Introduction
You agree to be bound by these Terms of Use (these “Terms”) of backlightblog.com (the “Site”), owned and operated by MacPaw Inc., a Delaware corporation (MacPaw Inc. and/or its affiliates, representatives, sublicensees, assigns are hereinafter collectively and/or (if applicable) separately referred to as “we” or “us”) any time you use the Site. References to “you” and “your” refer to you, a user of the Site. Your use of the Site and all its files and functions is subject to your acceptance and compliance with these Terms, which constitute your agreement with us. “Use” or “using” means to access, download, upload, copy or otherwise benefit from using the functionality of the Site. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Site. Each time you use the Site, the current version of these Terms will apply. These Terms will always be available on the Site. Any conduct by a user that violates these Terms in any way may result in the suspension or termination of your access to the Site, at our sole discretion, in addition to any other remedies.
Your use of the Site is also subject to our Privacy Policy, available on the Site and incorporated into these Terms by reference; in addition, you agree to abide by our rules, policies, and procedures we may publish on the Site from time to time. We reserve the right at any time and without notice to change these Terms. You agree that in order to gain full and updated information on the Terms you should periodically review this section. Your ongoing use of the Site after publication of any possible changes to the current Terms indicates your consent with the effective changes. If you have any questions regarding these Terms, please contact us.
Eligibility
THIS IS A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT, OR DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY IT OR THE PRIVACY POLICY REFERENCED HEREIN, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THE SITE AND YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO USE THE SITE. BY USING THE SITE, YOU CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD (OR IF YOU ARE BETWEEN 13 AND 17 YEARS OLD, INCLUSIVE, THAT YOU ARE USING THE SITE ONLY WITH THE APPROVAL OF YOUR PARENT OR GUARDIAN), THAT YOU ARE LEGALLY ABLE TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT, AND THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT.
User submissions and interactive areas
We may provide interactive activities such as (including, but not limited to) article and blog comment posting areas, user photo and/or video upload (collectively, “Interactive Areas”) for your enjoyment.
Any information, including, but not limited to data, text, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, tags or other materials you submit to the Site, including, without limitation, Interactive Areas (“User Submissions”), will be public and posted on the Site in case the Site technically allows to do so. We will not be responsible for the actions of any users or third parties with respect to any information, materials or content posted, uploaded or transmitted in these Interactive Areas.
We do not claim ownership of any User Submissions you submit for display or distribution to others through the Site, including any such materials that you submit through Interactive Areas. As between you and us, you own all rights to your User Submissions. However, you grant (and confirm and promise to us that you have the right to grant) to us an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, royalty-free and fully-paid, license (sublicensable through multiple tiers) throughout the universe to use, distribute, syndicate, license, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform, create derivate works and publicly display your User Submissions (in whole or in part) in any format or medium now known or later developed; provided, however, that our exercise of our rights under the foregoing license shall, upon disclosure of your User Submissions, at all times be subject to the limitations imposed on us under our Privacy Policy. You hereby irrevocably waive (and agree to cause to be waived) any claims and assertions of moral rights or attributions with respect to your User Submissions. We reserve the right to display advertisements in connection with User Submissions and to use User Submissions for advertising and promotional purposes without any compensation to you. These advertisements may be targeted to the content or information displayed on the Site. In consideration for us granting you access and use of the Services, you agree that we may place such advertisements. We do not pre-screen all User Submissions, and you agree that you are solely responsible for all of your User Submissions. Postings to Interactive Areas may or may not be reviewed by us prior to appearing on the Site. Nonetheless, we reserve the right to prevent from being posted, change, delete or remove, in part or in full, any postings (User Submissions) in Interactive Areas and to terminate or suspend access to such areas for conduct that we believe, in our sole discretion, interferes with other users’ enjoyment of our Site. We will also cooperate with local, state and/or federal authorities to comply with applicable law.
We are not required to backup, host, display, or distribute any User Submissions, and may remove at any time or refuse any User Submissions. We are not responsible for any loss, theft or damage of any kind to any User Submissions. You represent and warrant that your User Submissions and our authorized use of such User Submissions do not and will not infringe the rights of any third party (including, without limitation, intellectual property rights, rights of privacy or publicity, or any other legal or moral rights). Your User Submissions must not violate our policies which may be displayed on the Site. You may not represent or imply to others that your User Submissions are in any way provided, sponsored or endorsed by us. Please consider the risks of revealing personal information (such as name, phone number or street address) about yourself or others in Interactive Areas, including when connecting to the Site through a third party service. You, and not we, are responsible for any consequences of sharing personal information about yourself on the Site.
We own all rights, title, and interests in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by us using or incorporating your content (but not your original content). When you use a feature on the Site that allows users to share, transform, readapt, modify, or combine user content with other content, you grant us and our users an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty free, perpetual right and license in the universe to use, reproduce, modify, display, remix, perform, distribute, redistribute, adapt, promote, create derivative works, and syndicate your content in any medium and through any form of technology or distribution and to permit any derivative works to be licensed under these same Terms. The rights granted under this provision will survive the termination of these Terms.
All content and materials provided on the Site are intended for general information, general discussion, education, and entertainment purposes only. Do not construe that such content is either endorsed or verified by us. The content is provided “as is,” and your use or reliance on such materials are solely at your own risk.
Our Site contains facts, views, opinions and statements of third parties, visitors and other organizations. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information displayed or distributed through the Site. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such advice, opinions, statement or other information shall be at your sole risk and you agree that we shall not be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused in any way whatsoever related to any advice, opinions, statements or other information displayed or distributed on the Site.
We do our best to encourage comfort and discourage disruptive communication. We also discourage disruptive statements that incite others to violate our standards. We encourage your participation in upholding our standards. You are responsible for all content that you post, email, transmit, upload or otherwise make available through the Site. You agree not to use the Interactive Areas and/or the Site to make available any content that:
- is unlawful, harmful to adults or minors, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
- infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of privacy or publicity or other proprietary rights of any person;
- contains unauthorized advertising or solicits other visitors; or
- is intended by the visitor to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality or integrity of the Site.
Intellectual property rights
The Site and all of its contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, photos, videos and audio, and the design, selection and arrangement thereof), are owned by us, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.
These Terms grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Site. You may access the material on the Site only for your own personal, non-commercial use. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any of the material on this Site.
You must not:
- modify copies of any materials from the Site;
- use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from the accompanying text;
- delete or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from the Site;
- reverse-engineer or otherwise attempt to steal the software code of the Site.
Any use of the Site not expressly permitted by these Terms is a breach of these Terms and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.
You are not authorized to use any trademarks, trade names, service marks or logos used in the Site. Ownership of all such Trademarks and the goodwill associated therewith remains with us or other relevant third parties.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless us, our affiliates and our and their officers, directors, licensors, partners, licensees, consultants, contractors, agents, attorneys, employees, and third party service providers (collectively, the “Indemnitees”) from any and all claims, liabilities, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees (collectively, “Claim(s)”), that actually or allegedly result from your information, use of the Site, or your breach of these Terms. You agree to be solely responsible for defending any Claim against or suffered by any Indemnitee, subject to the relevant Indemnitee’s right to participate with counsel of its own choosing, and for payment of damages or losses resulting from all claims against any Indemnitee provided that you will not agree to any settlement that imposes any obligation or liability on any Indemnitee without our prior express written consent.
Warranty disclaimer
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THIS SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND THAT YOUR USE THEREOF IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, WE DISCLAIM TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY (I) WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, (II) WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS, (III) WARRANTIES RELATING TO DELAYS, INTERRUPTIONS, ERRORS, OR OMISSIONS ON THE SITE, OR ANY PART THEREOF, (IV) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE ACCURACY OR CORRECTNESS OF DATA, AND ANY OTHER WARRANTIES OTHERWISE RELATING TO PERFORMANCE, NONPERFORMANCE, OR OTHER ACTS OR OMISSIONS BY US. FURTHER, AND WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING, THERE IS NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OTHER PERSON. IN ADDITION, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT OUR WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER TELECOMMUNICATIONS OR INTERNET OUTAGES CAUSED BY THIRD PARTIES OR OTHERWISE OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL. THE ACCESS TO THE SITE MAY BE LIMITED BY MANY FACTORS, INCLUDING INHERENT RISKS OF THE INTERNET.
Limitation of liability
TO THE EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL MACPAW BE LIABLE TO YOU OR A THIRD PARTY FOR PERSONAL INJURY, OR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR INFORMATION, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE HOWEVER CAUSED, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY (CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE) AND EVEN IF MACPAW HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY, OR OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. REGARDLESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL MACPAW’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF FIFTY DOLLARS ($50.00). THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS WILL APPLY EVEN IF THE ABOVE STATED REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
Governing law
These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflict of law principles. These Terms shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the application of which is expressly excluded. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision, or portion thereof, to be unenforceable, the remainder of these Terms shall continue in full force and effect. The federal or state courts located in or within 75 miles of Santa Clara, USA shall be the exclusive jurisdiction and venue for all legal proceedings that are not arbitrated under these Terms. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you hereby consent to the jurisdiction and venue of such courts and waive any objections to such jurisdiction and venue.
Arbitration
Except for actions to protect copyrights and to enforce an arbitrator’s decision hereunder, all disputes, controversies, or claims arising out of or relating to these Terms or a breach thereof shall be submitted to and finally resolved by arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) then in effect. There shall be one arbitrator, and such arbitrator shall be chosen by mutual agreement of the parties in accordance with AAA rules. The arbitration shall take place in the location in California, USA or such other location in the USA determined by MacPaw in its sole discretion. The arbitrator shall apply the laws of the State of California, to all issues in dispute. The findings of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties and may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement. Notwithstanding the law of California legal fees shall be awarded to the prevailing party in the arbitration.
Complete agreement and severability
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and MacPaw relating to the use of the Site and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous understandings regarding such subject matter. No amendment to or modification of these Terms will be binding unless in writing and signed by MacPaw. The failure of either party to enforce any rights granted hereunder or to take action against the other party in the event of any breach hereunder shall not be deemed a waiver by that party as to subsequent enforcement of rights or subsequent actions in the event of future breaches. Any translation of these Terms is done for local requirements and in the event of a dispute between the English and any non-English versions, the English version of these Terms shall govern, to the extent not prohibited by local law in your jurisdiction. If any term or provision of these Terms is declared void or unenforceable in a particular situation, by any judicial or administrative authority, this declaration shall not affect the validity of enforceability of the remaining terms and provisions hereof or the validity or enforceability of the offending term or provision in any other situation. To the extent possible the provision will be interpreted and enforced to the greatest extent legally permissible in order to effectuate the original intent, and if no such interpretation or enforcement is legally permissible, shall be deemed severed from the Terms.