy based on the location or designation of User Content you submit.
3. HCN, in its discretion, may modify your User Content as described in these TOS. HCN will not be responsible for any claims arising from modifications that do not substantially change the meaning of the content, add new and different meanings, or result in the addition of new material that give rise to a claim.
10. PRIVACY
As a condition of using the Site, you agree to the terms of the HCN Privacy Policy, which may be updated from time to time, as expressed in the most recent version that exists at the time of your use. You agree that HCN may access or disclose your personal information, including the content of your communications, if we are required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process or governmental request (such as a court order, search warrant, subpoena, civil discovery request, or statutory authorization), or as otherwise provided in these TOS or the HCN Privacy Policy.
11. COPYRIGHT
HCN respects the intellectual property rights of others. We prohibit users from uploading, posting, or otherwise transmitting materials that violate the intellectual property rights of others. When we receive notification of alleged copyright infringement that complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512, the “DMCA”), we promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material. We also terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.
12. TERMINATION
You may terminate your use of or participation in the Site at any time. Promptly after your termination, we will remove your Profile Page. However, comments or other content you have submitted to or posted on the Site may remain there. In addition, the rights granted to HCN with respect to User Content or other information you have submitted or posted on the Site will survive the termination of your use or participation.
HCN may, in its sole discretion, terminate your account, delete your profile and any content or information that you have posted on the Site, and/or prohibit you from using or accessing the Site, at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including but not limited to violation of these TOS.
13. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:
YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. HCN EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
In particular, and without limitation, HCN makes no warranty that (1) the Site will meet your requirements; (2) the Site will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free; (3) the results that may be obtained from the use of the Site will be accurate or reliable; (4) the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you through the Site will meet your expectations; (5) any errors in the contents or components of the Site will be corrected; or (6) that the Site is free of viruses or other harmful components.
No advice or information, oral or written, obtained by you from HCN shall create any warranty not expressly stated in these TOS.
14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT HCN SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF IT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM THE USE OF OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SITE.
In particular, and without limitation, HCN will have no liability for damages arising from (1) accessing, downloading, or otherwise obtaining any content or component of the Site, even if it results in the inadvertent transfer of harmful computer code, such as viruses, malware, or spyware; (2) unauthorized access to or disclosure or alteration of your transmissions or data; (3) statements or conduct of any third party on the Site; or (4) as otherwise provided in these TOS.
15. EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY AND DAMAGES MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
16. THIRD PARTY WEBSITES
Links to Third-Party Websites. This website may contain links to other websites. Any outside website accessed from our website is independent from HCN, and we have no control over the content of such websites. We are not responsible for the content of any linked website or for any loss or damage incurred in connection with your use of such links or dealings with the operators of third-party websites. Similarly, our Privacy Policy does not govern those third-party websites.
No Implied Endorsements. In no event shall any reference to any third party or third-party product or service be construed as an approval or endorsement by HCN of that third party or of any product or service provided by a third party. Likewise, a link to other websites does not imply that we endorse or accept any responsibility for the content or use of such a website. HCN does not endorse, warrant, or guarantee any product or service offered by any third party through a forum, profile page or other service accessible through this website and will not be a party to or in any way monitor any transaction involving any third-party providers of products or services.
17. INTERNATIONAL USES
This website is published in the United States. Information collected on this website is subject to the laws of the United States, and U.S. law shall govern in any and all disputes, including privacy or defamation issues. Your use of this website or submission of information to us constitutes your consent to the transfer of that information from your home country to the U.S.
18. INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to hold harmless and indemnify HCN, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and employees from and against any third-party claim arising from or in any way related to your use of the Site, including any liability or expense arising from all claims, losses, damages (actual and consequential), suits, judgments, litigation costs, and attorneys’ fees, of every kind and nature. HCN will make reasonable efforts to provide you with written notice of any such claim, suit or action, but the failure of HCN to provide such notice will not relieve you of these obligations.
17. GENERAL
SEVERABILITY
If any provision of the TOS is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the parties agree that the provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, the arbitrator or court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the TOS remain in full force and effect.
CHOICE OF LAW
The agreement created by these TOS, and any dispute arising from or relating to these TOS or the provision or use of the Site, will be governed by the laws of the State of Colorado without giving effect to its conflict of laws provisions.
ARBITRATION AND VENUE
The parties hereby expressly waive trial by jury in any action, proceeding, or counterclaim brought by either of the parties against the other on any matters whatsoever arising out of or related to these TOS or the provision or use of the Site (“Claim”). The parties agree to submit any Claim to binding arbitration, to be held in Denver, Colorado. In the event any Claim is mutually agreed by the parties or deemed by a court not to be subject to arbitration, it will be submitted to the state or federal courts sitting in Denver, Colorado, and the parties agree that they are and will be subject to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
NONWAIVER
The failure of HCN to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the TOS shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
LIMITATION OF LEGAL ACTIONS
You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the TOS, or the provision or use of the Site, must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
ENTIRE AGREEMENT
These TOS, together with the HCN Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and HCN and govern your use of the Site, superseding any prior agreements between you and HCN. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use or purchase certain products or services, including third-party products or services.
I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, AND I AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM.