PlanetOut Partners USA, Inc. User Agreement
INTRODUCTION
We have updated our User Agreement. You are responsible
for reviewing and becoming familiar with all of these
new terms. Your use of the PlanetOut.com site and services
(and your use of other sites operated or services performed
by PlanetOut Partners USA, Inc.) following this
notification constitutes your acceptance of these new
terms of service, as well as the terms and conditions
contained in the PlanetOut.com Privacy Policy
(http://www.planetout.com/about/privacy/privacy.html) and
the PlanetOut.com Community Guidelines
(http://www.planetout.com/pno/myplanet/agreement.html).
Our use of information you provide to us is governed by
the PlanetOut.com Privacy Policy
(http://www.planetout.com/pno/about/privacy/privacy.html).
If you do not want the information you provided to us in
the past used in the ways described in our Privacy Policy,
please send us an email at optout@planetout.com.
PlanetOut Partners USA, Inc. (the "Company") currently provides
online information, entertainment, shopping and communication
services on the Web sites Gay.com ("Gay.com"), PlanetOut.com
("PlanetOut"), Kleptomaniac.com ("Kleptomaniac"),
OutandAbout.com ("Out & About") and in other locations
(collectively, the "Network"). BY USING AND/OR REGISTERING TO
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE NETWORK, YOU ARE STATING THAT YOU
UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
OF THIS PLANETOUT PARTNERS USA, INC. USER AGREEMENT (THE
"AGREEMENT"). PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. IF YOU
DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING IN THIS AGREEMENT, PLEASE DO NOT USE
THE NETWORK OR ANY SERVICES PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE
NETWORK.
If you have any questions regarding this Agreement, please feel
free to contact us at feedback@planetoutpartners.com.
SERVICES
To use the Network, you do not have to register to become a
PlanetOut, Gay.com, Kleptomanaic.com or OutandAbout.com member
("Member"). As a Member, however, you will have access to
various services to which non-Members do not have access,
some of which will enable you and other Members to interact
with each other ("Member Areas"). These Member Areas include,
without limitation, the following:
* Gay.com or PlanetOut Member Profiles
* Gay.com or PlanetOut Messenger
* Gay.com or PlanetOut Message Boards
* Gay.com or PlanetOut Chat
* Gay.com Video Chat
* Gay.com or PlanetOut Personals
* Gay.com or PlanetOut Polls
* Gay.com, PlanetOut or Kleptomaniac Newsletters
* Gay.com or PlanetOut Member Email
* Gay.com or PlanetOut Member Reviews
If you would like to register to become a Member, please complete
the membership registration form for the appropriate web site.
You agree to (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete
information as prompted by the registration form and (b) maintain
and update such information to keep it true, accurate, current,
and complete at all times. If any information provided by you
on the registration form is untrue, inaccurate, not current,
or incomplete, or if we have reasonable grounds to so believe,
we have the right to suspend or terminate your membership and
to refuse to provide you with any future membership. If we have
reason to believe that you have registered someone other than
yourself, we will cooperate with any law enforcement
investigation that may result from such misrepresentations
and shall have the right, in our sole discretion, to disclose
any information you provided to us in connection with such
registration.
The Company makes a good faith effort to prohibit registration
as a Member by, and will not knowingly collect or store
personal information from, children under the age of 13.
We reserve the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or
permanently, the Network (or any part thereof) with or without
notice. You agree that the Company shall not be liable to you
or to any third party for any such action.
FEES
We reserve the right at any time to charge fees for access to
new Network content or services or to portions of the existing
Network content or services or to the Network as a whole. In
no event will you be charged for access to any Network content
or service, or to the Network as a whole, unless we obtain your
prior agreement to pay such charges. If you do not consent to
such charges, however, you may not have access to paid content
or services.
NETWORK RULES
Following are some basic rules that apply to the Network and
that you agree to follow. If you violate any of the Network
rules, or if we have reasonable grounds to so believe, we have
the right to deny you access to the Network, to suspend or
terminate your membership and to refuse to provide you with
any future membership.
You agree not to use the Network to:
- upload, store, post, email or otherwise transmit any: (a)
material that is inaccurate, unlawful, harmful, threatening,
abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene,
libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, racist,
bigoted or otherwise objectionable, (b) material that you
do not have a right to transmit under any applicable law or
under contractual or fiduciary relationships, (c) material
that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright
or other proprietary right of any party, (d) advertising,
promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid
schemes, or any other form of solicitation, except where
specifically permitted, or (e) material that contains software
viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed
to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer
software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
- connect in an unauthorized manner (i.e., by means other than
the chat and/or messenger clients provided by the Company) to
the chat environment the Company provides for use by its Members
on the Network or facilitate such unauthorized connections
through the provision of software or other computer code
specifically designed to allow a user to make such unauthorized
connections to the Company's chat environment;
- copy, modify, create a derivative work of, reverse engineer,
reverse assemble or otherwise attempt to discover any source
code of the chat and/or messenger clients or any other software
the Company provides for use by its Members;
- impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise
misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
- forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order
to disguise the origin of any material transmitted through the
Network;
- disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to scroll
faster than other users of the Network are able to type (e.g.,
"flooding" chat), or otherwise act in a manner that negatively
affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges;
- interfere with or disrupt the Network or servers, networking
and computing equipment or networks connected to the Network, or
disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of
networks connected to the Network;
- initiate, facilitate, participate in or distribute a denial of
service attack, exploit any documented or undocumented vulnerability
in the Network and its component networking or computing equipment,
or otherwise initiate, facilitate, or participate in any malicious
action aimed at the Network;
- try to gain access to areas that are private to the Company or
to other Network users;
- violate any applicable local, state, national or international
law or any regulation having the force of law;
- stalk or otherwise harass another;
- harm minors in any way, including, without limitation, to
establish unlawful contact with minors (whether on or off the
Network);
- collect, intercept or harvest screen names; collect, intercept
or store personal data about other users of the Network; or
solicit or attempt to discover a user's password, screen name,
or other registration information without the user's express
knowledge and consent;
- engage in or run raffles, lotteries, contests, or sweepstakes;
- promote or provide instructions or information about how to engage
in illegal conduct or commit illegal activities, promote physical
harm or injury, or promote any illegal act; or
- store any information or use any Web page or directory you create
on or through the Network as storage for remote loading or as a
door or signpost to another Web page, whether inside or outside
the Network.
You acknowledge that we do not pre-screen material posted or
transmitted on the Network, but that we and our designees shall
have the right (but not the obligation) in our sole discretion
to review and edit, delete or refuse to post any material submitted
for display or placed on the Network, including but not limited
to message board posts, profiles, images, personals, and reviews.
Without limiting the foregoing, we and our designees shall have
the right to remove any material that violates this Agreement,
that we believe in good faith may create liability for us, or
that we deem is otherwise objectionable. You acknowledge and
agree that we may preserve material and may disclose material
if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that
such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to:
(a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce this Agreement;
(c) respond to claims that any material violates the rights
of third parties; or (d) in our sole judgment, protect the
rights, property, or personal safety of the Company,
its users or the public.
PRIVACY
Our Gay.com Privacy Policy states in full our policy regarding
Gay.com Member privacy and out PlanetOut.com Privacy Policy
states in full our policy regarding PlanetOut.com Member
privacy; see the applicable document for more details.
PUBLIC AREAS
A Public Area ("Public Area") of the Network is any area where
you may submit material ("Submissions") for viewing by others
or view Submissions of other users, such as bulletin boards,
forums, personals, Member profiles, chat rooms or video chat
rooms. In some of these areas, a Submission includes the name,
ID, nickname, and/or other information that would be displayed
with the submitted material, as applicable. You agree to use
Public Areas in accordance with this Agreement and any policies
for the Public Areas that are displayed on the Network.
BY SUBMITTING MATERIAL TO A PUBLIC AREA, YOU AGREE TO
INDEMNIFY THE COMPANY AND HOLD IT HARMLESS FROM ANY
AND ALL CLAIMS, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CLAIMS
FOR LIBEL, SLANDER, INVASION OF PRIVACY, COPYRIGHT
INFRINGEMENT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM SUCH SUBMISSION.
By making a Submission to any Public Area, you automatically
grant the Company the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable,
nonexclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify,
adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and display and
distribute the content of the Submission (in whole or in part)
worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form,
media, or technology now known or hereafter developed. You
also permit any other user of the Network to access, view,
store, or reproduce the Submission for that user's personal use.
LINKS
Our provision of a link to any other site or location is for
your convenience and does not signify our endorsement of such
other site or location or its contents. The Company shall
not be responsible for any information, software, or links
found at any other World Wide Web site, Internet location,
or source of information, for your use of such information,
or for e-commerce transactions conducted at or through
any linked site or location.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE NETWORK,
INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY MATERIAL AND/OR
DATA DEVELOPED BY THE COMPANY OR BY THIRD PARTIES
("INFORMATION PROVIDERS"), IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.
THE NETWORK, AND ANY CONTENT OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE
THROUGH THE NETWORK, IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS"
AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. THE
COMPANY AND THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS HEREBY
EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL SUCH WARRANTIES INCLUDING,
WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR
PURPOSE, TITLE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT, OR ANY WARRANTY
AS TO RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED THROUGH USE
OF THE NETWORK. THE COMPANY DOES NOT REPRESENT
OR WARRANT THAT THE NETWORK WILL FUNCTION WITHOUT
INTERRUPTION, THAT THE NETWORK IS ERROR- OR
DEFECT-FREE, THAT ANY SUCH DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL
BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE NETWORK AND THE SERVER(S)
THAT MAKE THE NETWORK AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES
OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION,
WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, THAT YOU OBTAIN FROM
THE COMPANY OR OTHERWISE THROUGH YOUR USE OF THE
NETWORK SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY ON THE PART OF
THE COMPANY OR THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS. FURTHER,
THE COMPANY AND THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS DO NOT
WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT THE USE OR THE RESULTS
OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT OR MATERIALS MADE
AVAILABLE THROUGH THE NETWORK OR FROM THIRD
PARTIES WILL BE CORRECT, ACCURATE, TIMELY,
RELIABLE OR OTHERWISE.
LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COMPANY, THE INFORMATION
PROVIDERS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED
IN CREATING OR DISTRIBUTING THE NETWORK BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, HOWEVER ARISING AND
UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY (INCLUDING,
WITHOUT LIMITATION, TORT, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE
AND STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF CONTRACT OR
BREACH OF WARRANTY), THAT RESULT FROM YOUR USE
OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE NETWORK, ANY CHANGES
TO THE NETWORK OR THIS AGREEMENT, UNAUTHORIZED
ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS
OR DATA, ANY MATERIAL OR DATA SENT OR RECEIVED
OR NOT SENT OR RECEIVED, OR ANY TRANSACTIONS
ENTERED INTO THROUGH THE NETWORK. THE COMPANY
IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY THREATENING,
DEFAMATORY, OBSCENE, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL
CONTENT OR CONDUCT OF ANY OTHER PARTY OR ANY
INFRINGEMENT OF ANOTHER'S RIGHTS, INCLUDING
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. IF YOU ARE
DISSATISFIED WITH THE NETWORK OR THE SERVICES,
CONTENT OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE
NETWORK, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO
DISCONTINUE USING THE NETWORK. THE FOREGOING
LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY SHALL BE APPLICABLE
EVEN IF THE COMPANY OR THE APPLICABLE THIRD
PARTY KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND NOTWITHSTANDING
THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED
REMEDY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE
EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION
OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
ALLOCATION OF RISK
YOU AGREE THAT THE DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES,
LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY, AND INDEMNIFICATION
PROVISIONS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT REPRESENT
AN AGREED UPON ALLOCATION OF RISK AND FORM AN
ESSENTIAL PART OF THE BASIS OF THEIR BARGAIN,
WITHOUT WHICH THE COMPANY WOULD NOT ENTER
INTO THIS AGREEMENT OR PROVIDE THE NETWORK.
OWNERSHIP OF MATERIALS
The contents of the Network, including text, software,
photos, graphics and all other audiovisual elements are
copyrighted by the Company individually and as a collective
work under the United States copyright laws. Except for
material in the public domain, the Company and its
licensors hold copyrights to all content appearing on
the Network. The Company permits, without charge, the
reproduction and distribution of PlanetOut materials
contained on the Network for non-commercial educational
and personal uses only, provided that such materials
remain unaltered and are accompanied by a clearly visible
copy of any copyright notice appearing on such materials.
All other reproduction, distribution, retransmission,
modification, public display, and public performance
of such materials is prohibited without the prior written
consent of the Company. To obtain such consent, contact:
Copyright Administrator
PlanetOut Partners USA, Inc.
P.O. Box 500
San Francisco, CA 94104-0500
Fax: (415) 834-6502
E-mail:copyright@planetoutpartners.com
REMOVAL OF MATERIAL FOR WHICH
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS CLAIMED
The Company respects the intellectual property rights of others.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. § 512, as amended by Title II
of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "Act"), the
Company has implemented procedures for receiving written
notification of claimed copyright infringements and for
processing such claims in accordance with the Act. If you
believe your copyrights are being infringed by a PlanetOut.com
or Gay.com Member, please fill out a Notice of Infringement
Form (http://www.planetoutpartners.com/dmca.doc) and fax or
mail it to the following agent of the Company
for notice of claims of copyright infringement:
Copyright Administrator
PlanetOut Partners USA, Inc.
P.O. Box 500
San Francisco, CA 94104-0500
Fax: (415) 834.6502
E-mail: infringement@planetoutpartners.com
The information requested by the Notice of Infringement Form
substantively complies with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3)(A),
which provides:
To be effective under this subsection, a notification of
claimed infringement must be a written communication provided
to the designated agent of a service provider that includes
substantially the following:
(i) A physical or electronic signature of a
person authorized to act on behalf of
the owner of an exclusive right that
is allegedly infringed.
(ii) Identification of the copyrighted
work claimed to have been infringed,
or, if multiple copyrighted works at a
single online site are covered by a
single notification, a representative
list of such works at that site.
(iii) Identification of the material that
is claimed to be infringing or to be the
subject of infringing activity and that
is to be removed or access to which is
to be disabled, and information reasonably
sufficient to permit the service provider
to locate the material.
(iv) Information reasonably sufficient to
permit the service provider to contact the
complaining party such as an address,
telephone number, and if available, an
electronic mail address at which the
complaining party may be contacted.
(v) A statement that the complaining party has a
good faith belief that use of the material in
the manner complained of is not authorized by
the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
(vi) A statement that the information in the
notification is accurate, and under penalty
of perjury, that the complaining party is
authorized to act on behalf of the owner
of an exclusive right that is allegedly
infringed.
Notification from a copyright owner or from a person authorized
to act on behalf of the copyright owner that fails to comply
substantially with the provisions above shall not be considered
as providing actual knowledge or an awareness of facts or
circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent.
Please provide a Notice of Infringement Form each time you wish
to report alleged acts of infringement.
Please note that the Company will, in appropriate circumstances,
terminate the account of any Member who repeatedly posts
infringing material on the Network.
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to hold harmless the Company, its Information Providers
and any other person or entity involved in creating or distributing
the Network, as well as each of their respective parents,
affiliates or subsidiaries and their respective directors,
officers, employees and agents, from and against any and all
claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, fees (including
reasonable attorneys' fees) and expenses that such parties
may incur as a result of or arising out of your (or, in the
case of Members, anyone using your account's) use of, or
conduct with respect to, the Network.
CHOICE OF LAW/JURISDICTION AND VENUE
You agree that the laws of the State of California and the United
States will apply to all matters relating to this Agreement, as they
would to agreements made and entered into entirely in California by
California residents, notwithstanding your actual place of residence.
You agree that all lawsuits arising out of this Agreement shall be
brought exclusively in the Federal or State courts located in the
Northern District of California, San Francisco County, and you hereby
irrevocably submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of such
courts for such purpose.
MODIFICATION OF AGREEMENT
You agree that the Company may change the terms and conditions of
this Agreement, unilaterally, and at any time, by conspicuously
posting notice of such change on the Network for a period of five
(5) consecutive days. Continued use of the Network after such notice
will constitute your acknowledgment and acceptance of the revised
terms and condition.
GENERAL
This Agreement contains the complete and final statement of the
understanding between you and the Company with respect to the
subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes any and all
prior or contemporaneous negotiations, agreements or communications,
whether written or oral, between you and the Company concerning
the subject matter of this Agreement. If any provision of this
Agreement is rendered by a court or governmental agency of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable,
such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect
the remainder of this Agreement which shall remain in full force
and effect and be enforced in accordance with its remaining terms.
The waiver by the Company of a breach or default of any of the
provisions of this Agreement by you shall not be construed as a
waiver of any succeeding breach of the same or other provisions;
nor shall any delay or omission on the part of the Company to
exercise or avail itself of any right, power or privilege that
it has or may have hereunder operate as a waiver of any breach
or default by you. You agree that, regardless of any statute or
law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action that you may
have arising out of or related to use of the Network or this
Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or
cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section titles
in this Agreement are solely used for convenience and have no
legal or contractual significance. All provisions of this
Agreement that, by their nature, survive termination of this
Agreement will survive termination including, without limitation,
the Site Rules, Public Areas, Links, Disclaimer of Warranties,
Limitations on Liability, Allocation of Risk, Ownership of
Materials, Indemnification, Choice of Law/Jurisdiction and Venue
and General sections of this Agreement.
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